Community hub
Recent from talks
Knowledge base stats:
Talk channels stats:
Members stats:
Coastal management
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 throughout the century, causing coastal sediments to be disturbed by tidal energy.
Coastal zones occupy less than 15% of the Earth's land area, while they host more than 40% of the world population. Nearly 1.2 billion people live within 100 kilometres (62 mi) of a coastline and 100 metres (328 ft) of sea level, with an average density three times higher than the global average for population. With three-quarters of the world population expected to reside in the coastal zone by 2025, human activities originating from this small land area will impose heavy pressure on coasts. Coastal zones contain rich resources to produce goods and services and are home to most commercial and industrial activities.
Coastal engineering of harbours began with the origin of maritime traffic, perhaps before 3500 B.C. Docks, breakwaters and other harbour works were built by hand, often in a grand scale. The Romans introduced many innovations in harbour design. They built walls underwater and constructed solid breakwaters. These structures were made using Roman concrete. Vitruvius described three methods for building port structures (De Architectura, 5, 12). Other types of port structure such as rubble mounds and arched breakwaters built by means of timber floating caissons were used also. Romans were the first dredgers in the Netherlands to maintain the harbour at Velsen. Silting problems there were solved when the previously sealed solid piers were replaced with new "open"-piled jetties. Ancient harbour works are still visible, but most of them disappeared following the fall of the Western Roman Empire even if submerged remains are sometimes still visible under water. Although most coastal efforts were directed to port structures, Venice and its lagoon is an example of measures not related to ports. Protection of the shore in Italy, England and the Netherlands began in the 6th century or earlier.
Attack from the sea caused many coastal towns and their harbours to be abandoned. Other harbours were lost due to natural causes such as rapid silting, shoreline advance or retreat, etc. The Venetian Lagoon was one of the few populated coastal areas with continuous prosperity and development where written reports document the evolution of coastal protection works. In other words, this is one of the first accounts of the use of a sea wall to protect a coastal settlement.
Little improvement took place beyond the Roman approach to harbour construction after the Renaissance. Then in the early 19th century, the advent of the steam engine, the search for new lands and trade routes, the expansion of the British Empire through her colonies, and other influences, all contributed to the revitalization of sea trade and a renewed interest in port works.
Prior to the 1950s, the general practice was to use hard structures to protect against beach erosion or storm damages. These structures included seawalls and revetments or sand-trapping structures such as groynes. During the 1920s and '30s, private or local community interests protected many coastal areas using these techniques on an ad hoc basis. In certain resort areas, structures proliferated to such an extent that the protection impeded recreational uses. Erosion continued, but the structures remained, resulting in a loss of beach area.
The obtrusiveness and cost of these structures led in the late 1940s and early 1950s, to a more dynamic approach. Projects attempted to replicate the protective characteristics of natural beach and dune systems. The resultant use of artificial beaches and stabilized dunes as an engineering approach was economically viable and more environmentally friendly.
Limited knowledge of coastal sediment transport processes often resulted in inappropriate measures of coastal erosion mitigation. In many cases, measures worked locally, but exacerbated problems at other locations -up to tens of kilometers away- or generated other environmental problems.
Hub AI
Coastal management AI simulator
(@Coastal management_simulator)
Coastal management
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 throughout the century, causing coastal sediments to be disturbed by tidal energy.
Coastal zones occupy less than 15% of the Earth's land area, while they host more than 40% of the world population. Nearly 1.2 billion people live within 100 kilometres (62 mi) of a coastline and 100 metres (328 ft) of sea level, with an average density three times higher than the global average for population. With three-quarters of the world population expected to reside in the coastal zone by 2025, human activities originating from this small land area will impose heavy pressure on coasts. Coastal zones contain rich resources to produce goods and services and are home to most commercial and industrial activities.
Coastal engineering of harbours began with the origin of maritime traffic, perhaps before 3500 B.C. Docks, breakwaters and other harbour works were built by hand, often in a grand scale. The Romans introduced many innovations in harbour design. They built walls underwater and constructed solid breakwaters. These structures were made using Roman concrete. Vitruvius described three methods for building port structures (De Architectura, 5, 12). Other types of port structure such as rubble mounds and arched breakwaters built by means of timber floating caissons were used also. Romans were the first dredgers in the Netherlands to maintain the harbour at Velsen. Silting problems there were solved when the previously sealed solid piers were replaced with new "open"-piled jetties. Ancient harbour works are still visible, but most of them disappeared following the fall of the Western Roman Empire even if submerged remains are sometimes still visible under water. Although most coastal efforts were directed to port structures, Venice and its lagoon is an example of measures not related to ports. Protection of the shore in Italy, England and the Netherlands began in the 6th century or earlier.
Attack from the sea caused many coastal towns and their harbours to be abandoned. Other harbours were lost due to natural causes such as rapid silting, shoreline advance or retreat, etc. The Venetian Lagoon was one of the few populated coastal areas with continuous prosperity and development where written reports document the evolution of coastal protection works. In other words, this is one of the first accounts of the use of a sea wall to protect a coastal settlement.
Little improvement took place beyond the Roman approach to harbour construction after the Renaissance. Then in the early 19th century, the advent of the steam engine, the search for new lands and trade routes, the expansion of the British Empire through her colonies, and other influences, all contributed to the revitalization of sea trade and a renewed interest in port works.
Prior to the 1950s, the general practice was to use hard structures to protect against beach erosion or storm damages. These structures included seawalls and revetments or sand-trapping structures such as groynes. During the 1920s and '30s, private or local community interests protected many coastal areas using these techniques on an ad hoc basis. In certain resort areas, structures proliferated to such an extent that the protection impeded recreational uses. Erosion continued, but the structures remained, resulting in a loss of beach area.
The obtrusiveness and cost of these structures led in the late 1940s and early 1950s, to a more dynamic approach. Projects attempted to replicate the protective characteristics of natural beach and dune systems. The resultant use of artificial beaches and stabilized dunes as an engineering approach was economically viable and more environmentally friendly.
Limited knowledge of coastal sediment transport processes often resulted in inappropriate measures of coastal erosion mitigation. In many cases, measures worked locally, but exacerbated problems at other locations -up to tens of kilometers away- or generated other environmental problems.