Near-shore processes along shingle beaches in the Maltese islands

Abstract

Coastal areas can be deceiving, especially in their appearances, where one can get the impression that these areas are stable and lack any variations in their physiology. On the contrary, coastal zones, especially beaches, are dynamic and always prone to constant change. Thus, studying beaches is a difficult and complex task as it is a very active zone with results varying from day-to-day. There are various theories and research studies related to the coastal zone and some may differ both in thought and in applications. Nowadays, the main issue is what study to chose and on what the research is based upon rather than a matter of how data is collected. This dissertation takes into consideration the various theories, view the main ones, and apply them to this research. This study involves an examination of the morphological and sedimentary characteristics at three naturally occurring shingle beaches in Malta. Here, a detailed analysis of the beaches will take place, with particular emphasis on the perpendicular and parallel motion of sediment to the shoreline and how they differ between. The aim of this thesis is to undertake an assessment of the geomorphology of shingle beaches in Malta, with emphasis on identifying the predominant berm width and length and processes occurring within. The sampling program for the three beaches consists in collecting discrete samples along a line transect from three locations (left, right, and center). From each location a number of samples will be collected with a maximum of nine samples from each bay. The beach profile, sediment size, sediment sorting and particle shape will be measured at each line transect. The study will include a spatial change of each bay by taking samples during the summer period and the winter period and comparing and contrasting them with one another. The beaches under study are chosen at a certain distance from each other from the west, east, and south of the island. The three shingle bays chosen are Gnejna Bay, Mistra Bay and Qrajten Point.