Field observations and modeling of wave attenuation over colonized beachrocks

Beachrocks are common coastal formations, constructed through the lithification of beach sediments by carbonate cements. The objectives of the present contribution were to (a) assess the impacts of beachrock benthic communities on nearshore wave dynamics; (b) present a numerical model, developed to simulate wave propagation over shallow nearshore waters characterized by both loose sediment beds and colonized/non-colonized beachrocks; and (c) discuss the structure and dynamics of beachrock macro-benthic communities in an E. Mediterranean micro-tidal beach (Vatera, Lesbos Island, NE Aegean Sea), as well as their interactions with the wave forcing. Field measurements of wave height and flow velocity were processed to assess shoaling wave energy dissipation due to bottom friction from the colonized beachrock outcrops. The equivalent Nikuradse hydraulic roughness of the beachrock surface, estimated through spectral wave attenuation calculations, was found to be around kN=0.13 m. The corresponding wave friction factors were incorporated into a wave propagation model to obtain estimates of the wave-induced bed shear stress τw acting on the beachrock benthic communities. Information about the structure and characteristics of the latter was obtained through the collection and analysis of samples from 15 stations along a beach transect, during two months of the year (April and September) and the results showed that benthic communities at the beachrock habitat were very similar to the ones typically found at NE Mediterranean hard substrates. Wave-induced bed shear stress τw values were able to explain cross-shore variations in population density and biomass, both decreasing significantly above water depths of about h=1.8–2 m. The latter values corresponded, for the studied conditions, to shear stresses of about τw=2.2 Nt/m2. The present findings clearly show that nearshore wave patterns not only control to a certain extent the spatial structure of the beachrock habitats, but can be also influenced by them. Thus, hydrodynamics and beachrocks habitats constitute a complex system which remains very little understood and demands for further investigation.