WAVE CLIMATE AND COASTAL STRUCTURES IN THE NILE DELTA COAST OF EGYPT

The Nile Delta coast lies in the south eastern Mediterranean and extends about 240 km alongshore. It suffers from many threats, due to population increase, uncontrolled development, construction of Aswan High-Dam, and climate change. The Nile Delta is considered one of Egypt’s most vulnerable areas to climate change. Sea level rise, salt-water intrusion and increase in storm frequency and effect are considered the main challenges of climate change to any development plans in the Nile Delta coastal zone. The historical measured wave data from 1977 to 2010 are examined to investigate the effects of climate change on wave climate in front of the Nile Delta coast. Also, the hydrodynamic numerical model ImSedTran-2D has been used to describe changes in wave energy from place to place and to check that existing coastal structures will remain effective.Results show that there is an increasing trend in the mean significant wave height during the period from 1985 to 2010 by a rate ranging from 2.6 to 2.9 cm/year. Increase in wave height coincides with a decrease in wave period ranging from 0.01 to 0.26 sec./year. Wave energy in front of the coastal structures within this area will increase by about 20% within high storms and decrease by about 1 % within the normal conditions in the next 50 years. Nevertheless, most of the Egyptian coastal structures are over designed and will not be affected by the increase in wave energy due to the climate change.