Processes of Shoreline Change Along the Nile Delta Coast of Egypt

Fanos, A. M.; Frihy, O. E.; Khafagy, A. A.; Komar, P. D.; ,

Processes of Shoreline Change Along the Nile Delta Coast of Egypt

by A. M. Fanos, Coastal Research Inst, Alexandria, Egypt,
O. E. Frihy, Coastal Research Inst, Alexandria, Egypt,
A. A. Khafagy, Coastal Research Inst, Alexandria, Egypt,
P. D. Komar, Coastal Research Inst, Alexandria, Egypt,

Document Type: Proceeding Paper

Part of: Coastal Sediments

Abstract:

A comprehensive program has been underway for more than a decade to collect nearshore data related to erosion problems experienced along the shoreline of the Nile Delta. The data include daily measurements of deep-water wave conditions, the twice-yearly surveying of beach profiles along the full length of the delta, the measurement of longshore currents, and the mineralogical analyses of beach sediments. These data have been employed in studies that yield a better understanding of the causes of observed shoreline changes. There has been considerable spatial variability in beach erosion versus accretion. Beach erosion has been greatest adjacent to the two distributary mouths of the Nile River, induced mainly by dam construction which has eliminated sand delivery to the coast. A third zone of lesser erosion exists midway along the delta, caused by the prevailing longshore sand transport toward the east. Between these areas of erosion exist stretches of delta shoreline that are accreting. The patterns of longshore transport associated with the shoreline changes have been evaluated from sand blockage at engineering structures (jetties and groins), calculations based on the longshore current and wave data, on observed deflections of lake inlets and artificial drains, and from longshore variations in beach-sand mineralogy.

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