Proceedings of Coastal Zone 07

Portland, Oregon
July 22 to 26, 2007

BEACH EROSION AND DUNE DEFORMATION TRIGGERED BY

DAM CONSTRUCTION AND RIVERBED MINING

Takaaki UDA, Public Works Research Center

Key words: Beach erosion, dune deformation, fluvial sediment supply,

dam construction, riverbed excavation

INTRODUCTION
On the Enshu-nada coast, which faces the Pacific Ocean and has a well-developed river
mouth delta due to the large fluvial sediment supply from the Tenryu River, sand
discharge from the river has been significantly reduced owing to the construction of large
dams and riverbed excavation to obtain construction materials, resulting in the rapid
recession of the shoreline on both sides of the river mouth (Torii et al., 2004). Severe
beach erosion and shoreline recession show the necessity of measures, but another
important issue can be pointed out: the deformation and disappearance of the sand dune
formed by the accumulation of fine sand, which was originally supplied from the Tenryu
River, and carried alongshore and then inland as windblown sand. In this study, the effect
of the decrease in the fluvial sediment supply not only on beach changes but also on sand
dune topography is investigated, taking the Enshu-nada coast and Nakatajima sand dune
as the example.

BEACH EROSION DUE TO DECREASE IN FLUVIAL SEDIMENT SUPPLY

2.1 Sand Accumulation in Dam Reservoirs in Tenryu River Watershed and Sand Mining
from Riverbed
The Tenryu River originates in the central Honshu mountains and flows downstream at a
steep riverbed slope of 1/871 upstream from the river mouth. Riverbed materials consist
of coarse gravel with a mean diameter of 14 mm. Riverbed excavation for sand mining
was conducted extensively before 1968, and many dams were constructed, resulting in a
rapid decrease in the sediment discharge and beach erosion on coasts around the river
mouth (Nagashima et al., 2005; Uda, 2007). The Tenryu River previously supplied a
large amount of sediment to coasts, because the riverbed has a steep slope and the
watershed is close to the median tectonic line of the Japanese archepelago, which yields
much sediment. After World War II, however, several dams for electric power plants,
such as the Sakuma Dam, were built, resulting in the decrease in sediment supply to
coasts and severe erosion. The river mouth terrace, which serves as a sand reservoir, is
disappearing, and severe erosion is occurring near the shoreline.
Figure 1 shows sand accumulation in the reservoirs of the main dams and sand mining in
the Tenryu River watershed. On the Enshu-nada coast, beach erosion occurred near the
river mouth due to the decreased fluvial sand supply caused by sand accumulation
upstream in the many dams constructed in this watershed and sand mining of the riverbed
for construction materials. Given that sand mining had been conducted extensively before
1967, when the legal prohibition of sand mining came into effect, and that in the past, the
sand volume actually mined was generally twice as much as the permitted volume, the
volume given in Fig. 1 differs from the total volume of mined sand in all reaches of the
Proceedings of Coastal Zone 07
Portland, Oregon
July 22 to 26, 2007

Tenryu River, but the total sum since 1970 has reached at least 2.5x107 m3. During this
time, sand deposition of 1.25x108 m3 occurred upstream from dams. The sum of the two
is 1.5x108 m3. Kawata and Uemoto (1998) showed that fine materials such as the wash
load of the river are ineffective for forming sandy beaches, for which only coarser
materials are effective. These fine materials account for about 8% of the total sediment
yield in the Tenryu River watershed. If we assume that the sand component related to
beach erosion is 8% of the total volume of sand deposited in dam reservoirs and 100% of
the sand volume mined in the riverbed, then the cumulative volume of such sand reached
3.5x107 m3 between 1956 and 2004, corresponding to an annual sand discharge of 7.0x105
m3/yr. Torii et al. (2004) showed that the annual long-term sand supply of this river is
8.0x105 m3/yr from calculations using a model for predicting one-dimensional riverbed
change. Thus, approximately 90% of the annual sand supply of the river has been

Fig. 1. Sand accumulation in reservoirs of main dams and sand mining in Tenryu
River watershed.
artificially removed.

2.2 Reduction in River Mouth Terrace and Erosion

A 110 km stretch of the Enshu-nada coast extends on both sides of the mouth of the
Tenryu River from Omaezaki Point in the east to Irago Point in the west, and faces the
Pacific Ocean. Part of this coast was formed as a river delta from abundant sand from the
Tenryu River, but after the construction of dams in the upper basin, sand discharge
markedly decreased, resulting in the shoreline recession.
Beach erosion around the river mouth due to the reduced sediment discharge from the
river becomes clear from aerial photographs of the river mouth (Fig. 2), showing the
alignment of five transects at 200 m intervals from the left bank of the river and the
shoreline in 1962. Figure 3 shows longitudinal profiles along four transects between 1984
and 2001. At No. 218, a terrace at the river mouth in 1984 had all but disappeared by
2004. The seabed depth at the outer edge of the terrace increased by a maximum of about
5 m. The depth of closure, where the longitudinal profile change diminishes, was 14 m at
Proceedings of Coastal Zone 07
Portland, Oregon
July 22 to 26, 2007

No. 216 and 15 m at No. 218. Both severe shoreline recession and the almost complete
disappearance of the terrace topography, which was a reservoir of sand for longshore
sand transport, thus occurred simultaneously at the mouth of the Tenryu River.
To determine the sand volume removed from the terrace, we selected a rectangular
examination area 1.6 km long alongshore and 1 km long cross-shore (Fig. 2), and
calculated the volume change, using bathymetric
survey data. The rate of decrease of the total
sand volume was very high between 1986 and
1993, reaching 4.0x105 m3/yr. After 1993, the
rate of decrease declined, but remained as high
as 1.5x105 m3/yr. The total decrease in volume
reached 4.6x106 m3 between 1984 and 2004,
corresponding to a mean rate of decrease of
2.3x105 m3/yr. The 500-m-wide terrace off the
Tenryu River mouth in 1984 had entirely
disappeared by 2004, increasing the seabed

Fig. 3. Change in longitudinal

Fig. 2. Shoreline recession at mouth of profiles along four survey lines
Tenryu River and alignment of survey lines. across the bar of the river mouth.
depth by 5 m at the outer edge of the terrace. The
shoreline zone is thus being severely eroded in addition to erosion in the offshore zone.
Although measures against beach erosion have been taken locally, the erosion of the
entire area to which longshore sand supply was interrupted is feared at present along the
long stretch of shoreline protruding as a river delta.

DEFORMATION OF NAKATAJIMA SAND DUNE

Urgent measures against beach erosion are required in this area because of the shortage of
longshore sand transport. However, there is another important issue: the preservation of
the sand dune area formed by windblown fine sand supplied from the Tenryu River,
which was first transported by westward longshore sand transport, and then inland by the
west wind in winter, the predominant wind direction in this area, as windblown sand. To
investigate the topographic changes of the sand dune, past aerial photographs were
compared.
Figure 4 shows an aerial photograph of the coast around Nakatajima sand dune.
By 1947, a slender bar extended westward at the Magome River mouth, showing the
predominance of westward longshore sand transport. To investigate the change in the
width of the sandy beach including the sand dune, the cross-shore distance from point A
Proceedings of Coastal Zone 07
Portland, Oregon
July 22 to 26, 2007

to the shoreline was measured in each figure, where point A is set at the boundary
between the sand dune and the hinterland, as shown in Fig. 4 (a). On the beach west of
the mouth, parallel dune ridges are observed at 150 m intervals. Since the direction of
windblown sand is assumed to be normal to these ridges, its direction is east. On the other
hand, the direction normal to the mean coastline near the river mouth is S17deg. W,
implying that sand had been transported inland obliquely at an angle of 17 degrees
relative to the mean coastline. This windblown sand is the main cause of the development
of Nakatajima sand dune.
By 1987, many breakwaters had been built alongshore the east of the river mouth, and the
shoreline position was fixed along the breakwaters, whereas it retreated west of the river
mouth, as shown in Fig. 4 (b). A significant change occurred along survey line A. Along
this line, a 440-m-wide natural sand dune had become coastal forest, which had been
expanded from the west area, and the sandy beach width was reduced to only 180 m, as
shown in Fig. 5.
By 2006, parallel jetties had been built at the mouth, as shown in Fig. 4 (c), causing
downcoast erosion. The shoreline west of the mouth retreated 60 m compared with that
east of the mouth. The direction of windblown sand is east in this area, but out of the total
width of 550 m, in which windblown sand can move, 460 m had been altered to coastal
forest, as shown in Fig. 5, and the sand supply from the shoreline disappeared west of
survey line A. This results in sand movement only inside the present sand dune area
without further supply from the shoreline. Thus, the west part of the sand dune has been
eroded, exposing the original ground
surface before the formation of the sand ( ) 1947
dune, as shown by a dotted line, and sand
has been transported eastward, resulting
in a further extension of the east edge of
the sand dune. Although westward
longshore sand transport was obstructed
by the construction of the river mouth
jetties, causing downcoast erosion, the A
conditions under which fine sand was
supplied to Nakatajima sand dune have (b) 1987
significantly changed as well.
The existence of a wide sandy beach,
which accelerates windblown sand, was
vital for the development of Nakatajima
sand dune, as well as the supply of fine
sand originating from the Tenryu River.
Under the condition of predominant wind A
from the west, fine sand was transported
inland, forming a sand dune. However,
( ) 2006
the total amount of fine sand supplied to
the coast west of the Magome River
mouth has markedly decreased to its
current level, and simultaneously, the

A
Fig. 4. Aerial photographs of Nakatajima
sand dune and Magome River.
Proceedings of Coastal Zone 07
Portland, Oregon
July 22 to 26, 2007

west part of Nakatajima sand dune has been covered with coastal forest, resulting in the
isolation of the sand dune without any supply of fine sand from the shoreline. In this
isolated sand dune, sand has been transported as the eastward windblown sand, resulting
in the decrease in the elevation of the sand dune. Thus, the possibility of potential wave
overtopping during storm surges has increased.
700

600

width(m ) 500

400 beach
300

200 coastal forest

100

0
1947 1962 1972 1987 2003 2006
time
Fig. 5. Change in width of sand dune and sandy beach along survey line A.

CONCLUDING REMARKS
At the mouth of the Tenryu River, the rapid decrease in the fluvial sediment supply has
caused severe shoreline recession and the disappearance of the river mouth terrace as a
reservoir of sand for longshore sand transport. In response to severe shoreline recession,
many detached breakwaters have been constructed against beach erosion, but their effect
is limited to only the zone shoreward from these structures. In contrast, water depth has
been increasing offshore of the structures. Simultaneously, large topographic changes
have occurred at Nakatajima sand dune due to decrease in the supply of fine sand.
Sand supply, including that of fine sediment, must be actively conducted in view of
comprehensive sediment management. At present, the quantitative prediction of
three-dimensional beach changes and the change in grain size associated with beach
nourishment is possible using an advanced numerical simulation, such as the
contour-line-change model. New measures, based on comprehensive sediment
management, must be taken instead of local optimization using hard structures at a site.

REFERENCES
Kawata, Y. and M. Uemoto. 1998. “Coastal processes of Tenryu River and Enshu-nada
coast.” Annual Coastal Eng. Jour., Vol. 45, pp. 616-620. (in Japanese)
Nagashima, I., N. Iwasaki, T. Uda and T. Arimura. 2005. “Beach erosion of Enshu-nada
coast west of mouth of Tenryu River.” Annual Coastal Eng. Jour., Vol. 52, pp.
596-600. (in Japanese)
Torii, K., S. Sato, T. Uda and T. Okayasu. 2004. “Regional sediment management based
on sediment budget for graded sediments - a case study of Tenryu watershed and
Enshu-nada coast.” Proc. 29th ICCE, pp. 3110-3122.
Uda, T. 2007. “Beach erosion arising from artificial land modification.” Jour. Disaster
Res., Vol. 2, No. 1, pp. 29-36.
Proceedings of Coastal Zone 07
Portland, Oregon
July 22 to 26, 2007

Takaaki UDA, Dr. Eng., Executive Director.

Public Works Research Center,
1-6-4 Taito, Taito-ku, Tokyo 110-0016, Japan.
Phone: 81-3-3835-3609
E-mail: uda@pwrc.or.jp