ACANTILADOS LITORALES DEL PACÍFICO SUR DE ECUADOR (PROVINCIA SANTA ELENA) COMO MARCADORES GEOMORFOLÓGICOS DE SUSCEPTIBILIDAD A LA EROSIÓN LITORAL
Coastal cliffs of the Ecuadorian South Pacific (Santa Elena Province) as geomorphological markers of susceptibility to coastal erosion
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5016/geociencias.v41i1.16317Abstract
Coastal erosion and shoreline retreat are one of the main hazards to the populations located in various places of the Ecuadorian coast. Several cliff areas of the Santa Elena province were characterized under physical and anthropogenic intervention criteria, considering them as geomorphological markers of erosion and coastal retreat. A sectorization of the coastal profile; analysis of tides and waves; measurement of the coastal retreat; construction of topographic profiles of cliffs; field survey of geological, geomorphological, topographic, hydrodynamic, biological and anthropogenic parameters; and analysis of susceptibility levels of cliffs to coastal erosion were carried out. The differential retreat between the cliffs of different areas is resulting of the combination of physical (lithology, rocky outcrop structures, topographic slope and morphodynamic) and anthropogenic factors (slope stabilization or inadequate engineering practices). All the cliffs show evidence of retreat due to the impact of the coastal hydrodynamics, and the typology of the landslides. In areas where factors that favor the cliff erodibility and coastal retreat stand out, there is a high probability of damage to housing and road, as is already evident in some cases.
Keywords: coastal erosion, coastal retreat, vulnerability, geomorphology, cliffs.