Implications For Coastal Management Research Articles

The Coastal Scenery of São Miguel Island, Azores Archipelago: Implications for Coastal Management

In this study, coastal scenic beauty was assessed at 29 sites at São Miguel, which is one of the Azores Islands, i.e., a group of remote volcanic islands in the North Atlantic Ocean. The assessment was based on in situ observations and the use of the Coastal Scenic Evaluation System (CSES), which consists of a checklist with 26 physical- and anthropic-weighted parameters and the Fuzzy Logic Approach (FLA) mathematical tool. The study sites were classified into five classes according to their typology and their scenic value, ranging from Class I (natural sites of great scenic beauty) to Class V (unattractive, urbanized sites). Concerning beach typology, 13% were remote, 28% rural, 28% village, and 31% urban. Concerning scenic beauty, 10% of the sites belonged to Class I, 14% to Class II, 17% to Class III, 31% to Class IV, and 28% to Class V. The physical parameters were linked to the characteristics of the geological volcanic landscapes, and the anthropic parameters essentially reflected the presence of tourism and public services. The results of the assessment provide a scientific basis for developing a management strategy for the preservation and conservation of the coastal areas and their sustainable development.

Modeling of multi-fractional suspended particle pathways in a shallow water basin under influence of strong winds

In this study, we investigate the complex dynamics of multi-fractional suspended particle transport in a shallow water basin subjected to strong wind conditions. Our research focuses on understanding the interplay between wind-induced advection and particle settlement, and its implications for sediment redistribution.Through our analysis, we reveal the distinct behaviors of different sediment fractions. Clay particles, constituting the lowest fraction in sediment cores, remain suspended throughout the simulation due to their low settlement velocity, with relatively stable concentrations. Conversely, the dominant fraction, medium silt, is suspended during intense wind events but quickly settles to the bed due to its higher settling velocity. Wind stress exceeding 0.05 Pa triggers particulate matter erosion, leading to its presence in the water column.Additionally, we explore the 2D distribution of sediment characteristics, including thickness, dry density, and mud fraction, to identify areas prone to erosion and deposition. Our findings demonstrate that coastal areas of the Taganrog Bay experienced significant erosion following strong wind events, exhibiting the thinnest sediment thickness and the highest dry bulk density. Deposition areas, characterized by thicker sediment layers and lower dry density, were often found in proximity to erosion zones, indicating the influence of particle resuspension and settlement processes.Furthermore, we analyze the implications of our findings on the vulnerability of specific regions to erosion and deposition. The central part of the sea contains moderately thicker sediment layers with a moderately high mud fraction, representing a zone of fine sediment accumulation. These fine sediments, including fine silt and clay, remain suspended for longer durations and are redistributed over greater distances by currents.Overall, our study provides valuable understanding into the multi-fractional suspended particle pathways and their interaction with strong winds in shallow water basins. The results contribute to a better understanding of sediment dynamics, which has implications for coastal management, environmental monitoring, and the preservation of benthic ecosystems.

Multi-Decadal Assessment of Shoreline Changes Along the Ksar Esghir Coast, Morocco: Implications for Coastal Management

Multi-Decadal Assessment of Shoreline Changes Along the Ksar Esghir Coast, Morocco: Implications for Coastal Management

Degradation of benthic ecosystem properties of Mejillones Bay (SE Pacific): implications for coastal management

Degradation of benthic ecosystem properties of Mejillones Bay (SE Pacific): implications for coastal management

Improving predictions of coastal benthic invertebrate occurrence and density using a multi-scalar approach

Spatial data detailing both the distribution and density of functionally important marine species are needed to inform management decisions. Species distribution models (SDMs) have proven helpful in this regard; however, models often focus only on species occurrences derived from spatially expansive datasets and lack the resolution and detail required to inform regional management decisions. Boosted regression trees (BRT) were used to produce high-resolution SDMs (250 m) at two spatial scales predicting probability of occurrence, abundance (count per sample unit), density (count per km2) and uncertainty for seven coastal seafloor taxa that vary in habitat usage and distribution to examine prediction differences and implications for coastal management. We investigated if small scale regionally focussed models (82,000 km2) can provide improved predictions compared to data-rich national scale models (4.2 million km2). We explored the variability in predictions across model type (occurrence vs abundance) and model scale to determine if specific taxa models or model types are more robust to geographical variability. National scale occurrence models correlated well with broad-scale environmental predictors, resulting in higher AUC (Area under the receiver operating curve) and deviance explained scores; however, they tended to overpredict in the coastal environment and lacked spatially differentiated detail for some taxa. Regional models had lower overall performance, but for some taxa, spatial predictions were more differentiated at a localised ecological scale. National density models were often spatially refined and highlighted areas of ecological relevance producing more useful outputs than regional-scale models. The utility of a two-scale approach aids the selection of the most optimal combination of models to create a spatially informative density model, as results contrasted for specific taxa between model type and scale. However, it is vital that robust predictions of occurrence and abundance are generated as inputs for the combined density model as areas that do not spatially align between models can be discarded. This study demonstrates the variability in SDM outputs created over different geographical scales and highlights implications and opportunities for managers utilising these tools for regional conservation, particularly in data-limited environments.

Integrated insights into potentially hazardous metals in sediments of a typical bay under long-term human impacts: Implications for coastal management

An integrated understanding of pollution, environmental risks, and sources of potentially hazardous metals (PHMs) in coastal sediments is essential for protecting and managing the health of coastal ecosystems. Here, we examined the concentrations of 7 PHMs (As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Hg, and Zn) in surface sediments from a typical bay under long-term human impacts in southern China, to holistically elaborate the pollution characteristics, environmental risks, and sources of PHMs. The results showed that the mean concentrations (mg/kg) were 7.00 (As), 0.164 (Cd), 79.1 (Cr), 29.3 (Cu), 25.4 (Pb), 0.042 (Hg), and 107.4 (Zn), respectively. PHMs in the surface sediments exhibited decreasing trends from the nearshore towards the offshore sea areas, showing high, moderate, and low concentrations in the inner, middle, and outer bay. Geo-accumulation index demonstrated that Cd was the primary polluted metal, followed by Cu, Hg, Zn, Cr, and Pb. Both modified contamination of degree (mCd) and nemerow integrated pollution index (NIPI) indicated that the inner bay was the most polluted area. Potential ecological risk index (PERI) and toxic risk index (TRI) illustrated that PHMs have posed adverse threats on the health of the bay, especially the inner bay. However, PERI suggested that Cd and Hg were the main contributors of the adverse effects, while TRI showed that Cu and Cr were. Principle component analysis suggested that As was from natural sources while other PHMs were derived from anthropogenic sources. Positive matrix factorization model further explained that human activities were the major sources, including industrial and marine transport activities (40.5%) and discharge of domestic sewages (29.3%), while natural sources contributed 30.2%. Based on these findings, useful implications are provided for the prevention and control of PHMs pollution and the implementation of relevant management and remediation strategies in coastal bays.

Beach beauty in Bengal: Perception of scenery and its implications for coastal management in Purba Medinipur district, eastern India

Human activities can affect the revenue-generating potential of coastal landscapes through the loss of intrinsic properties like scenery. Yet, scenic assessments are often excluded from coastal management programmes in many countries. The recent modifications made to India’s Coastal Zone Regulations warrant such assessments urgently, as escalating anthropogenic activities in previously restricted zones can degrade coastal ecosystems. Using the Coastal Scenic Evaluation System (CSES), this paper assesses the scenery of six beaches in Purba Medinipur district of West Bengal in eastern India. The CSES uses fuzzy logic to analyze users’ perceptions of 26 attributes regarding the physical and human environments of beaches and categorizes them into five classes of increasing scenic depletion. Results obtained suggest that the studied beaches have very degraded scenic quality, with one each in classes III and IV and four in class V. The causative factors include rapid degeneration of a subdued physical environment by tremendous proliferation of coastal tourism along with its concomitant changes and poorly implemented management policies. Reducing direct interventions on beaches, undertaking dune restoration, controlling coastal erosion through emerging approaches, improving litter management, modifying the built environment where necessary, raising public awareness about the issue and greater public participation in the management process can ameliorate the situation. A Coastal Scenery Management Plan, incorporating all these aspects, must be included in the state’s Integrated Coastal Zone Management Programme. Undertaking such measures and implementing them stringently, coupled with regular follow-up assessments, might improve the scenic conditions of the beaches of Purba Medinipur in the future.

Nutrient Improvements in Chesapeake Bay: Direct Effect of Load Reductions and Implications for Coastal Management

In Chesapeake Bay in the United States, decades of management efforts have resulted in modest reductions of nutrient loads from the watershed, but the corresponding improvements in estuarine water quality have not consistently followed. Generalized additive models were used to directly link river flows and nutrient loads from the watershed to nutrient trends in the estuary on a station-by-station basis, which allowed for identification of exactly when and where responses are happening. Results show that Chesapeake Bay's total nitrogen and total phosphorus conditions are mostly improving after accounting for variation in freshwater flow. Almost all of these improving nutrient concentrations in the estuary can be explained by reductions in watershed loads entering through 16 rivers and 145 nearby point sources, with the nearby point source reductions being slightly more effective at explaining estuarine nutrient trends. Overall, these two major types of loads from multiple locations across the watershed are together necessary and responsible for the improving estuarine nutrient conditions, a finding that is highly relevant to managing valuable estuarine resources worldwide.

Paddle surfing for science on microplastic pollution

Microplastics have pervaded all oceans on Earth and their impact on marine ecosystems is a matter of debate. However, there is a lack of information from a few meters from the coastline even though monitoring the nearshore is absolutely needed to fully understand the paths and magnitude of microplastic pollution, including its implications for coastal management and water quality. Traditional scientific data acquisition using conventional platforms such as research vessels or small boats is expensive and hampered by numerous limitations in the nearshore zone, ranging from too shallow (and risky) depths to the presence of swimmers. Here, we provide the scientific community with an affordable and easy to use manta trawl called paddle trawl to be attached to a paddle surf board to acquire scientific samples in the nearshore within the frame of a citizen science monitoring project with the Spanish delegation of the non-governmental organization Surfrider Foundation Europe. Our results show, as a proof of concept, that a lightweight and low-cost paddle trawl towed behind paddle surfers allows obtaining samples for microplastic characterization and quantification while raising awareness of pollution by the allochtonous particles. An average of 11.7 × 104 items km−2 was found in the nearshore, similar to those found offshore in the Mediterranean Sea. However, a comparison with offshore data obtained with a standard manta trawl shows differences in plastic size distributions. Whereas microplastics dominated in offshore waters mesoplastics and macroplastics prevailed in the nearshore. A larger variety of polymers, including high-density ones and higher average lengths nearshore shows that this area is likely to produce and export microplastics towards offshore waters.

Experiment-supported modelling of salt marsh establishment

Recently, the use of salt marshes in front of hard structures is increasingly proposed as a more sustainable coastal protection measure. Yet, salt marsh restoration and creation is often hampered by the lack of a thorough understanding of initial vegetation establishment. Recent studies highlight the importance of bed level change for salt marsh development. In this study we continue the examination of the impact of bed level change on salt marsh development, focussing on the prediction of salt marsh establishment and the implications for coastal management. First, a test with Spartina anglica seedlings (Cordgrass) in a wave flume showed that long-term (seasonal) bed level change is more important for seedling survival than direct wave impact at the shoot. Therefore, we subsequently incorporated bed level change in the Windows of Opportunity (WoO) framework. Lastly, this revised WoO framework was applied to the design of the Marconi pioneer salt marsh (The Netherlands). Combining the WoO framework with a morphodynamic model (Delft3D) showed its potential for salt marsh design. The framework can be used to determine whether salt marsh establishment is possible, to find out which conditions are limiting establishment and to design engineering measures creating the conditions that facilitate salt marsh establishment.

Directional dependency and coastal framework geology: implications for barrier island resilience

Abstract. Barrier island transgression is influenced by the alongshore variation in beach and dune morphology, which determines the amount of sediment moved landward through wash-over. While several studies have demonstrated how variations in dune morphology affect island response to storms, the reasons for that variation and the implications for island management remain unclear. This paper builds on previous research by demonstrating that paleo-channels in the irregular framework geology can have a directional influence on alongshore beach and dune morphology. The influence of relict paleo-channels on beach and dune morphology on Padre Island National Seashore, Texas, was quantified by isolating the long-range dependence (LRD) parameter in autoregressive fractionally integrated moving average (ARFIMA) models, originally developed for stock market economic forecasting. ARFIMA models were fit across ∼250 unique spatial scales and a moving window approach was used to examine how LRD varied with computational scale and location along the island. The resulting LRD matrices were plotted by latitude to place the results in the context of previously identified variations in the framework geology. Results indicate that the LRD is not constant alongshore for all surface morphometrics. Many flares in the LRD plots correlate to relict infilled paleo-channels, indicating that the framework geology has a significant influence on the morphology of Padre Island National Seashore (PAIS). Barrier island surface morphology LRD is strongest at large paleo-channels and decreases to the north. The spatial patterns in LRD surface morphometrics and framework geology variations demonstrate that the influence of paleo-channels can be asymmetric (i.e., affecting beach–dune morphology preferentially in one direction alongshore) where the alongshore sediment transport gradient was unidirectional during island development. The asymmetric influence of framework geology on coastal morphology has long-term implications for coastal management activities because it dictates the long-term behavior of a barrier island. Coastal management projects should first seek to assess the framework geology and understand how it influences coastal processes in order to more effectively balance long-term natural variability with short-term societal pressure.

Impacts of lagoon opening and implications for coastal management: case study from Muni-Pomadze lagoon, Ghana

Lagoon-barrier systems are a dynamic coastal environment. When an ephemeral connection between a lagoon and the ocean develops, it has significant impact on hydrology, sedimentology and ecology. Increasingly, human actions and sea level rise also influence lagoons with the potential to increase their connectivity with the ocean. The Muni-Pomadze lagoon in central Ghana is a small lagoon-barrier system that is intermittently open to the ocean. Following opening in 2014 the lagoon was open to the ocean for more than two years. Causes for the unusually long period of lagoon opening are unclear although human intrevention has played a role. Field observation, digital mapping and GIS analysis of the shoreline during the two year period of lagoon opening has enabled an understanding of how the lagoon-ocean connection has impacted coastal morphology, erosion and sedimentation. Opening has resulted in rapid changes to the location of the barrier breaching (tidal inlet), erosion on the barrier and sedimentation in the lagoon. Such modifications have implications for local resources and ecosystem services that underpin the livelihood and wellbeing of local communities. Elucidating how a connection to the ocean impacts lagoons and the coastal communities they support are important to managing lagoons not only in Ghana but across West Africa.

Coastal scenic evaluation at Santa Catarina (Brazil): Implications for coastal management

Continuous and increasing human coastal occupations and developments, often linked to the lack of adequate management plans, seriously threat coastal and marine environments. The knowledge of natural aspects of coastal environments and human occupation characteristics is essential for adequate and sound coastal planning. The present research characterized 80 coastal sites scenic value along the South and Center-South coast of Santa Catarina (Brazil), which receive huge tourist arrivals during the summer season, i.e. from December to March. Coastal evaluation was carried out by means of the Scenery Evaluation System and information on conservation status, beach awards and human occupation level was also gathered. Sites located on the Central-South coast have higher D values due to their relevant physical characteristics, such as the presence of bays, cliffs, mountainous landscape, etc. being very different from those in the South, where the coast is low, rectilinear and unattractive. Class I represents c. 10% of the Center-South coast and class V c. 8%. In the South, the situation is different and none of the sectors was assessed as class I or III, only one sector belongs to class II, and the rest are classified as class IV and V. Obtained information opens new viewpoints to local coastal managers for analysis of the potential for national and international coastal tourism development in: i) natural areas, taking into account that a growing category of beach goers prefer isolated sites of great scenic beauty, and ii) for scenic quality improvement of current tourist developed areas.

Trophic ecology of an Atlantic kelp forest fish assemblage (NW Spain) targeted by recreational fishers and implications for coastal management

Although necessary for sustainable management of coastal ecosystems the understanding of trophic ecology of kelp fishes remains largely limited in the NE Atlantic. In this paper, stable isotope ratios of carbon (C) and nitrogen (N), complementarily with analyses of stomach contents, were used to investigate the trophic ecology of an Atlantic kelp forest fish assemblage targeted by spear fishers in Galicia (NW Spain). Trophic habits of the fishes were consistent across the species ranges and six trophic niches were identified. Chelon labrosus was the only pelagic omnivore, while Conger conger and Dicentrarchus labrax were the principal predators, preying on benthic osteichthyes. The intermediate carnivorous Diplodus sargus mainly preyed on benthic molluscs, while Labrus bergylta exploited a wider range of prey. Although associated with different trophic niches, the two morphotypes of L. bergylta showed some degree of diet overlap, providing little support to the hypothesis of their separate management. Moreover, L. bergylta can be a keystone species whose adequate management has relevant implications for the sustainable use of the European kelp forest ecosystems.

Towards a biodiversity offsetting approach for coastal land reclamation: Coastal management implications

Reclamation of coastal wetlands has a major impact on biodiversity globally. However, important questions remain regarding biodiversity offsets to such anthropogenic modifications. Generally, while formal and accurate quantifications of the residual impacts from development and the gain from offsets are essential, they are usually designated on an arbitrary score. Particularly, a general baseline with uncertainties defined across a dynamic scope has rarely been reported. In this study, a mathematical model was developed to quantify the loss from coastal land reclamation and gain from offsets. It considered the correlation between biodiversity effect size and reclamation, and the risk of failure in restoration based on the offset ratios theory, to determine the optimal amount of offsetting by calculating the biodiversity ratios between damaged and compensated habitat areas. The Yellow River Delta in China was used as a case study. Fuzzy sets or discrete intervals of references were used as the baseline. Minimum offset ratios were calculated for different baselines and values of counterfactual scenarios accounting for time lags for different types of coastal land reclamation. Therefore, no net loss was feasible when biodiversity could be compensated within the offset delay time. In this study, unlike previous methods, designation of an arbitrary score to measure the habitat or biodiversity value was avoided. Instead, this method was based on the change in biodiversity and was grounded in ecological theory. A more science-based approach is proposed, which is supported with a novel formula and existing data sets. These findings will help in the design of biodiversity offsets for coastal land reclamation based on their different impacts on biodiversity. This will inform policy makers about realistic minimal offsetting ratios or offset area requirements accounting for the offsetting delay time, the value of counterfactual scenarios, the correlation between biodiversity effect size and reclamation, the risk of failure in restoration, and the gross quantity of restoration. These results have important implications for the ecological restoration and compensation of coastal wetlands in the face of coastal land reclamation.

Automatic Delineation of Seacliff Limits using Lidar-derived High-resolution DEMs in Southern California

ABSTRACT Palaseanu-Lovejoy, M.; Danielson, J.; Thatcher, C.; Foxgrover, A.; Barnard, P.; Brock, J., and Young, A., 2016. Automatic delineation of seacliff limits using lidar-derived high-resolution DEMs in Southern California. In: Brock, J.C.; Gesch, D.B.; Parrish, C.E.; Rogers, J.N., and Wright, C.W. (eds.), Advances in Topobathymetric Mapping, Models, and Applications. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 76, pp. 162–173. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Seacliff erosion is a serious hazard with implications for coastal management and is often estimated using successive hand-digitized cliff tops or bases (toe) to assess cliff retreat. Even if efforts are made to standardize manual digitizing and eliminate subjectivity, the delineation of cliffs is time-consuming and depends on the analyst's interpretation. An automatic procedure is proposed to extract cliff edges from high-resolution lidar-derived bare-earth digital elevation models, generalized coastal shoreline vectors, and approxim...

A Comparison of Geomorphic Settings, Sediment Facies and Benthic Habitats of Two Carbonate Systems of Western Mediterranean Sea and South Western Australia: Implications for Coastal Management

ABSTRACT Tecchiato, S., Buosi C., Ibba, A., Ryan, D.A., and De Muro, S., 2016. A Comparison of Geomorphic Settings, Sediment Facies and Benthic Habitats of Two Carbonate Systems of Western Mediterranean Sea and South Western Australia: Implications for Coastal Management. In: Vila-Concejo, A.; Bruce, E.; Kennedy, D.M., and McCarroll, R.J. (eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International Coastal Symposium (Sydney, Australia). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 75, pp. 562–566. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. A similarity exists between the coastal areas of South Western Australia and South Sardinia (Italy-Western Mediterranean Sea), as temperate water carbonate sedimentation dominates the inner shelf at these locations. The seagrass carbonate factory regulates the deposition of modern bioclasts, and the distribution of seagrass meadows and accumulation of bioclasts is controlled by similar processes at the study sites. These biogenic components are mixed to quartz-feldspar sands producin...

Pyrite as a proxy for the identification of former coastal lagoons in semiarid NE Brazil

This work aimed to test the suitability of pyrite (FeS2) as a proxy for reconstructing past marine environmental conditions along the semiarid coast of Brazil. Morphological description combined with physicochemical analyses including Fe partitioning were conducted for soil depth profiles (30 and 60 cm depths) at three sites in two contrasting lagoons of the state of Ceara: a suspected former lagoon that would have been transformed into a freshwater “lake” at a site vegetated by Juncus effusus (site P1), and another lagoon with connection to the sea at sites vegetated by J. effusus (site P2) or Portulaca oleracea (site P3). Soil samples were collected in September 2010. Site P3 had more reducing conditions, reaching Eh values of –132 mV in the surface layer (0–10 cm), whereas minimum values for the P1 and P2 sites were +219 and +85 mV, respectively. Lower pyritic Fe values were found at site P1, with a degree of pyritization (DOP) ranging from 10 to 13%. At sites P2 and P3, DOP ranged from 9 to 67% and from 55 to 72%, respectively. These results are consistent with an interruption of tidal channels by eolian dune migration inducing strong changes in the hydrodynamics and physicochemical characteristics (lower salinity, oxidizing conditions) of these sites, causing the dieback of suspected former mangroves and a succession to freshwater marshes with an intermediate salt marsh stage. Together with other physicochemical signatures, pyrite can evidently serve as a useful proxy in tracking environmental changes in such ecotones, with implications for coastal management.

Distribution, structure and function of Nordic eelgrass (Zostera marina) ecosystems: implications for coastal management and conservation

This paper focuses on the marine foundation eelgrass species, Zostera marina, along a gradient from the northern Baltic Sea to the north-east Atlantic. This vast region supports a minimum of 1480 km2 eelgrass (maximum >2100 km2), which corresponds to more than four times the previously quantified area of eelgrass in Western Europe.Eelgrass meadows in the low salinity Baltic Sea support the highest diversity (4–6 spp.) of angiosperms overall, but eelgrass productivity is low (<2 g dw m-2 d-1) and meadows are isolated and genetically impoverished. Higher salinity areas support monospecific meadows, with higher productivity (3–10 g dw m-2 d-1) and greater genetic connectivity. The salinity gradient further imposes functional differences in biodiversity and food webs, in particular a decline in number, but increase in biomass of mesograzers in the Baltic.Significant declines in eelgrass depth limits and areal cover are documented, particularly in regions experiencing high human pressure. The failure of eelgrass to re-establish itself in affected areas, despite nutrient reductions and improved water quality, signals complex recovery trajectories and calls for much greater conservation effort to protect existing meadows.The knowledge base for Nordic eelgrass meadows is broad and sufficient to establish monitoring objectives across nine national borders. Nevertheless, ensuring awareness of their vulnerability remains challenging. Given the areal extent of Nordic eelgrass systems and the ecosystem services they provide, it is crucial to further develop incentives for protecting them. © 2014 The Authors. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems published by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Confirmation of beach accretion by grain-size trend analysis: Camposoto beach, Cádiz, SW Spain

An application of the grain size trend analysis (GSTA) is used in an exploratory approach to characterize sediment transport on Camposoto beach (Cadiz, SW Spain). In May 2009 the mesotidal beach showed a well-developed swash bar on the upper foreshore, which was associated with fair-weather conditions prevailing just before and during the field survey. The results were tested by means of an autocorrelation statistical test (index I of Moran). Two sedimentological trends were recognized, i.e. development towards finer, better sorted and more negatively skewed sediment (FB–), and towards finer, better sorted and less negatively or more positively skewed sediment (FB+). Both vector fields were compared with results obtained from more classical approaches (sand tracers, microtopography and current measurements). This revealed that both trends can be considered as realistic, the FB+ trend being identified for the first time in a beach environment. The data demonstrate that, on the well-developed swash bar, sediment transported onshore becomes both finer and better sorted towards the coast. On the lower foreshore, which exhibits a steeper slope produced by breaking waves, the higher-energy processes winnow out finer particles and thereby produce negatively skewed grain-size distributions. The upper foreshore, which has a flatter and smoother slope, is controlled by lower-energy swash-backwash and overwash processes. As a result, the skewness of the grain-size distributions evolves towards less negative or more positive values. The skewness parameter appears to be distributed as a function of the beach slope and, thus, reflects variations in hydrodynamic energy. This has novel implications for coastal management.