Ocean & Coastal Management 102 (2014) 234e247

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Ocean & Coastal Management

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/ocecoaman

Shoreline evolution due to construction of rubble mound jetties at

Munambam inlet in ErnakulameTrichur district of the state of Kerala
in the Indian peninsula
K. Thiruvenkatasamy a, *, D.K. Baby Girija b
a
Department of Harbor & Ocean Engineering, AMET University, 135, East Coast Road, Kanathur, 603112 Chennai, Tamilnadu, India
b
Ofce of The Chief Engineer, Harbour Engineering Department, Kamaleswaram, Trivandrum 69500, Kerala, India

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Munambam inlet is in the West Coast of India falling in ErnakulameTrichur districts of Kerala. This is the
Received 8 April 2014 point where the north branch of Periyar river after joining Chalakudi and Pullut rivers meets the Arabian
Received in revised form Sea. Due to the littoral drift from the north direction, a sand spit had formed at the mouth which caused
22 September 2014
frequent capsizing of boats. In order to arrive at a permanent problem, two breakwaters of length 360 m
Accepted 23 September 2014
Available online
and 625 m had been constructed in the year 2000. After the construction of the breakwaters, the sand
spit disappeared and there was considerable improvement in the bathymetry at the initial periods but
the problem recurred. This paper highlights the details of the shoreline evolution from 1975 to 2012
Keywords:
Shoreline evolution
derived from the actual eld data and MIKE 21. The results indicate that the advancement of shoreline on
Rubble mound breakwaters either sides of the inlet is a peculiar phenomenon unlike erosion on one side and accretion on the other.
MIKE 21 modelling Short term solutions for the management of the recurring problems are suggested in this paper. Long
Fishing harbours term solutions to the problem are also suggested, such as calling for the attention of the state and local
Sediment transport government and research organizations.
Coastal erosion 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction transport and output of littoral sediments within coherent

geomorphological coastal units (known as sediment cells and sub-
Coastal systems are dynamic environment which comprise cells). The fundamental implication associated with natural or
three main interrelated components, namely: morphology, sedi- articial changes to any coastal system is that the previously
ments and forcing parameters. It is widely accepted that over existing dynamic equilibrium within the sediment cell will be
some characteristic time period and spatial scale, the components altered. In many such cases, the energy inputs can no longer be
of any coastal system will tend towards a dynamic equilibrium dissipated without net output from the system, thus resulting in
state, within which the energy inputs can be dissipated and a changes in the morphology and/or sediment characteristics and/or
balanced state between activity, three-dimensional geometry and sediment transport processes elsewhere within the cell (Cooper
sediment transport is maintained with no net output to the sys- et al., 2001). Coastline evolution and sediment transport are
tem. However, subsequent changes to this dynamic equilibrium complex processes, and their basic governing physical mecha-
can occur when further change in energy input (e.g. storm activity, nisms are still not completely understood. Questions regarding
sea-level rise), or human interference, either in the sediment littoral and coastal management, such as how the coastline
budget (e.g. coastal defence works) or in coastal morphology (e.g. evolves over the short to long term scale with variations in hy-
dredging, land claim, re-alignment of coastal defences) occurs. drodynamics or beach conditions, are still open (Lo  pez-Ruiz,
Human intervention at coastal defence, for example, can have 2014). Numerical models for shoreline evolution are useful tools
serious impacts (both intentional and unintentional) on the input, in establishing trends and forecasting shoreline position scenarios
for decadal temporal scales. Several shoreline evolution models
have been proposed to describe changes in shoreline evolution
based on analysis of the balance of sediment volumes over a
* Corresponding author. certain period of time (Baptista et al., 2014). In anthropogenically
E-mail addresses: swamy2667@yahoo.co.in, swamy2667@gmail.com
perturbated systems, the evolution of a sandy coastal area through
(K. Thiruvenkatasamy), girijaravikedaram@yahoo.com (D.K. Baby Girija).

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ocecoaman.2014.09.026
0964-5691/ 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 K. Thiruvenkatasamy, D.K. Baby Girija / Ocean & Coastal Management 102 (2014) 234e247 235

time is the result of a delicate balance between both natural 1.1. Existing scenario
(sediment supply, waves, currents, tides, winds, storms, rainfalls,
tsunamis, etc.) and anthropic (dams, jetties, embankments, arti- During severe monsoon period in Kerala (MayeJune & Octo-
cial channels) factors which may result in advancing or retreating bereNovember), the highest 10 percent waves attain an average
shorelines. The importance of preserving coastal zones is self- height of 3.2 m. These waves with a wave period of 5e7 s, generally
evident as they perform important ecological, economic and so- approach the coast from the western direction. The normal tide
cietal functions, but in recent times human activity has severely height varies from 0.9 m in the South to 1.8 m in the North. Storm
modied the natural evolution of coastal areas and has become tides also occur all along the coast during the monsoon season.
the most important controlling factor (Di Stefano et al., 2013). During monsoon, the high waves coupled with storm surges result
On the West Coast of India, Kerala has a coastline of 590 km with in the overowing and ooding of the low-lying backshore land
41 west owing rivers and 3 east owing rivers (Harbour leading to considerable loss of property, and thereby seriously
Engineering Department, 1997). The conuence of these west affecting the hinterland economy.
owing rivers with the Arabian Sea forms 23 estuaries. Generally, Several rivers bring in large quantities of ood water during
three types of interventions occur along the coast. They are con- the monsoon. These ood waters and the resulting sediment
struction of shery harbours, ports and sea walls. The Harbour transport, block the normal movement of littoral material along
Engineering Department of Kerala has taken up construction of 21 the coast, thereby augmenting the erosion problem. The pre-
Fishery Harbours along the coast. Of which 9 shery harbours are in dominant direction of the littoral drift is from the north to the
estuaries and others are in open sea. Some of these harbours are south all along the coast. However, reversal of drift has been
also functioning as ports. As part of the harbour/port constructions, noticed in many reaches due to local topography, coastal con-
so far 22.7 km of breakwaters have been constructed. In addition to structions and mud banks. Analysis of charts, existing marine and
the above, some groins have also been constructed by various de- coastal structures, and position of headlines and embankments,
partments to prevent erosion. The alignment of these breakwaters indicate that the dominant direction of littoral drift is towards
has been nalized based on physical and mathematical model South between Mangalore and Cochin. The view is further sus-
studies. In all the harbours, rubble mound breakwaters have been tained by the migration of few inlets and the curvature of the
provided, which were designed using Hudson's formula. Conse- coastal line from NNW to SSE direction. During southwest
quent to the construction of these breakwaters there are changes to monsoon, the wind direction is from west and west North West
the shoreline. Munambam is one such estuary where two break- and from April to September the dominant direction of surface
waters of length 625 m and 360 m were constructed in 2000. In this currents is from north to south. Formation of mud bank is a
paper the details of the shoreline evolution in the estuary from phenomenon peculiar to the coast of Kerala. These are in shore
1975 to 2012, derived from the actual eld data and MIKE 21, are regions of thick colloidal suspensions sometimes as long as 10 km
highlighted. and as wide as 8 km parallel to the coastline, their peculiar

Fig. 1. Temporal changes in shoreline position around Munambam Harbour at Periyar River mouth, North of Kochi. Locality index: Northern Sector: AZK e Azhikkode, EDL e
Edavilangu. Central Sector: MUN e Munambam, PLP e Pallipuram, KPL e Kuzhipilli, EDV e Edavanakkad, NYR e Nayarambalam. Southern Sector: NYR e Nayarambalam, ELP e
Elangunnapuzha.
236 K. Thiruvenkatasamy, D.K. Baby Girija / Ocean & Coastal Management 102 (2014) 234e247

property being complete dampening of wave action even during Studies were undertaken on the shoreline changes and its impact
the rough monsoon season. It disrupts the normal wave action on the coast around Munambam and morpho-metric changes in the
and material energy balance causes wave diffraction and refrac- Periyar river mouth area in 2009e10 by Praveen Kumar et al. A time
tion, arrest littoral drift, causes accretion behind it and conse- series map depicting the changes for the last 100 years was also
quent severe erosion on the adjacent coastline, especially on its prepared. The area falls in the Survey of India (SOI) topo sheet No. 58
down drift side. B/4. The shoreline changes falling within a distance of about 27 km
While considering the coastal geomorphology, the foreshore is have been studied. Three series of Survey of India toposheets of 58 B/
steep, the gradient varying from 1 on 5 to 1 on 10. Hence, during the surveyed during the years 1910e11, 1966e67 and 1981 and IRS-1D
monsoons, waves of high steepness remove more beach material to LISS 3 Imagery of May 2001 were utilized. Topo sheet surveyed
deeper areas, thereby depleting the coastal area of the valuable during 1910e11 was the oldest available one for the area. The
sand formation. The barrier of land between the backwaters and shoreline changes occurred in the study area during the period from
the Arabian Sea is becoming very narrow and is less than a few 1910 to 2001 were broadly categorized under three sectors as pre-
hundred metres at many places during monsoon. sented in the Fig. 1 and is discussed below:

Fig. 2. Location map of Munambam Fishery Harbour in Arabian Sea.

 K. Thiruvenkatasamy, D.K. Baby Girija / Ocean & Coastal Management 102 (2014) 234e247 237

(1) Northern sector covering the area north of Periyar river and the consequent submergence of the coast gradually
mouth extending from Azhikkod to Edavilangu (9 km), decreased northwards from 290 to 145 m. Further north, at
(2) Central sector covering the area located south of Periyar river Edavilangu, the shoreline position remained more or less stable
mouth from Munambam to Nayarambalam (12 km) and in 1910, 1966, 1981 and 2001. There has been a progressive
(3) Southern sector from Nayarambalam to south of Elankun- submergence of the coast between Azhikkod and Edavilangu
napuzha (5 km). during the last century and the coast suffered a net loss of 2.093
sq. km area. A remarkable trend in the temporal change in the
The following aspects have been observed during the survey: shoreline position was that, the rate of change during
1910e1966 is much higher to that of 1966e2001 period. The
a) Northern Sector e Zone of Submerging Coast: During the 90 rapid southerly growth of the spit on the northern bank found
year period from 1910e11 to 2001, the northern sector experi- during 1981e2001 period was consequent to the construction of
enced a relative rise in the sea level and consequent submer- breakwater aligned in NEeSW direction at the Periyar river
gence of the shoreline. An easterly shift to the shoreline for a mouth.
maximum distance of 452 m was noticed at Azhikkod area, near b) Central Sector e Zone of uctuating Sea Level: The central
the northern spit of Periyar River. The easterly shift of shoreline sector is the epitome of sea level uctuation. There has been a

Fig. 3. Inlet during February 1975.

238 K. Thiruvenkatasamy, D.K. Baby Girija / Ocean & Coastal Management 102 (2014) 234e247

steady submergence of coast during 1910 and 1966, followed 420 m of coastal submergence during the past century. At the
by a gradual emergence during 1966e2001 period. Unlike the same time at pallipuram in the south the shoreline remained
north sector, the relative rise in sea level during 1910e66 had more or less stable during 1966e2001 and further south at
uniformly affected the northern 8 km segment of the central Kuzhipalli area, it experienced a westerly shift in shoreline by
sector. The temporal changes in the shoreline got diminished about 70 m, in the same period resulting in a net change of
towards Edavanakkad and Nedungad area and further south. about 500 m of coastal submergence. At Edavanakkad area,
The sea level remained very stable at West Kadamakkudi area which falls in the southern end of central sector, 200 m of
(about 1.5 km length of shoreline) during the past century. shoreline shift had occurred towards east during the period
The shoreline shifted easterly by about 570 m between 1910e1966 and it moved westerly by 50 m, during the period
Munambam in north to Kuzhipalli in south during 1910e1966. 1966e2001, resulting in a net change of 150 m of coastal
However, during 1966e2001 period, the sea level receded by submergence. In total, there has been a net submergence of
about 150 m at Munambam resulting in a net change of the coast between Munambam and Nayarambalam during the

Fig. 4. Comparison 1976 & 1978 survey.

 K. Thiruvenkatasamy, D.K. Baby Girija / Ocean & Coastal Management 102 (2014) 234e247 239

Fig. 5. Annual wave climate (wave heightedirection plot).

last hundred years and the coastal area suffered a net loss of 1910. Since the IRS-1D LISS-3 imagery for this area was not
4.675 sq. km. available, the changes in shoreline could not be ascertained for
c) Southern Sector e Zone of Emerging Coast: This zone extends to the period between 1980 and 2001.
about 5 km in length between South Nayarambalam and up to
south Elankunnapuzha. This stretch has been a zone of accretion Paravath and Pareeth (2006), highlighted the impact of con-
especially during 1910e1980 period. The sea level receded by struction of breakwaters at Ponnani estuary on the coastal geo-
about 954 m at Malippuram area and at the southernmost tip of morphology. Ponnani is a major sh landing centre in Malappuram
the area, there has been a recession of sea level by 1361 m. A net district of Kerala state. It is situated on the southern side of Mal-
gain of 4.90 sq. km area of land is observed in this zone. There appuram district. A shery harbour is being built at Ponnani estu-
has been a steady shift of shoreline position westwards since ary, by constructing two rubble mound breakwaters. The data on

Fig. 6. Annual wave climate (wave periodedirection plot).

240 K. Thiruvenkatasamy, D.K. Baby Girija / Ocean & Coastal Management 102 (2014) 234e247

shoreline changes and migration of sandbars in the mouth was Key, Florida in 1993, and (3) Martin County, Florida in 1996.
collected and analysed for different seasons, to assess the adjacent Modelling of shoreline responses due to wave eld modication
coastal changes and also the changes in the sand bar formation and owing to changes in offshore bathymetry have been examined
inlet conguration. The results of the detailed analysis of data well with models that included both wave eld and shoreline
established the shoreline changes and sand bar migration in the changes and by coupling models that evaluated these processes
estuary. independently.
Noujas et al. (2014) studied the Management of shoreline Similar studies have been carried out by Nguyen et al. (2007) in
Morphological damages consequent to breakwater construction in Cat Hai Island, Hai Phong City, Vietnam. In this analysis, the authors
the tidal inlet at Muthalapozhi, in Kerala, on the southern side of applied model for studying shoreline change. Cat Hai is a famous
the study location. The tidal inlet has been developed into a shing island with dense population, where coastal line was changing with
harbour for which two breakwaters on either side were con- high speed and in complicated cycles. Based on the analysis of
structed. Fishing harbour works were initiated in the year 2002. hydrodynamic and lithological conditions in this area, a coastal
Model studies for the design, estimated southerly annual sediment protection system was proposed, consisting of revetments, groins,
transport and accordingly the breakwaters were proposed with a submerged breakwaters and emerged breakwaters. Results derived
length of 480 m (280 m towards west and further 200 m towards from LITPACK model showed that they were reliable enough and
south) to the north arm and 170 m to the south arm. In the course of suitable for use as remedial protecting measures.
construction, it was observed that the mouth gets choked with Sorourian and Banijamali (2010) performed morphological
sediment deposit and spit formation making the harbour unusable. modelling of a rare case of a re-migrating inlet to be used as the
Sediment transport pattern has been reviewed and remodelled in basis of a shery port site selection study. The Tang inlet, located on
the study to understand the siltation process leading to chocking of the south-eastern shores of Iran, has so far been experiencing a
the harbour and to suggested appropriate remedial measures. The cyclic migration with a return period of approximately a decade. In
study concludes that the sediment transport was towards north in order to grasp the essence of the morphological behaviour of the
Perumathura sector during the beach building period which inlet, a two-fold site monitoring campaign was performed. Shore-
bypassed the south breakwater and chocked the harbour mouth line evolution was studied using aerial and satellite imagery for the
which could have been controlled and re-distributed towards south outside of bay. Comparison of sedimentation pattern has been
by making three transitioned groynes of length 40 m, 30 m, 20 m at made, based on past hydrographical survey inside the bay utilizing
120 m, 220 m and 300 m south of breakwater respectively. ArcGIS software. Subsequently, numerical modelling of inlet
Bender and Dean (2003) presented a review of available studies comprising of nearshore wave transformation, tidal regime of the
on wave transformation by bathymetric changes and the resulting bay, one-line coastline evolution and two-dimensional sediment
shoreline impacts. Three case studies of beach nourishment pro- transport within the bay were carried out utilizing MIKE 21 pack-
jects with signicant nearshore borrow areas have been examined, age. Ebb channel switching from a westerly to an easterly orien-
viz (1) Grand Isle, Louisiana constructed in 1984, (2) Anna Maria tation is deemed to occur due to self-suffocation as a result of the

Fig. 7. Shoreline comparison 1991e1996.

 K. Thiruvenkatasamy, D.K. Baby Girija / Ocean & Coastal Management 102 (2014) 234e247 241

Fig. 8. Shoreline comparison 2000e2001.

presence of an existing offshore rock formation, as well as the coast is a triangular shaped lagoon of 20 km on a side connected to
salient making potential of the rock system. the ocean by a 3-km wide inlet between the mainland and an
Cayocca (2001) had carried out the morphological modelling of elongated sand spit. This tidal inlet exhibits a particularly active
the Arcachon tidal inlet. Arcachon Lagoon on the French Atlantic morphology due to locally strong tidal currents and rough wave

Fig. 9. Shoreline comparison 2004e2012.

242 K. Thiruvenkatasamy, D.K. Baby Girija / Ocean & Coastal Management 102 (2014) 234e247

Fig. 10. Shoreline advancement measurement points.

conditions. During the past 300 years, minimum and maximum century. A two-dimensional horizontal morphodynamic model was
spatial extents of the Cap Ferret sand spit have varied by 8 km while therefore developed, combining modules for hydrodynamics,
one or two channels have alternately allowed circulation between waves, sediment transport and bathymetry updates conditions
the lagoon and the ocean. These impressive morphological changes with respect to sediment transport, i.e. conditions that induce the
have never prevented regular ushing of the lagoon, even though same annual transport as measured in the eld. The results showed
the spit came as close as 300 m from the coast during the 18th the reproduction of a channel and bar system comparable to his-
torical observations, which supports the idea that the lagoon is
unlikely to be disconnected from the ocean, provided tide and wave
conditions remained fairly constant in the following decades.
Wu et al. (2011) made a quantitative evaluation of the impact of
coastal engineering constructions on the evolution of topography
and morphology of Quanzhou Bay in Fugian, China. A series of port
construction and large-scale reclamation projects have been
extensively carried out in Quanzhou Bay to pursue social and eco-
nomic benets. These projects have changed the natural topo-
graphical and morphological evolution since 1970. A comparison of
topographical and morphological characteristics of the study area
was made for the years 2008, 1972 and 1934, and analysed the
obvious differences between two evolution stages viz: 1934e1972
and 1972e2008. The study also evaluated the impact of coastal
engineering constructions on the evolution of topography and
morphology quantitatively. The results showed that evolution
before 1970s was characterized as a stable whole, with local erosion
in the channel and slow aggradations of the shoal. The morphology
Fig. 11. Advancement of shoreline on the southern side. was dominated by natural processes, as there was little coastal

Fig. 12. Advancement of shoreline on the northern side. Fig. 13. Accretion at Munambam Fishery Harbour in West Coast of India.
 K. Thiruvenkatasamy, D.K. Baby Girija / Ocean & Coastal Management 102 (2014) 234e247 243

Mwakumanyat and Odhiambo (2007) evaluated the spatial and

temporal changes in beach morphology by analysing the grain size
distribution and the effect of the hydrodynamic conditions on the
beach showing shoreline instability. Ten transects, were selected
along the Nyali-Bamburi shoreline perpendicular to the shore from
where morphological and hydrodynamic parameters were
measured. Morphological parameters such as beach orientation,
beach width, and beach slopes were determined and sediment
samples obtained during low tide. Wave energy was calculated from
wave heights measured at the breaker point using a graduated staff,
whereas swash and backwash velocities were determined at mid
beach during high tide. Sediment samples were dried and sieved
using an automatic shaker for grain size analysis using the graphical
method. The study showed that beach morphology was rapidly
changing with time along the shoreline. The changes were mostly
attributed to wave and sediment characteristics. It was also estab-
lished that steep-sloping beaches were associated with strong wave
energy and coarse sediments, whereas gently-sloping beaches were
of ne, well-sorted, and positively-skewed sediments, with rela-
Fig. 14. HS chart of Munambam Fishery Harbour.
tively less strong waves. Steep beaches seem to be relatively short in
width. There was a remarkable retreat of the shoreline.
engineering construction before 1970. Since the 1970s, because of a
series of engineering projects such as those reclaiming land and 2. Description of the problem for the present study
constructing ports, the bay has been in a stage of continuous silting,
characterized by the channel narrowing and shrinking and shoal The inlet of Munambam is 40 km north of Cochin harbour and
silting and expanding. This resulted in the abandonment of ports 85 km South of Ponnani port in Kerala State of India. The north
around the bay and endangered the salt eld, aquaculture and branch of Periyar river after joining with Chalakudi and Pullut
other agriculture. Potential solutions for the management of the rivers meets the Arabian Sea at Munambam (Fig. 2). Formation of
coastal zone of Quanzhou Bay and other similar bays by state and sand spit was observed at the mouth of the inlet due to the littoral
local agencies are suggested, such as calling for the attention of the drift from the north direction. This resulted in the shifting of the
state and local government, strengthening coastal zone manage- deep natural channel to the south parallel to the south bank taking
ment, scientic planning and reasonable exploitation, and in a convex shape. The shape of the inlet as it existed in February
particular, changing the utilization of the sea area. 1975 is shown in Fig. 3. A comparison of the inlet as per February

Fig. 15. Digitized image of Munambam Harbour.

244 K. Thiruvenkatasamy, D.K. Baby Girija / Ocean & Coastal Management 102 (2014) 234e247

1976 survey and January 1978 survey is shown in Fig. 4. The south d) Out of which 200 m needed to be constructed initially and
bank was subjected to erosion due to the combined effects of wave results watched in prototype.
action and strong river ows during the southwest monsoon. The e) The rubble mound bund section was considered depending
orientation of the natural channel was also not suitable for navi- upon economy.
gation since the waves would be broadside on to the shing ves- f) To develop Munambam as a shing harbour, with two rubble
sels during the passage of ships through the channel. The heavy mound breakwaters of 360 m and 625 m.
breaking action taking place over the bar added to the navigational
hazards. Based on the model study recommendations, a northern
The navigation through the natural channel was hazardous breakwater of 625 m and southern breakwaters of 360 m were
during rough weather. Several mechanized boats have capsized at constructed and completed in August 2000 and due to the con-
the bar during rough weather. Hence, Government of Kerala struction of breakwaters the mouth has improved and sufcient
appointed M/s Indopol in the year 1967 to study the feasibility of depth was available for navigation in the succeeding years. The
establishing a shery harbour at the site. M/s Indopol had recom- present paper is aimed at study of the shoreline changes before and
mended construction of a shery harbour at this site in 1968. after the construction of breakwaters.
Government of Kerala accepted the recommendations of M/s
Indopol and sanction was accorded to conduct investigations and 3. Materials and methods
based on the data collected, physical model studies were conducted
by Central Water and Power Research Station (CWPRS), Pune. The The details of the shoreline evolution from 1975 to 2012 were
model study recommendations were as follows: based on the actual eld data and Prediction of the Shoreline
Evolution was done using MIKE Software. The actual eld data
a) The alignment of the channel to be dredged was to be with a collected include monthly shoreline, beach cross sections, hydro-
whole circle bearing of 230 . graphic surveys etc. The monthly shoreline data, beach cross sec-
b) With the construction of the two breakwaters, ushing ac- tions, bathymetry details and hydrographic charts required for the
tion in the channel would increase progressively. studies were collected from the Harbour Engineering Department
c) The breakwaters to be constructed for a length of 360 m of Kerala State. The wave data required for the analysis was
(South) and 625 m (North). collected from Centre for Earth Science Studies (CESS), Trivandrum,

Fig. 16. Illustration of bathymetry.

 K. Thiruvenkatasamy, D.K. Baby Girija / Ocean & Coastal Management 102 (2014) 234e247 245

National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) and from the Harbour

Engineering Department, Trivandrum. For studying and better
understanding of wave induced sediment transport and littoral
drift, the wave climate was divided into two major seasons viz: (1)
the fair weather season (NovembereApril) and (2) rough weather
season (MayeOctober). Analysis was carried out for their repre-
sentative wave parameters. For LITLINE Module, full wave climate is
taken for studying the coastline evolution and annual sediment
budgeting. The wave height direction and wave period direction
plot are shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

3.1. Analysis of the eld data

3.1.1. Shoreline analysis

Comparative lying of shoreline of Munambam for the periods
1991e1996, 2000e2001 and 2004e2012 are shown in Figs. 7e9
respectively. The vertical advancement of the shoreline, on either
Fig. 18. Munambam coastline-2000e2015.
side of the breakwaters at different points for the period from
August 2004 to November 2012 as shown in Fig. 10 have been
analysed and the results are shown in Figs. 11 and 12. The after the construction of the breakwaters in 2011 were super-
maximum advancement shoreline was of 350 m found on the imposed over the Google image and brought to scale. The shoreline
northern side and 120 m on the southern side. The shoreline and the river patterns before and after the construction of the
changes before and after the construction of the breakwaters were breakwaters were traced using AutoCAD. The image was digitised
closely monitored. The shoreline on both sides is showing an ac- using the MIKE software (Fig. 15). The 2 D image of the area and the
cretion tendency (Fig. 13). plot composer image of the area were generated. The illustration of
the bathymetry is shown in Fig. 16.
3.1.2. Bathymetry analysis LITLINE module of the MIKE software is also used to study the
The changes in the bathymetry of the area before and after the effect of wave climate on the shoreline changes. Initially, the coast
construction of breakwaters were studied. Before the construction is assumed to be without any sea walls or breakwaters and the
of breakwaters (1983), the depth in the inlet area varied effects were simulated for a period of about 2 decades (from 1983 to
between 5 m and 0 m. After the construction of breakwaters there 2000), and it was found that the coast showed an accretion ten-
was considerable change in the bathymetry of the area and the inlet dency towards the Northern side. A Southerly shift was also
attained a maximum depth of about 11 m. The more recent hy- observed in the river mouth. The validation of the model result was
drographic survey during November 2011 indicated formation of an done by comparing it with the real shoreline data for the year 2000
offshore bar causing hindrance to navigation (Fig. 14). This indicates
gradual reappearance of the offshore bar over a period of 12 years.

3.2. Prediction of shoreline evolution using MIKE software

3.2.1. Model set-up

The zoomed in image of the area was taken from the Google
Earth website. The image was brought to scale and the co-ordinates
of the area were adjusted using the AutoCAD software. The
extended bathymetry, the bathymetry of the area before 1983 and

Fig. 17. Shoreline changes for Munambam using LITLINE (1983e2000). Fig. 19. Accumulated sediment versus distance prole.
246 K. Thiruvenkatasamy, D.K. Baby Girija / Ocean & Coastal Management 102 (2014) 234e247

obtained from the Harbour Engineering Department. The results given in Figs. 20 and 21. The hydrographic survey during November
agree closely with real eld data. Then breakwaters and sea walls 2011 indicated formation of an offshore bar causing hindrance to
were incorporated in to the model and the shoreline was predicted navigation (Fig. 14). This indicates gradual reappearance of the
for the year 2015. The shoreline evolution before and after the offshore bar over a period of 12 years.
construction of breakwaters are shown in Figs. 17 and 18.
4.3. Recommendations
4. Discussion on ndings
Based on the results of the shoreline analysis and comparison of
4.1. Shoreline changes similar analysis, the following recommendations have been arrived.
Over a period of 12 years the original problem reappeared. Man-
Heavy accretion was observed till the tip of the Northern agement of the recurring problems can be done on Short term and
breakwater and considerable accretion was observed near the long term basis. Some short term solutions suggested are as
Southern breakwater also. It is found that accretion dominates the follows.
shoreline changes at Munambam. The results of shoreline evolution
done using the MIKE 21 analysis closely resemble the actual pro- (1) Further extension of the breakwaters could avoid the
totype observations. The accumulated sediment versus distance bypassing for a further period of about 15e20 years.
prole is shown in Fig. 19. From the analysis of the eld data, it is (2) This extension will further shift the sand bar formation,
observed that the shoreline on both sides is showing an accretion making the channel navigable.
tendency. The advancement of shoreline on both sides is a peculiar (3) The above period could be increased by the provision of a
phenomenon unlike erosion on one side and accretion on the other series of groins to the north of north breakwater
which lead to manifold developments in this area due to avail-
ability of huge extent of land. Thus the breakwaters were found to Long term solutions to the problem are suggested, such as
be very effective in training the river mouth and trapping the calling for the attention of the state and local government and
littoral sediments along the Munambam shoreline. This aspect research organizations.
need to be studied with special emphasis because this is a unique
phenomenon, compared to the usual tendency of accretion on one
5. Conclusions
side and erosion on the other.
After construction of breakwaters at Munambam inlet the sand
4.2. Bathymetry bar formation in the mouth has disappeared and navigability of the
inlet has improved. Heavy accretion is observed till the tip of the
Due to construction of breakwaters the sand bar formation in Northern breakwater and considerable accretion was observed
the mouth has disappeared and there was considerable improve- near the Southern breakwater as well. It is found that accretion
ment in the navigability of the inlet. Before the construction of dominates the shoreline changes at Munambam. The results of
breakwaters (1983) the depth in the inlet area varied shoreline evolution carried out using the MIKE 21 analysis closely
between 5 m and 0 m. After the construction of breakwaters resembles the actual prototype observations. The advancement of
(2011) there was a considerable change in the bathymetry of the shoreline on both sides is a peculiar phenomenon unlike erosion on
area. Presently, the depth at the inlet is about 11 m to 0 m. The one side and accretion on the other, had lead to manifold de-
bathymetry before and after the construction of breakwaters are velopments in this area due to availability of huge extent of land.

Fig. 20. a & b. Bathymetry before the construction of breakwaters in 1983.

 K. Thiruvenkatasamy, D.K. Baby Girija / Ocean & Coastal Management 102 (2014) 234e247 247

Fig. 21. a & b. Bathymetry after the construction of breakwaters in 2011.

Thus the breakwaters were found to be very effective in training the Cayocca, Florence, 2001. Long-term morphological modeling of a tidal inlet: the
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Cooper, Nicholas J., Hooke, Janet M., Bray, Malcolm J., 2001. Predicting coastal
Munambam shoreline. But the gradual reappearance of the evolution using a sediment budget approach: a case study from southern En-
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Lo
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