Erosion Risk Assessment at the Bay of Vigsø
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EROSION RISK ASSESSMENT AT THE BAY OF VIGSØ Spring Semester 2016 – Geography Project 1. JUNI 2016 STUDENT: ROBIN MIKAELA KOTSIA Supervisor: Stig Roar Svenningsen Geography Project Erosion Risk Assessment at the Bay og Vigsø Robin Mikaela Kotsia Student number: 54242 Table of Contents 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................................... 3 1.1. Foreword ....................................................................................................................................... 3 1.2. Intro ............................................................................................................................................... 4 1.3. Problem formulation ..................................................................................................................... 5 Research questions: .............................................................................................................................. 5 1.4. Hypothesis ..................................................................................................................................... 5 2. Theory ................................................................................................................................................... 5 2.1. Geological history of the area of interest .......................................................................................... 5 2.2. Evolution of the bay ........................................................................................................................... 7 2.3. Coastal processes ............................................................................................................................... 8 Waves .................................................................................................................................................... 8 Nearshore currents and sediment transport ........................................................................................ 9 Sediment budget and drift cells .......................................................................................................... 10 Tides .................................................................................................................................................... 11 2.4. Coastal protection ............................................................................................................................ 11 Beach Nourishment ............................................................................................................................ 11 Groins .................................................................................................................................................. 12 Seawalls and Revetments ................................................................................................................... 12 Offshore breakwaters ......................................................................................................................... 12 Sand bypassing .................................................................................................................................... 12 2.5. Coastal classification ........................................................................................................................ 13 2.6. Hanstholm harbor ............................................................................................................................ 14 2.7. Hanstholm harbor after the extension ............................................................................................ 15 3. Method ............................................................................................................................................... 16 3.1. Description of the Vigsø Bay ............................................................................................................ 16 3.2. Selection of sample sites .................................................................................................................. 18 3.3. Collecting the soil samples ............................................................................................................... 19 3.4. Analyzing the soil samples ............................................................................................................... 19 3.5. Limitations and uncertainties .......................................................................................................... 20 4. Results ................................................................................................................................................. 21 5. Analysis ............................................................................................................................................... 22 5.1. How will the extension of the harbor affect the Vigsø Bay ............................................................. 22 1 Geography Project Erosion Risk Assessment at the Bay og Vigsø Robin Mikaela Kotsia Student number: 54242 Future sediment transport around the harbor ................................................................................... 22 Shoreline evolution after the harbor extension ................................................................................. 23 5.2. Assumptions based on field observations ....................................................................................... 24 5.3. Future coastal protection ................................................................................................................ 25 Artificial bypass ................................................................................................................................... 25 Protection by coastal structures ......................................................................................................... 25 5.4. Maintenance and efficiency of protection measures ...................................................................... 26 6. Discussion ............................................................................................................................................ 27 7. Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 27 8. Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................................. 28 9. Bibliography ........................................................................................................................................ 28 2 Geography Project Erosion Risk Assessment at the Bay og Vigsø Robin Mikaela Kotsia Student number: 54242 1. Introduction 1.1. Foreword Initially, the starting point of the project was an interest in the erosion of the Vigsø coast in relation to climate change. However, as we went on, we realized that in order to get an understanding of the coastal erosion we would need local data on the wind and wave directions in the future. Unfortunately, such specific data was not available through IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) and DMI (Danish Meteorological Institute), which were our main sources, and at that point we realized that we would either have to model these conditions ourselves or drop the climate change part. Another factor, when looking into the erosion of the coast was the sea-level rise, which also turned out to be a challenge. After the last glaciation, the Weichsel glaciation, the north part of Jutland is rising due to the isostatic rebound, and it is therefore difficult to estimate the effect the sea-level rise will have on the coasts. Due to limited time and our limited experience this far in our studies, we could not create a model and go on with this project as it started. We were therefore forced to change our focus away from climate change. However, we had already spent a lot of time investigating the specific area, including a field trip at the bay, and decided to turn the focus on the Hanstholm harbor, and the impacts of a possible extension of the harbor, on the Vigsø Bay. In this way, we kept our study area and interest in erosion, but instead of looking into how the erosion will be affected by climate change, we look into the human activity on a more local scale.1 Further in our working process, I decided to continue working on my own, due to collaborative difficulties within the group. This happened quite late in the writing process, so I only had a week to finish the work. This was also because we started working on the final subject (the effects of a potential extension of the Hanstholm harbor) relatively late, a fact that gave me less time to realize what the rest of the group wanted. At this point, I decided to focus more on coastal protection and how the preventative measures need to be maintained. To distinguish the parts of the paper that were written before I decided to leave the group, I have made footnotes stating “Group work”. To begin with, the new coastal equilibrium created by the extension of the harbor, and the impacts on the Bay of Vigsø are studied. Later, the preventative measures to avoid negative consequences (mainly erosion), are presented. Last, I focus on whether these measures will be realistic and what maintenance they will require. 1 Group work 3 Geography Project Erosion Risk Assessment at the Bay og Vigsø Robin Mikaela Kotsia