Coastal Protection Using Integration of Mangroves with Floating Barges: An Innovative Concept

Abstract

Mangroves and moored barges are used individually for coastal protection and beach restoration. This conceptual paper discusses about the integration of mangroves with moored floating barges for coastal protection. The concept involves towing of a barge to a particular location, mooring it to the seafloor and planting mangroves along the shore or beach. The barges will be unmoored and towed away once the mangroves attain certain growth and are well rooted in the soil. Mangroves can protect the beach from incoming waves using their roots and branches. The incoming waves can be reduced by 50% to 99% using mangroves of 500 m width. Mangroves have a life span of 20–100 years, and they do not need any yearly maintenance as do any other conventional coastal protection measures. Mangroves are considered as soft coastal protection structures and are environmentally friendly. Mangroves will also improve the aesthetic appearance of the beach. This paper discusses about some of the research methodologies for the development of the barge-assisted mangroves coastal protection method. The dimensions of the barge, gap width between the moored barges and the environmental condition at the location determines the performance of the barge-assisted mangroves coastal protection method. The gap width between the barges, draft of the barge and breadth of the barge influence the resonant frequency of the fluid between the barges. The shielding effect of the floating barges can be used for other applications, such as berthing of ships and growing living shorelines using oysters, rocks, sand, plants, coir, etc. for coastal protection.