Beachmeter – a simple tool for semi-automatic beach morphodynamics measurement

Abstract

Beachmeter is a Python script to automate the measurements of beaches based on a new delimitation method using digital elevation models (DEMs) of a coastal zone. It is developed to analyze multi-kilometre shorelines, especially in coastal monitoring. It can be opened as an ArcGIS toolbox. Filling out the Beachmeter form, the user inputs the raster DEMs from two measurement campaigns and information on the locally specific features of the study site. The Beachmeter delimits the beach boundaries and saves them as shapefiles. It creates beach elevation models, compares them to provide a differential map, and measures the basic morphological parameters.

Keywords

• Coastal monitoring
• Beach morphodynamics
• Shoreline changes
• Coastal management
• ArcGIS tool
• Beach elevation model