Emerging Downdrift Erosion by Twin Long-Range Jetties on an Open Mesotidal Muddy Coast, China

Abstract

Downdrift shoreline recession associated with the construction of a shore-crossing hard structure represents one of coastal erosional hotspots that must be addressed for an integrated, sustainable coastal zone management. To prevent siltation within the navigation channel, two rubber-mounted jetties were installed at the Sheyang River mouth on the open mesotidal muddy coast in Jiangsu province, China, in October 2013. The north jetty is 7.9 km long, while the south jetty is 7.8 km long. The net longshore sediment transport is from the north to the south due to flood-tide dominance. As disclosed by high-resolution satellite images, a 36-km-long downdrift shoreline stretch had experienced remarkable retreats at alongshore varying rates by March 2019. The eroding shoreline planform does not resemble a classic “S” shape, a crescentic shape, or a parabolic shape but an irregularly indented curved shape. Transect topographic survey also reveals an almost immediate response of the downdrift coast from the original accretionary scenery to an erosional regime, with the erosion front translocating downcoast at a much faster speed than a normal speed of 1–1.5 km/yr. Using FVCOM and SWAN, 2DH process-based numerical simulations are performed to simulate the flow, the sediment transport, and the yearly-magnitude accretion/erosion distribution in the jetty-affected area by a representative tidal force and an annual-magnitude wave force. The results demonstrate that the reciprocal tidal flow is predominantly responsible for the muddy sediment accretions at downdrift intertidal and surf zones shallower than a 4.0-m isobath, whereas big wind waves play a decisive role in triggering and developing the downdrift erosional process. The predicted spatial extent of the downdrift erosional segment matches closely the actual eroding front. The loss of the net annual longshore sediment transport volume, i.e., 3.08 million m3 due to the blockage by the twin jetties is recovered from a much larger spatial extent than the 36-km-long retreating shoreline stretch. With regard to the Bruun model, the one-line model, the headland-bay model, and the 2DH numerical model, the potential maximum recession length and the planform shape of the downdrift erosional shoreline arc are further elaborated to gain new insights into the spatial and temporal impact of a hard structure on the adjacent shoreline and flat (beach).