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Multi-scale modelling for hydrodynamic and morphological changes of breakwater in coastal Mekong Delta in Vietnam

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Abstract

Coastal erosion has been occuring at a rapid rate in recent years along the Vietnamese Mekong coastline with particularly significant impacts occurring in the Tan Thanh – Go Cong coastal area. This erosion issue poses an urgent need for rapid deployment of offshore breakwaters for coastal protection and to reduce the severity of incoming waves. This objective of this study is to apply a multi-scale numerical model (MIKE21-FM) to evaluate the impact of breakwaters on hydrodynamic behavior and morphological changes in the coastal zone. The results from the numerical model simulations showed that breakwater stuctures can effectively reduce the velocity and height of incoming waves by over 50%. The results also showed that the breakwater structures lead to increased sediment accumulation, even during the Northeast monsoon season, when strong waves and currents can occur. Our results indicated that construction of a sufficient number of breakwaters is crucial to increase the efficiency of the breakwaters as well as the protection coverage of the coastline. Finally, the results showed that the longer construction is, the wider coastal area it can protect to stimulate accretion.

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Data Availability

All of data, models, and/or code that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

This work was partially supported by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) Vietnam in a national project (No. ĐTĐL.CN-07/17) “Research appropriate solutions and applicable technologies to prevent erosion, stabilize the coastline and estuaries of the Mekong River, from Tien Giang to Soc Trang”. Many thanks to the Southern Institute of Water Resources Research for providing all data, model license and necessary information. The authors greatly appreciate the Editor and also deeply thank the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments to improve the manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Southern Institute of Water Resources Research, 658 Vo Van Kiet, ward 1, District 5, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam

    Tu Le Xuan & Phong Nguyen Cong

  2. College of Environment and Natural Resources, Can Tho University, Ninh Kieu District, Zone II, 3/2 street, Xuan Khanh, Can Tho city, Vietnam

    Thanh Vo Quoc

  3. Center for Environmental Fluid Dynamics, VNU–University of Science, 334 Nguyen Trai str., Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi capital, Vietnam

    Quoc Quan Tran

  4. Melbourne, Australia

    David P. Wright

  5. HUTECH University, 475A Dien Bien Phu Street, Binh Thanh District, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam

    Duong Tran Anh

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  1. Tu Le Xuan
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  2. Phong Nguyen Cong
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  3. Thanh Vo Quoc
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  4. Quoc Quan Tran
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  6. Duong Tran Anh
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Correspondence to Duong Tran Anh.

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Appendix

Appendix

Table 4 The mesh sizes and numbers of nodes
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figure 17

Validated water levels at Cua Dai (Binh Dai) station (a) and Cua Tieu (Vam Kenh) station (b) in Oct. 2017

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figure 18

Validated discharges at Roai Sap (a), Cua Tieu (b), and Cua Dai stations (c) in 3/2018

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Fig. 19
figure 19

Validated velocity (currents) in 3/2017 (a) and wave height Hs (b) in 10/2016 at Go Cong station

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Fig. 20
figure 20

Validated suspended sediment concentration (SSC) at Cua Tieu (a), Cua Dai (b), Soai Rap (c), and Go Cong (d) stations in 10/2017

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Le Xuan, T., Nguyen Cong, P., Vo Quoc, T. et al. Multi-scale modelling for hydrodynamic and morphological changes of breakwater in coastal Mekong Delta in Vietnam. J Coast Conserv 26, 18 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852-022-00866-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852-022-00866-3

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