Beach Monitoring Program in Sisal, Yucatan (MORPHO-SISAL)

Categories / Monitoring systems / Morphology

Beach Monitoring Program in Sisal, Yucatan (MORPHO-SISAL)

Principal Investigator: Dr. Gabriela Medellín Mayoral

Description

A high spatial and temporal resolution monitoring program has been conducted in Sisal beach starting on Spring 2015. Weekly to bi-weekly beach profiles are conducted along 20 transects located between the east jetty of the Sisal Port and the Sisal Pier. This data set is used to investigate seasonal changes. The goal is to continue such program in order to generate a novel dataset that will allow us to investigate interannual variability in this region. The morphological changes can be correlated with the different forcing variables obtained in the Coastal Observatory to understand long-term beach morphology evolution.

Reference:
Medellín, G., Torres-Freyermuth, A., 2019. Morphodynamics along a micro-tidal sea breeze dominated beach in the vicinity of coastal structures, Marine Geology, Vol. 417, 106013, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.margeo.2019.106013.
Medellín, G., Torres-Freyermuth, A., 2021. Foredune formation and evolution on a prograding sea-breeze dominated beach. Continental Shelf Research, 226, 104495; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2021.104495
Torres-Freyermuth, A., Medellín, Salles, P., 2021. Human impact on the spatiotemporal evolution of beach resilience on the northwestern Yucatan coast. Frontiers in Marine Science, 8: 637205; https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.637205
Arriaga, J., Medellín, G., Ojeda, E., Salles, P., 2022. Shoreline Detection Accuracy from Video Monitoring Systems. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 10 (1), 95, https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10010095
Medellín, G., Franklin, G.L., Torres-Freyermuth, A., 2024. Storms can increase beach resilience on a low-energy coast in the proximity of a harbor, Continental Shelf Research, 282, 105343, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2024.105343.

Acknowledgements: 
Cátedras CONACYT, project 1146 Observatorio costero para estudios de resiliencia al cambio climático
Ciencia Básica CONACYT, project 284819  Estudio de resistencia y resiliencia física de playas naturales ante perturbaciones
PAPIIT-DGAPA UNAM, project IA101422 Estudio de efectos e impactos de tormentas en islas de barrera de la costa norte de Yucatán 

Fig1

Figure 1. Study area map showing (a) the location of Sisal in the Yucatan Peninsula, (b) the study area indicating main ports, wetlands (humedales) and ADCP at 10m depth, and (c) distribution of cross-shore transects along Sisal beach.

Results

Graph

Gallery

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Playa de Sisal, 10/Nov/2016.
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Playa aledaña al espigón del puerto de Sisal, 11/Feb/2016
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Playa aledaña al espigón del puerto de Sisal, 25/Ago/2017
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Sedimento depositado en la playa subaérea después del huracán Delta,15/Oct/2020
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Muelle de Sisal, 2/Sept/2020
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Playa aledaña al muelle de Sisal, 17/Mar/2021
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Onda de arena, 16/Jun/2021
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Duna vegetada, 18/Sept/2020

Contact the principal investigator