Beach-Foredune Sediment Budget Response to Sea Level Fluctuation. Curonian Spit, Lithuania

A decade-long study on the Curonian Spit, Lithuania, reveals that short-term sea level fluctuations primarily affect beach sediment budgets without significantly impacting foredune development. Despite variations in beach sediment volumes due to changing sea levels, the foredune sediment budget remained positive regardless of whether beach sediment increased or decreased. The research, based on annual cross-shore profile measurements from 2002 to 2019, found no strong year-to-year relationship between sea level changes and foredune sediment budgets, nor between foredune and beach sediment budgets. This suggests that while beaches respond dynamically to sea level fluctuations, foredunes maintain stability on a decadal scale even with minimal sand surplus.

Jarmalavičius, D., Pupienis, D., Žilinskas, G., Janušaitė, R., & Karaliūnas, V. (2020). Beach-Foredune Sediment Budget Response to Sea Level Fluctuation. Curonian Spit, Lithuania. Water, 12(2), 583. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12020583