1. Introduction
Deception Island is a horseshoe-shaped active volcano in the Bransfield Strait with an inner bay named Port Foster (
Figure 1). This large natural harbour has been a focus of human activity in the South Shetland Islands since the early nineteenth century. The island was visited by a succession of sealing and whaling vessels, culminating in the establishment of a Norwegian whaling station from 1911 to 1931 [
1]. Four scientific stations were established from 1944, but two of which were destroyed during the last 1967-1970 volcanic eruptions (Chilean station in Pendulum Cave and British station in Whalers Bay). The two current active scientific bases are the Argentinian Base “Decepción” installed in 1948 and the Spanish Antarctic “Base Gabriel de Castilla” in 1989, see
Figure 1b. Since then, to protect its landscape and ecosystems, some areas have been declared as Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) under the Antarctic Treaty System [
2].
Antarctica is a region devoid of government jurisdiction, and the mapping of Deception Island is typically undertaken by interested nations or commissioned by scientific organizations such as the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). Over the years, various cartographic representations of the island have been created, utilizing different scales, geodetic systems, and projections. This multiplicity of cartographic sources has made it challenging to assess the island's significant temporal changes in both its terrestrial and underwater features [
4,
5].
Throughout its history, Deception Island has experienced geomorphological transformations, often coinciding with volcanic eruptions in 1842, 1912, 1917, 1967, 1969, and 1970 [
6,
7,
8,
9,
10]. The period from 1967 to 1970, in particular, brought about substantial alterations to the island's landscape and shoreline, primarily in the northern sector. It gave rise to new volcanic structures such as cinder cones (depicted in
Figure 2a1) and maar and tuff cones, primarily because of phreatomagmatic eruptions [
6,
8,
11,
12,
13]. The large amount of new unconsolidated pyroclastic material has been displaced by snow and glaciers melting through streams and hydrodynamic transport within Port Foster from then [
4]. This ongoing process has resulted in visible annual alterations to the coastline. Several instances of dynamic sediment erosion along the coast and localized cliff erosion are noteworthy. These include the creation of openings at Port Forster, such as those at Kroner Lake (depicted in Figures 2b1 and 2b2) and Hidden Lake. The latter event involved the breach of a wall measuring 2 meters in width and 2 meters in height, as seen in Figures 2c1 and 2c2, which occurred in 2006. Additionally, there has been a notable and consistent annual sedimentation, resulting in the infilling at the base of craters formed during the 1970 eruption, as evident in
Figure 2a2. A previous study evaluated in these craters some sedimentation ratios of up to 1 m / year in the period 1992–2006 [
14]. A new 2020 satellite image offers a clear view of this filling of some of them (mainly numbers 1,4,5 and 6 following
Figure 2a2). Further descriptions of the remaining craters can be found in [
15]. Furthermore, a significant retreat of more than 200 metres has been identified at the front of Black Glacier, as highlighted in Figures 2d1 and 2d2.
Likewise, because of the prolonged human interest, there have been studies of many bathymetric surveys of Port Foster, the submerged caldera of Deception Island. The first known dating from 1829 and with a remarkably constant rate of uplift averaged over 160 years following Cooper et al. [
5]. In that paper was evaluated, with surveys of 1948 and 1993 (covering the last eruption period), that the bay has sedimentation ratios of up to 5 cm / yr. This value is comparable to sedimentary rates in other caldera lakes, such as Crater Lake (Oregon, USA), although without recent eruptions [
16]. Roobol [
17] assessed that the shallow bay was further silted by laharic debris up to 4 m from the Pond Glacier moraines in the last erupted period. Furthermore, the water dynamics of Port Foster have also received some attention [
18,
19,
20,
21,
22].
The coast is the most common walking route used by researchers to collect field data and visitors. Between 1956 and 1968 this shoreline had first an increase of 2 km, mainly because of a small central islet, and secondly, a reduction of 1.4 km essentially due to the inclusion of this islet during the 1969 eruption [
4]. Since those years, annually, the mobility routes from the two active Antarctic bases have had to adapt to new and unexpected conditions. This can influence the footpaths, the evacuation routes (see
Figure 1b), or the transfers of people by inflatable boats, so future coastal geomorphology is important for the security reasons. In addition to this, although Antarctica is considered an active part in the sea level rise [
23] by contributions from glacier ice mass loss and icesheets, its uninhabited coastline is not considered in global studies [
24,
25], and therefore of relevance. Starting this study from the geomorphological situation of the island from the last eruption of 1970, its objective focusses on the identification and quantification of historical changes in the inland watershed, coastline, and bay seabed using several resources (elevation and bathymetric data, new historical orthophotos [
26], satellite images, and geomorphological information) and its contract with a numerical DELFT3D model [
27] in the inner coastline. This computational model is widely used to simulate the main physical processes that are relevant in coastal environments, such as embayments and estuaries [
28,
29,
30,
31]. It is based on the hydrostatic flow assumption and solves the short-wave averaged 3D shallow-water equations. Considering the geomorphological trends of accretion and erosion in this study, possible short-term implications that could affect human mobility in the interior of the island will be identified for future research campaigns.
3. Methodology
The methodology employed in this study is described in
Figure 3. It encompassed three primary processes: one concerning the establishment of a coastal numerical model, and two GIS studies dedicated to identifying and quantifying historical geomorphological changes (DEMs and DBMs alterations), as well as tracking coastline evolution for model evaluation.
3.1. Numerical Model
The model used in this study was DELFT3D, developed by WL|Delft Hydraulics, and it has been implemented with a 2D (depth averaged) configuration. This model solves the shallow water equations with Boussinesq and hydrostatic approximations [
27]. The continuity equation assumes incompressible flow and is defined as:
where u and v are the components of the velocities in the x and y directions, respectively, and Q indicates the mass transport per unit area.
Furthermore, the momentum equations are described by:
and
where t is the time,
is the reference density of the water, f is the Coriolis parameter,
and
represent the pressure gradients in x and y directions, respectively (including barotropic and baroclinic terms),
and
are the horizontal Reynolds tensor in both directions and finally,
and
represent the contributions due to external sources, such as the wind action on the free surface or the wave action on the water column.
The model also incorporates morphodynamical evolution equations, which calculate the total transport as the sum of bed and suspended load transports. These transport rates are obtained using the depth-integrated advection-diffusion equation [
52] for different sediment fractions, which can be cohesive or non-cohesive and are defined based on their densities and sizes. The calculation of bed shear stress uses the roughness predictor of [
31]. The level of the bed is updated during each time step of the flow calculation, considering the exchange with suspended sediment transport and the gradient of bed load transport.
3.2. Coastline Evolution
Digitising changes in the inner coastline over time involved the analysis of orthophotos of 1968, 2003, and 2020 and the inclusion of a partial 1970 coastline from [
38] within the QGIS environment [
53]. The methodology used was also implemented in GIS through two different approaches: (i) assessment of area changes and (ii) linear ratios (see
Figure 4).
In the first step, conducted in QGIS, the linear coastline shapefiles were converted into polygons to delineate the intersection areas between the current shoreline (2020) and the preceding shorelines (1968, 1970, and 2003). These polygons facilitated the identification of regions where erosion or sedimentation had taken place within the inner bay over time, allowing for a comparison with the results derived from the DELFT 3D model. The sediment plumes observed in the orthophotos were an important aid in accurately delineating the coastlines (see Figure 11d). A sediment plume refers to the visible cloud of suspended sediment particles in the water, carried by currents and tides. By distinguishing the sediment plume from the actual coastline for each year, digitized coastlines can more accurately represent the true shoreline and capture changes that have occurred over time. This approach often focused the analysis on slope alterations and retreats in specific areas of the island, such as the Spanish and Argentinian bases. This ensures that the visual comparison of shoreline changes, as derived from the generated shapefiles, corresponds with the transformations occurring within the inner bay of Deception Island.
In addition, DSAS software has been used to evaluate dynamic rates derived by comparing coastlines from 1970, 2003, and 2020 in a second step. This software is an ArcGIS extension [
54] and a powerful tool specifically designed for the analysis and monitoring of coastlines using geospatial data [
55,
56]. Specifically, this application has been used in this study to visualise and assessment of changes in the position over time and the identification of vulnerable areas. Coastline retreat/accretion ratios have been obtained at specific locations, excluding areas that have shown minimal changes in their position after the first step. For the calculation of these, DSAS uses cross-shore profiles, and the ratios were obtained by dividing the maximum calculated value of the coastline displacement within each of the analysed profiles by the time (in years) between the evaluated coastlines.
3.3. DEMs and DBMs Temporal Changes
The DEM and DBM datasets in ESRI GRID format were the input data in this section. The temporal changes methodology carried out with GIS tools in the ArcGIS Pro environment [
54]. Both datasets followed the same procedures for change evaluation, except the determination of inner watershed was executed only for the DEM dataset. The GIS methodology is shown in
Figure 4 and consists of four subprocesses: (i) Altimetric differences with a study case in CR70, (ii) altimetric differences by range slope, (iii) volumetric differences, and (iv) a Space Time Pattern study. As a previous step, the delimitation of the DEM study was defined using the determination of the inner watershed limit. Altimetric differences are used to identify areas of gain and loss in the temporal range. Slope classification is intended to assess the influence of positional error on these differences. Volumetric difference calculations allow for the isolation of positional errors from elevations, elucidating the overall trend within the inner basin. This trend will be spatially delineated by the statistical analysis of temporal studies. These studies will help us to understand the surface dynamics and their potential influence on, as well as material contribution to, the bay.
The Altimetric differences by range slope needed the Altimetric differences as input data. These differences use an arithmetic operation between two times. The three slope ranges were divided to adapt them at the island of morphology in land and water with breaks at 2º and 9º. They clearly grouped the most interesting study areas and potential erosion/accretion zones (eg beaches, abrupt relief, cliff, or caldera rims). The zonal statistics used a polygon layer of these slopes.
The volumetric differences established discrete altimetric levels for their evaluation at -150, -100, 0, 100, 200, 300 and 400 m. These datasets do not have a specific capture date so that, for CGE DEM, 1986 was used as collected date corresponding with the DEM information for the most surface. REMA was assigned 2015 as the middle year like 2014 for the IHM DBM. In addition to this, the DEMs retained their original spatial resolution (2 or 2.7 m), while in the case of BDM, two new resampled raster files with a resolution were utilised (DBM IHM 50 m and DBM CGE 50m). Annual ratios per unit of 3D area were computed to provide comparable values.
The space-time analysis highlights the trends with statistical significance over time. Three were carried out, one with DEM and two in DBM dataset:
Lastly, regarding the error margins in these calculations, altimetric differences will be influenced by positional and altimetric errors and the propagation of both into the arithmetic operation. The superficial and volumetric error was simplified to the error associated with the determination of the 1 hm3 box.
5. Discussion
Figure 8 shows the coastal variations between the start and end of a simulation year. Since currents have not been precisely calibrated, erosion and sedimentation rates may not be very accurate. However, trends and patterns of gain and loss patterns can be examined and corroborated using historical studies. This model illustrates that erosion along this coastline is particularly notable in areas with a southern orientation, such as zones 1, 2, 3, and 5. Sedimentary action tends to be concentrated along coasts oriented to the east (west shoreline) west (east shoreline), and northeast (south shoreline).
The study of the evolution of the bay's coastline reveals erosion values greater than sedimentation. In detail, erosion is concentrated in a large part of the bay and its zonal comparison with the changes detected along its coast over time shows some similarities in
Figure 9: (i) There is significant erosion in the north (zone 1) since the last eruption, especially up to 2003, when there was significant erosion due to the transport of materials deposited after the eruption; (ii) Also, between 2003 and 2020 there is a notable change, which is the opening of Hidden Lake (
Figure 2c) due to this erosive effect (zone 1); (iii) Zone 2 does experience coastal retreat, but it occurred prior to 2003; (iv) A similar effect is observed in Kroner lake (
Figure 2b) in zone 3; (v) Between Zone 1 and 2, the model reveals an erosive initiation that is also detected in the historical study.
The discrepancies are located: (i) In the south of the island (zone 6), where the historical represents the erosion produced on the slope in front of the Argentinean and Spanish bases (
Figure 10c) and a sedimentary area in the model; (ii) The same inconsistency is found in the middle of Zone 4, where glacier retreat is identified in the historical study (
Figure 10a), but it is a sedimentary area in the model. This (ii) case is likely not due to the bay dynamics and may be linked to global warming. In the (i) case, the slope erosion is believed to result from the impact of the sea ice fragments left by the bay's melting and accumulating in this area against the weak volcanic material. In this regard, the area is confirmed to be sedimentary based due to its current dynamics. The numerical model presents a limitation in accurately evaluating erosion caused by snowfall on the slopes, particularly when the surface of slopes is elevated relative to the coastal shoreline. The annual snow melting process can lead to slope erosion as the melted snow water flows over them and transports sediment, gradually washing away the exposed surfaces. Since the numerical model may not incorporate detailed representations of snowmelt erosion processes, it may not fully capture the erosion observed in the field. Snowmelt erosion is influenced by various factors such as slope gradient, surface characteristics, and snowmelt patterns, which are challenging to simulate accurately in a numerical model.
Another observation of the erosion detected by the model within various lakes (eg, Kroner Lake in
Figure 2b) and inland intrusions (northwest of zone 6) may be influenced by multiple factors. In addition to the influence of tides and simulated sea-level variations in the model, these areas have river discharge points where the flow resulting from snowmelt is transported. This creates zones where there is interaction between sediment deposition and its collection by the tides, which then transport it to other areas of the bay. As a result, part of the sediment tends to accumulate at the lakes’ exits. These areas require a more refined modelling approach, but fortunately, they are not decisive in this study.
Regarding sedimentation, there are several similarities between the model and the coastline study. It is worth highlighting some cases: (i) The eastern part of the island, particularly around the Black Glacier, exhibits significant areas of sediment deposition, noticeable until 2003; (ii) A substantial accumulation of sediment in the southeastern part, following the termination of the Black Glacier (zone 4, see
Figure 9b and
Figure 10b). The entrance to the bay also presents areas of both sedimentation and erosion that were not considered.
It should be noted that when analysing the evolution of the coastline from images, the presence of shadows can pose a challenge, even when using high-contrast images. Shadows can obscure and distort the coastline, making it difficult to accurately define its boundaries. It is important to consider the impact of shadows when interpreting and analysing coastline changes, as they can affect the accuracy of the results. Additional techniques, such as image enhancement and careful manual interpretation, have been employed to mitigate the effects of shadows and improve the precision of coastline delineation.
The study of changes derived from the DEM, in many cases, the altimetric differences are quite large and highly localised in snow-covered areas, probably influenced by the lack of control points in those regions, the precision of the value and the slope of the area. However, as shown in
Table 5, these differences often cause erosion rates losses, in sloped areas (except for the 1968-1957 period) despite having an overall negative value (1968-1957; SIMAC-1968; REMA-1957; and REMA-1968). This DEM study only has a few reliable values along the coast, finding some consistencies with the model in terms of sedimentation (south of zone 4) and erosion in zones 1 and 2.
The contrast between
Figure 8 and DBM analysis shows a coherence between the most eroded coastline and the most nearby seabed in Zones 1, 2 and 3 in
Figure 13. In addition to this, the sedimentation areas are also similar, with a notable infilling occurring between the 1970 eruption and the year 2003 in the southern part of the Black Glacier. The most extensive area with an increase in height (
Figure 13c, zone 7) is the bottom isobath of 150 m, where the sea bottom is almost featureless and flat below this depth (see
Figure 13d). This area was studied by Cooper et al. [
5] with shallowing rates of up to 0.3 m / yr from 1829.
Table 6 from the bathymetric elevation of 150 m onwards, it increases, indicating clear bottom sedimentation.
According to
Table 6, the DEM loss volume is significantly greater than sedimentation in the bay. Adjusting the reference plane, the study reveals that the highest loss ratios occur in the upper areas that are permanently covered in snow. Consequently, it can be understood that most volumetric loss is due to snow. Furthermore, the positive evaluation of the inner watershed in the period 1957-1968, with part of the last eruptive process, is 0.19 km3, the volume of erupted ash valued between 0.12 km
3 [
65] and 0.20 km
3 [
12], and more recently 0.10 km
3 [
4] is a possible figure. In addition to this, the area of the temporal sedimentation plumes drawn in
Figure 12c shows a continuous and high active discharge of tephra according to zones 4 and 6 in the model. The material loss ratios have been decreasing since the last eruptive process. Although they remain relatively high, the evaluation and filling of most of the study case in CR70, see
Figure 12b, due to the active displacement of material uphill from the Mount Goddard alluvial fans, is a sample of this activity and the possibility of high sedimentation rates in certain areas. Volumetric changes in DBM indicate the loss of material from the steep walls of the caldera, some of which will accumulate on the sea floor. However, there must be a transfer to the outer part of the bay to balance the losses and gains.
Following data analysis, we compared these results with other studies on bay dynamics: (i) Flexas et al. [
18] found that temperature gradients across Neptune's Bellows, driven by the Bransfield current, cause water to accumulate toward the northeast entrance of Port Foster. They proposed that counterclockwise propagating internal tides create shadow areas on the bay's eastern side, aligning with our model results in
Figure 8. (ii) In a study by Berrocoso et al. [
21] , they explored the connection between the distribution of water temperature in Port Foster Bay and the island's seismic and volcanic activity of the island. They suggested a link between increased seawater temperature and the resumption of volcanic hydrothermal activity. Their water circulation model over tides, with cold water entering the bay and mixing with warmer water, corresponds to our erosion patterns in the northern part of the island. (iii) Figueiredo developed a hydrodynamic model [
21]. His simulation showed limited particle exchange between the bay and its surroundings over one month, contradicting our observations of significant material displacement and sediment accumulation in the eastern area. The discrepancy may be due to the short simulation period in this study of only one month as the study period, making it difficult to draw significant conclusions from it. In summary, these comparisons indicate that our findings align with some previous studies but differ from others, suggesting the complexity and variability of Deception Island's coastal dynamics.
After this discussion, it can be concluded that the model simulates reality well and can serve as a future tool to know the depositional trend of the study area. Therefore, if this model is maintained over time, the evacuation routes (
Figure 1b) along the inner coast and the accessibility to active scientific bases will not be affected except for the recession due to erosion identified on the slopes in front of the two bases, which could impede access as the altimetric difference between the beach and the terrain increases.
6. Conclusions
This study includes a numerical hydrodynamic model to evaluate future trends on the inner coast of Deception Island. Its bay is the main area for researchers and tourists to develop their activity by walking or by boat. The high morphological dynamism of the island allows for significant changes in the coastline within a few years, so future modifications could affect evacuation routes due to volcanic hazards or disable certain walking routes, so its modelling and evaluation of future evolution is important. Also, this area is complicated in terms of climate, where the long period of ice cover leaves the summer season only as a geomorphology study window. The numbers of cloudy days are predominant and limit the collection of clean satellite images as well. In this way, only a few historical satellite images and aerial frames are available. Cartographic data are another remarkable problem. The inexistence of a continuous updated of data in this government-free zone makes it necessary to mix various historical sources and find methodologies to adequately compare them with precision. Fortunately, in recent years, the cartographic projection, geodetic systems, and geoid height models have been better defined.
The proposed hydrodynamic model included the FLOW module with the sediment transport equation. The model has been forced to have boundary conditions at the water level boundary conditions corresponding to 10 tidal constituents obtained in previous studies. Excellent agreement was obtained for the tidal levels. In the absence of real measured data, a sensitivity study of the currents was carried out to make an estimate. It was found that by varying the Chèzy coefficient, the change in currents was not significant (3%), so the currents could be considered valid. The sediment transport pattern in the interior of the bay can only be induced by currents and wind, so these forcings would be sufficient to determine the trends of accretion / erosion.
The results obtained from the DELFT3D model for shoreline erosion/accretion changes during a whole year follow the same trend as those obtained from difference bathymetric surveys during the years 1991-2012. Therefore, the reliability of the results is high. The main bathymetric changes in the closer coastal areas and sedimentary plumes from melting activity are according to the model as well. While the overall volume of the island has been decreasing over time, this reduction is much greater than that observed in the bay because it is linked to ice loss in areas above 300m in elevation. It was challenging to discriminate areas with accumulated snow because many of them are covered with ash and blend in with the ground. However, some coastal erosion areas have been detected, consistent with the model dynamics and bathymetric changes (zones 1 and 2), as well as sedimentary areas (zones 4 and 6).
The erosion of this coastline is sensible on the border with the south orientation, where the walking path could be affected. If this model is maintained over time, the evacuation routes along the inner coast and the accessibility to active scientific bases will not be affected. However, the study of the visual evolution of the coastline reveals a discrepancy in front of scientific bases, where it identifies substantial erosion on the slope facing the beach. This dynamic could indeed impact the accessibility of the bases. The evolution of the coastline has determined erosional ratios up to 2 m / yr in slopes/cliff. Also, in less than 15 years, four craters from the last event are nearly visible infill with values up to 9 m. A considerable portion of the overall loss of surface material is received within the bay, including its own erosion from the submerged caldera's lateral walls, and accumulates at the bay's bottom. However, there is a substantial outward transfer of material to balance the figures. These observations highlight the dynamic nature of the coastline and the impact of various factors on the erosion and sedimentation processes on the inner coast.
Although the model was focused primarily on other factors such as tidal currents and morphodynamical processes, it could improve including changes in air pressure and wind at more points on the island to introduce both spatial and temporal variation, as well as an extensive field survey with different locations of tides and currents to calibrate and validate the model more accurately. Also, this study uses historical data with metres uncertainty and some field data. Although resampling techniques were applied and slope ranges were defined, altimetric/bathymetric differences showed high values and spatial-temporal trends did not offer statistical significance in all temporal studies. These altimetric differences joined to bathymetric modification found required the acquisition of new precise DEM, maybe with unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) flight, a new bathymetry and snowmelt runoff measurements to improve and validate these results.
Finally, though it was not the study's objective, it is essential to highlight the significant retreat experienced by the only glacier of the island, which increased its annual retreat to 14 m in the 2003-2020 interval compared to the 7 m / yr it experienced between 1970 and 2003, representing a 100% increase in its annual retreat. This loss aligns with the DEM volumetric loss detected primarily in the high-altitude area and linked to snow mass loss.
Figure 1.
Deception island: (
a) Map situation using the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) Web Map Service in EPSG 3395; (
b)Altimetric and Bathymetric digital models with hillshade, lakes, historical and active scientific bases, walks and evacuation routes from [
3], and changes of the main inner zones represented in geodetic and projection system EPSG 32720 (as all figures in this paper from here).
Figure 1.
Deception island: (
a) Map situation using the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO) Web Map Service in EPSG 3395; (
b)Altimetric and Bathymetric digital models with hillshade, lakes, historical and active scientific bases, walks and evacuation routes from [
3], and changes of the main inner zones represented in geodetic and projection system EPSG 32720 (as all figures in this paper from here).
Figure 2.
Overlap of the 1968 (purple line) and 2003 (red line) coastline in some 1968-2003-2020 visual geomorphological changes in Deception Island: (
a) Infill of the 1970 eruption craters, mainly 1, 4, 5 and 6 with the inferred 1970 rim in orange; (
b) Coastal erosion near Kroner Lake and opening to Port Foster (using a new 1968 orthophoto in b1); (
c) Coastal erosion near Hidden Lake and its opening to Port Foster and (
d) Black Glacier retreat acceleration. Zone letters are linked to red squares in
Figure 1b and all images have the same scale.
Figure 2.
Overlap of the 1968 (purple line) and 2003 (red line) coastline in some 1968-2003-2020 visual geomorphological changes in Deception Island: (
a) Infill of the 1970 eruption craters, mainly 1, 4, 5 and 6 with the inferred 1970 rim in orange; (
b) Coastal erosion near Kroner Lake and opening to Port Foster (using a new 1968 orthophoto in b1); (
c) Coastal erosion near Hidden Lake and its opening to Port Foster and (
d) Black Glacier retreat acceleration. Zone letters are linked to red squares in
Figure 1b and all images have the same scale.
Figure 4.
GIS methodology.
Figure 4.
GIS methodology.
Figure 5.
Mesh composition with COLA station (black diamond), tidal boundary, and melting streams with their tributaries and discharge points.
Figure 5.
Mesh composition with COLA station (black diamond), tidal boundary, and melting streams with their tributaries and discharge points.
Figure 6.
Calibration for COLA station. Blue circles correspond to the measured tide level data, and the white fill circles to the computed tide level data.
Figure 6.
Calibration for COLA station. Blue circles correspond to the measured tide level data, and the white fill circles to the computed tide level data.
Figure 7.
Results of the sensitivity study on the currents, changing the Chèzy coefficient at 45, 60, and 100.
Figure 7.
Results of the sensitivity study on the currents, changing the Chèzy coefficient at 45, 60, and 100.
Figure 8.
Sedimentation (green) and erosion (red) coastline patterns after a one-year simulation with the DELFT 3D numerical model and definition of study zones.
Figure 8.
Sedimentation (green) and erosion (red) coastline patterns after a one-year simulation with the DELFT 3D numerical model and definition of study zones.
Figure 9.
Overlap of the annual coastline regression on the gain-loss areas using opposite colours for a better contrast: (a) 1970-2003 and (b) 2003-2020.
Figure 9.
Overlap of the annual coastline regression on the gain-loss areas using opposite colours for a better contrast: (a) 1970-2003 and (b) 2003-2020.
Figure 10.
Some 1968 (purple line)-2003 (light green line)-2020 (blue line) visual coastline changes in Deception: column (a) the Black Glacier retreat; column (b) Sedimentation to the south of the Black Glacier; (c) Erosion of the existing slope in front of the Spanish base, and (d) Erosion in Pendulum Cove.
Figure 10.
Some 1968 (purple line)-2003 (light green line)-2020 (blue line) visual coastline changes in Deception: column (a) the Black Glacier retreat; column (b) Sedimentation to the south of the Black Glacier; (c) Erosion of the existing slope in front of the Spanish base, and (d) Erosion in Pendulum Cove.
Figure 11.
Temporal differences of DEMs over REMA hillshade and permanent snow (white line): (a) 1957-1968, (b) 1968-SIMAC, (c) SIMAC-REMA, (d) 1957-REMA, and (e) 1968-REMA.
Figure 11.
Temporal differences of DEMs over REMA hillshade and permanent snow (white line): (a) 1957-1968, (b) 1968-SIMAC, (c) SIMAC-REMA, (d) 1957-REMA, and (e) 1968-REMA.
Figure 12.
(
a) Altimetric trend 1956-2020 (mainly red square) and inner watersheds; (
b) slope ranges from CGE DEM; (
c) satellite plume areas (own source) and some geomorphological elements from [
32] and (
d) altimetric differences in GNSS points between SIMAC-REMA over REMA hillshade.
Figure 12.
(
a) Altimetric trend 1956-2020 (mainly red square) and inner watersheds; (
b) slope ranges from CGE DEM; (
c) satellite plume areas (own source) and some geomorphological elements from [
32] and (
d) altimetric differences in GNSS points between SIMAC-REMA over REMA hillshade.
Figure 13.
Port Foster temporal bathymetric study: (a) bathymetric differences between 1991-2005: (b) 2005-2012; (c) 1991-2012; (d) Slope areas in degrees with bathymetry contour -160 and -150m from 1991 (dark blue) and 2012 (light blue); (e) Heat maps of nº points in 50m cells from MDGS data and (f) trend of this MDGS data along its period.
Figure 13.
Port Foster temporal bathymetric study: (a) bathymetric differences between 1991-2005: (b) 2005-2012; (c) 1991-2012; (d) Slope areas in degrees with bathymetry contour -160 and -150m from 1991 (dark blue) and 2012 (light blue); (e) Heat maps of nº points in 50m cells from MDGS data and (f) trend of this MDGS data along its period.
Table 1.
Orthophotos, satellite images, coastlines and cartographic information.
Table 1.
Orthophotos, satellite images, coastlines and cartographic information.
Denomination |
Digital Source |
Description/ Spatial Resolution or Scale |
Date |
1968 orthophoto |
Own from [26] |
Orthophoto from FIDASE flight / 0.8 m |
1968 |
New QB1
|
Own from [3] |
QuickBird Satellite image/ 0.6 m |
2003-jan-20 |
K31
|
Own from [26] |
KOMPSAT-32 Satellite image/ 0.7 m |
2020-feb-09 |
Sentinel images |
ESA |
Sentinel 2 Satellite Images/ 10 m |
2017-mar-30, 2019-feb-23, 2019-dec-30, 2020-feb-08, 2020-dec-27,2021-jan-13, 2021-jan-06, 2021-feb-02, 2022-mar-29 (snow cover) |
Google Earth Images |
Google Earth |
Satellite images / several resolutions |
2002-jan-15, 2005-oct-20 (snow cover), 2013-dec-29. |
Sediment plumes |
Own from all satellite images |
Visual delineation of sediment plumes |
2002-2022 |
Level contours |
SIMAC from CGE map |
Line / 1:25 000 |
1970 and 2003 |
Melting Streams |
SIMAC from CGE map |
Line / 1:25 000 |
1970 and 2003 |
Coastline 1968 |
Own from [26] |
Line / 1:25 000 |
1968 |
Coastline 1970 |
SIMAC from [38] |
Line / 1:25 000 |
1970 |
Coastline 2003 |
SIMAC from new QB |
Line / 1:25 000 |
2003 |
Coastline 2020 |
Own from [26] |
Line / 1:25 000 |
2020 |
Geomorphological map |
SIMAC from [32] |
Group layers / 1:25 000 |
2002 |
Table 2.
Digital Elevation Models (DEM).
Table 2.
Digital Elevation Models (DEM).
Denomination |
Digital Source |
Format Used/ Spatial Resolution |
Date |
DOS DEM |
SIMAC from [39] |
ESRI Grid/ 20 m |
1956 |
1957 DEM |
Own from [26] |
Tiff file/ 2.7 m |
1957 |
1968 DEM |
Own from [26] |
Tiff file/ 2.7 m |
1968 |
CGE DEM |
SIMAC from CGE map |
ESRI Grid/ 2 m |
1968 and 1986 |
REMA |
REMA [37] |
Two Tiff files (45_04_2_2_2m_v2.0 and 45_05_2_1_2m_v2.0)/ 2 m |
2009-20211
|
Table 3.
Digital Bathymetry Models (DBM).
Table 3.
Digital Bathymetry Models (DBM).
Denomination |
Digital Source |
Format Used/Spatial Resolution or Distance Between Points |
Date |
DBM CGE |
Adapted from CGE/IHM/IEO [32] |
ESRI Grid/ 2 m |
1988-91 |
Bathymetry LMG0010 |
MGDS [46] |
Ten Dat files/ points in line each < 120 m |
2000 |
Bathymetry LMG0102 |
MGDS [47] |
One Dat file/ points in line each < 120 m |
2001 |
Bathymetry LMG0704 |
MGDS [48] |
Two Dat files/ points in line each < 120 m |
2007 |
Bathymetry LMG0712 |
MGDS [49] |
One Dat file/ points in line each < 120 m |
2007 |
Bathymetry LMG0903 |
MGDS [50] |
Four Dat files/ points in line each < 120 m |
2009 |
DBM MGDS mean |
Interpolated from previous MGDS |
Esri Grid / 50 m |
20051
|
DBM IHM |
IHM [18] |
Esri Grid / 10 m |
2012 (central bay) 2016 (some coastal zones) |
External DBM South Shetlands |
British Antarctic Survey [51] |
A Ascii file/ 100 m |
1991-2017 |
Table 4.
Results of the amplitude (u) and phase (φ) results of the measured and computed current data of the harmonic components M2 and K1.
Table 4.
Results of the amplitude (u) and phase (φ) results of the measured and computed current data of the harmonic components M2 and K1.
|
u [m/s] |
φ [º] |
|
Measured |
Computed |
Measured |
Computed |
M2 |
0.13 |
0.013 |
33 |
34 |
K1 |
0.09 |
0.009 |
173 |
180 |
Table 5.
Statistical data from inner watershed DEM differences.
Table 5.
Statistical data from inner watershed DEM differences.
Type |
Difference |
Area |
Min/Max |
Mean (m) |
Std dev (m) |
DEM |
REMA-SIMAC |
All |
-84 / 74 |
-2,3 |
8,1 |
Flat (<=2º) |
|
-1.2 |
3.7 |
|
Medium slope (<=9º) |
|
-3.4 |
7.1 |
|
High slope (>9º) |
|
-6 |
13.1 |
1968-1957 |
All |
-78 / 86 |
4 |
8.9 |
Flat (<=2º) |
|
1.4 |
8.4 |
Medium slope (<=9º) |
|
3.6 |
9.4 |
High slope (>9º) |
|
4.5 |
8.6 |
SIMAC-1968 |
All |
-78 / 62 |
-0.5 |
13 |
Flat |
|
3.4 |
7.1 |
Medium slope |
|
0.2 |
10.9 |
High slope |
|
-0.7 |
13.8 |
REMA-SIMAC |
All |
-84 / 74 |
-6.9 |
12.2 |
Flat |
|
-2.6 |
4.2 |
Medium slope |
|
-5.5 |
7.8 |
High slope |
|
-7.9 |
13.9 |
REMA-1957 |
All |
-88 / 65 |
-3.4 |
12 |
Flat |
|
2.2 |
8.3 |
Medium slope |
|
-1.6 |
12 |
High slope |
|
-4.1 |
12.2 |
REMA-1968 |
All |
-94 / 56 |
-7.5 |
12.4 |
Flat |
|
0.8 |
8.2 |
Medium slope |
|
-5.3 |
12.2 |
High slope |
|
-8.7 |
12.4 |
DBM |
SIMAC- MDGS mean |
All |
-51 / 34 |
-3.4 |
7.5 |
Flat (<=2º) |
|
-1.5 |
4.3 |
Medium slope (<=9º) |
|
-7.5 |
9.9 |
High slope (>9º) |
|
-12.5 |
15.7 |
MDGS mean- IHM mean |
All |
-51 / 34 |
5.8 |
3.4 |
Flat |
|
6.2 |
2.4 |
Medium slope |
|
5.3 |
3.6 |
High slope |
|
0.5 |
10.3 |
SIMAC- IHM mean |
All |
-50 / 76 |
1.5 |
10.8 |
Flat |
|
4.6 |
4.3 |
Medium slope |
|
-0.5 |
10.1 |
High slope |
|
-0.04 |
17.1 |
Table 6.
Volumetric study.
Table 6.
Volumetric study.
Type |
Dataset |
Plane (m) |
Reference |
Area 3D (km2) |
Vol. Land/ Water (km3) |
Dif. Vol. (km3) |
Ratio (hm3 / yr) |
DEM |
REMA |
0 |
ABOVE |
48,06 |
5,94 |
-0,32 |
-0,23 |
100 |
ABOVE |
23,93 |
2,77 |
-0,23 |
-0,33 |
200 |
ABOVE |
12,33 |
1,15 |
-0,13 |
-0,37 |
300 |
ABOVE |
5,27 |
0,37 |
-0,06 |
-0,36 |
400 |
ABOVE |
1,48 |
0,07 |
-0,02 |
-0,50 |
CGE DEM |
0 |
ABOVE |
48,02 |
6,26 |
-0,03 |
-0,03 |
100 |
ABOVE |
24,31 |
3,00 |
-0,10 |
-0,23 |
200 |
ABOVE |
13,25 |
1,28 |
-0,09 |
-0,40 |
300 |
ABOVE |
5,71 |
0,42 |
-0,06 |
-0,60 |
400 |
ABOVE |
1,75 |
0,09 |
-0,03 |
-0,89 |
1968 DEM |
0 |
ABOVE |
47,42 |
6,28 |
0,19 |
0,36 |
100 |
ABOVE |
25,50 |
3,10 |
0,13 |
0,46 |
200 |
ABOVE |
14,19 |
1,37 |
0,09 |
0,55 |
300 |
ABOVE |
6,46 |
0,48 |
0,06 |
0,78 |
400 |
ABOVE |
2,12 |
0,12 |
0,03 |
1,38 |
1957 DEM |
0 |
ABOVE |
47,17 |
6,10 |
NA |
|
100 |
ABOVE |
24,33 |
2,97 |
NA |
|
200 |
ABOVE |
13,51 |
1,29 |
NA |
|
300 |
ABOVE |
6,06 |
0,43 |
NA |
|
400 |
ABOVE |
1,84 |
0,09 |
NA |
|
DBM |
DBM IHM1 |
0 |
BELOW |
38,53 |
3,90 |
0,09 |
0,0966 |
-100 |
BELOW |
22,72 |
0,83 |
0,02 |
0,0004 |
-150 |
BELOW |
9,32 |
0,07 |
-0,02 |
-0,0010 |
DBM CGE1 |
0 |
BELOW |
37,76 |
3,81 |
NA |
|
-100 |
BELOW |
20,81 |
0,81 |
NA |
|
-150 |
BELOW |
8,60 |
0,09 |
NA |
|