On the Possible Way of Solving the Problem of Coastal Protection in the Preserve Tauric Chersonesus

Abstract

Reasons and consequences of coast destruction in the Preserve Tauric Chersonesus included in the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites are considered.Wind waves are the basic hydrodynamic factor leading to the destruction of the ancient city coast. The most significant retreat of the cliffs and the intense destruction of archaeological sites are observed in the northern sector of the reserve territory. This sector of the coast can be identified as a priority one for taking complex coastal protection measures. Conceptual principles of creating coastal protecting structures permitting to retain the coast historical landscape are analyzed. The wind wave fields nearby the Chersonesus ancient settlement coast are numerically simulated with high spatial resolution using the SWAN model based on the method of nested grids. At the same wind velocity the most intense waves are generated by the northwestern wind. Wave height, calculated for wind velocities of 15 and 25 m/s immediate close to the coastline vary less considerably than in the seaward part of the water area. The wind wave fields are simulated under various variants of arranging hydrotechnical structures on the Black Sea adjacent area. The main coastal protection installations, which should provide damping storm surge energy reaching the shore, were considered the underwater breakwaters placed roughly parallel to the coastline. When running a series of numerical experiments the length and number of breakwaters, as well as the distance from the shore to the place of their location ranged. The schemes of allocation the submerged breakwaters are proposed which both provide effective energy dissipation of storm waves approaching the coastline and retain possibility of water exchange with the adjacent waters during the periods of weak winds.