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Monitoring the Dynamics of Formby Sand Dunes Using Airborne LiDAR DTMs

Mahmoud, Ahmed Mutasim Abdalla; Hussain, Ekbal; Novellino, Alessandro; Psimoulis, Panos; Marsh, Stuart

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Authors

Ahmed Mutasim Abdalla Mahmoud

Ekbal Hussain

Alessandro Novellino

STUART MARSH STUART.MARSH@NOTTINGHAM.AC.UK
Professor of Geospatial Engineering



Abstract

Coastal dunes play an important role in coastal erosion risk management, where they act as a dynamic natural sea defence line. Formby coast is part of the Sefton coast in the Northwest of England and is one of the largest and most rapidly evolving sand dune systems in the UK. Such dune systems require continuous comprehensive monitoring activity to understand their dynamics. In this research, we investigate the use of airborne LiDAR digital terrain model DTMs for monitoring the dynamics of the sand dunes at Formby between 1999 and 2020. We found that the rate of elevation change for the beach and the dune areas ranges from −0.78 to 0.02 m/year and −0.92 to 0.73 m/year, respectively. The beach and the frontal dunes have had significant sand erosion, while the inner dunes gained sand during the measurement period. Vegetated areas remained unchanged due to the impact of vegetation in stabilizing the movement of the dunes. Formby beach had a volume loss of about 907,000 m3 in the last 21 years, while the dunes had a volume increase of about 1,049,000 m3 over the same period. The total volume of the entire dune system, consisting of both the beach and dune areas, remained unchanged, which indicates that the growth of the inland dunes is fed by sand from the beach. All the volumetric changes occurred due to sand redistribution within the system, with erosion along the beach, and deposition and erosion in the dune areas.

Citation

Mahmoud, A. M. A., Hussain, E., Novellino, A., Psimoulis, P., & Marsh, S. (2021). Monitoring the Dynamics of Formby Sand Dunes Using Airborne LiDAR DTMs. Remote Sensing, 13(22), Article 4665. https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13224665

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Nov 17, 2021
Online Publication Date Nov 19, 2021
Publication Date Nov 1, 2021
Deposit Date Dec 3, 2021
Publicly Available Date Dec 3, 2021
Journal Remote Sensing
Electronic ISSN 2072-4292
Publisher MDPI
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 13
Issue 22
Article Number 4665
DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/rs13224665
Keywords General Earth and Planetary Sciences
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/6848883
Publisher URL https://www.mdpi.com/2072-4292/13/22/4665/htm

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