Shoreline Change Patterns in Sandy

12 13 Coastal changes on sandy shorelines are continuous and occur at diverse spatial and 14 temporal scales. Gaining knowledge on beach change processes increases our capability 15 to manage risks affecting the increasing population living in coastal areas, especially 16 shoreline erosion. Processes and factors involved in mediumand short-term beach 17 changes depend on the morphological and dynamic characteristics of the coast. In this 18 work, the decadal behaviour of 58 sandy beaches along the 150 km long South-Atlantic 19 coast of Spain, between Guadalquivir river mouth and the Strait of Gibraltar, is analysed 20 in order to investigate the relationships between shoreline change patterns and the 21 diverse morphological and dynamic factors controlling beach evolution in the area. For 22 this purpose, georectified aerial photographs spanning the period 1956-2008 were 23 compared in a GIS environment to calculate rates of shoreline change. Short-term 24 evolution of beach profiles was also analysed in selected areas of interest. 25 Manuscript Click here to view linked References