Sunday 24 June 2012

Breakwater




Breakwater





Offshore breakwaters are used at East Coast Park for coastal protection. The offshore breakwaters are made of granite. It creates a zone of shallow water between itself and the coast, so that waves will break against it before reaching the coast. When oncoming waves hit the breakwaters, they will impact the breakwaters before flowing towards the coast, causing its kinetic energy to largely reduce. The reduction of the waves’ impact on the coast can help reduce soil erosion along the coast.

The disadvantage of breakwaters is that they are unable to provide complete protection as they still leave areas of the coast unprotected; these unprotected areas will be prone to erosion. Breakwaters are also very expensive, each requiring an estimated cost of S$1 million to build and they may not last very long due to the frequent erosive impact of the waves on it. Careful consideration of local tides if also important before building a breakwater.  

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