Beach Nourishment as an Adaptation to Future Sandy Beach Loss Owing to Sea-Level Rise in Thailand

Chatuphorn Somphong,Keiko Udo,Hiroaki Shirakawa,Sompratana Ritphring

doi:10.3390/jmse8090659

Chatuphorn Somphong, Keiko Udo + Show 2 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse8090659

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Abstract

A recent study suggested that significant beach loss may take place on the coasts of Thailand by the end of the 21st century as per projections of sea-level rise by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The present study adapts a framework and provides broad estimations for sand volumes and costs required to apply beach nourishment to each coastal zone in Thailand using a technique based on the Bruun rule assumption. Results indicate that a minimum of USD 2981 million (the best scenario) to a maximum of USD 11,409 million (the worst scenario) would be required to maintain all sandy beaches at their present width. Further, the effect of filling particle size on beach nourishment was analyzed in this study. The cost of beach nourishment ranges between USD 1983 and 14,208 million when considering filling particle size diameters of 0.5 and 0.2 mm. A zonal sand volume map for all 51 sandy beach zones in Thailand was created for use as an overview to help decision makers develop a more feasible adaptation plan to deal with the future sea-level rise for Thailand.

Highlights

Global sea-level rise (SLR) and climate change can lead to coastal erosion and cause serious problems for populations in low-lying coastal areas [1]
For all coastlines of Thailand based on four Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) scenarios, i.e., RCP2.6, RCP4.5, RCP6.0 and RCP8.5, and reported that, between 2081 and 2100, Thailand will possibly lose 46–72% of the present beach areas
This study aims to (1) develop a framework for beach nourishment, (2) to estimate the sand volume and costs using Yoshida’s method with the results of beach loss projection and beach data set from Ritphring et al.’s [10] study, (3) to map zonal volume and costs of sand for all sandy beach zones in Thailand in order to be used as a guideline for coastal management planning to deal with SLR

Summary

Introduction

Global sea-level rise (SLR) and climate change can lead to coastal erosion and cause serious problems for populations in low-lying coastal areas [1]. Previous studies have indicated several coastal communities worldwide, including Thailand, are vulnerable to SLR and storm surges that could bring massive socio-economic loss due to the continuously growing population [4,5,6]. These coastal areas require some additional actions to protect from SLR. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 5th assessment reports indicated a projected global mean sea-level increase by 8–16 mm/yr in the late 21st century (2081–2100) [7].

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