Analysis and modelling of cross-shore profile of gravel beaches in the province of Alicante

The great scientific interest in the gravel beaches is due to the growing use of coarse materials in the nourishment of eroded sand beaches. The objective of this research is to obtain a model for an equilibrium profile of gravel beaches, which has been divided into the three parts of the transverse profile: Profile in the backshore, intermediate profile submerged and profile Posidonia oceanica area. Furthermore, the results are compared with other models used today. Initially, there had been a historical survey of the development plan and profile of each beach to determine the stability of the same, and see if there have been longitudinal or transverse movements within the analyzed profile. Here are various mathematical models generated from different mathematical functions (potential, exponential and rational) Profile for each zone. They are statistical parameters analyzing the surface error between real and estimating those selected as the best model data. Finally, due to the importance of Posidonia oceanica in the set of studied beaches (94.11%), and to determine the best model profile for this area, it analyzed the relationship between the slopes of the meadow and the land near the beach.