Cellular automata to understand the behaviour of beach-dune systems: Application to El Fangar Spit active dune system (Ebro delta, Spain)

• The methodology improves the knowledge of the behaviour of complex dune environments.
• The methods allow to obtain sediment exchange rates between dune subsystems.
• The results help prioritize management and conservation strategies of dune systems.

Coastal dunes are sedimentary environments characterized by their high dynamism. Their evolution is determined by sedimentary exchanges between the beach-dune subsystems and the dune dynamics itself. Knowledge about these exchanges is important to prioritize management and conservation strategies of these environments. The aim of this work is the inclusion of the aeolian transport rates obtained using a calibrated cellular automaton to estimate the beach-dune sediment exchange rates in a real active dune field at El Fangar Spit (Ebro Delta, Spain). The dune dynamics model is able to estimate average aeolian sediment fluxes. These are used in combination with the observed net sediment budget to obtain a quantitative characterization of the sediment exchange interactions. The methods produce a substantial improvement in the understanding of coastal sedimentary systems that could have major implications in areas where the management and conservation of dune fields are of concern.