Headland bypassing and overpassing: form, processes and applications

Abstract This chapter reviews the status of headland bypassing (HB) and headland overpassing (HO) research. These processes are fundamental components of the many headland-bound coastal sediment budgets, as they can connect the coastal cells and support the continuity of the sediment transport around or over headlands. This review starts by presenting an overall definition and evolution of the research in this topic. This is followed by the main components of headland bypassing and overpassing (HB&O) processes, addressing the sediment availability, geomorphological constraints and the driving forces. It then describes the HB&O conceptual models and the methods used to investigate bypassing and overpassing. The chapter concludes with examples of HB&O concepts and a discussion on the perspectives, challenges and outlook for the research agenda into headland sediment bypassing and overpassing.