Distribution and Transition of Coastal Topographic Features at Three Different Periods from Meiji Era

Abstract

Geographic Survey Institute, Japan, recently developed a database of the coastal landforms along the Japanese coastline for three different periods from Meiji Era. In this study, the distribution of coastal geographic features and their transitions were analyzed for Meiji, after World War II, and Heisei periods using this database. Though natural coasts such as sandy beaches and cliffs were predominant in Meiji and after WWII periods, Japanese coastline has become artificial in a large scale since mid 1950s. One of the most significant changes was that a segment of coastline with the same landform became remarkably short. This tendency means that the natural cell of sediment transport has been segmented resulting in problems of erosion and abnormal deposition along the coast. Such segmentalization of the coastline is a barrier for coastal management plans.