A High-Precision LiDAR-Based Method for Surveying and Classifying Coastal Notches

Formation of notches is an important process in the erosion of seaside cliffs. Monitoring of coastal notch erosion rate and processes has become a prime research focus for many coastal geomorphologists. Observation of notch erosion rate considers a number of characteristics, including cliff collapse risk, distinction of historical sea levels, and recognition of ongoing erosional mechanisms. This study presents new approaches for surveying and classifying marine notches based on a high-precision light detection and ranging (LiDAR)-based experiment performed on a small region of a coastal cliff in southern Portugal. A terrestrial LiDAR scanner was used to measure geometrical parameters and surface roughness of selected notches, enabling their classification according to shape and origin. The implemented methodology proved to be a highly effective tool for providing an unbiased analysis of marine morphodynamic processes acting on the seaside cliffs. In the analyzed population of voids carved into Miocene calcarenites in a coastal cliff section, two types of notch morphology were distinguished, namely U-shaped and V-shaped. The method presented here provides valuable data for landscape evaluation, sea-level changes, and any other types of analyses that rely on the accurate interpretation of cliff morphological features.