My name is Eelco Bijl (25) and at this moment I am graduating from the Technical University of Delft. I was always interested in science and construction of large projects so Delft was en easy choice for me. After participating in several (abroad) trips to hydraulic projects I chose hydraulic engineering as my master. Very soon my interest for the coastal areas was growing so I will be graduating as a coastal engineer.

During my search for a graduation project I came in contat with Royal Haskoning and made an appointment to discuss some projects. The project in the Gambia was explained to me with a lot of enthousiasm and I knew it would be a perfect study for me regarding the coastal engineering.

Royal Haskoning conducted several coastal protection projects in 2003 after a feasibility study of the Gambian coast. All the projects are performing very well, except for a nourished beach in front of a large tourist area. Several decades before the nourishment very large amounts of sand have been mined south of Kololi beach. Close to the coast some reefs are present just north of the nourished beach. Swell waves from the North- and South-Atlantic ocean arrive at the Gambian coast. The offshore bathymetry and complex wave fields ask for a detailed study to predict the near shore waves and corresponding sediment transport. In addition, because of the location of the area there probably is a morphological zero point present. This means that there is sediment sinks towards the north and towards the south.

Description of project

The Senegambia area is the largest tourist area of The Gambia. Early 2010 the Gambian government indicated the erosion problem as an urgent matter. Before solutions can be devised, the cause of erosion has to be researched extensively.

The project comprises an analysis of the performance of the mitigation measures on Kololi Beach. The cause for the high erosion rate and underlying processes will be investigated after which possible solutions are proposed. This is done by analysing the behaviour of the coast for a long time span, with and without human intervention. Using numerical models this behaviour will be reproduced whereby the normative processes are demonstrated. Subsequently future erosion rates and the effect of solutions can be predicted.