Sediment Thickness Model of Andalusia’s Nearshore and Coastal Inland Topography
Metadata
Show full item recordAuthor
Torrecillas, Cristina; Payo, Andres; Cobos Budia, Manuel; Burke, Helen; Morgan, Dave; Smith, Helen; Jenkins, Gareth OwenEditorial
MDPI
Materia
Unconsolidated sediments Subsurface sediments Coastal modeling
Date
2024-02-01Referencia bibliográfica
Torrecillas, C.; Payo, A.; Cobos, M.; Burke, H.; Morgan, D.; Smith, H.; Jenkins, G.O. Sediment Thickness Model of Andalusia’s Nearshore and Coastal Inland Topography. J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2024, 12, 269. https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse12020269
Sponsorship
CHAMFER project (NE/W004992/1)Abstract
This study represents the first attempt to map the sediment thickness spatial distribution
along the Andalusian coastal zone by integrating various publicly available datasets. While prior
studies have presented bedform- and sediment-type syntheses, none have attempted to quantify
sediment thickness at the scale and resolution performed in this study. The study area has been
divided into 18 physiographic zones, and we have used BGS Groundhog Desktop v2.6 software for
3D modeling and sediment thickness model calculations. We present here the modeling workflow,
model results, and the challenges that we have encountered, including discrepancies in geological
maps, difficulty managing data input for grain size/consolidation, and the need for additional
geological information. We have compared the modeled sediment fractions of the unconsolidated
material with 4194 seabed samples distributed along the study area and found that the differences
between the modeled versus the sampled emphasized the importance of incorporating river contributions,
particularly from the Guadalquivir River, into the model for more accurate results. The
model intermediate and final outputs and the software routines used to query the sediment thickness
model are provided as publicly accessible datasets and tools. The modeled sediment thickness could
contribute to making quantitative predictions of morphological change at a scale that is relevant to
longer-term strategic coastal management in Andalusia. The methodology and tools used for this
study are transferable to any study area.