ABSTRACT
Beaches and dunes are key sites for recreation and tourism, as well as important coastal sediment stores which change in response to varying conditions of erosion and deposition. Beaches are found in all latitudes where there are suitable sediments, favourable combinations of basement relief and sea level changes. They are the most widely distributed of any coastal sedimentary environment. Beach planforms at the coastal zone scale are determined by the nature of regional coastal wave-sediment cells, which are themselves dependent upon geological controls on coastal configuration, wave approach directions and the nature of coastal sediment supply and transport. Beach-dune interactions are just one part of a web of interrelations between landward and offshore areas, and between various places along the coast. Dune erosion occurs during storms at the scarp face. Foredunes show a wide range of depositional and erosional morphologies.
