Spatiotemporal variability of sedimentology and morphology in the East Frisian barrier island system

Abstract

The highly dynamic East Frisian barrier island system (southern North Sea) is characterized by a complex morphology of tidal inlets, ebb-tidal deltas and foreshore beaches that reacts to storms and fair-weather conditions with characteristic patterns of sediment grain-size distributions. The morphological and sedimentological response to varying hydrodynamic conditions yet occurs in short time spans that are not covered by common monitoring strategies with measuring intervals typically of years. This study applies process-based numerical modelling with multiple sediment fractions to interpolate morphological states in time between bathymetrical surveys conducted in the summer months of 2004 and 2006. Morphodynamic simulations driven by real-time boundary conditions of tides, wind and waves are carried out for a representative period of 2 years. The spatiotemporal variability of the nearshore sedimentology and morphology is assessed by graded ranges of bed dynamics (i.e. bed elevation range) and the definition of sediment grain-size variability (i.e. mean diameter range). The effect of storm events and timescales of the sedimentological adaptation after storms to typical fair-weather conditions are exemplified at an ebb-tidal delta lobe where the morphological and sedimentological variability is found to be largest in the study area. The proposed method may serve to identify areas of high sedimentological and morphological activity for system understanding or in the framework of coastal monitoring strategies.