Beach profiles at each of the two sites were measured from the base of the foredune to the low-water mark and at low tide.
Sediment samples consisting of three replicates (cores 25 mm diameter, 300 mm deep) were taken from each site, considering the supralittoral and intertidal zones separately, to determine sediment moisture content, sediment organic matter and granulometry.
In the laboratory, sediment moisture content was determined as total weight loss after being dried to a constant weight (60◦ C for 72 h).
Sedimentary organic matter content was defined as the difference between the weight of each sample after oven-drying at 60 ◦C for 72 h followed by combustion at 450 ◦C for 8 h, and was expressed as the percentage of the total weight.
Granulometry analyses were performed by dry-sieving with a sieve shaker with different mesh sizes, corresponding to the five classes described by Brown and McLachlan (1990): (a) gravel (>2000 m), (b) coarse sand (500–2000 m), (c) mean sand (250–500 m), (d) fine sand (63–250 m), and (e) silt and clay (