Scale-dependent perspectives on the geomorphology and evolution of beach-dune systems

Finally, the paper offers a synopsis of how greater understanding of the complexities at different scales can be used to inform the development of predictive models, especially those at a temporal scale of decades to centuries, which are most relevant to coastal management issues. Models at this (landform) scale require an understanding of controls that exist at both 'landscape' and 'plot' scales. Landscape scale controls such as sea level change, regional climate, and the underlying geologic framework essentially provide bounding conditions for independent variables such as winds, waves, water levels, and littoral sediment supply. Similarly, a holistic understanding of the range of processes, feedbacks, and linkages at the finer plot scale is required to inform and verify the assumptions that underly the physical modelling of beach-dune interaction at the landform scale.