Review Paper on Beach Evolution of the Indian Coasts

Abstract

Beaches provide protection to residents living near the ocean by acting as a buffer against the high winds and waves of powerful storms or rough seas. It also helps the government to increase revenue and the development of infrastructure. Because beaches are very accessible to humans, it is very important to go through the demerits that are causing changes in the beaches and what steps can be taken to prevent the beaches from evolving. There are several studies indicating that there is an increase in the wave heights and wave periods along the Indian coasts, with maximum wave heights increasing by more than 30% in some of the locations. It is also found that at most of the locations along the east coast, wave periods are expected to increase by almost 20% whereas along the west coast, they are expected to increase by around 10% [ Chowdhury et al. [ 2019 ] “Wave climate projections along the Indian coast,” Int. J. Climatol. https://doi.org/10.1002/joc.6096 .]. This will alter the distribution of wave energy at the shoreline, swash-aligned beaches and additionally the design of coastal structures. It is particularly important to evaluate the wave characteristics and sediment transport which leads to erosion and/or siltation problems along the Indian coasts. In this paper, an extensive review on wave hydrodynamics, sediment transport and coastal erosion is compiled along the Indian coasts.