Operational strategy to monitor coastal erosion in tropical areas

Abstract

Assessment of coastal erosion is of high significance given the fact that the coastal communities are densely populated areas and have an influence on the food cycle directly and indirectly. Continuous monitoring is essential part of the work for any intervention to be carried out owing to the seasonal and inter-annual variability. The article discusses the measurement criteria and stages in an operational plan for a monitoring exercise, preparation and execution. Erosion can be due to a variety of natural and anthropogenic causes in general. The topic draws attention of both researchers and coastal communities equally. This article explains the need for operational strategies for an optimal monitoring of coastal erosion. Demonstration of such methodology was presented with a case study at a micro-tidal sandy beach located in Tamil Nadu. A generic set up for a plan boundary to measure met-ocean parameters over a time and spatial extent covering the beach and near-shore sediment regime, shore face and surf zone hydrodynamics is discussed. For a detailed understanding, numerical models are set up against the measurements to have a feel of the spatial variability. Validation was taken up extensively and the predictions were used to enhance the measurements in spatial and temporal scales, advantages with such setup.