Strandhill Beach - Coastal Erosion Studyc - Final - Draft

STRANDHILL BEACH COASTAL EROSION REPORT
DOCUMENT CONTROL SHEET

Client Project Title Document Title Document No. This Comprises Document Sligo County Council Strandhill Beach Coastal Erosion Report IBE0647/AKB/R01f DCS TOC Text List of Tables List of Figures No. of Appendices 0
Rev. 0 1
Status Draft Final Draft
Author(s) AKB AKB
Reviewed By CR CR
Approved By AKB AKB
Office of Origin Belfast Belfast
Issue Date 16/03/12 23/03/12
Sligo County Council
Strandhill Beach Coastal Erosion Study
CONTENTS
1.0 2.0 INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................ 1 SITE DESCRIPTION .................................................................................................................. 3 2.1 2.2 3.0 4.0 5.0 STUDY AREA .................................................................................................................... 3 ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGNATIONS ...................................................................................... 5
HISTORICAL REVIEW .............................................................................................................. 6 RECENT COASTAL EROSION............................................................................................... 10 ASSESSMENT OF RECENT EROSION EVENTS.................................................................. 15 5.1 5.2 METEOROLOGICAL CONDITIONS ..................................................................................... 15 COASTAL PROCESS ANALYSIS ........................................................................................ 18 5.2.1 5.2.2 5.2.3 5.2.4 5.2.5 5.2.6 5.2.7 5.2.8 5.2.9 Tidal and extreme water levels....................................................................... 18 Extreme offshore wave................................................................................... 18 Joint probability analysis for waves and water levels..................................... 20 Hydraulic Modelling Software......................................................................... 23 Bathymetry data ............................................................................................. 23 Hydrodynamic flow modelling......................................................................... 24 Inshore waves during extreme storm events ................................................. 26 Sediment Drift................................................................................................. 28 Morphological beach and dune model ........................................................... 32
5.2.10 Aeolian transport ............................................................................................ 33 6.0 FUTURE DUNE MANAGEMENT ............................................................................................ 34 6.1 6.2 NEW TERMINATION OF EXISTING ROCK BEACH REVETMENT ............................................... 34 DUNE PROTECTION WORKS ............................................................................................ 37 6.2.1 6.2.2 7.0 8.0 Toe protection works ...................................................................................... 37 Exposed dune sand stabilization.................................................................... 38
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS .......................................................................................... 39 REFERENCES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................... 41 8.1 8.2 REFERENCES ................................................................................................................ 41 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ................................................................................................... 41
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 1.1 Figure 2.1 Figure 2.1 Figure 3.1 Figure 3.2 Figure 3.3 Rock beach revetment running south from the car park at Strandhill............... 1 Strandhill beach and dune system - OSi ortho-photograph 2005. .................... 4 Environmentally designated areas at Strandhill. ............................................... 5 Comparison of 1910 map and 1997 vegetation line.......................................... 6 Vegetation lines at Strandhill from 1973, 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2007. ............ 7 Beach sand stripped by storm in 1990. ............................................................. 8
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Figure 3.4 Cusps in the exposed stone and cobble beneath the Strandhill beach. ........... 9 Figure 4.1 Transition area between rock beach and cobble storm beach 2003. ............. 10 Figure 4.3a 5 May 2011 - Damage to the transition zone and the start of terminal erosion to the dune. .......................................................................................................................... 11 Figure 4.3b 17 May 2011 - Further damage to the dune face with sand slumping............ 11 Figure 4.3c 19 May 2011 - Damage to a considerable length of the dunes during large high tides. .......................................................................................................................... 12 Figure 4.3d 23 May 2011 - Dune and terminal erosion increasing..................................... 12 Figure 4.3e 24 May 2011 - Further damage to a considerable length of dune following F10 W-SW at neap high tide. Layers of peat were exposed in beach which had not been seen before. .......................................................................................................................... 13 Figure 4.4 - Dune erosion extended well to the south of the Shelly Valley. ........................... 13 Figure 4.5 Cobble storm beach recovery late January 2012............................................ 14 Figure 5.1 Offshore wind and wave climate for May 2011. .............................................. 15 Figure 5.2 Synoptic charts for storms 24th November to 13th December 2011. ............... 16 Figure 5.3a Significant wave height Buoy M4 and tidal levels at Sligo December 2011. .. 17 Figure 5.3b Buoy M4 Hs and tidal levels at Sligo 13th December 2011. ............................ 17 Figure 5.4 Offshore wave height/direction rose for the period 1997 2008 inclusive. .... 19 Figure 5.5 Joint Exceedence Curves Waves and Water Levels 248o to 293o Sector... 21 Figure 5.6 Joint Exceedence Curves Waves and Water Levels 293o to 338o Sector... 21 Figure 5.7 Extent of the linked FM flow, wave and sediment transport models............... 23 Figure 5.8a Typical flood spring tide flow patterns for Sligo and Strandhill........................ 24 Figure 5.8b Typical ebb spring tide flow patterns for Sligo and Strandhill. ........................ 25 Figure 5.9 Spring tidal elevations at Sligo tidal gauge...................................................... 25 Figure 5.10a Hs and MWD during 1 in 50year JP event with WL= 2.82m OD Malin. ......... 27 Figure 5.10b - Hs and MWD during 1 in 200year JP event with WL= 2.82m OD Malin......... 27 Figure 5.11 Variation in wave heights across the inshore beach profile for 1 in 50 and 1 in 200 year joint probability event with a water level of 2.82m OD Malin. .................................. 28 Figure 5.12 Sediment drift pathways - Strandhill beach in 2000. ....................................... 29 Figure 5.13 Extensive quantities of sand and cobble had to be removed from the slipway in April and May 2011. ............................................................................................................. 30 Figure 5.14 Littoral currents at Strandhill 23rd May 2011 Flood tide............................. 31 Figure 5.15 Littoral currents at Strandhill 23rd May 2011 Ebb tide. .............................. 31 Figure 5.16 Predicted dune erosion during 1 in 50 year joint probability storm. ................ 32 Figure 5.17 Large areas sand on the dune face susceptible to aeolian erosion................ 33 Figure 6.1 Layout of proposed termination ramp at southern end of rock beach revetment .......................................................................................................................... 35 Figure 6.2 Typical cross sections of recommended termination ramp at southern end of rock beach revetment............................................................................................................... 36 Figure 6.3 Cobble storm beach at toes of the dunes at Strandhill ................................... 37 Figure 6.4 Steep eroded face of dunes at cut back should be regarded and planted to stabilize the dune face. ............................................................................................................ 38
LIST OF TABLES
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Table 5.1 Table 5.2 Table 5.3 Table 5.4
Extreme water levels at Strandhill ....................................................................... 18 Extreme wave heights and wind speeds for W and NW storm directions .......... 19 Joint exceedence wave and water levels Storm direction 248o to 293o ........... 22 Joint exceedence wave and water levels Storm direction 293o to 338o ........... 22
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1.0
INTRODUCTION
Strandhill beach, situated to the west of Sligo Town, is one of Irelands premier surfing beaches as well as important tourist and recreational area. The beach extends from the rocky Killaspug Point at its northern end to Portcurry Point at the entrance to inner Ballysadare Bay. The beach is backed by an extensive system of sand dunes. The village of Strandhill extends down to the central portion of the beach dune system where a seafront car park was constructed many years ago. The car park is protected by extensive rock armour revetments. A detailed hydraulic study of the Strandhill beach system was undertaken in 1999/2000. This study identified that there was a low lying and vulnerable section of the dunes immediately to the south of the car park which if breached would allow sea water to flood in behind property adjoining the dune area. Following the completion of the 2000 study a rock beach revetment and pathway was constructed from the southern end of the car park to a high dune area some 280 metres south of the car park. The scheme also included a new slipway to give access to the beach for the public and emergency vehicles. The purpose of the rock beach revetment was not only to protect the low lying area behind the dunes to the south of the car park, but also to provide an access along the this section of the beach particularly at times of high tide. An elevated photograph of the completed rock beach revetment is shown in Figure 1.1.
Figure 1.1
Rock beach revetment running south from the car park at Strandhill.
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The rock beach revetment complete with a transition zone at its southern termination performed well for 10 years until April/May 20011 when severe beach draw down allowed a storm to seriously damage the transition zone at the end of the rock beach leading to terminal erosion at the high dune and the loss of the end of the access pathway to the beach. Storms during November and December 2011 not only resulted in further damage to the terminal area of the rock beach revetment but also eroded a significant length of the dunes with the erosion extending past the Shelly Valley some 300 metres south of the end of the rock beach termination. As a result of this extensive erosion RPS were commissioned to undertake a study to examine the provision of sustainable options for the provision of beach access at the southern end of the rock beach revetment and to consider whether the prevention of medium to long term erosion of the dunes and the beach area to the south can be achieved in an environmentally responsible manner. This report has been prepared by RPS to examine the nature of the recent erosion and to give recommendations for new termination and beach access at the end of the rock beach revetment. The study also examines options for possible dune protection works for the dune area and the Shelly Valley which lie to the south of the rock beach revetment. Where appropriate use has been made of data and information from the Strandhill Coastal Investigation and Feasibility Study prepared in 2000.
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2.0
2.1
SITE DESCRIPTION
Study area
The study area is the nearshore area, beach and sand dune system between Killaspug Point in the north to Portcurry Point in the south a distance of 3.5 km, see the aerial photograph from 2005 shown in Figure 2.1. Buenos Ayres Drive runs from Strandhill Village down to the sea in the middle of the frontage and terminates in a surfaced car park protected by rock armour. Property development has taken place on both sides of the road which effectively divides the study area in two. Caravan Parks are located on the northern side of the road and the Strandhill Golf Club Course is located on the southern side of the road. The beach width varies from 150 metres at the northern end, reducing to 80 metres at the car park and then extending to 700 metres at the Carrowdough Spit. Culleenamore Strand is a wide intertidal beach situated between the recurve at Portcurry Point and the main coastline to the south of Strandhill. The grading curves for middle and lower beach sands is fairly consistent over the area with the main beach sand having a Dn50 value of about 0.25 mm. The upper beach and dune sand was slightly finer with Dn50 size of about 0.20 mm. There is an underlying stone/cobble layer beneath the northern and central sections of the beach which becomes exposed under severe storm conditions. A cobble storm beach, typically graded between about 30 mm 200 mm, is present along the toe of much of the length of the dunes. In contrast to the northern section, the presence of extensive supplies of sand at Carrowdough Spit results in embryo and foredunes locations in the southern section of the system. In this southern part of the frontage great accumulations of sand have formed high ridges linking to even higher peaks. Many of these have slumped forming floristically rich hollows. The most prominent feature of the southern section of the dunes is the Shelly Valley. This is a long-standing blowout, stabilised to an extent by the extensive shell accumulations. The highly dynamic nature of the waves and wave currents makes the beach ideal for surfing but dangerous for bathing. Warning signs about the danger of bathing have been erected along the car park frontage. Access to the beach for pedestrians is at the slipway at the southern end of the car park revetment and at high tide, via the pathway along the rock beach revetment running south for about 280 metres from the car park. The new slipway, constructed in 2001, at the southern end of the car park also provides vehicle access for the emergency services and other users onto the beach.
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Figure 2.1
Strandhill beach and dune system - OSi ortho-photograph 2005.
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2.2
Environmental Designations
The site is a very small part of several important designations, (Figure 2.1): Northern section (part of Proposed NHA 000627, Sligo and Drumcliff Bays) Part of: Proposed Candidate SAC 000627, Cummeen Strand/Drumcliff Bay (Sligo Bay) Adjacent to: Cummeen Strand SPA Cummeen Strand Ramsar site Drumcliff Bay SPA Southern section (part of proposed NHA 000622, Ballysadare Bay) Part of: Proposed Candidate SAC 0622, Ballysadare Bay Proposed SPA Ballysadare Bay Annex I habitats 6.211 Embryonic shifting dunes 6.212 Shifting dunes along shoreline with Ammophila arenaria (white dunes) 16.221-227 * Fixed dunes with herbaceous vegetation (grey dunes) 64.1 x 31.227 Dry sandy heaths with Calluna and Empetrum nigrum ? *Priority habitat
Figure 2.1
Environmentally designated areas at Strandhill.
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3.0
HISTORICAL REVIEW
A historical review of changes in the coastline at Strandhill was undertaken as part of the 2000 coastal study(1). The relevant parts of that review have been included in this report. Historical changes in the coastline at Strandhill have been assessed by reference to Ordnance Survey maps from the mid 1800s, 1910 and 1999 together with aerial photographs for 1973, 1995, 1997, 2000, 2005 and 2007. Unfortunately the comparison of both the high water mark and the vegetation line between the historic and present day OS maps is difficult, as the various maps are not necessarily consistent in the definition of these lines. Nevertheless comparison of the various lines between the 1910 map and 1997 photographs indicate that while there has been some migration of the dune line, the coastline as a whole has not undergone significant overall movement over the period, Figure 3.1. Dune erosion appears to have taken place at the northern end of the beach in the area to the south of the effluent treatment works between 1910 and 1997. Figure 3.1 indicates a recession of the shoreline over most of the frontage to the south of the car park over the period since 1910.
Figure 3.1
Comparison of 1910 map and 1997 vegetation line.
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As part of the Irish Coastal Protection Strategy, the OPW have digitised the vegetation line along the shoreline of Strandhill from rectified OSi aerial photographs of 1973, 1995, 2000, 2005 and a Blom aerial survey of 2007. A comparison of these vegetation lines superimposed on the 2005 OSi aerial photograph is shown in Figure 3.2. It will be seen that there has been erosion to the dune line to the north of the car park since 1973 particularly around and to the south of the WWTP. There is also evidence of some erosion to the dunes to the south of the car park during the period 1973 to 2007 particularly to the dunes on either side of the Shelly Valley.
Figure 3.2
Vegetation lines at Strandhill from 1973, 1995, 2000, 2005 and 2007.
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Comparison of Figures 3.1 and 3.2 indicates that most of the erosion of the shoreline to the south of the car park took place prior to 1973 while the erosion to the northern section of the beach has been a more recent phenomenon. Historical reports and photographs also indicate that large sections of the beach at Strandhill get stripped of sand during significant storm events. Figure 3.3 shows an example from 1991 when a storm during January of that year removed large quantities of sand from the beach exposing a cobble and stone layer beneath the beach.
Figure 3.3
Beach sand stripped by storm in 1990.

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On some occasions the storm waves have had sufficient energy to move the stone and cobble layers on the beach and form cusps as shown in Figure 3.4.
Figure 3.4
Cusps in the exposed stone and cobble beneath the Strandhill beach.
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4.0
RECENT COASTAL EROSION
For 10 years following the construction in 2001 of the rock beach revetment and new slipway to the south of the car park, there was no extensive damage to the dune system to the south of the car park and only relatively small amounts of maintenance work was required to the transition zone at the southern end of the rock beach revetment where it blends into the cobble storm beach at the toe of the large dune, see Figure 4.1.
Figure 4.1
Transition area between rock beach and cobble storm beach 2003.
However in April 2011 the beach became drawn down exposing the underlying stone and cobble. Some damage occurred to the transition zone in late April 2011 and then extensive damage to the transition zone and dune cut back occurred during May 2011. During the events in May the cobble storm beach was removed from the toe of the dunes and the beach in front of the dune was further drawn down exposing layers of peat beneath the beach which had not been seen in the past 30 years. A pictorial record of the damage to the dunes to the south of the rock beach during this period is shown in Figures 4.2a to 4.2e.
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Figure 4.3a
5 May 2011 - Damage to the transition zone and the start of terminal erosion to the dune.
Figure 4.3b
17 May 2011 - Further damage to the dune face with sand slumping.
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Figure 4.3c
19 May 2011 - Damage to a considerable length of the dunes during large high tides.
Figure 4.3d
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23 May 2011 - Dune and terminal erosion increasing.

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Figure 4.3e
24 May 2011 - Further damage to a considerable length of dune following F10 W-SW at neap high tide. Layers of peat were exposed in beach which had not been seen before.
Further damage occurred in early November after which the Council installed a low level rock berm at the cut back at the termination of the damaged transition zone. The rock berm was installed as an emergency measure to prevent erosion of the sand in behind the end of the rock beach revetment. Further storms occurred from late November and mid December 2011 which resulted in erosion of the dunes along the frontage to the south of the rock beach revetment to a point well to the south of the Shelly Valley as can be see in Figure 4.4.
Figure 4.4 - Dune erosion extended well to the south of the Shelly Valley.
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Sand which had been built up over many years by the use of sand fencing at the entrance to the Shelly Valley was washed away during the December 2011 storms and the shingle storm beach at the foot of the dunes was greatly reduced during these extreme beach drawdown events. The beach levels started to recover during late January and early February 2012 and very substantial cobble storm beach deposits at the toes of the dunes appeared during this time, Figure 4.5.
Figure 4.5
Cobble storm beach recovery late January 2012.
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5.0
5.1
ASSESSMENT OF RECENT EROSION EVENTS

Meteorological Conditions
While beach draw down during storms is not unusual at Strandhill, the combination of low beach levels and the very stormy weather that occurred in May 2011 is exceptional for that time of year. Normally May is a relatively calm time of year when beach levels start to recover after the winter storms but in 2011 the conditions were more akin to a winter month. A time series of wind and wave conditions offshore of Strandhill during May 2011 is shown in Figure 5.1.
Figure 5.1
Offshore wind and wave climate for May 2011.
Examination of the offshore wind and wave conditions during May 2011, when major damage to the dunes commenced, shows that average wind speeds during the month were about 12 m/s (~25 knots) which is very high for the month of May and the wave climate during the second half of the month was also very energetic with significant wave heights of up to about 8 metres. The wave climate at the spring tide around the 17th - 19th May had swell wave heights of up to about 5 metres combined with winds sea wave heights of about 3.5 metres. As can be seen in Figure 5.1, the largest wave event occurred on the 24th May at a neap high tide. A series of 4 severe storms occurred between 24th November and 13th December 2011 which resulted in considerable damage to the dunes at Strandhill. The storm on December
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13th occurred at a time of spring tides and the highest ever recorded wave in Irish waters at 20.4 metres was measured off Donegal Bay by the met buoy M4 during this event. Winds were gusting in excess of 140 km/hr. This storm with a central pressure of about 946 millibars caused major dune erosion at Strandhill. The pressure systems for the storms through late November and early December are shown in Figure 5.2.
Figure 5.2
Synoptic charts for storms 24th November to 13th December 2011.
Figure 5.3a and 5.3b shows the significant wave heights at Buoy M4 and water levels at Sligo tide gauge for the month of December 2011 and for the event of 13th of December respectively. During the event of the 13th December the maximum wave height occurred after high tide. Even so the water level and wave height combination which occurred at about 8.00hrs had a joint return period of about 1 in 25 years. Had the peak of the storm occurred about 6 hours earlier the event would have had a joint probability of occurrence of about 1 in 100 years and even more damage would have occurred to the dunes at Strandhill.
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Figure 5.3a
Significant wave height Buoy M4 and tidal levels at Sligo December 2011.
Figure 5.3b
Buoy M4 Hs and tidal levels at Sligo 13th December 2011.
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5.2
5.2.1
Coastal Process Analysis

Tidal and extreme water levels
Tidal levels The tide levels for Sligo (Oyster Island) derived from the UK Admiralty tidal data based on Galway as the standard port are as follows: Mean High Water Spring Tide Mean High Water Neap Tide Mean Low Water Neap Tide Mean Low Water Spring Tide MHWS MHWN MLWN MLWS 2.00m OD Malin 0.90m OD Malin -0.60m OD Malin -1.60m OD Malin
Extreme water levels due to storm surges As part of the Irish Coastal Protection Strategy, RPS undertook hindcast storm surge simulations of some 74 historic storms on the west coast of Ireland. A statistical analysis of these storm surge simulations were used to derive extreme water levels for series of points along the west coast of Ireland. The extreme water analysis yielded the following water levels: Return Period in years 1 2 5 10 20 50 100 200 Table 5.1
5.2.2
Extreme Water level in m to OD Malin

2.353 2.437 2.548 2.632 2.711 2.822 2.906 2.988
Extreme water levels at Strandhill
Extreme offshore wave
The extreme offshore wave data was derived from a three hourly time series for the period 1997 to 2008 inclusive taken from the European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF) western European wind and wave model. The wave data was taken at the boundary of the wave transformation model for a point at 55oN. 10.5oW. Data for the month of May 2011 was taken from the ECMWF model for a point at 54.5oN. 9.5oW while information about the December 2011 events was taken from the Met Buoy M4 at the entrance to Donegal Bay. Figure 5.4 shows the offshore wave height/direction rose. It will be seen that the majority of the larger waves come from the 240o to 300o sector.
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Figure 5.4
Offshore wave height/direction rose for the period 1997 2008 inclusive.
The statistical analysis of the time series for the wave and wind data for each of the west and north-west sectors was under taken using the MikeZero Extreme Value Analysis. A partial duration series model was used for the analysis of the extreme values with a good fit to the data obtained using a Truncated Gumble distribution. The results obtained from the analysis were as follows:
Extreme offshore wave climate Storm West Sector return period wave height wave period Hm0 [m] Tm [s] 1 2 5 10 20 50 100 200 10.29 11.15 12.26 13.07 13.91 15.03 15.87 16.71 13.41 13.96 14.64 15.12 15.59 16.21 16.66 17.09
wind speed [m/s] 21.60 23.07 24.98 26.42 27.81 29.74 31.18 32.62
North-west Sector wave height wave period Hm0 [m] Tm [s] 7.90 8.86 10.12 11.05 12.01 13.30 14.26 15.22 11.66 12.35 13.20 13.80 14.38 15.13 15.67 16.19
wind speed [m/s] 19.29 20.68 22.50 23.85 25.22 27.07 28.64 29.84
Table 5.2
Extreme wave heights and wind speeds for W and NW storm directions.
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5.2.3
Joint probability analysis for waves and water levels
The waves which can approach the shoreline at Strandhill will be significantly influenced by the water levels. Thus joint probability analyses were undertaken for extreme waves and water levels based on the extreme value analysis of offshore waves and water levels. Work undertaken by RPS in relation to the Irish National Coastal Defence Strategy which included running storm surge simulations for more than 74 extreme events indicate that that there is likely to be a strong correlation between extreme waves and extreme water levels in the Sligo area particularly for storms from the 248o to 293o sector. The DEFRA/EA technical report FD2308 Joint Probability Methods in Flood Management (2005) gives five categories of correlation between wave height and sea level with the appropriate range of coefficient as follows: Independent Modest Well Strong Super Coefficient Coefficient Coefficient Coefficient Coefficient < 0.11 0.12 to 0.37 0.38 to 0.53 0.54 to 0.70 >0.7
To be conservative the Joint Probability Analysis has been undertaken with a correlation coefficient 0.56 for the 248o to 293o sector and 0.48 for the 293o to 338o sector. The Joint Exceedence Curves for extreme waves and water levels for each sector is shown in Figures 5.5 and 5.6 below. The figures for the joint exceedence of waves and water levels for the two sectors are given in tables 5.3 and 5.4.
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Joint exceedence curves

18.00 Significant Wave height Offshore Hm0 [m] 16.00 14.00 12.00 10.00 8.00 6.00 4.00 2.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00
Return period (years) 1 2 5 10 20 50 100 200
Water level at Strandhill [m OD]

Figure 5.5 Joint Exceedence Curves Waves and Water Levels 248o to 293o Sector.
Joint exceedence curves

16.00 Significant Wave height Offshore Hm0 [m] 14.00 12.00 10.00 8.00 6.00 4.00 2.00 1.50 2.00 2.50 3.00
Return period (years) 1 2 5 10 20 50 100 200
Water level at Strandhill [m OD]

Figure 5.6 Joint Exceedence Curves Waves and Water Levels 293o to 338o Sector.
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Value of first variable: Present-day sea level off Strandhill (mOD) 1.85 1.98 2.07 2.14 2.27 2.35 2.44 2.55 2.63 2.71 2.82 2.91 2.99 3.10
Joint exceedence return period (years) 5 10 20 50
100
200
Value of second variable: 10.29 9.76 8.83 7.87 6.60 5.64 #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A 11.15 10.99 10.13 9.23 7.96 7.00 6.04 #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A 12.26 12.26 11.73 10.89 9.74 8.80 7.84 6.57 #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A
Offshore wave height off Sligo (m) 13.07 13.07 12.90 12.08 10.97 10.10 9.21 7.94 6.98 #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A 13.91 13.91 13.91 13.24 12.16 11.32 10.47 9.30 8.34 7.38 #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A 15.03 15.03 15.03 14.83 13.71 12.88 12.06 10.94 10.08 9.18 7.91 #N/A #N/A #N/A 15.87 15.87 15.87 15.87 14.91 14.06 13.22 12.14 11.30 10.44 9.27 8.31 #N/A #N/A 16.71 16.71 16.71 16.71 16.10 15.26 14.42 13.30 12.48 11.65 10.53 9.65 8.71 #N/A
Table 5.3
Joint exceedence wave and water levels Storm direction 248o to 293o.
Value of first variable: Present-day sea level off Strandhill (mOD) 1.85 1.98 2.07 2.14 2.27 2.35 2.44 2.55 2.63 2.71 2.82 2.91 2.99 3.10
Joint exceedence return period (years) 5 10 20 50
100
200
Value of second variable: 7.90 6.72 5.75 4.78 3.50 2.54 #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A 8.86 8.02 7.06 6.09 4.81 3.84 2.87 #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A 10.12 9.72 8.77 7.81 6.53 5.56 4.59 3.31 #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A
Offshore wave height off Sligo (m) 11.05 10.98 10.06 9.10 7.83 6.86 5.90 4.62 3.65 #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A 12.01 12.01 11.31 10.38 9.12 8.17 7.20 5.92 4.95 3.98 #N/A #N/A #N/A #N/A 13.30 13.30 13.04 12.07 10.80 9.87 8.91 7.64 6.67 5.71 4.43 #N/A #N/A #N/A 14.26 14.26 14.26 13.38 12.09 11.12 10.20 8.93 7.98 7.01 5.73 4.76 #N/A #N/A 15.22 15.22 15.22 14.67 13.40 12.43 11.46 10.22 9.26 8.31 7.03 6.06 5.10 #N/A
Table 5.4
Joint exceedence wave and water levels Storm direction 293o to 338o.
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5.2.4
Hydraulic Modelling Software
The computational models used in this study were based on the MIKE 21 coastal process software which has been developed by the Danish Hydraulics Institute. In addition use was made of the SBEACH morphological beach and dune model developed by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The modules of the MIKE 21 coastal process modelling system used in this study comprised linked: 2D flexible mesh hydrodynamic flow model, 2D flexible mesh wave transformation model and 2D flexible mesh sediment transport model while the SBEACH model was a 1D Beach morphological model
5.2.5 Bathymetry data
The bathymetry for the model studies was taken from very detailed LiDAR and multi-beam hydrographic surveys of the entire model area undertaken by the Geological Survey of Ireland in 2008 under the INFOMAR project. These surveys comprised some 46 Giga bytes of xyz data. Use was also made of the beach survey of Strandhill undertaken by Sligo County Council during 2011/2012 for the SBEACH modelling. Figure 5.7 shows the extent of the coupled wave, flow and sediment transport model used for the coastal process simulations.
Figure 5.7
Extent of the linked FM flow, wave and sediment transport models.
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5.2.6
Hydrodynamic flow modelling
The main hydrodynamic flow model used in the study was a 2D MIKE21 FM HD flow model. The tidal model simulations were run for a typical spring neap cycle. Figures 5.8a and 5.8b shows the surface elevations and flow vectors for the Sligo and Strandhill area taken from the tidal model simulations during a spring flood and ebb tide. The surface elevations at Rosses point during the large spring tide February 2003 are shown in Figure 5.9. It will be seen from the model simulations that the tide flows strongly into and out of Sligo harbour area at Rosses Point and also in and out of Ballysadare Bay past the southern side of Carrowdough Spit. However the tidal flow velocities along the main part of Strandhill beach are relatively small. The tidal range at Strandhill is typical 3.6m at spring tide and 1.5m at neap tides. However the tidal range can be over 4m at a very large spring tide.
Figure 5.8a
Typical flood spring tide flow patterns for Sligo and Strandhill.
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Figure 5.8b
Typical ebb spring tide flow patterns for Sligo and Strandhill.
Figure 5.9
Spring tidal elevations at Sligo tidal gauge.
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5.2.7
Inshore waves during extreme storm events
The wave transformation from offshore to the inshore area around Strandhill was undertaken using the Mike21 SW model. This model is a new generation spectral wind-wave model based on unstructured meshes. The model simulates the growth, decay and transformation of wind-generated waves and swells in offshore and coastal areas. Analysis of the wave climate inshore shows that the wave heights approaching the beach at Strandhill are sensitive to tidal levels with the larger waves approaching at times when the water levels are high. Thus the extreme wave conditions inshore were established by transforming the combinations of extreme waves and water levels, derived from the joint probability analysis, from offshore to the inshore area. The simulation of the transformation of extreme waves was undertaken for 1 in 200, 1 in 50 and 1 in 1 year return period joint probability of waves and water level events. The storm in May 2011 and the 1 in 1 year return period storm were also run over a complete tidal cycle, which included the appropriate level of storm surge, to provide the data for the sediment transport simulations and for the beach morphological simulations respectively. Figures 5.10a and 5.10b shows the distribution of significant wave heights and mean wave directions around the Strandhill area during 1 in 50 and 1 in 200 year joint probability return period storms from the WNW direction. These simulations were undertaken with a water level of +2.82m OD Malin. Figure 5.11 shows the profile of the significant and maximum wave heights approaching the beach at the southern end of the rock beach revetment during these events. It will be seen for these simulations that although the offshore significant wave height during the 1 in 200 year joint probability storm is 10.53 metres compared with 7.91 metres during the 1 in 50 year joint probability event, the inshore wave heights at the beach are almost the same for both events. The spectral peak wave periods are however different being 16.1 seconds and 13.6 seconds for the 1 in 200 and 1 in 50 year events respectively. The extreme wave simulations show that the height of the waves which can attack the dunes at Strandhill is very sensitive to water depth at the beach. Thus the effect of storm surges and beach drawn levels are very significant in the amount of dune erosion that is likely to occur during any particular storm event.
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Figure 5.10a Hs and MWD during 1 in 50year JP event with WL= 2.82m OD Malin.
Figure 5.10b - Hs and MWD during 1 in 200year JP event with WL= 2.82m OD Malin.
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Figure 5.11 Variation in wave heights across the inshore beach profile for 1 in 50 and 1 in 200 year joint probability event with a water level of 2.82m OD Malin.
5.2.8
Sediment Drift
The hydraulic modelling undertaken for the Coastal Investigation and Feasibility Study in 2000 showed that the sediment drift around Strandhill beach was from north to south from Killaspug Point as far as the Shelly Valley, Figure 5.12. This direction of sediment drift analysis was confirmed on site by the fact that that the old slipway at the northern end of the car park was regularly blocked by sand and shingle migrating down from the northern section of the beach.
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Figure 5.12
Sediment drift pathways - Strandhill beach in 2000.
However it was noticed that during April/May 2011 the sediment drift appeared to be moving the other way along the rock beach and car park frontage in that the slipway at the southern end of the car park was now becoming blocked with sand and shingle and the cusps in the drawn down beach indicated a south to north littoral current direction.
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Figure 5.13
Extensive quantities of sand and cobble had to be removed from the slipway in April and May 2011.
The slipway also became blocked with cobble during the storms in late November and December 2011. In view of the apparent change in the littoral drift since the 2000 study it was decided to undertake a hydraulic modelling investigation of the coastal process around the Strandhill beach. Wave, tide and sediment transport modelling was undertaken for the period in May 2011 when the damage to the dunes and transition zone occurred, using the Mike21 suit of coastal process models. The hydraulic models used the latest flexible mesh technology with the bathymetry for the models derived from detailed LiDAR and hydrographic surveys undertaken for OSi in 2008. Figure 5.7 shows the extent of the linked wave, flow and sediment transport model used for the simulation of the May 2011 event. The offshore wave data was based on 3 hourly wind and wave data derived from the European Centre for Medium range Weather Forecast (ECMWF) data for May 2011. The littoral currents, which drive the sediment drift around the beach, for a flood and ebb tide during the May 2011 event are shown in Figures 5.14 and 5.15. These results confirm that the new revetment constructed to protect the WWTW in late 2010 will have no influence on the recent erosion which has occurred at the southern end of the rock beach revetment and the Shelly Valley area since the erosion area is up drift of the WWTW site.
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Figure 5.14
Littoral currents at Strandhill 23rd May 2011 Flood tide.
Figure 5.15
Littoral currents at Strandhill 23rd May 2011 Ebb tide.
The results of the hydraulic modelling showed that the littoral currents during the May 2011 event ran from south to north along the frontage from south of the Shelly Valley to a point about half way between the car park and Killaspug Point. These results are consistent with the observation of sediment movement on the beach in April and May 2011 and are the opposite of the drift direction observed and modelled in 2000.
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The change in storm induced littoral drift on the central section of the Strandhill beach is most likely to be due to a change in the bathymetric shape of the Carrowdough Spit between the late 1990s and 2011 which resulted in the change in the basic longshore drift pattern on Strandhill Beach. Comparison of the 2008 bathymetry, Figure 5.8 with the bathymetry shown in the 2000 study(1) suggests that there has been a change in the shape of the northern side of the spit. Changes in the nearshore bathymetry on the northern side of the spit would also allow larger waves to approach the big dune and Shelly Valley area of the beach in 2011 than would have been the case in the year 2000. Examination of the distribution of 1 in 1 year storm wave heights around the beach between the 2000 study and the present investigation tend to support this view.
5.2.9 Morphological beach and dune model
The morphological changes to the beach and dunes under storm wave attack were simulated using the SBEACH morphological beach model, developed by the US Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, Vicksburg, USA. The model simulates the cross-shore beach, berm and dune erosion produced by storm waves and water levels. Morphological beach and dune erosion simulations were undertaken to examine the potential for dune erosion and to study beach changes under storm conditions to provide data for the design of any seawall or revetments which may be used in dune protection works. A 1 in 50 year joint probability return period storm lasting 95 hours was simulated using the SBEACH model with the input data taken from Mike SW wave transformations which included the tidal level variations. The model was run with maximum tidal levels of up to 2.2m OD with significant wave heights of up to 4.287 metres at the -5.56 metre contour to OD (approx 3.5m CD). It was assumed in this simulation that the beach was drawn down at the time of the event. As can be seen from Figure 5.16 the dunes in this area are vulnerable to erosion during storm conditions with the dunes retreating 20 metres during the simulated event.
Figure 5.16
Predicted dune erosion during 1 in 50 year joint probability storm.
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5.2.10 Aeolian transport
Wind speed of Force 4 and greater will move dry sand particles by a process known as saltation. Large volumes of sand can be moved in dune areas during storms where vegetation cover is lost and sand becomes exposed on the windward faces and ridges of the dunes. The most frequent strong winds around the Sligo area come from the SW to W direction. Thus there will be an overall tendency for exposed dry sand to be blown in an east to north east direction under the prevailing wind conditions. With the dune faces becoming exposed due to wave erosion there is a risk that considerable volumes of sand will be lost to the beach dune system during strong onshore winds. Planting of the dune faces should be undertaken where possible to reduce the effects of aeolian transport carrying sand out of the dune beach system. The effect of control of aeolian transport in this area has been very successfully demonstrated by the work undertaken by Sligo County Council at the seaward end of the Shelly Valley. The soft engineering works, undertaken in phases since 1997, have very successfully built up a dune ridge at the western end of the Valley. Although this was damaged by the recent storm events, the erosion would have been very much worse if the sand ridge had not been built up and maintained by the sand fencing and associated works undertaken by the Council over a number of years.
Figure 5.17
Large areas sand on the dune face susceptible to aeolian erosion.
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6.0
6.1
FUTURE DUNE MANAGEMENT

New termination of existing rock beach revetment
Terminating a hard defence in a soft, potentially eroding, shoreline is always going to be difficult as the hard defence is designed to be fixed while the dune line is free to move in response to changing climatic conditions. The problem is made more difficult where there is an abrupt termination of the hard defence in that wave heights are actually increased at the end of an abrupt termination by the presence of the hard structure which can lead to increase cut back of the soft coastline immediately at the end of the hard defence. The original transition zone at the southern end of the rock beach revetment was design to be progressively more mobile to soften the change from the hard defence to soft dune area to the south. The system relied on continuous maintenance to reinstate any damage to the transition zone as soon as it occurred and to move the more mobile end of the structure back in line with the eroding coast to the south. Over ten years the system worked well but relied on there being sufficient resources in terms of plant and materials (rock armour etc) available to deal with storm damage quickly as it occurred. While this was feasible during the period when the economy was booming, in 2011 the resources were simply not available to Sligo County Council without support from central government, thus it was not possible to undertake any maintenance in the time frame required to match a period of extreme wave activity. In view of the current and likely future resource availability, the new termination must be designed to be stable under the design storm conditions. At the same time the termination must, as far as possible, reduce the cut back effect on the soft coastline immediately to the south of the rock beach revetment. It is therefore proposed that the remaining damaged transition area be upgraded to the full rock revetment specification up to the start of the dune cut back and then the revetment should be gradually ramped down to progressively allow the wave energy passing the end of the revetment to increase over a distance of about 70 metres. The ramp can also serve as an access onto the beach from the path running south along the top of the revetment. A concrete cap will be required on the top of the termination ramp to provide a safe pedestrian access. A preliminary layout of the proposed new termination ramp is shown in Figure 6.1 with sections across the termination ramp shown in Figures 6.2a and 6.2b. The precise location of the ramp will have to be determined immediately prior to the commencement of construction so that the structure can take account of any ongoing coastline retreat that takes place in the intervening period. The estimated project cost of the new termination, based on the coastal conditions and construction prices ruling at March 2012 is 290,000 including VAT. In the long term with the dunes to the south of the rock beach revetment expected to gradually recede, the termination ramp will become a form of longitudinal groyne and there may be a requirement in the future to move the southern end the structure back to match the
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receding dune line to the south. Thus it is recommended that the southerly part of the concrete cap structure should be formed from pre-cast units so that the structure could be dismantled and rebuilt to a new alignment should this eventually be required.
Figure 6.1
Layout of proposed termination ramp at southern end of rock beach revetment
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Figure 6.2
Typical cross sections of recommended termination ramp at southern end of rock beach revetment
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6.2
6.2.1
Dune protection works

Toe protection works
There is normally a coble storm beach along the toe of the dunes to the south of the rock beach revetment, Figure 6.3. This storm beach protects the toe of the dunes from wave erosion during normal weather conditions. However during extreme wave events, particularly when accompanied by a storm surge, the cobble beach becomes mobile under the wave action and can be drawn down leaving the toe of the dunes exposed to the storm waves which results in rapid erosion of the dune.
Figure 6.3
Cobble storm beach at toes of the dunes at Strandhill
Should it be necessary to protect the dunes from erosion then the most suitable method would be to reinforce the existing storm beach to prevent it becoming drawn down by extreme events. This could be achieved by placing boulders within the storm beach and filling the voids with displaced cobble. The use of a reinforced storm beach has the advantage that it does not change the wave reflection properties of the shoreline and therefore would have a minimal impact on the scouring of the beach. While there will be some impact on the beach during extreme storm events when erosion for the dunes would no longer occur, the amount of sand being eroded from the dunes during such an event is minimal compared with the volume of sand moving on and off the beach itself. The long term implications of attempting to protect the dunes are more significant in that it would restrict the ability of the dune beach system to respond to sea level rise as a result of global warming. The net result of maintaining the present dune line would be a gradual loss of beach width as the sea level rises. The cost of reinforcing the storm beach to protect the dunes from erosion is likely to be in the order of 1,700 per metre length of beach including
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VAT. There are no assets of sufficient financial value that would be protected which would have sufficient value which could justify such expenditure. Thus it is not recommended that toe protection works be undertaken to protect the dunes south of the rock beach revetment.
6.2.2
Exposed dune sand stabilization
The recent erosion of the big dune, the Shelly Valley and the dunes to the south of the valley has left much of the dune face exposed and vulnerable to aeolian erosion. Figure 6.4 shows the recently eroded steep dune face at the cut back at the termination of the damaged rock beach revetment transition zone. Once the new termination has been installed the recently exposed dune face at the cut back should be regarded and planted with marram to stabilize this section of the dunes.
Figure 6.4
Steep eroded face of dunes at cut back should be regarded and planted to stabilize the dune face.
Where possible it would also be advisable to place matting and plant marram on the exposed faces of the dunes to the south of the cut back to stabilize the sand on the face of the dunes and encourage sand retention in this area.
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7.0
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS
In May 2011 severe storms damaged the transition zone at the southern termination of the rock beach revetment. This resulted in some cutback of the dune line immediately to the south of the damaged transition zone. A series of 4 severe storms in November and December 2011 resulted in further damage to the remaining section of the transition zone at the end of the rock beach revetment and eroded about a 500 metre length of the dunes to the south of the end of the rock beach revetment. The erosion during May 2011 resulted from a combination of high wave activity and extreme beach draw down. The weather during May 2011 was highly unusual, more akin to mid winter weather, with high wind speeds and large offshore waves. The beach draw down was very extreme with peat and rock which lie beneath the beach being exposed for the first time in at least 30 years. The storms in November and December were even more severe particularly the event of 13th December which coincided with a high spring tide. Analysis of this event indicates that it had a probability of occurrence equivalent to a 1 in 25 year return period. Hydraulic modelling analysis of the performance of the beach during 2011 shows that the sediment drift along the central section of the beach was from south to north which is the opposite of that identified in the previous hydraulic studies undertaken in 1999/2000(1). The change in drift direction, which was confirmed by observations of sand and shingle movement on the beach, is considered to be due to a change in the bathymetry of the Carrowdough Spit since the previous study in 1999. These changes would also allow larger waves to attack the dunes around the Shelly Valley area than was the case in 1999/2000. Terminating a hard defence in a soft, potentially eroding, shoreline is always going to be difficult as the hard defence is designed to be fixed while the dune line is free to move in response to changing climatic conditions. The original transition zone at the southern end of the rock beach revetment was designed to be progressively more mobile to soften the change from the hard defence to soft dune area to the south. The system relied on continuous maintenance to reinstate any damage to the transition zone as soon as it occurred. While this was feasible during the period when the economy was booming, in 2011 the resources were simply not available to Sligo County Council to undertake such action in the time frame required. It is therefore proposed that the remaining damaged transition area be upgraded to the full rock revetment specification up to the start of the dune cut back and then the revetment should be gradually ramped down to progressively allow the wave energy passing the end of the revetment to increase over a distance of about 70 metres. The ramp can also serve as an access onto the beach from the path running south along the top of the revetment. The estimated project cost of these works is 290,000 including VAT. Consideration has been given to the feasibility of protecting the dunes from wave erosion. If it is deemed necessary to protect the dunes from erosion then the most suitable method would be to reinforce the existing storm beach to prevent it becoming drawn down by
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extreme events. However at a cost of approximately 1,700 per metre length of dune such works cannot be justified on either financial or environmental grounds and is not recommended. The recent erosion of the big dune, the Shelly Valley and the dunes to the south of the valley has left much of the dune face exposed and vulnerable to aeolian erosion. Once the new termination has been installed the recently exposed dune face at the cut back should be regarded and planted with marram to stabilize this section of the dunes. Where possible it would also be advisable to place matting and plant marram on the exposed faces of the dunes to the south of the cut back to stabilize the sand on the face of the dunes and encourage sand retention in this area.
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8.0
8.1
REFERENCES AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

References
1. Sligo County Council, Strandhill Co Sligo Coastal Study, April 2000, Report by Kirk McClure Morton ref 4916.00/AKB/RW119.
8.2
Acknowledgements
RPS would like to acknowledge the help and assistance given by the following in supply of data and information without which the study could not have been completed. Gary Salter, Senior Executive Engineer, Sligo County Council supply of beach survey data, photographs and observations throughout the period from April/May 2001 to February 2012. Ordnance Survey Ireland supply of LiDAR and hydrographic survey source data for study area and historical aerial photographs of Strandhill beach. Office of Public Works supply of historical digital vegetation lines for Strandhill beach and dune system. Marine Institute Supply of data from the Irish M4 Met Buoy. European Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecast supply of offshore wave and wind data. UK Meteorological Office supply of weather maps for specific storm events.
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Strandhill Beach - Coastal Erosion Studyc - Final - Draft

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Strandhill Beach - Coastal Erosion Studyc - Final - Draft

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STRANDHILL BEACH COASTAL EROSION REPORT

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Status Draft Final Draft

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Office of Origin Belfast Belfast

Issue Date 16/03/12 23/03/12

Sligo County Council