Sediment characterization of beach sediment along a part of the West Coast of India:Implications for the Climate change.

The seasonal variations in the textural parameters and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) of beach sediments were collected along the Purangad to Gaonkhadi coast of the Ratnagiri district, Maharashtra, India. A total of 56 samples (28 samples from each season i.e. pre-monsoon and post-monsoon) were collected from multiple beach locations, encompassing diverse geomorphological features. The foreshore sediments show symmetrical to strongly fine skewed whereas, backshore sediments are fine skewed to strongly fine skewed. During post-monsoon (POM) season, foreshore and backshore sediments are coarse-grained sand, whereas raised beach and foredune sediments show fine-grained sand. The foreshore sediments are poorly sorted to very poorly sorted, while the backshore and raised beach sediments are moderately sorted to poorly sorted. The linear discriminant analysis (LDA) plots of sediments fall in a shallow marine environment, while few sediments fall in a shallow beach environment. PCA revealed distinct clusters corresponding to different beach environments, highlighting the influence of local geological sources and human activities on sand composition. The first two principal components explained approximately 78% of the total variance, with grain size and mineralogy being the most significant factors. This analysis underscores the utility of PCA in environmental geosciences, providing insights into sediment dynamics and the ecological implications of coastal processes. The findings contribute to a deeper understanding of coastal sedimentology and offer a framework for future beach system resilience and management studies.