The impact of Sochi – Imeretinsky harbor on the coastal processes (the Black sea)

Abstract

The impact of the harbor built near the Mzymta river mouth on the pebble sediment transport along the coast and the coastal line transformation is assessed proceeding from the survey data comparison. Sediment accumulation in the wave chamber of the permeable southwestern barrier pier are considered and the possibility of its circumvention by pebble material is estimated. It is shown that the sediments transported along the pier penetrate into the numerous canyon openings and go deeper. As a result of the bottom erosion behind the port, the pebble beach in front of the shore-protective structure protecting the embankment from the waves has disappeared at the 1-km-long coast site, and its erosion continues. The absence of a wave-setting pebble beach poses a threat to the destruction of the coastal protection structure and the embankment.