How effective were the beach nourishments at Cancun?

Abstract

Beach nourishment is generally seen as the preferred means of rectifying coastal erosion, due to its low environmental impact and natural evolution. The largest beach nourishment project ever carried out in Mexico took place on Cancun beach in 2006, as a response to the most intense hurricane season ever registered in Mexico, in 2005. After Hurricane Dean, in 2009, a second nourishment was conducted, which evidenced flaws in the design and execution of the first project. Previous investigations report that the need for beach re-fills directly correlates with wave energy. However, following a thorough revision of the extreme climatic events that occurred between 1978 and 2018, it has been found that the amount of erosion also depends on the frequency and duration of high energy events. The findings also show that the apparent success of the second nourishment is mainly associated with a decline in the number of extreme wave power events impacting the beach. In the conclusion to this paper, we share the knowledge gained, but not yet applied, in Mexico or elsewhere, regarding beach use, urbanization, and protection in beach planning.