Behaviour of beach profiles during accretion and erosion dominated periods

Abstract Beach profiles have been surveyed at monthly intervals between 1972 and 1988 at Moruya on the South Coast of New South Wales, Australia. Four profile sites have been used as a data set to provide an understanding of changes to beach volume, width, and shape. Moruya beach represents a moderately high energy, microtidal environment, which responds in a dramatic way to major storm events such as those experienced in the mid‐1970s. This study distinguishes between profile characteristics associated with such a period (erosion‐dominated or EDP) compared with periods when accretion dominated (ADP) accompanied by foredune expansion in both height and width.