Introduction To Coastal Engineering

Introduction to Coastal
Engineering
LECTURE 1
Importance of Coastal Zones
• Coastal zones have always been occupied by an important portion
of the world’s population.
• Under the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) of the

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), the coastal
population could grow from 1.2 billion people (in 1990) to 1.8 to
5.2 billion people by the 2080’s, depending on hypotheses or
assumptions about migration.
• Several aspects of the coastal areas have long encouraged coastal

habitation, namely:
• fertile coastal lowlands,
• abundant marine resources,
• water transportation,
• aesthetic beauty and
• intrinsic values.
Political issue
• People play a crucial part in coastal zones because
people and their structures affect these areas more than they
realize in a chronic manner.
• Solving issues associated with coastal zones is very

difficult because it is governed by natural events and
complicated by voices of many stakeholders.
– The Hotel Sector
– The Public
– The Marine Ecologist
– The Fishermen
– The Private Sectors (Aquaculture)
Coastal Zone - Definition
• Coastal zone is defined as the interface or
boundary between land and water.
• It includes both the area of land subject to

marine influence and the area of sea subject to
land influence.
• In Mauritius - 1km from the high water mark

inland and in the lagoon
Coastal zones & Impacts from
landbased activities
• Material drained from land entering the sea has a
significant role to play in coastal zones.
• Variations in such zones are constantly observed

because of the dynamic interaction occurring
between ocean and land processes.
• These zones are continuously subject to erosion

and accretion caused by waves and winds which
are both eroding and depositing sediment on an
uninterrupted basis.
Coastal zones & Impacts from
landbased activities
• The rates of erosion and deposition vary significantly from
day to day along such zones depending on the energy
reaching the coast- it can become high during storms which
make these zones areas of high susceptibility to natural
hazards.
• The coastal zone is prone to attacks by cyclones, Tsunamis

and other natural calamities, directly affecting coastal
population.
• Over geological time, this zone experiences regression or

transgression as well in terms of sea level fluctuations.
Some more definitions of Coastal
Zones
Some more definitions of Coastal
Zones
Physical Structure of Coastal Zones
• The coastal zone is divided into four subzones:
– Coast,
– Shore,
– Shoreface,
– Continental shelf.
Boundaries - Coast
• Coast is the area where land meets the sea or ocean.
• Features such as cliffs, beaches, sand dunes, hills and plains

forming the edge of land can be included in the coast.
• There can be no defined line that can be called as a

coastline due to the dynamic nature of tides which gives
rise to low and high water marks.
• The demarcation of the extents of a coast vary according to

jurisdiction, with many scientific and government
authorities in various countries differing for economic and
social policy reasons
Boundaries – The Shore
• The shore extends from the low-water line to the
normal landward limit of the coastline.
• The shore can be divided into two zones:

backshore (or berm) and foreshore (or beach
face).
• The foreshore extends from the low-water line to

the limit of wave uprush at high tide.
Boundaries – Backshore
• The back shore is horizontal while the foreshore slopes
seaward.
• This distinctive change in slope, which marks the juncture

of the foreshore and backshore, is called the beach or berm
crest.
• The berm and dune form part of the backshore.
• Berm is an ephemeral flat or landward-sloping step or

terrace built on a beach face by swash action.
• Dune is a mound or ridge of unconsolidated wind-blown

sediment, usually sand but occasionally silt or clay
Boundaries – The Shoreface
• The shoreface, a relatively steep surface, is the
seaward-dipping zone that extends from the
low-tide shoreline offshore to a gradual change to
a flatter inner shelf or basin plain ramp denoting
the beginning of the continental shelf.
• The continental shelf transition is the toe of the

shoreface. Its location can only be approximately
marked due to the gradual slope change.
Examples of beaches (Mtius)
The formation of rocky
shores is attributed to
marine erosion of the
overburden and the
bedrock
Sandy-shore habitats or beaches are areas of

loose deposits of sand, gravel or shells,
exposed between the extreme high tide and
extreme low tide marks. Sandy beaches are
soft shores that are formed by deposition of
particles that have been carried by water
currents from other areas.
Examples of beaches (Mtius)
These shores comprise of
The formation of rocky
fineshores
sand,is clay and to a
attributed to
greater
marine extent,
erosion silt. Mud
of the
accumulates
overburden in
and very
the
sheltered
bedrock areas. The
presence of muddy shores
indicates that terrestrial
influence on sediment
movement and deposition is
higher than marine
deposition (sediment from
Sandy-shore habitats or beaches are areas of
reefs).
loose deposits of sand, gravel or shells,
exposed between the extreme high tide and
extreme low tide marks. Sandy beaches are
soft shores that are formed by deposition of
particles that have been carried by water
currents from other areas.
Waves
• The study of water movement, predominantly
caused by tides and wind, is termed
“hydrodynamics”.
• Coasts are dynamic systems involving the energy

of currents and waves.
• Waves generated by winds provide most of the

energy for erosion, transportation, and deposition of
sediment load.
Types of Waves
Name Examples Period Disturbing force Restoring force
Capillary waves Ripples < 0.1 s Wind Surface tension
Ultragravity Waves seen in 0.1-1 s Wind Gravity

waves sunglint
Gravity waves Swell 1-30 s Wind Gravity
Infragravity Tsunami 0.5-5 mins Wind Gravity

waves
Long period Storm surge 0.1-12 hrs Storms/ Gravity/ coriolis
waves earthquakes
Tidal waves Tides 12-24.8 hrs Gravitation Gravity/ coriolis
Anatomy of a Wave
• Waves are characterized by certain terminologies: wavelength

(L), height (H), amplitude (A), period (T) and steepness.
Wave Parameters
• Wavelength is the distance between any two similar points or the
horizontal distance from crest to crest or trough to trough.
• Wave height is the vertical distance from crest to trough.
• Amplitude of a wave is the maximum disturbance from its

undisturbed position.
• The period of a wave is the time taken for one wavelength (two
successive crests or troughs) to pass a fixed point
• Steepness is the ratio of height and length (H/L). When steepness

exceeds 1/7, waves tend to break as is seen routinely at a beach.
Wave Speed & Wave Celerity
• Speed of a wave (S) is the distance covered (L)
in time T (L/T).
• However, the term ‘wave celerity’ (c) is most

widely used to refer to speed of wave
propagation
Formation of waves
• Waves are most commonly caused by wind.
Wind-driven waves, or surface waves, are created
by the friction between wind and surface water.
• As wind blows across the surface of the ocean or

a lake, the continual disturbance creates a wave
crest.
• These types of waves are found globally across

the open ocean and along the coast.
Waves & Energy transformation
• Waves are created by energy passing through water,
causing it to move in a circular motion.
• However, water does not actually travel in waves.
• Waves transmit energy, not water, across the ocean and

if not obstructed by anything, they have the
potential to travel across an entire ocean basin.
Wave Breaking
A wave approaching the shore undergoes

several significant changes as the water in
orbital motion encounters the seafloor.
BREAKING OF WAVES
• There are three types of breaking waves: surging, plunging and
spilling.
• Surging waves approach the shore, normally onto a very steep

beach, from deep waters. They do not break or spill, but bulge up
near the shoreline and rush up the beach rapidly and form foam.
• Plunging breakers have a curling crest that moves over an air

pocket. This usually occurs on moderately steep beach slopes.
• Spilling breakers are a more common type of breaker found on

gentle beach slopes. They last longer than plunging breakers
because their energy is removed more gradually

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Introduction to Coastal

• Under the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) of the

• Several aspects of the coastal areas have long encouraged coastal

• Solving issues associated with coastal zones is very

• It includes both the area of land subject to

• In Mauritius - 1km from the high water mark

• Variations in such zones are constantly observed

• These zones are continuously subject to erosion

• The coastal zone is prone to attacks by cyclones, Tsunamis

• Over geological time, this zone experiences regression or

• Features such as cliffs, beaches, sand dunes, hills and plains

• There can be no defined line that can be called as a

• The demarcation of the extents of a coast vary according to

• The shore can be divided into two zones:

• The foreshore extends from the low-water line to

• This distinctive change in slope, which marks the juncture

• The berm and dune form part of the backshore.

• Berm is an ephemeral flat or landward-sloping step or

• Dune is a mound or ridge of unconsolidated wind-blown

• The continental shelf transition is the toe of the

Sandy-shore habitats or beaches are areas of

• Coasts are dynamic systems involving the energy

• Waves generated by winds provide most of the

Capillary waves Ripples < 0.1 s Wind Surface tension

Ultragravity Waves seen in 0.1-1 s Wind Gravity

Infragravity Tsunami 0.5-5 mins Wind Gravity

• Waves are characterized by certain terminologies: wavelength

• Wave height is the vertical distance from crest to trough.

• Amplitude of a wave is the maximum disturbance from its

• Steepness is the ratio of height and length (H/L). When steepness

• However, the term ‘wave celerity’ (c) is most

• As wind blows across the surface of the ocean or

• These types of waves are found globally across

• However, water does not actually travel in waves.

• Waves transmit energy, not water, across the ocean and

A wave approaching the shore undergoes

• Surging waves approach the shore, normally onto a very steep

• Plunging breakers have a curling crest that moves over an air

• Spilling breakers are a more common type of breaker found on

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