Beach Erosion Driven by Natural and Human Activity at Isla del Carmen Barrier Island, Mexico

Escudero, Mireille; Silva, Rodolfo; Mendoza, Edgar

doi:10.2112/si71-008.1

Cited by 33 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…The shear stress produced by the wind on the sea surface generates an elevation of the water level at the coastline, which can be described by the long wave equation, resolved on coastal transects (Dean and Dalrymple, 1991). Storm surges values were also obtained with the modeled surges from the MATO hydrodynamic model (Posada et al, 2008) as applied in Escudero-Castillo et al (2014b), using surge levels calculated stationary conditions of winds to interpolate surge levels for any storm. The final storm surge values were calculated as the mean value of the surge levels from the analytical solution and the numerical simulations.…”

Section: Hurricane Flood Hazardmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For this region, high resolution bathymetry and coral cover data were available via CONABIO (Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad) from the 'Sistema Nacional de Información sobre Biodiversidad' 1 , which provides 4-m resolution bathymetry and seabed cover from Cabo Catoche to Xcalak. The fore reef and beach profiles were assumed equal for all the coastal transects, based on mean slope values observed in the region (Escudero-Castillo et al, 2014b, 2018.…”

Section: Modeling Flooding and The Effect Of Reefsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Risk Reduction Benefits of the Mesoamerican Reef in Mexico

Reguero

Secaira²,

Toimil

et al. 2019

Front. Earth Sci.

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Coastal development and climate change are dramatically increasing the risks of flooding, erosion, and extreme weather events. Coral reefs and other coastal ecosystems act as natural defenses against coastal hazards, but their degradation increases risk to people and property. Environmental degradation, however, has rarely been quantified as a driver of coastal risk. In Quintana Roo, Mexico, a region on the Mexican Caribbean coast with an annual tourism economy of 10 billion USD, coral reefs constitute a natural barrier against flooding from hurricanes. This study spatially quantifies the risk reduction benefits of the Mesoamerican Reef in Quintana Roo for people, buildings, and hotel infrastructure. The risk reduction benefits are substantial. For example, the reefs prevented 43% additional damage during Hurricane Dean in (2007) and provide nowadays hazard risk reduction for 4.3% of the people, 1.9% of the built capital, and 2.4% of the hotel infrastructure, per year. The annual benefits are estimated in 4,600 people, 42 million USD damage prevention for buildings, and 20.8 million USD for hotel infrastructure. The study also compares the risk reduction of coral reefs with (i) the protection offered by dunes and (ii) the increase in coastal risk from sealevel rise (SLR). The risk reduction of dunes is more critical where there are no coral reefs offshore and for small return-periods storms. Sea-level rise, however, will make the more frequent storms more impactful and will drive significant increases in annual expected damages across the region. However, we demonstrate that, in coral reef environments, the contribution of reef degradation to coastal risk is larger than the expected increase in risk from SLR. However, the spatial distribution of the risk reduction benefits from reefs differs for people and infrastructure, and in particular for hotels, which receive the most protection from reefs. Furthermore, many sections present larger benefits than the typical costs of restoration. This valuation makes a compelling case for protecting and maintaining this natural infrastructure for its risk reduction service, but also allows the development of piloting innovative strategies, such as risk finance and insurance strategies, that can align environmental and risk management goals.

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Section: Hurricane Flood Hazardmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Modeling Flooding and The Effect Of Reefsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Risk Reduction Benefits of the Mesoamerican Reef in Mexico

Reguero

Secaira²,

Toimil

et al. 2019

Front. Earth Sci.

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“…The dominant winds blow in the NNW and ESE directions [42,43]. The daily tide regimes have an average of about 0.43 m of amplitude.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The daily tide regimes have an average of about 0.43 m of amplitude. Because rainfall is scarce during the dry season (April to May), there is no flooding, and the minimum tides are about -0.24 m [43]. In contrast, during the late autumn and winter (November to January, also locally called "nortes" season), moderate rainfall, the lowest temperatures, and strong northerly winds are present, there is regular flooding, and the tide reaches its maximum interval of 0.92 m [43].…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Determining hydrological flow paths to enhance restoration in impaired mangrove wetlands

et al. 2020

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The restoration of mangroves has gained prominence in recent decades. Hydrological rehabilitation has been undertaken to connect impaired mangroves with the sea, lagoons or estuaries. Because mangrove hydrodynamics occurs on the surface and interstitial spaces in the sediment, we propose to determine the hydrological flow paths to restore the hydrological regimes of the impaired mangroves. The hydrological flow paths were determined through a micro basin analysis based on microtopographic data to generate a digital elevation model. Applying this methodological approach, the hydrology of an impaired area on a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico was restored by excavating, desilting or clearing the channels on the identified hydrological flow paths. This area was compared to one in which impaired mangroves were reconnected to the marine lagoon but disregarding the flow paths. Data collected in both areas were evaluated by flood level analysis, using two methods: (i) a simple linear regression model (SLRM) and (ii) spectral analysis (SA), also known as dominant frequency analysis. The results suggest that restoration based on the hydrological flow paths was more effective than the direct opening to the nearest main water body without accounting for the microtopography. In both areas, soil salinity and sulfides decreased after hydrological reconnection. However, a greater efficiency in the investment of time and human resources was achieved when preferential flow paths were identified and taken into account. The methodological procedures described in this study are of universal application to other mangrove restoration programs.

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“…Because human activities have often led to the degradation and fragmentation of these systems, their resilience has deteriorated and in consequence, human populations have been adversely affected. In Latin America, where coastal infrastructure and economic growth are expanding (e.g., development of ports, tourist activities and the exploitation of natural resources) and largescale coastal problems have had important impacts on infrastructure and human well-being (Hong, 2006;Escudero et al, 2014;Mallmann and Pereira, 2014), interesting ideas have developed to improve the management of coastal ecosystem integrity that include the involvement of communities. This is relevant for the management of strategic ecosystems and improves the effectiveness of coastal ecosystems.…”

Section: Importance Of Integrity Of Coastal Ecosystemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Present and Future Challenges of Coastal Erosion in Latin America

Silva

Martínez

Hesp

et al. 2014

Journal of Coastal Research

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104

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Silva, R.; Martínez, M.L.; Hesp, P.; Catalan, P.; Osorio, A. F.; Martell, R.; Fossati, M.; Miot da Silva, G.; Mariño-Tapia, I.; Pereira, P.; Cienfuegos, R.; Klein, A., and Govaere, G., 2014. Present and future challenges of coastal erosion in Latin America.The coastal zones of Latin America have many landforms and environments, including sedimentary cliffs, deeply incised estuaries, headlands, barrier coasts and low lying, muddy coastal plains. These forms will respond differently to the expected changes in climate and associated sea level rise, which may produce coastal erosion in the future. Considering the coasts of Latin America overall, erosion is not yet a serious threat, although it is widespread and it is severe in some parts. Major erosion problems are frequently associated with human intervention in sediment supply, with poor planning or with the morphodynamic nature of the coast. Permanent erosional processes, locally or regionally, are caused by tectonic subsidence, deforestation and the fragmentation of coastal ecosystems, land use changes and sediment deficits because of infrastructure built along the coast. In this article we analyse coastal erosion in Latin America and the challenges it presents to the region. We first highlight the relevance of Latin America in terms of its biodiversity; then we describe the population at risk, demographic trends and economic growth throughout the low lying coastal zones. We also examine the vulnerability of the region by analyzing the resilience of key coastal ecosystems after exposure to the most frequent hazards that affect coastal zones in Latin America, namely tropical cyclones, sea level rise, ocean acidification, earthquakes and tsunamis. Finally, we discuss seven case studies of coastal erosion across Latin America. We close the study by pinpointing the main areas of concern in Latin America and explore possible strategies to overcome erosion and thus sustain economic growth, minimize population risk and maintain biodiversity.

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Beach Erosion Driven by Natural and Human Activity at Isla del Carmen Barrier Island, Mexico

Cited by 33 publications

References 6 publications

The Risk Reduction Benefits of the Mesoamerican Reef in Mexico

The Risk Reduction Benefits of the Mesoamerican Reef in Mexico

Determining hydrological flow paths to enhance restoration in impaired mangrove wetlands

Present and Future Challenges of Coastal Erosion in Latin America

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