Chapter 8 Space Time Monitoring of Beach Morphodynamics: A Black Box Approach

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a black box input–output model approach and applies it to a study conducted on a stretch of shoreline along Point Pelee, Ontario. Black box input–output models treat systems as unknown wholes, whose internal structures are not analyzed in detail, and the analyses are focused on the characteristics of the outputs relative to the characteristics of the inputs. These models are used for space–time monitoring of beach morphodynamics. A series of input–output analyses may reveal certain salient aspects of the spatial–temporal dynamics of a system, which may not be obtainable where reliable data on key system control variables are unavailable. Beaches are open, dynamic, and process-response systems. In the management of beaches and other natural systems, it is important to identify the relevant negative-feedback mechanisms to promote the maintenance of dynamic homeostasis because any practice that might seriously disrupt these stabilizing mechanisms could ultimately destroy the resource value of the system.