Seminar - John Hsu - Static Equilibrium Bay Beach for Coastal Management and Protection

Friday, July 15, 2005, 1.10 - 1.50 pm
Civil Engineering Lecture Room 3

Abstract

Sandy bayed beaches in static equilibrium are the only physiographic features that could remain stable without sediment supply in a persistent swell environment anywhere around the world. With a continuing trend of erosion to sandy beaches worldwide, a conservative and prudent hypothesis is not to consider the mobile dynamic wave parameters but a scenario of vanishing sand supply to a beach in the future, for which the empirical parabolic bay shape equation is recommended for practical applications. Employing software MEPBAY recently developed, this equation is readily applicable to a wide range of selected examples of headland-bay beaches in natural and man-made condition for visual assessment of beach stability. This new procedure is robust and is recommended for environmental impact assessment and coastal management, as well as for shore protection and the design of recreational beaches.