The formation of beaches on shore platforms in microtidal environments

Abstract

Beaches are common features of many rocky shorelines and can be considered to be constrained by the underlying geology. In mesotidal to macrotidal areas the slope of the substrate and sediment supply are the primary factors in constraining the size and development of beaches on shore platforms. In microtidal settings it is not known if these factors are wholly responsible for determining the presence of beaches on shore platforms, nor the contribution of other factors such as hydrodynamics. The microtidal coast of Victoria, Australia, is surveyed in this study in order to quantify the morphological boundary conditions that constrain beach development on semi-horizontal shore platforms. An am..