Abstract
The Arcachon Bay is a typical semi-sheltered lagoon located on the Atlantic coast of France, facing the wave-dominated shelf of the Bay of Biscay. Its long-term evolution was controlled by the development of the Cap Ferret barrier spit and the establishment of a tide ebb-dominant barrier system leading to a spatial split of the bay in two parts: (a) the inner lagoon mostly composed of tidal flats and (b) the outer lagoon with higher hydrological capacities where a large-scale tidal inlet is bordered by the largest coastal dune in Europe. The identification of major interactive sedimentary environments with reference to their representative and complementary characteristics leads to a deductive selection of five landforms supporting oyster cultivation and various recreational (sportfishing, sailing, ecotourism) activities of both economic and landscape value.
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The author thanks the University of Maryland (http://glcf.umiacs.umd.edu/data/glopem) for providing the Landsat ETM + data for analysis.
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Bertrand, F. (2014). The Arcachon Bay Estuary: A “Collage” of Landscapes. In: Fort, M., André, MF. (eds) Landscapes and Landforms of France. World Geomorphological Landscapes. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7022-5_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-007-7022-5_8
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