Beach morphodynamic response to hurricane events using new metamodeling approach. Case study in Martinique

The vulnerability of small islands in the Lesser Antilles to coastal erosion and submersion is particularly pronounced, due to their occasional exposure to tropical storms and hurricanes. These meteorological events unleash energetic waves and increase water levels, with substantial modifications of the coastline playing a crucial role in the long-term evolution of beaches. In the context of Martinique, the complex links between extreme weather events and coastal erosion remain poorly documented while shoreline retreat projections in this region critically rely on the development of a comprehensive quantitative understanding of the sediment budget. This includes an acute consideration of short-term sedimentary contribution associated with extreme events as well. To better understand and anticipate the impacts of extreme events on the shoreline, we build a deep neural network model fed by 600 numerical simulations from an offline-coupling 2D morphodynamic model at one beach in Martinique. The use of this innovative approach marks a step towards improving our ability to predict and understand the ramifications of severe weather events on the fragile coastal landscapes of Martinique and Caribbean region in general.