Beach morphology and coastal protection along headland bays in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia

This paper presents a morphological analysis of the beaches located on the central part of the Colombian Caribbean coast on the city of Cartagena de Indias. The beaches in this area are in bays constrained by headlands. The bays to the south of the area are heavily developed and influenced by the presence of coastal defense projects that include groins, detached breakwaters and seawalls. Conversely, the headland bays to the north of the area are predominantly free of human intervention. Analysis of the wave climate for the area is combined with morphometric analysis of beach and nearshore profiles collected at 34 locations during the period of August 2001 to January 2003, every two to four months. The morphology of the bays is used to identify the degree of exposure of the different beach segments to the prevailing conditions. Different segments were classified as exposed. Each of these zones has a characteristic beach profile morphology controlled by the local nearshore wave climate. Once the typical beach morphology was established for the natural beaches, it was compared to that of the developed beaches. Differences in morphology between the two types of bays are attributed to the coastal structures and their particular type.