How Effective Were the Beach Nourishments at Cancun?

Raúl Martell,Ismael Mariño-Tapia,Edgar Mendoza,Itxaso Odériz,Rodolfo Silva

doi:10.3390/jmse8060388

Abstract

Beach nourishment is generally seen as the preferred means of rectifying coastal erosion, due to its low environmental impact and natural evolution. The largest beach nourishment project ever carried out in Mexico took place on Cancun beach in 2006, as a response to the most intense hurricane season ever registered in Mexico, in 2005. After Hurricane Dean, in 2009, a second nourishment was conducted, which evidenced flaws in the design and execution of the first project. Previous investigations report that the need for beach re-fills directly correlates with wave energy. However, following a thorough revision of the extreme climatic events that occurred between 1978 and 2018, it has been found that the amount of erosion also depends on the frequency and duration of high energy events. The findings also show that the apparent success of the second nourishment is mainly associated with a decline in the number of extreme wave power events impacting the beach. In the conclusion to this paper, we share the knowledge gained, but not yet applied, in Mexico or elsewhere, regarding beach use, urbanization, and protection in beach planning.

Highlights

It has long been recognized that sandy beaches around the world are being eroded, e.g., [1,2] estimated that 70% of beaches were undergoing erosion and, according to [3], the problem was much more critical in the USA, where the figure was 90%
Until 2010, the time of the second nourishment, the general perception was that the beach at Cancun had a clear erosion tendency
We identified the events which produced the most erosion at Cancun beach

Summary

Introduction

It has long been recognized that sandy beaches around the world are being eroded, e.g., [1,2] estimated that 70% of beaches were undergoing erosion and, according to [3], the problem was much more critical in the USA, where the figure was 90%. The extension of the berm and beach profile, combined with protective dunes, dissipates wave energy, reducing expected damage from storms These benefits mean that when a beach has a sand deficiency, is important in terms of economic impact and job creation, and the environmental impacts are not very serious, beach nourishment can be seen as a feasible alternative to remedy problems of erosion. The aim of this work is to assess the effectiveness of two beach nourishments carried out at Cancun, Mexico, in 2006 and 2009, using a total of 8 million cubic meters of sand This assessment uses satellite images, photographs, and model-derived wave power records to examine the morphological evolution of the coastline over the last 40 years

Cancun Before the First Beach Nourishment

Findings

Discussion and Conclusions