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Shoreline management plan for a protected but eroding coast along southwest
coast of India

Article  in  International Journal of Sediment Research · February 2017

DOI: 10.1016/j.ijsrc.2017.02.004

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Original Research

Shoreline management plan for a protected but eroding coast along

the southwest coast of India
Varangalil Noujas a,b,n, Kachapally Varghese Thomas c,d, Nalumakkal Raveendran Ajeesh e,f
a
Research Scholar, National Centre for Earth Science Studies, Trivandrum 695011, India
b
Project Scientist, ICMAM PD, Chennai 600100, India
c
Scientist G & Group Head, Coastal Processes Group (Rtd.), National Centre for Earth Science Studies, Trivandrum 695011, India
d
Adjunct Faculty, Kerala University of Fisheries and Ocean Studies, Kochi 682506, India
e
M Tech Student, National Institute of Technology, Karnataka, Manglore, Karnataka 575025, India
f
Engineer (Offshore Structures), WS Atkins, SAIF Zone, Sharjah, Po Box 7774, UAE

art ic l e i nf o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Coastal erosion is a serious problem of concern along the southwest (SW) coast of India. Various coastal pro-
Received 4 July 2016 tection measures have been applied for the recovery of the coast, but the devastating effect of erosion still
Received in revised form continues. The present study focuses on a coastal stretch situated on the southern sector of the SW coast of
28 November 2016
India, where Sundar and Sannasiraj (2006) proposed a groyne field along with an existing seawall to control
Accepted 16 February 2017
severe erosion. In order to confirm the net littoral drift of this region and for a preliminary assessment of the
performance of the groynes prior to construction of the proposed groyne field, two groynes were initially
Keywords: constructed as a pilot program in 2008-09. Periodic monitoring of shoreline position with the two groynes in
Sediment transport place was carried out during 2009-14. A shoreline evolution model for the study region was setup, calibrated,
Erosion
and validated using field observations during 2010-11. In addition to traditional shoreline evolution modelling
Shoreline change
procedures, a profile simulation model was applied for simulating the shoreline behaviour during extreme
Groyne field
LITPACK model monsoon seasons. The validated LITPACK model has been used to evaluate the performance of the proposed
groyne field in controlling erosion, and the study also considered testing a modified transitional groyne field
proposed as an alternative solution to the existing problem, and the modified transitional groyne field was
found to be more effective than the prior design. A beach is expected to develop about 30–50 m within the
groyne cells during the fair season which enhances the possibility of retaining a minimum beach width of 10 m
during monsoon periods.
& 2017 International Research and Training Centre on Erosion and Sedimentation/the World Association for
Sedimentation and Erosion Research. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction of India (ASR Limited, 2010). In some sectors, coastal protection mea-
sures applied have been holding the shoreline successfully, and these
The southwest (SW) coast of India is highly erosion prone and structures undergo regular maintenance, whereas some other locations
about 70% of this coastline is affected by erosion (Kumar et al., 2006; have reported collapse of coastal structures, end erosion, and scouring
NCSCM, 2011) and the nature of this coast has been studied by especially in areas adjoining seawalls (Thomas et al., 2013), subse-
numerous researchers (Baba et al., 1987; Kurian & Baba, 1987; quently making the structure ineffective.
Mechado, 1995; Noujas & Thomas, 2015; Shaji, 2014; Shamji et al., The main objective of the present study is to address the man-
2010; Thomas et al., 1986). The past century has witnessed the agement of a critically eroding sector along the SW coast of India
installation of various hard engineering measures viz. groynes, sea- (Fig. 1) where seawalls were not effective in controlling erosion. Several
walls, seawall-groyne combination, etc. along the SW coast of India to studies have been done world over to assess the effectiveness of
control coastal erosion. Recently non-structural methods such as arti- groynes or groyne fields on beaches (e.g., Brampton & Goldberg, 1991a,
ficial reefs, have been experimented with at Kovalam on the SW coast b; Gungordu & Otay, 1997; Hanson & Kraus, 1991; Kraus et al., 1994;
Leont’yev, 1997; Moutzouris, 1992; Noujas et al., 2014a,b; Noujas et al.,
2016; Ozolcer et al., 2006; Press, 1962; Price & Tomlinson, 1968).
n
Corresponding author at: National Centre for Earth science Studies, Trivandrum
Instead of the regular seawalls and groyne fields, a combination of
695011, India.
E-mail addresses: [email protected] (V. Noujas), seawalls and T-groynes were proposed for the southern stretch of the
[email protected] (K.V. Thomas), [email protected] (N.R. Ajeesh). SW coast of India by Sundar and Sannasiraj (2006) for implementation

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsrc.2017.02.004
1001-6279/& 2017 International Research and Training Centre on Erosion and Sedimentation/the World Association for Sedimentation and Erosion Research. Published by
Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Please cite this article as: Noujas, V., et al. Shoreline management plan for a protected but eroding coast along the southwest coast of
India. International Journal of Sediment Research (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsrc.2017.02.004i
2 V. Noujas et al. / International Journal of Sediment Research ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎

Fig. 1. Panathura coast along the southern sector of the southwest coast of India.

by the Irrigation Department, Government of Kerala. The two northern approximate water depth at the offshore end of the groyne is 2 m. Field
most groynes, G1 and G2, out of the 10 proposed groynes were con- observations made for the present study revealed major deviations
structed in 2008-09 for monitoring shoreline changes and morpholo- from the scenario predicted by Sundar and Sannasiraj (2006), and
gical modifications (Fig. 1). The groynes G1 and G2 are 25 and 35 m numerical modelling studies were done using LITPACK (Danish
long, respectively. The G2 groyne has a length less than the 50 m Hydraulic Institute (DHI), 2012) to re-evaluate the proposed design.
proposed in the model study (Sundar & Sannasiraj, 2006). The

Please cite this article as: Noujas, V., et al. Shoreline management plan for a protected but eroding coast along the southwest coast of
India. International Journal of Sediment Research (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsrc.2017.02.004i
 V. Noujas et al. / International Journal of Sediment Research ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎ 3

Fig 2. (a) Initial coastline utilized for the LITLINE model for the Panathura coast and (b) cross-shore profile utilized for the LITLINE model (non-monsoon).

2. Regional setting
Table 1
Monthly average wave climate during non monsoon period.
Kovalam-Panathura-Poonthura is a small coastal stretch on the
west coast of India, situated on the southern side of Kerala. The Month Average Hs Mean wave direction Tz
present study area is a highly unstable coast extending from north (m) (MWD-deg N) ( s)
of the Kovalam headland upto Poonthura (Fig. 1). The tidal inlet at
January 0.54 200 10.6
Panathura is about 3 km north of the Kovalam headland. A seawall
February 0.66 200 10
was constructed as a coastal protection measure along the entire March 0.71 200 9.9
coastal stretch from the Kovalam headland to Panathura inlet in April 0.77 199 10.3
the 1980 s. The coastal stretch immediately north of the inlet is an September 1.55 214 8.4
October 1.31 200 10.4
open coast. About 1 km north of the inlet, a transitional groyne
November 0.69 202 9.1
field exists at Poonthura along with seawalls. This 3 km stretch December 0.76 200 11.1
from the Kovalam headland to Panathura continues to be a highly
eroding coast though seawalls were constructed for protection Hs ¼ Significant wave height, Tz ¼ Zero crossing wave period.
(Thomas et al., 2007). Normal coastal processes of cyclic erosion/
accretion following monsoon (rough) and non-monsoon (fair) that comparative studies of shorelines obtained from maps/data of
waves have disappeared following the construction of the sea- different scales/resolution are subject to certain errors due to
walls. The beach (frontal beach) no longer forms seaward of the difficulty in one-to-one matching of the maps, and these errors
seawalls. The net sediment transport is towards northward and may be reduced to a certain extent by using precise Ground
approximately (0.72 to 1) x 105 m3/year (Kumar et al., 2006; Control Points (GCPs) from the area of study for geo-referencing
Noujas et al., 2014a; Sajeev et al., 1997; Shamji et al., 2010; Thomas the toposheet. The same GCPs have been used as the control
et al., 2010). points for GPS shoreline mapping, and precautions were taken to
Sundar and Sannasiraj (2006) proposed a transitional T-groyne minimize any distortion during scanning of the toposheet.
system, consisting of 10 groynes of varying lengths along with Wave data available from a nearby location at Valiathura, 6 km
existing seawalls as an additional protection measure for this region, north of the study area, have been used for the present study. The
and a beach was supposed to develop in between the groynes. The general shoreline orientation is southeast (SE)-northwest (NW)
two northern most groynes, G1 and G2, out of the 10 proposed along the study region. The coast being straight and depth con-
groynes, for which construction commenced during the post- tours being straight and parallel the data collected at Valiathura
monsoon period of 2008, were completed just before the beginning are expected to be similar to that of the study region.
of the 2009 monsoon. Due to logistical reasons, experimental groynes Sediment transport and shoreline variation were estimated
were constructed without the T-head. Later eight groynes were con- using the LITPACK software package developed by the Danish
structed at Poonthura, about 2 km north of Panathura. Hydraulic Institute (DHI, 2012). It is a numerical model in the MIKE
software package for simulating non-cohesive sediment transport
driven by waves and currents along quasi-uniform beaches. The
3. Materials and methods main modules of LITPACK include LITDRIFT (Longshore current
and littoral drift), LITLINE (Coastline evolution), and LITPROF
As mentioned in previous sections, the two northern most (Cross-shore profile evolution). Shoreline evolution from model
groynes, G1 and G2, out of the 10 proposed groynes were con- simulation is validated with the observed shorelines with the two
structed during 2008-09. Shoreline mapping has been done prior in situ groynes, and the study has further recommended a mod-
to and after the construction of the groynes to understand ified design for the coast.
shoreline and morphological changes. These data were also used The LITDRIFT calculates the net/gross littoral transport over a
as input for numerical modelling studies. Dumpy levels (Leica/ specific design period. It simulates the cross-shore distribution of
Nippon) and Sliding Level Estimation Device (SLED) have been wave height, setup, and longshore current for an arbitrary coastal
used for beach and nearshore profiling, respectively. The beach profile. It provides a detailed deterministic description of the cross-
profiling accuracy is of 7 1 cm and profiling was done at a 5 m shore distribution of the longshore sediment transport for an arbi-
interval across the beach. The SLED profiles were taken to extend trary bathymetry for both regular and irregular sea states. The long-
the profile up to the surf zone region. Visual Littoral Environ- shore and cross-shore momentum balance equation is solved to give
mental Observations (LEO) was also done along the study region. the cross-shore distribution of longshore current and setup.
The LEO helps to have a general understanding of the beach state Based on the results from LITDRIFT, LITLINE simulates the
and surf zone conditions (Coastal Engineering Research Centre coastal response to gradients in longshore sediment transport.
(CERC), 1987). Long term shoreline variations were estimated by LITLINE calculates the coastline evolution by solving a continuity
comparing the shoreline of 1989 obtained from the Survey of India equation for the sediment in the littoral zone. The influence of
toposheetat 1:25000 scale and that from Global Positioning Sys- structures, sources and sinks is included. With jetties and break-
tem (GPS) shoreline mapping during 2009-14. It is highlighted waters, the influence of diffraction on the wave climate is also

Please cite this article as: Noujas, V., et al. Shoreline management plan for a protected but eroding coast along the southwest coast of
India. International Journal of Sediment Research (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsrc.2017.02.004i
4 V. Noujas et al. / International Journal of Sediment Research ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎

included. LITLINE calculates the coastline position based on input 4. Results and discussion
of the wave climate as a time series. The model, with minor
modifications, is based on one-line theory, in which the cross- The nearshore processes of the study area is analysed from field
shore profile is assumed to remain unchanged during erosion/ observations and numerical modelling studies.
accretion. Thus, the coastal morphology is solely described by the
coastline position (cross-shore direction) and the coastal profile at 4.1. Nearshore wave characteristics and coastal processes
a given long-shore position.
LITPROF describes cross-shore profile changes by solving the The south west monsoon (June to September); post-monsoon
bottom sediment continuity equation based on the sediment (October to January); and pre-monsoon (February to May) are the
transport rates calculated by Sediment Transport Program (STP). major seasonal classifications along the Indian coastline as described
Being a time-domain model, LITPROF includes the effects of by Kumar and Deo (2004). For the description of the coastal and
changing morphology on the wave climate and transport regime. nearshore processes along the south west coast of India, wave cli-
This enables a simulation of profile development for a time- mate and coastal process have been classified under fair and rough
varying incident wave field. seasons consisting of November to April and June to September,
The main input data for LITLINE is the initial coastline which is respectively (Baba & Kurian, 1988). May and October are transitional
extracted from field GPS surveys (Fig. 2a). Bathymetry collected months. The rough season represents mostly monsoon months
using the SLED profile and beach profile are given in the form of a while the fair reason represents both pre-monsoon and post mon-
soon months. The significant wave height (Hs) recorded during
cross-shore profile (Fig. 2b). A grid spacing of 10 m is considered
monsoon season falls in the range of 0.78- 3.3 m (Fig. 3). Wave
for accurate representation of the shoreline and groynes location.
height which was below 1.5 m during May started increasing
The wave data used for non-monsoon conditions was derived
towards the onset of monsoon season. Monsoon wave conditions are
from the nearshore wave data recorded at 5.5 m water depth at
similar to a series of storm events of about one week duration as
Valiathura during 1980-84 (Baba & Kurian, 1988; Baba et al., 1984).
evidenced by the lows and highs in the wave heights. The increasing
Wave direction was visually measured using a Brunton Compass.
Hs indicated as active monsoon while decreasing Hs indicated breaks
Average monthly wave characteristics derived from these data
in monsoon (calm periods in the monsoon season). During this
were used for simulation (Table 1). There is no significant variation
period, zero crossing wave periods (Tz) were less and their range
in wave characteristics within each month of the non-monsoon varies from 5.3 to 13.1 s with an average of approximately 8 s (Fig. 4).
season. Monsoon simulations were done based on the data col- The wave direction is in the range of 220–254° (Table 2).
lected from the same location during the monsoon season in 2007 The Hs is lower during the fair season and the majority of wave
(Table 2) since the 1980-84 monsoon wave data were not con- heights falls below 1 m (Table 1). The Tz is in the range 8.4 to 11.1 s
tinuous. Monsoon waves are characterized by ‘monsoon breaks’ with an average of 9.8 s. The wave direction ranges between 199°
which indicates calm periods in monsoon seasons. Monsoon data and 214°. The wave data presented during the fair season is based
are averaged for different monsoon events and not for months to on monthly averages while the data during the rough season is
accommodate ‘monsoon breaks’. based on a 6 h interval observation. It is reported that waves are
swell dominated during monsoon and post monsoon seasons
Table 2 along SW coast of India (Kumar et al., 2012; Sajiv et al., 2012). It is
Wave climate during monsoon period. also reported that wind sea energy dominated over swell energy
Period Average Hs Mean wave direction Tz
during the pre-monsoon season (Aboobacker et al., 2011).
(m) (MWD-deg N) ( s) Shoreline changes are expected with the change in wave cli-
mate associated with rough (monsoon) and fair (non-monsoon)
21.05.07-26.07.07 1.34 205 9 weather. The beach gets eroded with the onset of monsoon season
27.05.07-12.06.07 1.75 220 8.5
12.06.07-25.06.07 2.76 235 7.8 when high and steep waves approach the coast. This causes the
26.06.07-28.07.07 2.17 245 7.5 formation of a storm profile which gets modified with monsoon
29.07.07-18.08.07 1.62 254 8.9 breaks and reactivation due to succeeding monsoon events (Tho-
mas & Baba, 1986). Beach building starts after monsoon season and
Hs ¼ Significant wave height, Tz ¼ Zero crossing wave period.
it takes place as a slow process compared to erosion events. It is

Fig. 3. Significant wave height (Hs) at Valiathura during the rough season.

Please cite this article as: Noujas, V., et al. Shoreline management plan for a protected but eroding coast along the southwest coast of
India. International Journal of Sediment Research (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsrc.2017.02.004i
 V. Noujas et al. / International Journal of Sediment Research ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎ 5

Fig. 4. Zero crossing wave period (Tz) at Valiathura during the rough season.

initiated when long period swell waves approach the coast during after monsoon season in October. It further develops and remains
the fair weather period after monsoon season. until May. With the onset of monsoon season the entire beach
The sediment transport direction depends on the wave angle within the groyne cells and south of it was eroded. The northern
with respect to the shoreline. The shoreline normal is approxi- side continued to be without beach.
mately 230° with respect to true north. Hence the sediment Beach formation was expected to happen towards the northern
transport during the second half of June to third week of August is side as per the numerical model studies conducted by Sundar and
southwards and for the remaining period, it is towards the north. Sannasiraj (2006; Fig. 8). However, contrasting with these predictions,
Sediment size is composed of medium sand with size varying beach formation was active towards south of the groyne field, both at
between 0.28 and 0.38 mm. Berm and foreshore sediments do not Panathura and Poonthura (Figs. 6 and 7) after groyne construction. It
differ significantly in their textural characteristics. Seasonal var- is to be noted that no beach was formed towards the northern side of
iations of sediment characteristics are also absent along the coast the groynes which is again contrary to the predicted results, erosion
(Ajeesh, 2011). The sediment characteristics were given along with of the beach within the groyne cells and to the south during monsoon
cross-shore profile during modelling. season is also contrary to the expected cumulative advancement of
beach over the years, obtained from model studies conducted by
4.2. Shoreline change Sundar and Sannasiraj (2006).

Monitoring the variations in the shoreline gives a clear indication 4.3. Model results
of the erosion and accretion pattern along the coast. The shoreline has
been analysed for short term and long term changes. Short term Shoreline evolution during non-monsoon months was recom-
erosion scenarios are normally cyclic which is observable from short puted for the Panathura coast with two in situ groynes (Fig. 9)
term shoreline changes (over a period of one year). The short term using the LITLINE module. The model result shows beach within
analysis is done to understand the shoreline changes within the the groyne cell and to the south. Erosion is visible on the north
groyne cell. Long term erosion scenarios, which normally lead to side, at the end point of the seawall. Erosion immediately on the
chronic erosion, is observable from long term changes. downdrift side of the groynes is controlled by the seawall to its
end point where end erosion is observed along the unprotected
4.2.1. Longterm shoreline change beach and the Panathura tidal inlet. Similar results have been
The shoreline of the year 1989 extracted from the Survey of reported in shoreline change model studies by the U.S. Army Corps
India toposheet at 1:25000 scale has been compared with that of of Engineers (Townsend et al., 2014). Field observations also show
the shoreline observed through GPS mapping in 2011 (Fig. 5). a similar pattern of shoreline changes (Fig. 6). The model is further
More than 100 m beach was lost along the study region over the validated by simulating the shoreline for Poonthura, 2 km north of
22 year period. The present shoreline is defined by the line of the study area, where a transitional groyne field consisting of eight
seawalls. groynes was constructed (Fig. 10), and beach formation was
observed within the groyne cells and on the south as observed in
4.2.2. Shoreline changes within the groyne cells the model studies. The trend of shoreline change examined in the
As mentioned earlier, two groynes (G1 & G2 in Fig. 1) at the model study is comparable with field measurements (Fig. 7).
north end of the groyne field were constructed on an experimental Considering the deviation of the model results from field
basis in 2009 to understand the performance of the groynes observations, shoreline evolution due to the transitional groyne
considering the littoral drift and net sediment transport in this field proposed in an earlier study by Sundar and Sannasiraj (2006)
area. Monitoring of shoreline variation within the groyne cell and was re-simulated with the currently validated model. The groynes
adjacent areas was done during 2009-14. It was observed that used in the present re-simulation were without T-heads since the
beach formation was occurring within the groyne cells and Kerala Irrigation Department, the implementing agency, proposes
towards the south during the fair season (Fig. 6). No beach formed to construct the groyne field without T-heads due to logistical
north of the groyne field. The same pattern was observed at reasons. Shoreline evolution during the fair season was computed
Poonthura, a nearby coast, which also has a groyne field (Fig. 7). and the result is depicted in Fig. 11. Only a few groynes were seen
Beach started developing within the groyne cells and south of it as efficient in trapping sediments. No significant beach building is
6 V. Noujas et al. / International Journal of Sediment Research ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎

Fig. 5. Longterm shoreline change along Kovalam to Panathura sector.

observed in the groyne field towards the north. Beach sediments movement instead of southerly as reported by Sundar and San-
in all the groyne cells and cumulative sediment advancement in nasiraj (2006). The longer groynes, especially those longer than
successive years and beach formation on the northern side were the surf zone width, block sediment transport to its down drift
predicted by Sundar and Sannasiraj (2006), and these character- side leading to erosion (U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE),
istics were not observed in the present re-simulation. The devia- 2012). Hence, the model was set up to simulate with 16 smaller
tion of the earlier model studies from the re-simulated results groynes of 50 m length (Fig. 12) which was less than the width of
could be due to lower quantity of longshore sediment transport in surf zone. Beach was found building within all the groyne cells and
the present simulation and the net northerly direction of sediment decreasing progressively towards the north.

Please cite this article as: Noujas, V., et al. Shoreline management plan for a protected but eroding coast along the southwest coast of
India. International Journal of Sediment Research (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsrc.2017.02.004i
 V. Noujas et al. / International Journal of Sediment Research ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎ 7

Fig. 6. Shoreline change at Panathura during 2009–2014.

In order to combat the problem of diminishing beach advance- circulatory system is driven by a net northerly transport in the
ment towards the north, the model has been set to run with two nearshore and net southerly transport on the innershelf which are
separate transitional groyne fields having length varying from 25 to linked by cross-shore bridging transport. This process helps the
50 m (Fig. 13). The spacing between the groynes is given as 2 to groynes cells to be filled by sediment to form beaches.
3 times the length of the groyne (Coastal Engineering Research Centre The recommended protection measure is a design with two
(CERC), 1984). The northern groyne field consists of 9 groynes (G1 to separate transitional groynes since beach is present in all the
G9) while the southern groyne field has 10 groynes (G10 to G19). The groyne cells, compared to the other two options (Fig. 13). The
spacing between the groynes ranges from 60 to 130 m. It is found that maximum length of the groyne was limited to 50 m, as it was
beach forms uniformly in all the groyne cells. The beach development essential to make it comparable with the surf zone width during
within the groyne cells happened without artificial beach nourish- the beach building period so that excess sediment gets bypassed.
ment since the beach system of the southwest coast of India is in a The average advancement of the shoreline resulting from the new
closed dynamic balance (Black et al., 2008). This closed sedimentary recommendations during the fair season is around 30 to 50 m.

Please cite this article as: Noujas, V., et al. Shoreline management plan for a protected but eroding coast along the southwest coast of
India. International Journal of Sediment Research (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsrc.2017.02.004i
8 V. Noujas et al. / International Journal of Sediment Research ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎

Fig. 7. Shoreline change at Poonthura during 2011–2014.

4.4. Shoreline evolution during the monsoon period scale parameters. The validation of the output is done with the
observed monsoon profile at Valiathura, which is a part of the same
The monsoon shoreline variation is dominated by the onshore-off coastal stretch (Fig. 14), and the results showed good correlation
shore mode of sediment transport (Thomas & Baba, 1986) and LITLINE between simulated and observed monsoon profiles. The level zero in
is not an effective model to replicate this system (Ajeesh, 2011). the cross shore profile indicates the still water level.
Simulation of shoreline evolution within groyne cells during mon- The model result shows a beach loss of 30 to 40 m which is
soons is done with LITPROF. The monsoon wave climate is divided deposited in the offshore. As normally happens with a sandy beach
into 5 distinct events of waves (Table 2). The cross shore profile of the the sediment deposited in the offshore will return to the beach
study area during May is used as the input profile for LITPROF and the after the monsoon season. Shoreline change observations at the
simulated output from the model is tuned using wave breaking and Panathura groynes confirm the rebuilding of the beach (Fig. 6). The

Please cite this article as: Noujas, V., et al. Shoreline management plan for a protected but eroding coast along the southwest coast of
India. International Journal of Sediment Research (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsrc.2017.02.004i
 V. Noujas et al. / International Journal of Sediment Research ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎ 9

Fig. 8. Proposed groynes and expected shoreline evolution (after Sundar & Sannasiraj, 2006).

Fig. 9. Calibration of the LITLINE model with observed data during the non-monsoon season.

Fig. 10. Validation of the LITLINE model along Panthura–Poonthura during the non monsoon season.

Fig. 11. Simulated shoreline response during the fair season of the groyne field proposed by Sundar and Sannasiraj (2006).

Please cite this article as: Noujas, V., et al. Shoreline management plan for a protected but eroding coast along the southwest coast of
India. International Journal of Sediment Research (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsrc.2017.02.004i
10 V. Noujas et al. / International Journal of Sediment Research ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎

Fig. 12. Shoreline response due to groyne field having equal lengths – Option 1.

Fig. 13. Shoreline evolution due to proposed two transition groyne field-Option 2.

Fig. 14. Simulated monsoon profile from observed non-monsoon profile.

average advancement of beach during the non-monsoon period/ deviations in the observed shoreline evolution and beach devel-
fair season is around 30–50 m as seen from simulations (Fig. 13). It opment from the simulated values were analysed. Re-simulation
is also seen from the simulations that the groyne system provides of the model was carried out with measured site-specific wave
beaches in all the groyne compartments which are otherwise data. Re-simulation showed only limited or nil beach development
without beaches. As seen from the model results, the monsoon in the groyne cells. Different options were then tested with mea-
waves will erode the existing beach, thus, reducing the severity of sured site-specific wave data. The present study using a new set of
monsoon wave attack on the coast. A beach of 0 to 10 m is measured data gave a realistic assessment of the net sediment
expected during monsoon season considering 30–40 m of mon- transport which is comparable with shoreline advancement with
soon erosion and 30–50 m of fair season accretion. Cumulative respect to the two pilot groynes at Panathura and those at Poon-
advancement of the shoreline is not possible within the groyne thura. Two separate transitional groyne fields with a maximum
cells in the present scenario where most of the reformed beach is length comparable with the surf zone width were found to be best
getting eroded during monsoon season. suited for managing erosion of the Panathura coast. It is observed
that the beach forms uniformly in all the groyne cells, and these
5. Conclusions transitional groynes help the coast to have a beach during the non-
monsoon period/fair season which reduces the severity of mon-
Proposed transitional groynes for the SW coast of India were soonal wave attack on the coast. Artificial nourishment may pro-
tested for their performance with two pilot groynes in place. The vide better protection by enhancing the possibility of retaining a

Please cite this article as: Noujas, V., et al. Shoreline management plan for a protected but eroding coast along the southwest coast of
India. International Journal of Sediment Research (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsrc.2017.02.004i
 V. Noujas et al. / International Journal of Sediment Research ∎ (∎∎∎∎) ∎∎∎–∎∎∎ 11

minimum beach width of 10 m during the monsoon period, and Kumar, V. S., Pathak, K. C., Pednekar, P., Raju, N. S. N., & Gowthaman, R. (2006).
reveals further scope of extended studies. Coastal processes along the Indian Coastline. Current Science, 91(4), 530–536.
Kumar, V. S., Johnson, G., Dora, G. U., Philip, C. S., Singh, J., & Pednekar, P. (2012).
Variations in nearshore waves along Karnataka, west coast of India. Journal of
Earth System Science, 121(2), 393–403.
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Mathew, ASR Limited; and other scientists for their valuable gui- India (Doctoral dissertation). India: Faculty of Marine Sciences, Cochin Uni-
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Noujas, V., Badarees, K. O., & Thomas, K. V. (2014b). Shoreline management plan for
funding provided for this work is by Ministry of Earth
Muthalapozhi harbour and adjoining coast. International Journal of Earth Science
Sciences, India. The authors are very grateful to the editors and the and Engineering, 7(2), 394–399.
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Please cite this article as: Noujas, V., et al. Shoreline management plan for a protected but eroding coast along the southwest coast of
India. International Journal of Sediment Research (2017), http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijsrc.2017.02.004i
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