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¹Coastal and Air Pollution Department, Environmental and Urban Development Division, Kuwait Institute for Scientific Research, P.O. Box 24885, 13109 Safat, Kuwait,

Email: krakha@kisr.edu.kw

²Environment Public Authority, P.O. Box 24395, 13104 Safat, Kuwait

ABSTRACT

Qaruh is one of the Kuwaiti southern Islands with coral reefs surrounding it. The Island is eroding along some sections and some erosion control measures are required for future planning. These measures must be properly designed to protect the Island from future erosion without damaging the sensitive coral reefs. The choice of the suitable and sustainable erosion protection measures requires determining the sediment budget around the Island. In this paper the sediment budget is calculated by first transforming the offshore waves to the nearshore around the Island. The nearshore wave roses were used to calculate the net and gross sediment transport rates around the Island. The calculations showed that the maximum erosion occurs along the Northwestern part of the Island. The study also showed that the coral reefs around the Island are very important in reducing the wave conditions around the Island and that any sea water rise will increase the erosion along the Island.

Key words: Beach erosion; coral reef; nearshore waves; sediment transport; small island