Shoreline processes observed by a video monitoring system were investigated under different wave conditions. A 30 m-high tower equipped with video cameras was constructed in Hujeong Beach, South Korea, where coastal erosion was suspected to occur. Two-year shoreline data since December 2016 showed that beach area, Ab, has decreased, but periods of rapid increase in Ab were also observed. Shoreline change was closely related to the wave propagation directions and bottom topography. Ab increased when waves approached the shore obliquely, whereas it decreased when they approached in a normal direction. The shoreline became undulated when Ab increased, while it became flatter when Ab decreased. The undulation process was influenced by nearshore bedforms because the shoreline protruded in the lee area where underwater rocks or nearshore sandbars actively developed, with a sheltering effect on waves. Specifically, the locations of shoreline accretion corresponded to the locations where the sandbar horns (location where a crescentic sandbar protrudes toward the shore) developed, confirming the out-of-phase coupling between sandbars and shoreline. When waves with higher energy approached normal to the shore, the sheltering effect of sandbars and underwater rocks became weaker and offshore sediment transport occurred uniformly along the coast, resulting in flatter shorelines.

Coastal structures, such as revetments, are built to protect specific areas and facilities from the attack of extreme waves. However, unexpected environmental damage could be induced from these structures when inappropriately applied. Here, we present the results of measurements carried out using a video monitoring system, indicating the rapid collapse of a coastal revetment due to the attack of storm waves. The destruction occurred in sequence; that is, it was initiated by human activities, followed by a natural disaster. First, the beach in front of the revetment was eroded, even under moderate wave conditions, because sediments transported into this area were blocked by a rip-rap jetty. After the beach width was severely reduced due to the erosion, the revetment collapsed when storm waves attacked the area. The destruction seems accidental and inevitable because it was directly caused by the storm. However, it could have been avoided by predicting and preventing the erosion due to the jetty. This study provides insights into sequential processes that lead to the failure of coastal revetments, which could be applied for prevention of similar anthropogenic disasters.

Seagrass is an essential component of coastal ecosystems because of its capability to absorb blue carbon, and its involvement in sustaining marine biodiversity. In this study, support vector machine (SVM) technologies with corrected satellite imagery data, were applied to identify the distribution of seagrasses. Observations of seagrasses from satellite imagery were obtained using GeoEye-1, Sentinel-2 MSI level 1C, and Landsat-8 OLI satellite imagery. The satellite imagery from Google Earth has been obtained at a very high resolution, and was to be used within both the training and testing of a classification method. The optical satellite imagery must be processed for image classification, throughout which radiometric correction, sunglint, and water column adjustments were applied. We restricted the scope of the study area to a maximum depth of 10 m due to the fact that light does not penetrate beyond this level. When classifying the distribution of seagrasses present in the research region, the recently developed SVM technique achieved overall accuracy values of up to 92% (GeoEye-1), 88% (Sentinel-2 MSI level 1C), and 83% (Landsat-8 OLI), respectively. The results of the overall accuracy values are also used to evaluate classification models.

The west coast of South Korea is characterized by a wide macrotidal area with a maximum tidal range of ∼10 m. The sea surface elevation varies with the tidal phase, which leads to significant changes in the vertical structure of the physical, chemical, and biological properties of the water column, especially when the interaction by waves and/or the freshwater and sediment input from the river increases. Under such conditions, it is difficult to carry out continuous and consistent measurements of the vertical structures of the water qualities using a conventional observation system that is fixed to the seabed or sea surface because the thickness of the water column constantly changes. Based on the demand for long-term observations of the vertical structures of the water properties in macrotidal environments, the Intelligent Buoy System (INBUS) was developed by the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST). INBUS is a buoy equipped with an instrument frame, which is similar to other buoys that are fixed to the sea surface. During every measurement, INBUS detects the water depth and sends the frame down to the seabed to measure the water quality at every vertical level set up in the system. For example, if N levels are set in INBUS, the water depth of each measurement is divided by N layers and the instruments in the lifting frame measure the water properties of each of the N layers while they are descending to the bottom. Based on this procedure, the vertical structure of the water column is consistently measured in N layers regardless of changes of the water depth due to tides and waves. The lifting and measuring process is automatically controlled by INBUS once it is set up in the system. In addition, because INBUS allows bidirectional communication through code division multiple access (CDMA), the system can be controlled by stations on land. If the CDMA communication becomes inoperable owing to extreme wave conditions or the buoy is lost because of incidents such as a collision with a ship, the location of INBUS can be tracked by low-earth-orbit satellites.

We report extraordinary seabed erosion that occurred at a depth of ~8.3 m at Hujeong Beach, South Korea. The seabed was eroded for 0.7 m during a ~2.3‐day period under storm conditions. The maximum significant wave height was ~3.8 m, which was unexpected considering the traditional closure depth concept. Four storm events were recorded within 36 day of the experimental period, but the severe erosion only occurred during the first storm. The erosion started when the nearbed flow velocity rapidly increased to reach its maximum at 0.27 m/s, and it continued until this velocity remained at its maximum. Additional factors responsible for the unanticipated erosion process were the current and wave skewness. The erosion was facilitated when the current direction was actively changing and the magnitude of positive skewness increased during the storm period. These factors are likely to have intensified the nearbed flow turbulence and bed shear stress.