Coastal features in the energetic and mesotidal west coast of Portugal

The Portuguese west coast can be classified in three morphological groups: sandy coast, low rocky coast and cliff coast. This coastal zone is very energetic (wave-dominated) and is undergoing severe erosion, especially on the sandy coast. The study area is characterised by an extensive sandy flat area, very dynamic and environmentally fragile, under a mesotidal regime. The main objective of this paper is to identify and classify morphologically (e.g. megacusps, bars, cuspate shorelines, beach cusps) and hydrodynamically (wave breaking, surf-zone processes, rip currents, littoral drift) coastal patterns, based on the analysis of aerial photographs datasets. The identified features and coastal patterns will be compared with the existent morphological beach models and classifications. The preliminary analyses allow the identification of several morphological features such as megacusps; shore attached oblique bars, crescentic bars, cuspate shorelines and beach cusps, as well as the associated hydrodynamic currents. A certain similarity with other tidal regimes (microtidal) was found but in some cases with different spatial scales.