Assessment of coastal vulnerability in north chennai region in east coast of tamil nadu

The coast is where the land meets the sea or ocean. Many civilizations were formed near the coastline. Many stakeholders such as the local communities, fishing and tourist activities along the coast need to be protected. This study attempts to protect the Ennore coast, situated North of Chennai city on the East coast of Tamil Nadu by assessing the vulnerability and recommends suitable protective measures. Extensive experimental programme is conducted along Ennore coastline over a stretch of 2.8 km, within this stretch four locations are considered to collect the samples. Three samples are collected from foreshore, berm and backshore of these locations. Dry sieve analysis and specific gravity tests are conducted as per BIS procedure. From the test results, the quantity of sediment transport is determined using VanRijn formula. Based on the tests and observations it is inferred that the area is vulnerable to erosion. From the Google Earth Pro images, it is evident that the rate of variation of the shoreline is 1250 mm/yr as a result of seawater inundation towards the land. This study also suggests that, for sustainable environment, construction of shorter groynes is suitable to prevent erosion, wear and tear occurring at toe of groynes.