Swash Bar Effects On The Response Of A Large Barrier-Spit Terminus To Extreme Wave Climate: The Cap Ferret Example

Alphonse Nahon (1, 2) , Vincent Marieu (2) , Déborah Idier (1) , Nadia Senechal (2) , Julie Mugica (1) , Cyril Mallet (1)

1 BRGM - Bureau de Recherches Géologiques et Minières (BRGM)
2 EPOC - UMR 5805 Environnements et Paléoenvironnements Océaniques et Continentaux

The succession of severe storms in the North-Eastern Atlantic during the 2013-2014 winter has generated exceptional erosion along the Gironde coast (SW France). Meanwhile, at the Southern extremity of this 110-km long sandy coastal stretch, the Cap Ferret barrier-spit terminus remained relatively stable. The spit terminus is flanked by the Bay of Arcachon tidal inlet which generates strong tidal currents that help local waves to build massive swash bars. Such a bar is seen as the main explanation to the contrasting behaviour observed throughout the winter.

Keywords: erosion; Coastline change; hydrodynamics; Gironde department; France

Domains: Environmental Sciences; Global Changes; Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Earth Sciences; Geomorphology; Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Earth Sciences; Oceanography

Alphonse Nahon, Vincent Marieu, Déborah Idier, Nadia Senechal, Julie Mugica, et al.. Swash Bar Effects On The Response Of A Large Barrier-Spit Terminus To Extreme Wave Climate: The Cap Ferret Example. International Coastal Symposium 2016, Mar 2016, Sydney, Australia. ⟨hal-01273349⟩