Impact of coastal engineering constructions to contain the advance of the sea

Many of the problems derived from engineering works to contain the advance of the sea in urban areas come from different interventions that disrupt the sediment with the construction of ports, spikes, breakwaters, riprap, walls, etc.. In the past the design of coastal works projects, did not consider the equilibrium morphology of the coast in a broader way, and constructions to protect coastal erosion triggered.

 Photo 1- Riprap: Piedade beach/ Pernambuco - Brazil

The development of a coastal project of containment must be interactive, so that the final product is the best in terms of technical and economical, and must be acceptable to the other decision makers and all project partners. 

The solution of coastal engineering problems begins with understanding the role of the engineer as a planner and designer. The project design and planning processes are fundamental to its evolution, with details of each phase of project development. Planning and design should follow a logical engineering, regardless of project type, scale, geographic location, or sponsor.

Under the guidelines of the Coastal Engineering Manual - Engineering Department of the Army, to make a good project for coastal defense is necessary to answer only two questions "What is the problem?" And "What exactly is the project that you're trying to accomplish? ". As trivial as it sounds, these are the most important and difficult questions to answer. 

Photo 2 – Spikes: Janga beach/ Pernambuco - Brazil

 

In "Restoration of beaches and dunes" of Professor Karl Nordstorm, published in 2010, was characterized the need to seek more effective in their actions to find solutions that bring environmental benefits in the control of coastal erosion. It is necessary to achieve recovery goals beaches with the use of a new concept of naturalness, seeking engineering solutions in the reconstruction of the natural landscape.

 

Whatever the choice of engineering work to be used in planning is necessary to consider these works a vision of medium and long term, taking into consideration the cost-effectiveness and choice of alternative protection techniques that take into account concomitantly the following factors: the durability of the interventions, the environmental impact, availability of materials, the cost of deployment and maintenance cost of the work.

 

Photo 3 – Breakwater: Candeias beach/   Pernambuco – Brazil

 

The last eight years on the northeast coast of Brazil, where they built four energy dissipators "Bagwall" for control of coastal erosion under conditions geological, geographical, morphological and hydro-dynamic differents, whose final result after deployment of these works was to contain the advance of sea and beach restoration at the site of intervention.

Photo 4 – Bagwall: Icaraí beach/ Ceará – Brazil