Vicens-Miquel, M.; Williams, D.D., and Tissot, P.E., 2024. Analysis of sandy beach morphology changes and inundation events from a high spatiotemporal resolution dataset. Journal of Coastal Research, 40(6), 1001–1018. Charlotte (North Carolina), ISSN 0749-0208.

Coastal inundation creates significant beach management and conservation challenges. The frequency of these events is increasing because of the influence of sea-level rise in combination with background erosion and subsidence in some areas. More accurate predictive models are needed to anticipate potential coastal inundation events for public safety and protection of backshore infrastructure, as well as beach management that can be improved by including the influence of wave runup. Improvement of prediction accuracy requires an in-depth exploration of changes in beach morphology over time and an understanding of the complex interactions responsible for change. This study focuses on changes in beach morphology along a representative beach segment adjacent to Horace Caldwell Pier, Port Aransas, Texas. Ongoing monitoring, initiated in July 2022, provides a rich dataset for analyzing 21 beach-profile surveys, capturing the dynamic evolution of the coastal landscape. Emphasis is placed on quantifying the influence of metocean conditions, particularly high waves with varying periodicity, and wind patterns on morphologic alterations. This research identified two types of inundation events, with two of them resulting in erosion. Consequently, the findings suggest a correlation between the onset of erosion and a maximum dominant wave period of approximately 10 seconds in the study area. The findings contribute to a better understanding of the challenges inherent in predicting coastal inundation and event-based beach morphology changes, fostering informed decision-making that supports sustainable coastal management and developing effective conservation practices.