This paper reports ongoing exploration of X-band radar as an operational monitoring tool for coastal infrastructure development. Data have been continually gathered since 2013, helping a major energy developer (EDF Energy) better understand shoreline processes at a proposed new nuclear power station at Sizewell, UK, to inform considerations of engineering design. The continual coverage provided by the radar enables greater confidence in defining natural variability and therefore enhanced assurance to regulators of the integrity or suitability of the site.

Sizewell is located on a low-lying, soft coast with at least 1000 years of recorded (net) retreat. The commercial X-band system deployed calculates hydrodynamic data (suitable for managing navigation and vessel access), but this paper illustrates using radar images to establish the pre-construction baseline geomorphic behaviour of the nearshore, including a steep pebbly beach-face, two shore-parallel sub-tidal sandbars, and a large sandbank, 2 km offshore, which significantly affects nearshore hydrodynamics. Data illustrate baseline geomorphic behaviours that were previously unobserved, despite beach profiling records over 20 years. The temporal and spatial scales of natural changes are compared with the potential impacts of the development, including dredging (and spoil deposition) for navigation channel maintenance and the presence of nearshore structures, all of which would affect shoreline processes and so would need to be monitored (and any impacts managed) as development proceeds. Finally, the paper considers where the utility of X-band radar as an operational monitoring tool may surmount the barriers that have limited its uptake outside of academic/research circles.

本文报告了正在进行的X波段雷达探索，将其作为沿海基础设施发展的运行监控工具。自2013年以来，一直在收集数据，以帮助一家主要的能源开发商（EDF Energy）更好地了解位于英国Sizewell的拟议新建核电站的海岸线过程，从而为工程设计提供依据。雷达提供的连续覆盖范围使人们对确定自然变异具有更大的信心，因此可以增强对监管机构对现场完整性或适用性的保证。

Sizewell位于一个低洼的软海岸上，至少有1000年的记录（净）退缩。部署的商用X波段系统可计算流体力学数据（适用于管理导航和船只访问），但本文说明了如何使用雷达图像来确定近岸（包括陡峭的卵石滩面，两岸）的施工前基线地貌行为。 -平行的潮汐沙洲和大的沙洲（离岸2公里），极大地影响了近岸的水动力。尽管有20多年的海滩剖析记录，但数据说明了以前从未观察到的基线地貌行为。将自然变化的时空尺度与发展的潜在影响进行比较，包括用于航道维护的疏（（和弃土沉积）以及近岸结构的存在，所有这些都会影响海岸线过程，因此在开发过程中需要进行监控（以及管理的任何影响）。最后，本文考虑了X波段雷达作为一种操作监视工具的实用性可能在哪些方面克服了限制其在学术界/研究界之外使用的障碍。