Narrowneck Artificial Reef: Construction

Narrowneck Artificial Reef: Construction

Narrowneck Artificial Reef: Construction Our coastline is a dynamic system. Sand travels north via a process called longshore drift. At the same time, there is a cycle of erosion and accretion taking place, driven by wave action. Narrowneck was identified as requiring coastal management works in the mid-1990s in order to retain a more permanent supply of sand on the visible portion of the beach to satisfy tourist and local demand, and to stabilise the coastline. To achieve this objective, the Northern Gold Coast Beach Protection Strategy was established in 1999. Its objectives were to: ♦ Widen the beach and dunes along the Surfers Paradise Esplanade to increase the volume of sand within the storm buffer and provide more open space. The Reef was a key feature of the Northern Gold Coast Beach ♦ Protection Strategy, delivered by a partnership between Gold Coast To improve surf quality and recreational City Council and Griffith University Centre for Coastal Management. amenity at Narrowneck by the construction of Its design was informed by extensive numerical and physical a submerged reef to stabilise the nourished modelling. (Source: GCCC 2011) beaches. Key concepts Longshore drift is the movement of sand and other material by longshore currents in a direction parallel to the beach along the shore. Erosion is the periodic movement of sediments from the visible portion of a beach (during rough weather) to the submerged nearshore region. Sand will subside in one of these nearshore bars or compartments for a time before returning to the visible portion of the Aerial view of Narrowneck Artificial Reef (Source: Skyepics 2011) beach (during calmer periods) through the process of accretion. Design facts Length: 450m Width: 205m Material: Prefabricated geo-textile bags Depth: 1.5–10m below LAT (Lowest Astronomical Tide) Cost: Approx. $A2.5m Reef Designers: International Coastal Management (ICM) Construction The ‘Faucon’ Hopper (Source: GCCC) Some 400 containers were filled with sand within a split-hull hopper dredge and then placed into position using standard Differential Global Positioning (DGPS) technology, see Figure 1. Reef construction began in August 1999 and was completed in December 2000. The reef’s split-V design reduces the velocity of incoming waves, delivers greater beach protection with a longer shore parallel footprint, and intercepts and retains the sand being transported northwards via longshore drift. Coastal Monitoring reports based on the analysis of video images of the northern Gold Coast beaches are undertaken on a bi-annual basis. The data collected in monitoring the performance of the NGCBPS—and in particular, the artificial reef— confirms the strategy’s success and informs future shoreline management planning. Coastal imaging device used to monitor shoreline position and beach health. (Source: GCCC) .

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