Wind regime and sand transport on a coastal beach-dune complex, Tentsmuir, eastern Scotland

Aeolian processes play a key role in the exchange of sediment between beaches and foredunes in coastal embayments. The present contribution examines the wind regimes characterizing one stretch of temperate coast (Tentsmuir, Scotland), the routing and volumes of the resultant aeolian sediment transport on the beaches and foredunes and presents a summary of wind-induced aeolian bedforms along the coast. The wind regimes identified in the Tentsmuir area include high-energy seasonal ‘unimodal’ (offshore or onshore) and ‘bimodal’ (both offshore and onshore) patterns. Landward aeolian sand transport results in foredune accretion, whereas seaward and longshore components contribute to beach growth despite reworking by waves at high water. Under the influence of the prevalent wind regimes and the resultant aeolian sediment transport, foredune accretion at Tentsmuir leads to the burial of the landward margin of the beach face.