Storm flood impacts along the shores of micro-tidal inland seas: a morphological and sedimentological study of Vesterlyng beach, the Belt Sea, Denmark

TY - JOUR

T1 - Storm flood impacts along the shores of micro-tidal inland seas

T2 - a morphological and sedimentological study of Vesterlyng beach, the Belt Sea, Denmark

AU - Clemmensen, Lars B

AU - Glad, Aslaug Clemmensen

AU - Kroon, Aart

PY - 2016/1/15

Y1 - 2016/1/15

N2 - The morphological and sedimentological impacts of an extreme storm event ('Bodil' in December 2013) were investigated at a mixed sand and gravel beach (Vesterlyng) in a micro-tidal environment along the Belt Sea, Denmark. The storm response was characteristic for mixed sand and gravel beaches: gravelly storm berms with sandy to gravelly washover fans were formed at the upper beach where swash processes dominated during extreme water levels in combination with overtopping and overwash. In addition, storm scarps and gravel flats were formed. The elevation of the storm berm crest was identical to a summation of the still-water level (1.60. m) in the Belt Sea during the storm flood and the wave run-up (0.75. m) at the shore. The crest of 2.35. m is therefore a precise measure of the storm flood level. This storm flood was classified as a large-scale extreme event. In a Holocene perspective it is suggested that storm berm (beach ridge) heights above contemporaneous sea level can be used as a proxy of past flood events along micro-tidal shores.

AB - The morphological and sedimentological impacts of an extreme storm event ('Bodil' in December 2013) were investigated at a mixed sand and gravel beach (Vesterlyng) in a micro-tidal environment along the Belt Sea, Denmark. The storm response was characteristic for mixed sand and gravel beaches: gravelly storm berms with sandy to gravelly washover fans were formed at the upper beach where swash processes dominated during extreme water levels in combination with overtopping and overwash. In addition, storm scarps and gravel flats were formed. The elevation of the storm berm crest was identical to a summation of the still-water level (1.60. m) in the Belt Sea during the storm flood and the wave run-up (0.75. m) at the shore. The crest of 2.35. m is therefore a precise measure of the storm flood level. This storm flood was classified as a large-scale extreme event. In a Holocene perspective it is suggested that storm berm (beach ridge) heights above contemporaneous sea level can be used as a proxy of past flood events along micro-tidal shores.

U2 - 10.1016/j.geomorph.2015.10.020

DO - 10.1016/j.geomorph.2015.10.020

M3 - Journal article

SN - 0169-555X

VL - 253

SP - 251

EP - 261

JO - Geomorphology

JF - Geomorphology

ER -