Investigation of coastal defence structures in Mersin region

Due to significant contributions both navigation and tourism point of view to the economy of countries, coastal regions must be protected well. Destruction of the coasts by waves may be reduced to minimum by selecting convenient types, location, dimension and construction materials of the coastal defence structures. In this study, different types of coastal defence structures such as rubble mound seawalls, groynes, jetties, breakwaters and marines were examined functionality, design and stability point of view. Coastline from centre of Mersin to the Kumkuyu located at 50 km west of Mersin was taken as research area. Each of coastal defence structure types was examined separately according to measured wave data by considering location and importance of the structures under some assumptions. According to evaluation criteria in literature, positive and negative effects of the existing coastal defence structures on coast were presented. As a result of investigation and observation, common problem was determined as the absence of filter layer at the most of the different types of coastal defence structures. Therefore, it can cause stability problem on structures in future. Furthermore, breakwater?s dimensions and rock weight of revetment layer were analyzed for breakwater of Kumkuyu yacht marine; results were compared with project values. Key Words : Coastal defence structure, Breakwater, Seawall, Groyne and jetty, Mersin coast