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Erosion hotspot identified along the sandy coast of Shanwei: characteristics and origin

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Abstract

Based on the measured beach profile data of Sanzhou Bay from 2015 to 2019, an erosion hotspot was identified along the Shanwei coastline of eastern Guangdong, where the maximum retreat distance of the shoreline exceeded 80 m and the erosion rate was more than 20 m/a. To determine the time at which the erosion hotspot started and the potential causes of its formation, this study used 63 Landsat satellite images from 1986 to 2019 to construct a time series of shoreline positions over the past 30 years by extracting their high-tide shorelines. Next, the M-K trend test method was introduced to evaluate the non-linear shoreline behavior based on the single-transect method. The results showed that the time of approximately 2013 marked the start of the erosion hotspot, the erosion hotspot was characterized by erosion rates of more than 2 m/a (a maximum rate of 31.6 m/a), and the affected shoreline more than 4.3 km from 2013 to 2019. Furthermore, this erosion hotspot was proved to be caused by artificial sand mining in the nearshore zone, which destroyed the original beach’s morphodynamic equilibrium. With the aid of storm events, soil cliffs composed of loose sediment on the backshore were sacrificed to achieve a new equilibrium, resulting in an extremely significant retreat parallel to the coast on the west side of the study area, which reflects the combined effect of human and natural processes. This study provides a concrete example of the rapid response of shorelines to artificial sand mining activities, and the associated finding is a stark warning about the cautious development and utilization of coastal zones and the strict regulation of human activities.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Hainan Academy of Ocean and Fisheries Sciences, Haikou, 571126, China

    Jitao Yu, Lin Zhang, Pei Liu & Renfu Fan

  2. Yazhou Bay Innovation Institute, Hainan Tropical Ocean University, Sanya, 572025, China

    Jitao Yu, Lin Zhang, Pei Liu & Renfu Fan

  3. School of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Hainan Normal University, Haikou, 571158, China

    Yuanting Ding

Authors
  1. Jitao Yu
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  2. Yuanting Ding
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  3. Lin Zhang
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  4. Pei Liu
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  5. Renfu Fan
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Renfu Fan.

Additional information

Foundation item: The National Natural Science Foundation of China under contract No. 42071007; the Natural Science Foundation of Hainan Province under contract Nos 421QN0883 and 422RC665; the Foundation of Department Budget Projects of Hainan Province in 2022 under contract No. KYL-2022-06.

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Yu, J., Ding, Y., Zhang, L. et al. Erosion hotspot identified along the sandy coast of Shanwei: characteristics and origin. Acta Oceanol. Sin. 42, 91–102 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-022-2124-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-022-2124-z

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