우리나라 서해안 침식 특성 및 관측 방안 연구

Abstract

The west coast of Korea is a macrotidal environment with a mean tidal range exceeding 4m, exhibiting erosion characteristics distinct from the wave dominated east coast. This study compares the erosional forcing characteristics of the west coast with those of the east coast by analyzing 15 years (2010-2024) of wave and tidal data. The study results revealed that the overall frequency of high waves (significant wave height > 3m) on the west coast was approximately 52% of that on the east coast. However, this proportion decreased sharply to about 2% when limited to periods of spring high tide, which has a direct impact on coastline. Although high-tide events are far less frequent along the west coast, the proportion of erosion-prone areas (classified as C and D) still reaches 43% of that on the east coast. This contrasting outcome suggests that factors beyond high-wave activity during spring high tides, such as wave energy dissipation across the wide intertidal zone, may also play a significant role in driving long-term coastal erosion on the west coast. This paper identifies this intertidal erosion process and aeolian sand transport as key additional factors. As current monitoring is concentrated near the coastline and fails to capture these large scale dynamics, this study proposes a multifaceted research approach integrating Real-Time Kinematic (RTK) drone surveys, numerical modeling with moving boundary conditions, and Natural Wave Tank Experiments (NWTE), as an essential future direction for advancing west coast erosion studies.