Published 09/18/2024
Within the project activities “Help in technological and scientific development for the estimation of morphological changes on the coast of Riohacha, Department of La Guajira, Colombia”, directed by Assistant Professor Marta Fernández, professors Luis Iglesias and Ricardo Castedo from the Department of Geological and Mining Engineering of the ETSI Mines and Energy have made a week-long visit to the University of La Guajira, Riohacha (Colombia) (https://uniguajira.edu.co/) .
During this visit, the teachers have been accompanied by the students (Andrea González Guzmán and Leonardo Ruiz Vega) from the ETSI Forestry, Forestry and Natural Environment of the Degree in Environmental Technologies who are doing a 2-month stay within the project with the aim of carry out their Final Degree Projects. In addition, two students (Jessica Blandón González and Fernando Cervantes Olmedo) from the University of La Guajira have joined the project as scholarship holders from the same university.
Image 1. University of La Guajira, UPM students and professors at the University of La Guajira, presentation of the course.
As part of the activities, the teachers have taught a course titled “Coastal erosion of beaches and cliffs in urbanized areas” - https://uniguajira.edu.co/curso-erosion-costera-de-playas-y-acantilados-en-zonas-urbanizada/. This course has been carried out with the collaboration of professors from the University of La Guajira Jhonny Pérez Montiel, Andrés Galindo Montero, and Jairo Escobar Villanueva. During the course, the geomorphological characteristics of the coastal environment (especially affected by anthropogenic actions) have been taught, the most advanced tools available with geographic information systems, or the simplest estimation models of coastal recession/accretion, etc. have been taught. In addition, a visit to the field has been made in order to recognize in the field what was studied in the classroom.
Image 2. Various photographs of the course taken.
In addition, as a result of the project, coastal erosion in the Riohacha area due to anthropogenic actions has been analyzed. Coastal erosion has become a serious problem, increasing in magnitude and prevalence along Colombia's Caribbean coast over the past 50 years. Reliance on rigid protective structures based on immediate action-reaction responses or cost-benefit analyzes may not address the underlying, long-term problems related to sand retention and alterations in sediment movement. This work tries to evaluate the spatiotemporal behavior of changes in the coastline in Riohacha (Image 3), capital of the Department of La Guajira, during 35 years (1987-2022), in relation to coastal protection structures (construction of 7 breakwaters and a sea wall between 2006-2009) and coastal dynamics. For this purpose, images corresponding to twelve different years are used, in which beaches and cliffs are outlined and analyzed with the Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) program. The change in the dynamics of the coastline is demonstrated, from erosion (half a meter per year) to accretion (up to eleven meters per year) after the construction of the breakwaters, as well as the filling rates of the space between them. Two cliff areas, downstream of the breakwaters, have also been investigated. These areas face intense erosion phenomena (1.8 ± 0.2 m/year), related to the retention of sediments in the breakwaters. In addition, several prediction models have been applied until the year 2045 to forecast the evolution of these urban areas and study the possible effects on the population and its assets. This work is currently under review by a journal indexed in the Journal of Citation Report.
Image 3. Coastlines and transects from 2009 to 2022.
The project has been financed by the Polytechnic University of Madrid within the “XXIV UPM Call for actions to contribute to the fulfillment of sustainable development objectives” and co-financed by the University of La Guajira, Riohacha (Colombia).
