Erosion of the beach of Historic Varadero, Cuba

Abstract

Master project report. This report handles the erosion problems on the main tourist resort of Cuba, Varadero, situated on the Peninsula de Hicacos. With a length of 22 km, a maximum width of 500 m, The Peninsula de Hicacos constitutes a natural barrier separating the shallow waters of Cardenas Bay from the Florida Strait (Figure 1-3). Measurements in the past decades have indicated a local coastal regression of 1.2 mjyear on this peninsula, endangering future tourist activity and structures on the beach. The main objectives of this research are to make an analysis of the erosion and to find a way to protect the Peninsula de Hicacos from future structural erosion. First, extensive research to the history and characteristics of the peninsula is done, provid ing information on i.e. former research, bathymetry and sand characteristics. After that, possible causes for the erosion problems on the whole peninsula are identified. Identified possible causes are longshore transport gradients, sediment transportation by wind, reduction of the input of sand by the Algae Halimeda, global sea level rise and sand mining in the past. To investigate the possible causes on its' significance, they are quantified . The longshore transport is quantified by using a software model called : UNIBEST, which was used after computations by hand with the formulas of BIJKER, CERC and QUEENS to verify the model and to get insight in the matter. The mean longshore sediment transport capacity found along the coast was about 100,OOOm3 per year (varying between 89,000 and 134,000 m3 per year along the coast). Wind causes about 175,000 m3 of sand of the peninsula to move landward per year (using CRESS), but as it is not clear how much sand is trapped in the dunes no estimation can be done about the amount of sediment that is lost by wind transport. The input of sediment by the Algae Halimeda is neglected in this research as no sensible estimation can be given, and neglecting is the most conservative approach. Global sea level rise causes a coastal regression of 0.132 m/year, resulting in a loss of sand of 11,500 m3 of the peninsula per year. Sand mining in the past could have influenced the erosion problems, but as it is almost 30 years ago, it does not cause extra erosion nowadays.