Charlottesville, Virginia
Journal of Coastal Research
Nile Delta Shoreline Changes: Aerial Photographic Study of
a 28-Year Period
Omran E. Frihy
Coastal Research Institute
15 EI Pharaana St., El Shallalat
Alexandria, Egypt
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ABSTRACT • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •_
FRIHY, O.E., 1988. Nile delta shoreline changes: Aerial photographic study ofa 28·year period.
Journal afCoastal Research, 4(4), 597·606. Charlottesville (Virginia), ISSN 0749-0208.
Airphotographic analysis is used to detect erosional and accretionary changes, and to define
coastal features along some stretches of the Nile Delta coast of Egypt. Two series of aerial photographs, taken in 1955 and 1983, were applied to three unstable coastal zones: the Rosetta and
Damietta promontories, and the Burullus-Baltim sector. Comparison of the two successive photo
surveys serve to monitor the impact of the Nile River control and the coastal dynamic regime.
The study reveals that the outer margin of both Rosetta and Damietta promontories seem to be
the most eroded areas. These promontories are retreating due to the cut off the sediment supply
after damming the river. The estimated highest rate of erosion during the 28-year period is:
114,9 and 31 m/yr respectively, at Rosetta, Baltim and Damietta sectors. Remarkable accretionary patterns are also coupled with shoreline erosion, as has been noticed on the eastern side
of the two promontories, and to the west of Burullus inlet. Moreover, photographic analysis
helps to detect some salient coastal features such as the ancient coastal sand ridges east of the
Rosetta and Damietta promontories, and a distinct spit southeast of the Damietta promontory.
The prevailing eastward longshore drift of sediments from the adjacent beaches associated with
the strong decrease of sediment supply from the Nile River upon completion of the Aswan High
Dam in 1964 are responsible for the detected erosional and accretionary phenomena along the
three study areas.
ADDITIONAL INDEX WORDS: Aerial photography, accretion, coastal erosion, remate sensing, sand ridges.
INTRODUCTION
The present Nile delta coastal plain has been
formed during thousands of years by continuous
discharge of large quantities of sediment into
the Mediterranean by numerous Nile distributaries during different successive phases
(SAID, 1981; EL ASKARY and FRIHY, 1986;
COUTELLIER and STANLEY, 1987). Former
distributaries have been silted up and reduced
to the two active Rosetta and Damietta
branches, with their Rosetta and Damietta
main Nile promontories on the northern coast
of Egypt (Figure 1). The Burullus headland,
located on the central part of the delta coast is
considered to be an ancient promontory. It was
created from the abandoned Sebennetic Nile
branch, which entered the sea near Burullus
inlet about 900 years ago (ORLOVA and ZENKOVICH, 1974).
87062 received 12 December 1987; accepted in revision 5 February
1988
Discussion of the coastal processes, including,
winds, waves and currents along the Nile Delta
coast, have been published by, among others,
MANOHAR et al, (1974), MANOHAR (1976b),
MANOHAR et «i. (1977), KHAFAGY and
MANOHAR (1979), COLEMAN et al, (1981),
MANOHAR (1981), INMAN et al . (1982), EL
GINDY et al . (1984), INMAN and JENKINS
(1984) and FANOS (1986).
The purpose of this study is to detect the erosional and accretionary changes, and to define
coastal features along the northern Nile Delta
coast of Egypt using two series of aerial photographs, one taken in 1955, the other in 1983.
The maximum erosional rates between photographic intervals range from 1955 to 1983 has
been also calculated. Three dynamically unstable coastal stretches are selected for the purpose of photographic analysis: the Rosetta and
Damietta promontories, and the Burullus-Baltim coast. The Baltim resort coast is located 10
km east of the Burullus inlet (Figure 1). The
major geomorphologic features in the Nile
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Nile Delta Shoreline Changes
Delta region include former Nile distributaries,
beach and coastal flats, ancient sand and carbonate ridges and marshes are given in Figure
1 (modified after FRIHY et al., 1987). The available photo-mosaics are all at the same scale
(1:25,000) and size (23 x 23 em). Photos were
taken vertically at a 3000 m flight altitude. The
advantage of aircraft photography is that it provides the high resolution required for accurate
detection of beach erosion, accretion and beach
features. The application of aerial photographs
in coastline changes have been discussed by,
among others, ATHEARN and RONNE (1963),
EL ASHRY and WANLESS (1968), STAFFORD
(1971), WAHLS (1973) and STIREWALT and
INGRAM (1974). The date of these two photo
sets are more closely representing the time
before and after the construction of the High
Aswan Dam, so the impact of the river control
would be easily monitored. The results of the
present investigation are also coupled herein
with earlier studies of coastal processes published by others.
A REVIEW OF SHORELINE AND
OFFSHORE CHANGES
The coastal changes and the evolution of the
Nile Delta coastal plain have attracted considerable interest during the past decade because
of accelerated coastal changes. The interpretation of these changes was largely based on
ancient shoreline maps (UNDP/UNESCO,
1978; KADIB, 1969; INMAN and JENKINS,
1984); repeated survey of beach profiles, up to
6m depth (MANOHAR, 1976a and 1979); ship
surveys of the bottom morphology (MISDORP
and SESTINI, 1976; TOMA and SALAMA,
1980) and satellite photos (KLEMAS and
ABDEL-KADER, 1982).
From the previous literature cited above, it is
evident that the Nile Delta shoreline at several
stretches had been in a prograding phase since
the 18th Century, but by the end of the 19th
Century it reversed into retrograding phase.
The instability of the coast which began in the
19th Century has been attributed to different
factors. The beach has been starved due to the
human activity, i.e. presently damming of the
Figure 1. Map of the Nile Delta coastal zone showing the major
geomorphological features and the location of the three areas
examined in this study: (A) the Rosetta promontory, (B) the Burullus-Baltim sector, and (C) the Damietta promontory. (Facing Page).
599
Nile which lead to the reduction and elimination of sediment supplied to the sea through the
present Nile promontories. Since the beginning
of the 19th Century, the main Nile has been
controlled by several engineering constructions, including the delta Barrages in 1881, the
Low Aswan Dam in 1902 and the High Aswan
Dam in 1964. It has been reported by ALEEM
(1972) that the sediment load of the Nile has
been reduced from about 120 to 140 million tons
per year, to very insignificant amounts due to
the emplacement of the High Aswan and other
dams and irrigation controls. At the present,
the Rosetta and Damietta mouths receive small
amounts of water and sediments only twice a
year, i.e. during periods of irrigation. Another
considerably important factor is the delta subsidence in conjunction with the eustatic rise of
sea level. Herein, there is no available quantitative information about the magnitude of such
subsidence in the delta region. In fact the thickness of the deltaic deposits on the continental
shelf has affected and accelerated the rate of
subsidence. According to ZAGHLOUL et al .
(1979) the thickness of the delta deposits is
about 2.2 km as indicated from the data
obtained from the oil wells drilled on the continental shelf. However, there has been some
evidence that the shoreline in the northern Nile
Delta coast at Alexandria, Burullus and Manzala regions were invaded by the sea as a consequence of the relative rise of sea level in classical times (JONDET, 1916; TOUSSOUN,
1934).
HYDRODYNAMIC FACTORS
AFFECTING THE NILE DELTA COAST
The coastal processes affecting the Nile Delta
coast have been discussed extensively by many
authors. According to KHAFAGY and MANOHAR (1979) and MANOHAR (1981) the major
influencing agents affecting the coastal processes are winds and waves. Though the predominant wind and wave directions are
northwesterly (Figures 2,3,4). Wave action
along the coast is seasonal in nature, with
storm waves in winter (period 7-8 sec.) and
swells in summer (period 8-9 sec.). In general,
the predominant swell direction is from the
NNW or NW. In winter, waves as high as 2.5 m
are generated and their predominant direction
is also from NW or NNW.
Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. 4, No.4, 1988
Frihy
600
From wave refraction models and estimated
transport values, QUELENNEC and MANOHAR (1977) and INMAN et at. (1976) concluded
that the energy balance along the Nile Delta
coast causes higher net transport at the promontories and eastward facing beaches. Wave
refraction data showed that the divergence and
convergence pattern of wave orthogonals indicates higher transport rates at areas of wave
convergence (e.g. at the promontories), while
the embayments are subjected to less transport.
Currents have been studied along the coastline, beyond and within the breaker zone.
According to MANOHAR et at. (1977) and EL
GINDY et at. (1984) the current beyond the
breaker zone shows a circulation and eddies
pattern with high velocities of 20 to 30 ern/sec;
these occurred locally in front of the two promontories, outlets and drains. The littoral currents within the breaker zone were measured
recently by FANOS (1986). He found that the
predominant current direction in most of the
records of the Burullus and Damietta area are
from west to east except during a few periods
when the current reverses its direction as
affected by wave direction and bottom topography. The records at the Rosetta promontory
o
~
MEDITERRANEAN
show that the predominant direction on its
eastern side is from west to east, while it is from
north to south on its western margin. Such distribution patterns of littoral current is shown
schematically in the studied areas (Figures
2,3,4). Negligible currents resulting from the
perpendicularity of waves are also common features.
According to MANOHAR (1981), tides along
the Egyptian coast is almost tideless and semidiurnal. Tidal records show that the average
tidal difference between NHWL and MLWL as
being small, i.e. on the order of 25 to 30 cm.
COASTAL CHANGES FROM 1955 AND
1983 AERIAL SURVEYS
In the present in vestiga tion, the coastal
changes depicted from 1955 and 1983 air photos
in the study areas are demonstrated in Figures
2 to 5. Each figure also displays the average
wave rose along the coast (after QUELENNEC,
1977) and the percentage of occurrence of littoral drift (after FANOS, 1986). The fundamental coastal changes at the Rosetta and Damietta
promontories, and the Burullus-Baltim stretch
are described in the following section.
---1955
......... 1983
SEA
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EROSION
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ACCRETION
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Figure 2. Shoreline changes at the Rosetta promontory during the 28-year period, from 1955 and 1983. The sands eroded from
the outer margin have been deposited eastward hy the longshore transport to the east, on the saddle of the promontory at the Abu
Khashaba shore. Point (*j denotes the highest rate of erosion (114 m/yr) at the western margin of the promontory. Arrows indicate
the directions of dominant littoral currents; the frequency is denoted by the percentages.
Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. 4, No.4, 1988
Nile Delta Shoreline Changes
Rosetta Promontory
this lighthouse became isolated by sea and was
positional about 1.4 km offshore (Figure 2). On
the other hand, there has been some accretionary land development in the easternmost part,
at the saddle of the promontory at Abu Khashaba coast. These accretion/erosion patterns can
be attributed to the prevailing coastal processes
discussed earlier. The prevailing west-to-east
longshore current transported eroded sediments from the tip of the promontory and deposited them on its eastern side. During this
period, the north to south littoral current has
caused erosion on the western side of the promontory (Figure 2).
In order to protect the river mouth at the
Rosetta promontory from the prolonged sea
invasion, a long term project has been initiated.
Two vertical breakwaters, to 6 m height above
mean sea level are being constructed parallel to
the shoreline on each side of the promontory.
Their length on the western and eastern sides
is 1.6 km and 2.6 km, respectively. Owing to the
markedly accelerated erosion, they will
designed so as to be placed on the backshore at
a spacing from 80 to 90 m landward from the
shoreline.
The Rosetta promontory encompasses both
the west and east sides of the present-day
Rosetta Nile branch. Furthermore, on its eastern side, an abandoned accretion sand ridges
and intermittent small lagoons are detectable
from both the 1955 and 1983 photographs (Figure 2). New small islets have been formed in the
entrance of the Rosetta Nile mouth as seen from
the 1983 photos. These, of course, lead to accelerated shoaling of the entrance of the river,
which causes problems for fishing boats and
navigation.
Figure 2 shows the Rosetta promontory as
traced from air photos of 1955 and 1983. During
this 28-year time span remarkable coastal
changes have been observed (Figure 2). There
has been a remarkable amount of erosion on the
tip of the promontory, on both the western and
eastern sides of the distributary mouth. The
rate of erosion on the tip is truly surprising, i.e.
a total of 3.2 km or 114 m/y, as shown at point
(*) in Figure 2. In 1973 the new lighthouse
(built by the British in 1954) was located some
1.0 km inland from the shoreline, while in 1983
-~1955
MEDITE.f1RANEAN
601
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• • • • • • 1983
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EROS I ON
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ACCRETION
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Figure 3. Shoreline changes along the Burullus-Balt.im sector. Erosion has occurred to 13.5 km east of Burullus inlet, at EI Burg
Village and at Baltim resort beach. The latter records the highest rate of erosion, 9 mlyr, at point (*). Accretionary land has
formed to the west of Burullus inlet against the inlet jetty due to the currents prevailing from that side. Arrows indicate the
directions of dominant littoral currents; the frequency is denoted by the percentages.
Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. 4, No.4, 1988
Frihy
602
Burullus-Baltim Sector
The shoreline changes between 1955 and
1983 along the Burullus-Baltim coast are
shown in Figure 3. It is clear that the shoreline
up to 13.5 km east of Burullus inlet has generally undergone uniform alongshore erosion.
Maximum erosion is measured at Ba ltirn beach
which has receded to 250 m in 28 years (9m/
year) at point (*) in Figure 3. In contrast, the
western side of Burullus inlet has accreted both
on its seaward and lakeward sides. The prevailing longshore current has produced the
coastal erosion on its eastern margin. The seaward accretionary pattern along the western
sector is a response to the construction of the
jetty west of the inlet. Whereas, sands transported by winds from the coast have accreted
area along the lake margin. It has been also
observed that the former inlet, as shown in
1955, is narrower than the recent one of 1983.
Its present width is produced by dredging that
was initiated to solve the problems of shoaling
and navigation.
In response to the rapid shoreline retreat, two
jetties were built in front of the outlet, one on
each side. These, coupled with a vertical 600 m
long sea wall, have been also constructed to protect EI Burg Village against further destruction
by the sea. A nourishment project has been recommended to protect the resort beach at Baltim. This will be done by supplying the beach
with coarse- and medium-grained sand from the
adjacent nearshore. These latter are relict sediments.
Damietta Promontory
Analysis of both the 1955 and 1983 photo sets
shows linear sand accretionary ridges oriented
parallel to the shoreline east of the Damietta
promon tory (Figures 4,5). These ridges are
more extensive and better developed than those
east of the Rosetta promontory. Figure 4 shows
the overall coastal changes at the Damietta
promontory between 1955 and 1983. The Damietta promontory has evolved in a manner comparable to the Rosetta promontory, with net
erosion on its outer margin i.e. to 875 m in 28
years or 31 m/yr. In contrast, there is an accretionary pattern east of the Damietta mouth as
recorded by a 4.5 km-Iong spit (Figures 4,5).
The Damietta spit (Figure 5b) depicted on 1983
aerial photos was not present in 1955 (Figure
5a). The Damietta spit and older sand ridges
were previously recorded by ORLOVA and
ZENKOVICH (1974), SESTINI (1976), MANO-
- - - 1955
•.•••••• 1983
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EROSiON
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BURULLUS
Figure 4. Shoreline changes at the Damietta promontory during 28-year period, from 1955 and 1983. Most of the eroded sands
from the outer margin have heen transported eastward, accumulating as a complex spit to the east of the promontory. Point (*l
on the tip denotes the highest rate of erosion (31 m/yr). Arrows indicate the directions of dominant littoral currents; the frequency
is denoted by the percentages.
Journal of Coastal Research, Vol. 4, No.4, 1988
603
Nile Delta Shoreline Changes
o
500
"----'---'
METERS
Figure 5. Aerial photos showing the development of the spit along the eastern part of the Damietta promontory in 1955 (A) and
in 1983 (B). Note the earlier sand ridges fringing the coastal plain . In the smooth curved shoreline of 1955 (A), note the lack of
shore features. Arrow indicates point of subsequent spit formation. The same shoreline sector shows the Damietta spit (in B),
formed by deposition of sands eroded from the outer margin of the promontory.
HAR (1981), KLEMAS and ABDEL-KADER
(1982) and FRIHY et al. (1987).
The Nile Delta shoreline configuration indicates that at least part of the sediment eroded
from the outer margin of the Damietta promontory have been transported toward the east.
Continued sediment input from the eroded margin associated with the prevailing west-to-east
longshore current, resulted in the development
of this spit. According to FANOS (1986), the
predominant littoral current direction at the
Damietta promontory is from west to east, with
minor counter-current frequencies to the west.
An experiment with fluorescent tracers has
shown that the sand beach west of the Damietta
promontory is being displaced to the north-east
direction (KADIB, 1969).
The present-day coastal processes at the
Damietta promontory appear be responsible for
the formation of the linear sand accretion
ridges east of the Damietta promontory, which
had formed in the Recent classical times (about
2000 year BP). According to COLEMAN et al.
(1981) and COUTELLIER and STANLEY
(1987) the marine coastal processes operating
along the delta are similar to those that operated earlier during the Holocene.
Three jetties already have been built on the
western side of the Damietta estuary. These,
acting in conjunction with a vertical sea, wall
on the eastern side to help in protecting the promontory from further erosion.
CONCLUSION
The present study serves to detect some major
accretionary and erosional changes as well as
distinct geomorphic shoreline features which
Journal of Coastal Research , Vol. 4, No.4 , 1988
604
Frihy
have evolved between 1955 and 1983 along the
Roset t a and Da m iet t a pro mon t or ies , and the
Burullus-Ba ltim sector of t he Nile Delta. The
shoreline changes are noticed after emplacement of the Aswan High Dam as a result of the
decr ea se in t he Nile river discha r ge. A comparis on of the set of 1955 and 1983 aerial photographs a nd maps constructed based on these
indicates that du r ing t he 28-year study per iod ,
t he outer margin of the Rosetta and Da miett a
promontories ha ve been eroded . The highest
erosion rates are 114 and 31 m/yr, respectively.
Sectors of the Roset t a pr omon t or y have been
affected by the h igh est rates of erosion alo ng
t he Egyptian coast d u r i n g this period. The
coastal processes affecting the two promontories ap pears to operate in a similar manners:
much of the ero de d material from the tip of the
Roset t a and Da m iet t a pr omon t or ies is transpor t ed eastwar d by littoral dri ft and accreted on
t he eastern parts of the promontories. Moreover, there has been formation of a spit on the
same (ea st ern) side of the Damietta promontory . Th e B urull u s -B a lti m sector along the
coastal zone of t he delt a is erosional, the greatest rate (9 m/yr) measured at Baltim beach. At
some locations , however , there has been an
accretion pattern east of Burullus inlet , with
sediment that accumulated again st the jetty
located to the west of the inlet. Also of note in
the 1983 aerial ph ot ogr aphs is the shoaling of
the entrance of Burullus inlet and the mouth of
the Rosetta Nile branch a phenomenon wh ich
caused navigational problems particularly to
fishing boats.
Moreover, ancient accretionary coastal features also were documented such as the sand
ri dges fringing the coastal deltaic plain east of
bot h Rosetta and Damietta promontories .
In summary , it can be a scertained that the
observed erosional and accretionary patterns
a long t he three investigated sectors resulted
from t he interaction of the prevailing coastal
pr ocesses and sediment supply. The latter factor is probably the most important cause maninduced erosion: damming of the Nile and its
distributaries has sharply reduced the se di ment supply to the coast. Moreover, the waves
approaching the coast from a dominantly northwestern direction generate west-to-east longshor e currents and associated circulation cell s
(I N MA N and JENKINS, 1984) which also
acco unt for t he observed shor eli ne changes.
AC KNOWLEDGEME NT S
My sincerest appreciation is ex pressed to
Prof. Dr . D.J . Stanley, Smithsonian Institution,
Washington D.C. a nd Prof. Dr . M.A. El Askary,
Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, for
their constructive review of the manuscript and
their most helpful comments.
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o
RES UMEN 0
Mediante el a na lis ia de foto gr afi a ae re a se h an det ect ad o los ca m bios er osivos y ac umu la t ivos y se ha definido la s caracteristicas
pr incipal es de a lgu nos tram os de la costa sobre el Del ta del Nilo en Egipto. Se han es t udia do tres zona s ines t ables, Rosetta ,
Damietta y el sector Burullus-B a ltim , a part ir do dos se ries fotogra fica s, 1955 y 1983. La compa rac i6n de a mba s se rie s ha permitido
det ectar el impacto del Cont rol del Rio Nil o en e l regim en dinarni co de la cos ta.
EI es t udio revel a qu e la parte exterior do los pr omontorios de Rosetta y Damietta son la s dos zonas mas erosiona das. Una estimaci6n de la tasa de erosi6n de est a s zona s es 114 , 9 y 3 1 m/ano respecti vamente para Rosetta , Baltium y Damietta.
Al es te do lo s promontori os y a l oe ste d e l a d e semboc adura de Burullu s se h an detectado importantes aspectos acu mula t i vos . EI tr an sp ort e paral el o a l a cos t a p r edom inante del es t e de sde l a s play a s ad yacen te s a sociado con e l fu erte
decr e cim i en t o del s u mi nistro d e ma t eri al d e la co nst r ucci6 n de l a pre s a de Asw an e n 1964 , s on los r e spon sabl e s de lo s
fen 6m en os e ro s i vos y se d i me n ta r i os d ete ctado s e n l a s t res zon a s e stud iad as .-Departm ent of Wat er S cien ces , Un ivers it y
of Santand er, Santander , Spa in.
o
ZUSAMMENFASSUNG 0
Di e An al ys e von Luftaufn ahme n wu r de dazu ve rw a n dt , e rosive und a k k u m u l ati ve Verand erungen und ei n ze l n e Kii sten formen a m Nil -D elta i n Agy pte n zu i de n t i fizie re n . Zw e i Ser i en von Lu ft aufn ahm en (von 1955 und 1983) wurden fiir drei
instabile Kii stengebi ete au sg ew erte t , n arn li ch von den Vorspriingen de s Ro setta und Dami etta und dem Sektor Burullu sBal t irn . Der Vergl eich der Aufnahmen ge stattet da s Erk enn en der vom FluJ3 oder von der Brandung bewirkten Verandarungen . E s ist zu e r ke n ne n, d aJ3d ie a u J3ers te n Bereich e de s Ro setta und Damietta- Vorsprunge s di e am starks ten e r od ie r t e n
Re gi on en s i n d, da na ch dem Bau des Aasuan -Staud amm ea d i e FluJ3s ed im en tati on s t a r k zuriickgegangen is t. Die gesch a tz t en J ah r e sb e tra ge d er Kii s t en eros ion betragen fiir den Ro sett a -Vorsprun g 114 m , fiir di e Baltim -S ektion 9 m und fiir die
Dam ietta -Mundun g 3 1 m . Ost li ch d er beiden H auptmiindungen und we stli ch der Burullu s-Offnung wurden b em erken-
J ournal of Coastal Research, Vol. 4, No .4, 1988
606
Fr ih y
s we r te Form en e ntdeck t, d ie m it d er Kiis t en erosion zusa mmen h iingen. Dariiber h ina u s e r bra ch t e n d ie Luftbil danalysen
di e Ex istenz weitere r bemerk en sw erter Ersch einun gen wie a lte S tra n dwa ll sy s teme os tlic h de s Rosett a u nd Dam ie t t a und
ei n e n d eu tlich en H aken S .E . der Dami etta -Miindun g .
Vorherrschend iistliche Materialverlagerung an der Kiiste in Verbindung mit der Stranderosion
und der Abnahme der Sedimentanlieferung des Nils seit Bau de s Assuan-Hochdammes 1964 sind
verantwortlich fur die erkannten erosiven und akkumulativen Gebilde in den drei Untersuchungs-
gebieten.-Dieter Kelletat , Es sen , FRG.
J ournal of Coastal Research , Vol. 4, No.4, 1988
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