Desarrollo de proxies para identificar eventos de tormenta en sedimentos de playa basados en métodos indirectos no invasivos

Abstract

Coastal storms represent one of the most significant natural threats to sandy beaches, causing rapid morphological changes, sediment redistribution and damage to coastal infrastructure. Understanding the sedimentary imprint left by these events is crucial for improving coastal risk assessment and for designing effective adaptation strategies in a context of climate change and rising sea levels. Although traditional approaches have relied on direct sampling and destructive laboratory analyses, the potential of non- invasive geophysical methods to detect storm deposits remains underexplored. This study focuses on the northwestern Mediterranean coast, an area highly vulnerable to extreme weather events. Twenty sediment cores were collected along ten representative beaches of the Catalan coast. Each core was analyzed using high- resolution multisensor core logging (MSCL) and computed axial tomography (CAT) imaging. By combining physical parameters such as bulk density, porosity, P-wave velocity, magnetic susceptibility and acoustic impedance, this research establishes a robust multiproxy framework for identifying storm-induced sedimentary layers with high reliability. This integrated multiproxy approach enhances the distinction of storm-related layers compared to single-parameter analyses. The coherence among density, acoustic impedance, magnetic susceptibility and P-wave velocity provides solid evidence of abrupt compaction and sediment sorting caused by high-energy overwash processes. By validating this method in diverse coastal settings, the study demonstrates its practical value for coastal hazard assessment and resilience planning. This work highlights the applicability of indirect, non-destructive methods for storm deposit detection and provides a valuable basis for integrating sedimentological, geophysical and morphological data into comprehensive coastal risk management. The results contribute to a better understanding of past and future storm impacts, supporting more resilient coastal planning and adaptation measures. Overall, this methodology represents a step forward towards high-resolution, non-invasive reconstruction of storm histories in vulnerable coastal environments.