Longshore drift from longshore current is a geological process that consists of the transportation of sediments along a coast parallel to the shoreline, which is dependent on the angle of incoming wave direction. Oblique incoming wind squeezes water along the coast, generating a water current that moves parallel to the coast. Longshore drift is simply the sediment moved by the longshore current. This current and sediment movement occurs within the surf zone. The process is also known as littoral drift.
A groyne is a rigid hydraulic structure built perpendicularly from an ocean shore or a river bank, interrupting water flow and limiting the movement of sediment. It is usually made out of wood, concrete, or stone. In the ocean, groynes create beaches, prevent beach erosion caused by longshore drift where this is the dominant process and facilitate beach nourishment. There is also often cross-shore movement which if longer than the groyne will limit its effectiveness. In a river, groynes slow down the process of erosion and prevent ice-jamming, which in turn aids navigation.
Beach nourishment describes a process by which sediment, usually sand, lost through longshore drift or erosion is replaced from other sources. A wider beach can reduce storm damage to coastal structures by dissipating energy across the surf zone, protecting upland structures and infrastructure from storm surges, tsunamis and unusually high tides. Beach nourishment is typically part of a larger integrated coastal zone management aimed at coastal defense. Nourishment is typically a repetitive process because it does not remove the physical forces that cause erosion; it simply mitigates their effects.
A seawall is a form of coastal defense constructed where the sea, and associated coastal processes, impact directly upon the landforms of the coast. The purpose of a seawall is to protect areas of human habitation, conservation, and leisure activities from the action of tides, waves, or tsunamis. As a seawall is a static feature, it will conflict with the dynamic nature of the coast and impede the exchange of sediment between land and sea.
A revetment in stream restoration, river engineering or coastal engineering is a facing of impact-resistant material applied to a bank or wall in order to absorb the energy of incoming water and protect it from erosion. River or coastal revetments are usually built to preserve the existing uses of the shoreline and to protect the slope.
Riprap, also known as rip rap, rip-rap, shot rock, rock armour or rubble, is human-placed rock or other material used to protect shoreline structures against scour and water, wave, or ice erosion. Riprap is used to armor shorelines, streambeds, bridge abutments, foundational infrastructure supports and other shoreline structures against erosion. Common rock types used include granite and modular concrete blocks. Rubble from building and paving demolition is sometimes used, as well as specifically designed structures called tetrapods or similar concrete blocks. Riprap is also used underwater to cap immersed tubes sunken on the seabed to be joined into an undersea tunnel.
Coastal management is defence against flooding and erosion, and techniques that stop erosion to claim lands. Protection against rising sea levels in the 21st century is crucial, as sea level rise accelerates due to climate change. Changes in sea level damage beaches and coastal systems are expected to rise at an increasing rate, causing coastal sediments to be disturbed by tidal energy.
Swash, or forewash in geography, is a turbulent layer of water that washes up on the beach after an incoming wave has broken. The swash action can move beach materials up and down the beach, which results in the cross-shore sediment exchange. The time-scale of swash motion varies from seconds to minutes depending on the type of beach. Greater swash generally occurs on flatter beaches. The swash motion plays the primary role in the formation of morphological features and their changes in the swash zone. The swash action also plays an important role as one of the instantaneous processes in wider coastal morphodynamics.
Accropode blocks are wave-dissipating concrete blocks designed to resist the action of waves on breakwaters and coastal structures.
Hard engineering involves the construction of hydraulic structures to protect coasts from erosion. Such structures include seawalls, gabions, breakwaters, groynes and tetrapods.
A tetrapod is a form of wave-dissipating concrete block used to prevent erosion caused by weather and longshore drift, primarily to enforce coastal structures such as seawalls and breakwaters. Tetrapods are made of concrete, and use a tetrahedral shape to dissipate the force of incoming waves by allowing water to flow around rather than against them, and to reduce displacement by interlocking.
An Xbloc is a wave-dissipating concrete block designed to protect shores, harbour walls, seawalls, breakwaters and other coastal structures from the direct impact of incoming waves. The Xbloc model was designed and developed in 2001 by the Dutch firm Delta Marine Consultants, now called BAM Infraconsult, a subsidiary of the Royal BAM Group. Xbloc has been subjected to extensive research by several universities.
Beach evolution occurs at the shoreline where sea, lake or river water is eroding the land. Beaches exist where sand accumulated from centuries-old, recurrent processes that erode rocky and sedimentary material into sand deposits. River deltas deposit silt from upriver, accreting at the river's outlet to extend lake or ocean shorelines. Catastrophic events such as tsunamis, hurricanes, and storm surges accelerate beach erosion.
Hudson's equation, also known as Hudson formula, is an equation used by coastal engineers to calculate the minimum size of riprap (armourstone) required to provide satisfactory stability characteristics for rubble structures such as breakwaters under attack from storm wave conditions.
A honeycomb sea wall is a coastal defense structure that protects against strong waves and tides. It is constructed as a sloped wall of ceramic or concrete blocks with hexagonal holes on the slope, which makes it look like a honeycomb, hence the name of the unit. Its role is to capture sand and to discharge wave energy.
Coastal engineering is a branch of civil engineering concerned with the specific demands posed by constructing at or near the coast, as well as the development of the coast itself.
KOLOS is a wave-dissipating concrete block intended to protect coastal structures like seawalls and breakwaters from the ocean waves. These blocks were developed in India by Navayuga Engineering Company and were first adopted for the breakwaters of the Krishnapatnam Port along the East coast of India.
A Living shoreline is a relatively new approach for addressing shoreline erosion and protecting marsh areas. Unlike traditional structures such as bulkheads or seawalls that worsen erosion, living shorelines incorporate as many natural elements as possible which create more effective buffers in absorbing wave energy and protecting against shoreline erosion. The process of creating a living shoreline is referred to as soft engineering, which utilizes techniques that incorporate ecological principles in shoreline stabilization. The natural materials used in the construction of living shorelines create and maintain valuable habitats. Structural and organic materials commonly used in the construction of living shorelines include sand, wetland plants, sand fill, oyster reefs, submerged aquatic vegetation, stones and coir fiber logs.
Ramón Iribarren CavanillesIng.D was a Spanish civil engineer and professor of ports at the School of Civil Engineering in Madrid. He was chairman of the Spanish delegation to the Permanent International Association of Navigation Congresses (PIANC) and was elected as an academic at the Spanish Royal Academy of Sciences, although he did not take up the latter position. He made notable contributions in the field of coastal engineering, including methods for the calculation of breakwater stability and research which led to the development of the Iribarren number.
Wave overtopping is the time-averaged amount of water that is discharged per structure length by waves over a structure such as a breakwater, revetment or dike which has a crest height above still water level.
