Irene Delgado-Fernandez

Universidad de Cádiz | UCA · Department of Earth Sciences

Beach users often use a range of strategies to shelter from the wind and blown sand. This involves building structures made of stacking stones. Different from other portable wind blockers, stone-made wind shelters can remain in the landscape for a long time. The process of stone removal from their original place and stone-stacking at another locati...

Coastal dunes are found along the sandy coasts of oceans, seas, and large lakes all around the world. They are dynamic landforms that evolve along complex morphological and biological continua in response to a range on controls linked to climate, sea level, sediment movement, vegetation cover, and land use. By collating research across the full spe...

The construction of stone-made structures to shelter users from wind-blowing sand is common in windy environments. In the Canary Islands, these structures (locally named goros) are usually built on the beach and frontal dunes. These goros are routinely rebuilt and maintained by users, leading large stone accumulations. When goros are built near or...

Beach-dune systems are some of the most visited touristic destinations. Infrastructure is often built to service visitors, which tends to occupy the public domain and puts pressure on beach-dune environments. Among other impacts, kiosks and other beach equipment can interfere with aeolian processes and modify sand flux patterns towards the dunes. I...

Coastal dunes have long suffered the effects of human interventions that have altered the landscape and operation of these ecosystems. Aggregate extractions have been shown to modify the biogeomorphological processes in aeolian sedimentary systems. The impacts associated to aggregate extraction include the reduction of available sediment and change...

Tropical peatlands such as Ghana's Greater Amanzule peatland are important ecosystems due to the magnitude of their greenhouse gas emissions under human and climatic pressures. Accurate measurement of their occurrence and extent is required to facilitate sustainable management. A key challenge however is the high cloud coverage in the tropics that...

Tropical peatlands such as Ghana's Greater Amanzule peatland are highly valuable ecosystems and under great pressure from anthropogenic land use activities. Accurate measurement of their occurrence and extent is required to facilitate sustainable management. A key challenge, however, is the high cloud cover in the tropics that limits optical remote...

The foredunes of arid dune systems, such as those present in the Canary Islands (Spain), comprise nebkha dunes. These nebkhas are formed by the interaction between aeolian sedimentary dynamics and shrub vegetation, although other variables can influence nebkha formation. In the Canary Islands nebkhas are formed by sand trapping in Traganum moquinii...

Conventional aeolian sand transport models relate mass transport rate to wind speed or shear velocity, usually expressed and empirically tested on a 1‐second time‐scale. Projections of total sand delivery over long time‐scales based on these models are highly sensitive to any small bias arising from statistical fitting on empirical data. We analyse...

Understanding coastal morphodynamics involves investigating a system of processes and landforms operating over variable spatial and temporal scales in a environment, where the hydrosphere, lithosphere and atmosphere meet to form one of Earth's most complex systems. Understanding its short-(event) to long-term (evolution) dynamics requires a multidi...

Parabolic dunes are ‘U’ or ‘V’-shaped aeolian landforms that form on pre-existing sand deposits. Their morphology consists of an upwind deflation basin, bordered by often vegetated trailing arms and a downwind depositional lobe. The orientation of parabolic dunes is commonly attributed to the prevailing or resultant wind direction. Consequently, th...

Coastal dunes are experiencing increases in vegetation cover and reduced mobility levels in many sites around the world. Ecology-led approaches to coastal dune management perceive this change as ‘undesirable’ because the increase in plant cover leads to a reduction in partially vegetated to bare sand habitats and the species depending on them. This...

The foredune in arid coastal dune systems is constituted by nebkhas. Nebkhas originate by interactions between shrub vegetation and aeolian sedimentary dynamics. Although the importance of these dune forms is known, not only in ecological and landscaping function; but also, as protection against coastal erosion, the relationship between variables w...

Structures and infrastructures can modify aeolian sedimentary dynamics as has occurred in the arid transgressive dunefield of Maspalomas (Gran Canaria, Canary Islands), where an aeolian shadow zone has been formed leeward of a tourist resort (Playa del Inglés). The aim of this paper is to analyse spatial and statistically the influences of vegetati...

Beaches and dunes are one of the most heavily used environments on Earth, with tourism and residential uses leading to ecosystem loss and dune degradation. Many coastal dune fields also host a range of economic activities such as farming, mining, and animal grazing, which can affect their evolution. The second half of the 20th century has seen an i...

Urban and tourist developments can have long-lasting impacts on coastal environments and fundamentally alter the evolution of coastal dune systems. This is the case of the Maspalomas dunefield (Gran Canaria, Canary Islands), hosting one of the largest tourist resorts in Spain. The resort was built on top of a sedimentary terrace at 25 m above sea l...

Parabolic dunes are widespread aeolian landforms found in a variety of environments. Despite modeling advances and good understanding of how they evolve, there is limited empirical data on their dynamics at short time scales of hours and on how these dynamics relate to their medium-term evolution. This study presents the most comprehensive data set...

Abstract Robust data are the base of effective gender diversity policy. Evidence shows that gender inequality is still pervasive in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). Coastal geoscience and engineering (CGE) encompasses professionals working on coastal processes, integrating expertise across physics, geomorphology, engineering...

Parabolic dunes are U or V shaped aeolian landforms that form on pre-existing sand deposits. Their morphology consists of an upwind deflation basin, bordered by often-vegetated trailing arms and a downwind depositional lobe. The orientation of parabolic dunes commonly aligns and is attributed to prevailing or the resultant wind direction. As a resu...

Models relating wind forcing to resulting sand transport flux have been at the core of the discipline from its conception and remain an important central focus. The desired capability to accurately predict the amounts of sand that are moved in response to any given wind regime is one of the key practical applications of our scientific efforts. A pl...

Coastal blowouts are acknowledged as highly effective transport pathways on dune-fringed coasts. Their morphological form is indicative of aeolian transport and the propensity of their topography to modify airflow sufficiently to support transport has been extensively researched [1, 2]. As the evolution of sandy coastlines is governed by sediment e...

Las construcciones humanas pueden modificar la dinámica sedimentaria eólica, como ha ocurrido en el campo de dunas transgresivo árido de Maspalomas (Gran Canaria, islas Canarias). Como resultado de esa alteración, se detecta una zona de sombra eólica a sotavento de una urbanización turística (Playa del Inglés), caracterizada por un aumento en la de...

The form, height and volume of coastal foredunes reflects the long-term interaction of a suite of nearshore and aeolian processes that control the amount of sand delivered to the foredune from the beach versus the amount removed or carried inland. In this paper, the morphological evolution of more than six decades is used to inform the development...

El desarrollo urbano-turístico en el entorno de sistemas playa-duna conlleva, en ocasiones, cambios ambientales. Es el caso de las dunas de Maspalomas (Gran Canaria, islas Canarias), donde se ha desarrollado uno de los mayores complejos turísticos de España desde los años sesenta del siglo pasado, la urbanización Playa del Inglés. La construcción e...

Coastal dunes are natural buffers against the threat of climate change-induced sea level rise. Their evolution is largely controlled by sediment exchanges between the geomorphic sub-units of the nearshore, beach, foredune and dune field. Coastlines characterised by multiple blowouts at the beach-dune interface may be more susceptible to coastline r...

Large-scale blowouts are fundamental features of many coastal dune fields in temperate areas around the world. These distinctive erosional (mostly unvegetated) landform features are often characterised by a significant depression area and a connected depositional lobe at their downwind edges. These areas also provide important transport corridors t...

Despite widespread recognition that landforms are complex Earth systems with process-response linkages that span temporal scales from seconds to millennia and spatial scales from sand grains to landscapes, research that integrates knowledge across these scales is fairly uncommon. As a result, understanding of geomorphic systems is often scale-const...

Coastal dunes move through natural phases of stability and instability during their evolution, displaying various temporal and spatial patterns across the dune field. Recent observations, however, have shown exceptionally rapid rates of stability through increased vegetative growth. This progressive vegetation colonisation and consequent loss of ba...

The evolution of coastal foredunes is largely controlled by sediment exchanges between the geomorphic sub-units of the nearshore, beach, foredune and dune field. Although blowouts are widely recognised as efficient sediment transport pathways, both event-scale and meso-scale quantification of their utility in transferring beach sediments landwards...

The project aims to investigate the decline in bare sand across the Sefton coast due to sand dune sealing and the composition of the encroaching associated vegetation. The research is important as existing literature on sand dune sealing focuses purely on the decline of bare sand at the expense of vegetation growth, without providing full considera...

La presencia de arena móvil juega un papel fundamental en la dinámica de dunas costeras y propicia una mayor diversidad de especies de flora/fauna. El siglo XX se ha caracterizado por una pérdida generalizada de arena móvil, lo que se ha relacionado con cambios climáticos recientes y/o impactos antropogénicos. Esto ha generado nuevos planes de gest...

Muchos son los estudios que se han centrado en analizar los agentes y procesos que dan lugar a la formación de los sistemas sedimentarios costeros, mientras que existe menos información por lo que se refiere al comportamiento de éstos una vez formados, de sus procesos de erosión/sedimentación, y de sus patrones evolutivos y de desarrollo. En lugare...

Video clip (1 minute) showing offshore (oblique) directed winds, flow steering on the beach (alongshore) and return flow (onshore) through back eddy/detached from the dune crest detaching flow up and over into foredunes

El presente trabajo propone establecer una aproximación metodológica a los estudios de dinámica eólica y sedimentaria realizados en sistemas playa-duna de las islas de Mallorca y Menorca (Islas Baleares). La utilización de sensores de viento 2D en períodos de 24h permitirá establecer los patrones de comportamiento del viento que, complementada por...

Characterization of three-dimensional (3D) airflow remains elusive within a variety of environments and is particularly challenging over complex dune topography. Previous work examining airflow over and in the lee of dunes has been restricted to two-dimensional studies and has concentrated on dune shapes containing angle of repose lee sides only. H...

[1] Characterization of three-dimensional (3D) airflow remains elusive within a variety of environments and is particularly challenging over complex dune topography. Previous work examining airflow over and in the lee of dunes has been restricted to two-dimensional studies and has concentrated on dune shapes containing angle of repose lee sides onl...

Mapping and assessment of ecosystem services is essential to provide scientific support to global and EU biodiversity policy. Coastal protection has been mostly analysed in the frame of coastal vulnerability studies or in local, habitat-specific assessments. This paper provides a conceptual and methodological approach to assess coastal protection a...

Understanding the morphodynamics of beach-dune systems requires knowledge of the spatio-temporal variability of the sediment transport system. It is common in aeolian studies to employ a single transect instrument set up, oriented parallel to the wind direction. This experimental design assumes that there is no significant variation in sediment tra...

This paper explores new possibilities offered by moisture maps obtained from a remote sensing system to evaluate the effect of measuring moisture at different spatial resolutions. The data are derived from a moisture map generated from an image taken during an aeolian event on October 21, 2007 at Greenwich Dunes, Prince Edward Island National Park,...

A remote sensing technique for assessing beach surface moisture was used to provide insight into beach-surface evolution during an aeolian event. An experiment was carried out on 21 October 2007 at Greenwich Dunes, Prince Edward Island National Park, Canada, during which cameras were mounted on a mast on the foredune crest at a height of about 14m...

The transfer of windblown sand between foredune systems and beaches represents a key component of sediment budget analysis along many soft sedimentary coastlines. Traditionally, onshore wind components in local wind regimes are examined whereas offshore wind events have been excluded from analysis. Recent work has shown that if the topography of t...

The past decade has seen a growing body of research on the relation between turbulence in the wind and the resultant transport of sediment over active sand surfaces. Widespread use of sonic anemometry and high-frequency sand transport sensors and traps have facilitated recent field studies over dunes and beach surfaces, to move beyond monitoring of...

The collection of a time series coupling hourly wind data (speed and direction) with sand transport over months has provided new insights into the dynamics of transport events that input sediment to the foredune at Greenwich Dunes, Prince Edward Island National Park, Canada. This paper summarises the key aspects of aeolian sediment movement for a p...

The behaviour of offshore-directed winds over coastal dune and beach morphology was examined using a combination of modelling (3-D computational fluid dynamics (CFD)) and field measurement. Both model simulations and field measurements showed reversal of offshore flows at the back beach and creation of an onshore sediment transport potential. The i...

Exchange of windblown sand between beaches and coastal foredune systems is a key component of sediment budget analysis along many coastlines. The techniques employed to measure and understand processes operating within this key transitional zone have advanced rapidly in recent years, providing important data at a range of temporal and spatial scale...

Aeolian sediment input into coastal dunes represents a key component of sediment budget analysis of beach-dune systems. Calculations of sediment input to the foredunes are traditionally based on onshore winds, often excluding the role played by offshore wind events. However, recent work has shown that offshore flows play an essential role in post-s...

Calculations of aeolian sediment input to coastal foredunes are essential for sediment budget calculations and prediction of foredune evolution, as well as many practical applications such dune rehabilitation and coastal restoration. However, predictions of aeolian sediment transport at a scale of weeks to months are tenuous which poses major diffi...

This study examines aeolian sediment transport patterns across a beach at Magilligan Strand, Northern Ireland, under offshore wind conditions. Traditionally the offshore component of local wind regimes has been ignored when quantifying beach-dune sediment budgets, with the sheltering effect of the foredune assumed to prohibit grain entrainment on t...

The existence of onshore sediment transport under offshore winds has been identified as a primary mechanism for post-storm dune recovery and maintenance. However, airflow separation, lee-side eddies and secondary flows may play an essential role on the evolution of sand dunes in coastal areas where the dominant wind direction is offshore (lee side...

Observations of aeolian transport in coastal areas have focused on short-term experiments because of limitations imposed by instrumentation. This paper uses a case study at Greenwich Dunes, Prince Edward Island National Park, Canada, to analyze how sediment transport takes place at the beach over periods of weeks to months. A monitoring station pro...

Delgado-Fernandez, I., Jackson, D.W.T., Cooper, JAG., Baas, A.C.W., Lynch' K. and Beyers' J.H.M., 2011. Reattachment zone characterisation under offshore winds blowing over complex foredune topography. Journal of Coastal Research, SI 64 (Proceedings of the 11th International Coastal Symposium), 273-277. Szczecin, Poland, ISSN 0749-0208 Studies of t...

Airflow separation, lee-side eddies and secondary flows play an essential role on the formation and maintenance of sand dunes. Downstream from dune crests the flow surface layer detaches from the ground and generates an area characterised by turbulent eddies in the dune lee slope (the wake). At some distance downstream from the dune crest, flow sep...

Recent studies have suggested the significant role of boundary layer turbulence and coherent flow structures on sand transport by wind over beaches and desert dunes. Widespread use of sonic anemometry and high-frequency sand transport sensors and traps have facilitated a move beyond the basic monitoring of shear velocities and bulk sediment transpo...

This study examines sand transport and wind speed across a beach at Magilligan Strand, Northern Ireland, under offshore wind conditions. Traditionally the offshore component of local wind regimes has been ignored when quantifying beach-dune sediment budgets, with the sheltering effect of the foredune assumed to prohibit grain entrainment on the adj...

Recent studies have suggested the significant role of boundary layer turbulence and coherent flow structures on sand transport by wind over beaches and desert dunes. Widespread use of sonic anemometry and high-frequency sand transport sensors and traps have facilitated a move beyond the basic monitoring of shear velocities and bulk sediment transpo...

The input of aeolian sediment into foredune systems from beaches represents a key component of sediment budget analysis along many soft sedimentary coastlines. Where there are significant offshore wind components in local wind regimes this is normally excluded from analysis. However, recent work has shown that if the topography of the foredune is f...

The past decade has seen a growing body of research on the relation between turbulence in the wind and the resultant transport of sediment over active sand surfaces. Widespread use of sonic anemometry and high-frequency sand transport sensors and traps have facilitated recent field studies over dunes and beach surfaces, to move beyond monitoring of...

The fetch effect is an increase of the aeolian sediment transport rate with distance downwind over an erodible surface. The first observations of the fetch effect go back 70 years and the concept has been widely used in a variety of landscapes. This paper reviews the present state of knowledge of the fetch effect, with particular reference to its a...

Understanding airflow behaviour over three-dimensional foredune terrain allows detailed examination of the aeolian transport environment between beaches and dunes. A spatial array of twenty four ultrasonic anemometers was deployed in 2010 over a beach and foredune system at Magilligan, Northern Ireland to capture airflow data under a range of incid...

Foredune evolution has been conceptualized in a number of beach-dune interaction models. A fundamental aspect of this interaction is the input of sand from the beach to the dune by wind processes, which is essential in calculations of coastal dune budgets. The procedure to predict sediment input by wind to the adjacent coastal dune often excludes t...

This thesis explores the nature of aeolian transport events and alternative approaches to model sediment input to foredunes by focusing on a time series recorded by a monitoring station specifically design to measure meso-scale processes within the dune-beach system at Greenwich Dunes, Prince Edward Island, Canada. Results of the analysis of nine m...

This paper reports on a remote sensing station specifically designed to investigate eolian processes at a beach-dune system. The monitoring station is located at Greenwich Dunes, Prince Edward Island National Park, Prince Edward Island (Canada), and it is the second, improved generation of a previous system using continuous video and photographs. T...

The Delgado-Lloyd method offers a low-cost alternative for conducting beach profiles that requires only one surveyor. We have revisited the data provided in our original publication and conducted several statistical analyses to properly quantify the accuracy and precision of the Delgado-Lloyd method. Results show a mean precision of 0.014 m and an...

Coastal dune budgets depend on sediment input by wind from the beach. Calculation of aeolian transport is thus a primary factor to understand coastal dune evolution and beach-dune coupled dynamics. However, measuring aeolian sediment transport in coastal areas presents fundamental technical and conceptual limitations that make numerical modeling di...

Instantaneous and mean aeolian sediment transport rate on beaches: an intercomparison of measurements from several sensor types. Recently several new instruments, such as the Saltiphone, Sensit, Safire and laser sensors, have made it possible to measure aeolian transport in the field at a frequency of 1 Hz, allowing us to evaluate the relationship...

Aeolian sediment transport from the beach to the foredune system can be predicted for periods of months or years from hourly wind data collected at standard meteorological stations. However, there is no corresponding data set of transport-limiting factors such as beach surface moisture, snow and ice, pebble lag and restricted fetch length. The remo...

There are several methods used to obtain beach profiles, the simplest expression of a beach. This paper describes a method that requires only one person to measure beach profiles and compares its characteristics with other existent techniques. The method was tested at several locations, with different environmental conditions: Coogee Beach, NSW, Au...

The Barqueiro Ria, located on the north coast of the Iberian Peninsula, is one of the Galician "Rías Altas", which includes Arealonga Beach, the longest beach in the Ria, located in the inner portion. During the 1990s strong erosion has been registered on the beach and associated dunes, while a wide intertidal spit has grown westward. This behavior...

RESUMEN: La descripción de la morfología, el seguimiento topográfico y análisis granulométrico de los sedimentos del cordón durar de la playa de Arealonga muestran que la evolución de este ambiente sedimentario está fuertemente condicionada por las interacciones playa/duna. Se han definido cuatro sectores en el cordón durar, afectados por procesos...