Characterization of Multi-Decadal Beach Changes in Cartagena Bay (Valparaíso, Chile) from Satellite Imagery

Sandy coastlines are very dynamic spaces affected by a variety of natural and human factors. In Central Chile, changes in oceanographic and wave conditions, modes of inter-annual climate variability such as El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and extreme events such as earthquakes and tsunamis condition the beach morphology. At the same time, direct human actions alter the arrival of sediments to the coast and their alongshore distribution. Despite the relevance of the beaches for this coastal region and the interesting relationship their morphology has with the aforementioned factors, there is a lack of robust morphological datasets to provide a deep characterization and understanding of the dynamism of the Chilean coast. Based on the information provided by satellite-derived shorelines (SDSs) defined by using the SHOREX algorithm, this paper characterizes the morphological changes of Playa Grande in Cartagena Bay (Central Chile) during the period 1985–2019. The shoreline position data are analyzed in the context of changing beach transforming elements, allowing for a better understanding of the changes according to multiple drivers. While some of these factors, such as earthquakes or coastal storms, have a punctual character, changes in wave patterns vary at different time scales, from seasonal to multi-annual, linked to climate phases such as ENSO. Its effects are translated into shoreline erosion and accretion conditioned by the morphology and orientation of the coast while influenced by the availability of sediment in the coastal system. According to that, a conceptual model of the dynamism and redistribution of sediment in the Bay of Cartagena is proposed. The work proves the high utility that the systematic analysis of multi-decadal SDS datasets obtained from the images acquired in the optical by the Landsat and Sentinel-2 offer for beach monitoring and understanding the coastal dynamism.