NEAR SHORE AND BEACH NOURISHMENT'S EFFECTS ON THE STABILITY OF ROSETTA PROMONTORY, EGYPT

Rosetta promontory is located on the Mediterranean Sea where the Rosetta branch of Nile meets the sea. Shoreline erosion and the river mouth sedimentation at Rosetta promontory were magnified after construction of Aswan High Dam (AHD) in 1964 that dramatically decreased both water discharge, and sediment transport to the sea. Many attempts to solve the erosion, and sedimentation problem were performed. Hard protection works have been implemented since 1989 such as seawalls on the tip of the promontory and several groins along the eastern and western shores of the promontory. Additionally continuous dredging works were implemented within the river mouth. However, the shoreline along Rosetta Promontory is still unstable and these measures has a limited effect on the promontory stability where it transfers the problems to the adjacent areas. Two techniques of coastal nourishment are proposed in this study to avoid further degradation of the Rosetta coastal zone and to minimize erosion problems. These techniques include near shore and beach nourishment. A calibrated/verified Coastal Modeling System (CMS) was used to address the effect of the nourishment on the morphology of the hot spot areas (erosion and accretion). Results of different scenarios were discussed in detail. Beach nourishment on the western headland of the promontory will modify the stability of the shoreline specially the western side of the promontory as well as decrease the siltation problem inside the river mouth.