Beach erosion along Al Batinah coast, Sultanate of Oman

Coastal erosion is observed in some locations along Al Batinah coast, Sultanate of Oman, and is an important factor to consider for the coastal zone management. The overall sediment supply by wadis to the coast is roughly 1.5x 106 m3/year, out of which approximately 48 % is trapped by water retention dams. The remaining 52 % is more than eight times the sediment transport rate along the coast. The numbers indicate abundance of sediment supply with respect to removal rates but local conditions could vary. We investigated the potential erosion/accretion at selected sites including the SE and NWof major engineering structures such as harbors and desalination plants. Beach profile surveys were repeated five times for the study sites between February 2006 and March 2008 using a total station. The more detailed studies of the beach profiles broadly came to the conclusion that Al Batinah coast was fairly stable. The maximum erosion rate measured was 0.8 m/year. Most profiles showed some variability, but overall, there was stability over the monitoring period. The cases of accretion or erosion were all closely associated with harbors and other coastal engineering structures; however, no cases were extreme. Seasonal accretion in the form of spring-tide berms of 1 m, sometimes varying from 1.5 to 2 m, was observed in June and November compared to the profiles measured in February. Most severe erosion and major sediment transport phenomena in Al Batinah coast are believed to occur during major storms events.