This chapter represents
the beach morphology in a section of the coast of Maharashtra. The coastline of
Maharashtra extends over a length of 720 kms. From Dahanu in the north to Redi
in the south along the Goa border. The present study confines attention to the
extreme southern section of this coast. The selected area for this study was
district of Sindhudurg which extends between 15°45’ N latitude and 16°30’ N
latitude It has a general orientation north-northwest to south- southeast. The
coastline has a total length approximating to about 100 kms. The study area
forms the talukas of Devgad, Malvan and Vengurla of the Sindhudurg district.
To study the variations in beach morphology, a field work was carried out in
October-November 1989 after the end of the monsoon season to collect sand
samples for textural analysis and chemical analysis. The pH values of the beach
sand samples were also determined in the laboratory. A study was also carried
out to find out if there was any relationship between texture and angle of the
beach. Fourteen samples taken from different locations spread all over the
shores of the study area. Beaches are composed of sediments derived from the
disintegration of the land – sand and gravel eroded from terrestrial rocks. The
composition of beach sediments reflects the nature of the source rocks and
often can be used to assess relative contributions and transport paths from the
sources to the beaches. Waves and nearshore currents continuously rework the
accumulated beach sediment, rounding the particles and sorting them by size,
shape and density. The beach takes on a form that reflects the totality of
water and sediment movements. Most of the beaches reveal a fine sand proportion
of a preponderant percentage ranging between 55% and 90%. Trap country beaches
are associated with acidic reaction, while quartzites have comparatively higher
pH value ranging between 6 7 and 8. From the scattergram and trend of the
regression line it is noted that there is a direct and positive relationship
between the percentage of sand and the gradient angle of the beach.
The overall morphology of the beach reflects the composition of its sediments
and the physical processes of waves, currents and sediment transport.
Author(s) Details:
Charlotte Maria Braganza,
S K Somaiya College of Arts, Science and Commerce, Maharashtra,
India.
Please see the link here: https://stm.bookpi.org/EIEGES-V6/article/view/13132
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