Record Details

Coastal erosion triggered by a shipwreck along the coast of Goa, India

DRS at CSIR-National Institute of Oceanography

View Archive Info
 
 
Field Value
 
Title Coastal erosion triggered by a shipwreck along the coast of Goa, India
 
Creator ManiMurali, R.
Babu, M.T.
Mascarenhas, A.
Choudhary, R.
Sudheesh, K.
Vethamony, P.
 
Subject Coastal erosion
shipwreck
Remote sensing
sand dunes
 
Description Temporal satellite imageries (1999, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2008 and 2011), wave model (DHI) results and field measurements have been used to evaluate whether the grounded ship MV River Princess played a role in triggering erosion along the famous Candolim–Sinquerim beaches of Goa. Coastal sand dunes bore the maximum impact. The cause of the erosion is unique. The orientation of the ship with respect to the coastline, its length, the distance of the ship from the coastline and, more importantly, the direction of the waves prevailing over the region suggest that the wreck acted like an offshore breakwater and triggered erosion along this coast. A tombolo was also formed on the lee side of the vessel, a process that eventually led to the formation of an accretion zone on the lee side. The zone of deposition is evidenced by the presence of a sand bar which gets partially exposed during low tide. As the littoral current along this coast is southward, the sand bar blocked the southward littoral drift. As a consequence, the sand depletion that followed subsequently induced erosion of the sea front. The extent of net erosion has been estimated at around 0.10934 sq. km (109,340 sq. m) during the past 12 years. A stretch of 1.5 km of the coast has receded by a maximum of 85 m. In economic terms, the loss of prime property is estimated at minimum 28 crore rupees. The direct impact of the wreck in eroding the coast is more explicit during the SW monsoon. The powerful intensity of winds and higher significant wave height (Hs = 2.59 m) during the SW monsoon deteriorate the shore front that is now devoid of sand dunes and, as a consequence, has gradually become fragile due to severe erosion.
 
Date 2013-10-31T13:35:13Z
2013-10-31T13:35:13Z
2013
 
Type Journal Article
 
Identifier Current Science, vol.105(7); 2013; 990-996
no
http://drs.nio.org/drs/handle/2264/4389
 
Language en
 
Relation Curr_Sci_105_990.jpg
 
Rights Copyright [2013]. All efforts have been made to respect the copyright to the best of our knowledge. Inadvertent omissions, if brought to our notice, stand for correction and withdrawal of document from this repository.
 
Publisher Current Science Association