From fixed to transgressive coastal dunes, the conditions and timing of the transition along the Aquitaine coast, France
De dunes fixes à transgressives, conditions et temporalités de la transition le long de la côte Aquitaine, France
Résumé
Today most of the coastal dunes in temperate latitudes, especially in the northern hemisphere, are relatively stable. However, over the last decade, the Gironde coast has experienced substantial dune remobilization following a major marine erosion event. The qualities of the dataset used (continuity in time and space) based on annual airborne LiDAR and Satellite imagery (Sen-tinel-2) allow a detailed description of the morphological change and establish relations with forcing and controlling factors (vegetation cover, geomorphological descriptors). Between 2014 and 2023, about 10 km of the Gi-ronde dunes have switched from fixed dunes to transgressive dunes. The analysis showed that in the vast majority of the cases the dominant process involved was dune front cannibalism. However, there is considerable spatial and temporal variability in the transition to a transgressive dune along the coast, depending on the amount of sediment remobilized and the morphological parameters of the dunes (steepness of the front slope, width).