Abstract

Any stretch of a coastline warrants protection measure when it experiences an erosion rate beyond a threshold value, and when the seasonal littoral drift changes fail to restore equilibrium. The causes for coastal erosion can either be natural, man-made or a combination of both. The natural causes include extreme storm events, inland/basins interventions responsible for sediment sinks, the action of waves on the coasts and Sea level rise due to climate change. The man-made causes are often related to developmental activities such as the construction of ports, fishing harbours, structures for wave and tidal energy converters and tourism development related activities. To counter or minimize coastal erosion, the protection measures are broadly classified as hard and soft measures. A few case studies along the Indian coast based on both approaches are considered and their performance characteristics are presented, the merits and demerits of both methods are highlighted, are discussed in this paper.

摘要

任何一段海岸线在经历超过阈值的侵蚀率以及季节性沿岸漂移变化无法恢复平衡时都需要采取保护措施。海岸侵蚀的原因可以是自然的、人为的或两者兼而有之。自然原因包括极端风暴事件、导致沉积物下沉的内陆/盆地干预、海岸波浪的作用以及气候变化导致的海平面上升。人为原因通常与发展活动有关，例如港口建设、渔港、波浪能和潮汐能转换器的结构以及旅游开发相关活动。为了应对或减少海岸侵蚀，保护措施大致分为硬措施和软措施。