An, S. and Takewaka, S., 2016. A study on the morphological characteristics around artificial headlands in Kashima Coast, Japan.

Field observations with X-band marine radars of spatiotemporal variations of morphology around three artificial headlands were done along a well-developed 16-km-long sandy beach in 2010. The radar images were time averaged and stacked to identify water- and breaker lines around the headlands. Various characteristics of the shoreline variations were analyzed by the empirical orthogonal function method. Seasonal characteristics were discussed with seasonal incident waves and were attributed to seasonal wave conditions. Spatial variations were categorized into an asynchronous or synchronous pattern and were associated with a surf zone extension. Locations of breaker lines relative to the tips of the headlands were categorized into four types and related to the shoreline variabilities, revealing that the surf zone extension was the dominant influence on the synchronization of the shoreline variability. Shoreline positions relative to the tips of the headlands were inferred as the main cause of the surf zone extension, and frequencies of surf zone extension were understood in terms of intertidal foreshore slopes around the headlands.