Swash zone sheet flow and suspended sediment transport rates are estimated on a 14 coarse sand beach constructed in a large-scale laboratory wave flume. Three test cases under 15 monochromatic waves with wave heights of 0.74 m and wave periods of 8 and 12.2 s were 16 analyzed. Sediment flux in the sheet flow layer exceeds several hundred kg m s during both 17 uprush and backwash. Suspended sedi...

Following an oil spill on a sandy shoreline, an alternative technique to sediment excavation consists in relocating the contaminated sediment into the surf zone. The sediments are thus subjected to the natural cleaning action of the sea. Waves break down the piles of oily sand, separate the oil from the sediment, spread out the sediment over the beach and clean it by agitation and abrasion, whi...

Sandy beach ecological theory states that physical features of the beach control macrobenthic community structure on all but the most dissipative beaches. However, few studies have simultaneously evaluated the relative importance of physical, chemical and biological factors as potential explanatory variables for meso-scale spatio-temporal patterns of intertidal community structure in these syst...

Sea-level changes through the Quaternary era have provided recurrent opportunities for the biosphere to significantly shape the coastal geomorphology of eastern Africa. Key agents in this shaping have been the calcium carbonate-fixing biota that have constructed the oceanfacing fringing reefs and produced the extensive backreef sediments that form the limestone platforms, cliffs and terraces th...

Wrack deposition on sandy beaches varies spatially and is affected by morphological features on the beach-face such as cusps. This study tested a series of hypotheses regarding the differences in wrack deposits, sediments and macrofaunal communities between cusp bays and horns. Bays had greater cover and larger pieces of wrack than horns. Sediment organic-matter content was greater on horns tha...

The extraction of wave energy by the Wave Energy Converters (WECs) forming a wave farm results in a milder wave climate in its lee, which can have an impact on coastal processes. The objective of this work is to determine whether the beach morphology can be altered by the operation of the wave farm, and if so, to quantify this alteration. For this purpose, we examine how the farm affects the mo...

Small-plastic beach debris from nine coastal locations throughout the Hawaiian Archipelago was analyzed. At each beach, replicate 20 l samples of sediment were collected, sieved for debris between 1 and 15 mm in size, sorted by type, counted and weighed. Small-plastic debris occurred on all of the beaches, but the greatest quantity was found at three of the most remote beaches on Midway Atoll a...

The amount of marine debris in the environment is increasing worldwide, which results in an array of negative effects to biota. This study provides the first account of macrodebris on the beach and microplastics in the sediment (shoreline and infralittoral) in relation to tourism activities in Slovenia. The study assessed the quality and quantity of macrodebris and the quality, size and quantit...