
Measurements of Near-shore Sediment Dynamics in the Eastern Mediterranean using Repeat Campaigns of Bathymetric Airborne LiDAR
Mushkin, A. (1), Rozen, N. (1,2), Crouvi, O. (1), Katz, O. (1), Agnon, A. (2), Lensky, N. (1,2), Lapid, R. (3), Kor, R. (3), Katz, T. (4)
(1) Geological Survey of Israel, 32 Yesha'ayahu Leibowitz, Jerusalem 9692100, Israel
(2) The Fredy and Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
(4) Israel Oceanographic & Limnological Research Ltd., Tel-Shikmona, P.O.Box 8030, Haifa 31080, Israel
(5) Hetz Hazafon Mapping & Engineering, Hasadna St. 3, Tirat Carmel 3912001, Israel
The scarcity of quantitative constraints on sediment dynamics in shallow (<30 m depth) near-shore environments presents a primary knowledge gap in our understanding of coastal processes. To address this shortcoming along the Nile Littoral Cell (NLC) in the eastern Mediterranean we employed repeat airborne LiDAR scans to measure near-shore and on-shore intra-annual bathymetric changes along a 3-km-long cliff-dominated coastal stretch located approximately 60 km south of the NLC termination at Haifa Bay. A Leica Chiroptera 4X LiDAR sensor flown at 470 m above sea level was used to map onland topography and underwater bathymetry at an average scan density of 10 pts/m2 during five separate campaigns carried out 11/2022, 6/2023 and 9/2023, 12/2024 and 1/2025. An effective water penetration depth of 16-18 m was achieved in all five campaigns. Bathymetric difference maps revealed that detectable deposition/erosion (i.e., differences >15 cm) were limited to water depths of 0-7 meters. In general, underwater areas that experienced erosion or deposition during the ‘winter’ season (11/2022-6/2023) experienced subsequent ‘balancing’ deposition or erosion, respectively, during the summer period (6-9/2023). Altogether, a net near-shore sediment gain of ~15,000 m3 per km beach was measured during the entire study period while the volume of mobilized sediment was at least an order of magnitude higher during both winter and summer seasons. This relation between mobilized sediment volumes and effective net gain suggests a dynamically maintained sediment equilibrium state similar to that previously measured for the on-land sections of this beach. The orientation of mapped bathymetric bedforms and their seasonal changes suggest near-shore sediment-transport vectors with effective E-W and northwards components during both winter and summer along this part of the NLC.