Multi-Scale Anthropogenic Control on Sandy Shoreline Evolution: A 30-Year Remote Sensing Analysis of Western Liaodong Bay (1995–2024)

Abstract

Abstract

Sandy coastlines are dynamic geomorphological units supporting dense human populations and intensive economic activities. However, their evolution is increasingly dominated by anthropogenic modification rather than natural processes. This study investigates shoreline evolution along the western Liaodong Bay coast, China, where extensive anthropogenic engineering has potentially altered natural dynamics. A 30-year satellite-derived shoreline (SDS) analysis of 23 sandy beaches (Xingcheng–Suizhong, 1995–2024) was conducted using the CoastSeg framework and DSAS statistical methods across three sub-periods (1995–2005, 2005–2015, 2015–2024). Shoreline change rates ranged from −1.35 to +2.12 m/yr; 11 beaches (47.8%) exhibited net erosion and 12 (52.2%) net accretion or stability, with marked spatial heterogeneity within individual beaches. This complex spatio-temporal pattern shows the strongest spatial correspondence with the non-uniform distribution of anthropogenic structures—including ports, breakwaters, and land reclamation—which generate an “engineering proximity effect” that may fragment natural beach continuity and contribute to a regional alternating erosion–accretion mosaic pattern, though direct mechanistic verification awaits future hydrodynamic modeling. Shoreline evolution along the western Liaodong Bay coast has entered a stage of “multi-layered anthropogenic control,” requiring frameworks that integrate multi-scale, multi-process coupling mechanisms and transcend traditional regional-averaging approaches. These findings provide critical insights for spatially differentiated management of engineering-intensive sandy coasts.