Measuring coastal erosion with the help of the local population in Myanmar

Student report (2017)

Authors

J.J. van den Berg Civil Engineering & Geosciences

Contributors

M.M. Rutten (mentor)
S. de Vries (mentor)
Faculty
Civil Engineering & Geosciences, Civil Engineering & Geosciences
Copyright: © 2017 Jelle Jacobus van den Berg
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Published Date

21-09-2017

Language

English

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Faculty

Civil Engineering & Geosciences

Abstract

Coastal erosion in Myanmar causes the coastline to retreat, which increases the flood risk for those who live near the coast. Lack of data about the coastline retreat makes it difficult to design proper flood protection measurements (UNFCC 2007). Since Myanmar is a relative poor country traditional measuring techniques, such as laser mapping, are not applicable. Therefore, the rate of erosion was measured with the help of citizen science. A new method was tested, in which measurements were performed with the help from the camera in a smartphone. Pictures were taken from a point of reference on the beach. With the help of triangular symmetry the distance from the participant to the reference was determined. With the help of CTD divers and Xtides, the effect of the tides was included in the measurements as well. This resulted in beach width measurements over time. A decreasing trend in beach measurements indicated erosion of the beach, as expected. The method has proven to be useful for measuring erosion for less developed countries, such as Myanmar. When the method is compared to the existing project Sandwatch (Cambers,2009), the advantage is that it easier to participate, since no additional tools are needed and the measurements can be performed at any time.