Author(s)

J. C. Sanchez, J. C. Espinal & D. Moran

Abstract

The beach nourishment project implemented in 2009 to rehabilitate the beachface and profiles of Cancun beach had been the most important project of its type in Latin America: the length of rehabilitation (10.5 kilometers), the volume of sand placed (5.2x106 m3), besides to have a dry beach in approximately one kilometer on an area where for a long time there was not a dry beach. The environmental conditions were fully fulfilled on the deposition area and also on the sand borrow areas. The nourishment project was based on the analysis beach profiles data set, interpretation of data collected by means of oceanographic equipment, native and borrow sediment, further to the hydrodynamic and morphodynamic characterization. This paper presents the analysis of the hydrodynamic response of Cancun Beach nourishment in Quintana Roo, México, supported on historical profiles data set analysis, seabed changes after the nourishment project and coastline evolution, in order to predict the possible changes in the morphodynamic conditions, after nourishment. Keywords: beach nourishment, Cancun, hydrodynamic, beach profile. 1 Introduction For different reasons most of the beaches in Mexico are experiencing erosion processes, depending on the particular conditions of each site, this problem will

Keywords

beach nourishment, Cancun, hydrodynamic, beach profile