Analysis of Shoreline Change in Loíza, Puerto Rico (1902–2018)

• Published in: Journal of coastal research 2024-11, Vol.40 (6), p.1080-1089
• Main Author: Marrero, Loderay I.M. Bracero
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Anthropogenic factors; Beaches; Coastal morphology; Coastal zone; Coasts; Dam construction; Digitization; Erosion rates; Human influences; Hurricanes; Outliers (landforms); Outliers (statistics); Pattern analysis; Remote sensing; River discharge; River flow; Sediments; Shoreline changes; Shorelines; Soil erosion; Statistical analysis; Topography; Water discharge
• ISSN: 0749-0208; 1551-5036
• DOI: 10.2112/JCOASTRES-D-22-00116.1

Bracero Marrero, L.I.M., 2024. Analysis of shoreline change in Loíza, Puerto Rico (1902–2018).Shoreline change analysis is one of the most common methods used to analyze the morphological change—accretional or erosional—in coastal areas. Seven years of shoreline positions (1902, 1931, 1951, 1977, 1990, 2010, and 2018) were analyzed inside the Digital Shoreline Analysis System to measure the shoreline change in Loíza, Puerto Rico. The main results indicated increasing erosional rates for the study area as time passed, with recent events interrupting the pattern. For the periods 1951–77, 1977–90, and 1990–2010, statistics supported the hypothesis that erosional rates were dominant, whereas the periods 1902–31, 1931–51, and 2010–18 were dominated by accretional rates of change. Anthropogenic impacts (i.e. sand extraction events and dam construction) were reflected in the results of 1951–77 and 1977–90, with higher erosion rates and negative outliers. Accretional rate outliers in the latest period, 2010–18, are possibly the result of Hurricane María in 2017, when heavy rains and high river discharge increased the sediment input into the shoreline. This study showed previously unrecorded rate change data for 116 years in Loíza, Puerto Rico.