Longshore sand transport estimates along the Mediterranean coast of Israel in the Holocene

Abstract

The Nile littoral cell, one of the world's longest, runs 650 km along the southeastern Mediterranean, from Abu Quir Bay near Alexandria, Egypt, to Haifa Bay on the northern Israeli coast.
Haifa Bay constitutes the northernmost final depositional sink of Nile-derived quartz sand, transported from the Nile delta by longshore currents generated by approaching breaking waves. The northward net sand transport along the Mediterranean coast of Israel results from larger waves approaching from west–south–west and south–west compared to their counterparts from west–north–west and north–west.
This study utilizes an extensive new database gathered from sediment drill cores, marine geophysical maps and field observations to measure the volume of sand deposited in Haifa Bay and the adjacent Zevulun Plain during the Holocene. It then compares this volume to recent data, including measurements of sand accumulation along Haifa Port's main breakwater (constructed in the southern entrance of the bay) as well as longshore sand transport estimates along the northern Carmel coast.
Research findings estimate the annual average quantity of sand transported to Haifa Bay throughout the period at 80,000–90,000 m3. The findings further conclude that this amount has not changed appreciably over the past 75 years. Evaluating calculated values over the long term, it is suggested that the characteristics of longshore sand transport along the coast of Israel have not changed significantly during the past 7900–8500 years. It is obvious that this conjecture should be treated with reservations.

Full text

Longshore sand transport estimates along the Mediterranean
coast of Israel in the Holocene
D. Zviely
a,
⁎, E. Kit
b
, M. Klein
a
a
Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Haifa, Haifa, 31905, Israel
b
Faculty of Engineering, Department of Fluid Mechanics and Heat Transfer, Tel-Aviv University, Ramat-Aviv, Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel
Received 10 June 2006; received in revised form 16 December 2006; accepted 23 December 2006
Abstract
The Nile littoral cell, one of the world's longest, runs 650 km along the southeastern Mediterranean, from Abu Quir Bay near
Alexandria, Egypt, to Haifa Bay on the northern Israeli coast.
Haifa Bay constitutes the northernmost final depositional sink of Nile-derived quartz sand, transported from the Nile delta by
longshore currents generated by approaching breaking waves. The northward net sand transport along the Mediterranean coast of
Israel results from larger waves approaching from west–south–west and south–west compared to their counterparts from west–
north–west and north–west.
This study utilizes an extensive new database gathered from sediment drill cores, marine geophysical maps and field
observations to measure the volume of sand deposited in Haifa Bay and the adjacent Zevulun Plain during the Holocene. It then
compares this volume to recent data, including measurements of sand accumulation along Haifa Port's main breakwater
(constructed in the southern entrance of the bay) as well as longshore sand transport estimates along the northern Carmel coast.
Research findings estimate the annual average quantity of sand transported to Haifa Bay throughout the period at 80,000–
90,000 m
3
. The findings further conclude that this amount has not changed appreciably over the past 75 years. Evaluating
calculated values over the long term, it is suggested that the characteristics of longshore sand transport along the coast of Israel
have not changed significantly during the past 7900–8500 years. It is obvious that this conjecture should be treated with
reservations.
© 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Haifa Bay; Nile littoral cell; longshore sediment transport (LST); sand; coastal processes; paleo-coastlines
1. Introduction
The sand supplied from the Nile and carried by
longshore currents throughout the Nile littoral cell helps
protect this sensitive shoreline and provides a key
resource for economic growth. Blockage of Nile River
sand flow precipitated by the construction of Aswan
High Dam, coupled with sustained, heavy demand in
Israel raised concerns about sand depletion within the
cell —and prompted the need for further analysis of
coastal morphological changes and clearer understand-
ing of present longshore sand transport (LST).
The Nile littoral cell, one of the world's longest, runs
650 km along the southeastern Mediterranean, from
Abu Quir Bay near Alexandria, Egypt, to Haifa Bay on
the northern Israeli coast (Inman and Jenkins, 1984)
Marine Geology 238 (2007) 61 –73
www.elsevier.com/locate/margeo
⁎Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: zviely@netvision.net.il (D. Zviely),
kit@eng.tau.ac.il (E. Kit), m.klein@geo.haifa.ac.il (M. Klein).
0025-3227/$ - see front matter © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.margeo.2006.12.003

(Fig. 1). Until the construction of the High Dam at
Aswan, this cell's primary source of sand was the Nile
River. The dam's emplacement in 1964, however,
effectively blocked this flow, and forced the longshore
currents to take sands from the Nile Delta coast and its
seabed instead (Sestini, 1976; Summerhayes et al.,
1978; Toma and Salama, 1980; Said, 1981; Coutellier
and Stanly, 1987; Frihy, 1988; Smith and Abdel Kader,
1988; Frihy et al., 1991b; Fanos, 1995; Stanley, 1998;
El-Raey et al., 1999; White and El Asmar, 1999).
Despite erosion in some sectors of the Nile Delta coast,
sand continued to reach the up-drift beaches and inner
continental shelf of northern Sinai (Coleman et al.,
1981; Inman and Jenkins, 1984; Stanley, 1989; Frihy
et al., 1991a; Frihy and Lotfy, 1997) as well as the Israeli
coast (Goldsmith and Golik, 1980; Rohrlich and
Goldsmith, 1984; Carmel et al., 1985; Perlin and Kit,
1999) up to Haifa Bay, the final depositional sink
(Pomerancblum, 1966; Nir, 1980; Zviely et al., 2006).
It should be stressed that the volume of sand taken by
the longshore currents depends largely on the radiation
stress caused by breaking waves. While waves can be
affected by climatic variations, there is no indication that
the marine climate has changed significantly during the
last century.
To date, no direct measurements have been gathered
to gauge actual LST along the southeastern Mediterra-
nean coast. In Israel, early LST estimates were
theoretical, derived mostly from wave refractions
(Emery and Neev, 1960; Goldsmith and Golik, 1980)
and supported by coastal and seabed morphological
observations (Golik, 1993, 1997; Shoshany et al., 1996;
Golik et al., 1999; Golik, 2002). These studies theorized
that: a) wave-induced currents carry sand from Rafah
northward and from Carmel headland southward,
converging between Tel-Aviv and Herzliya on the
Israeli coast; b) sand beyond the breaker zone is driven
northward along the entire inner shelf of Israel, mainly
by the frequent northerly currents; and c) sand from the
inner shelf supplies the beaches by wave on-shore
transport. Other empirically-based studies (Carmel
et al., 1985; Perlin, 1999; Perlin and Kit, 1999; Zviely,
2006) concluded that the region's net sand transport is
directed northward along the Israeli coast until Haifa
Bay. Estimates made by Perlin (1999),Perlin and Kit
(1999) and Zviely (2006) are based on detailed,
directional wave measurements conducted during the
last 15 years in the Ashdod and Haifa regions. They
used coastal and seabed morphological evidence
(Zviely, 2000; Zviely et al., 2000; Klein and Zviely,
Fig. 1. The net LST dominant flow direction on the Nile littoral cell. Modified after Inman (2003).
62 D. Zviely et al. / Marine Geology 238 (2007) 61–73

2001; Zviely et al., 2006; Zviely, 2006) and a field
experiment (Klein et al., 2004, in press) to support their
claims.
This paper utilizes an extensive new database
gathered from sediment drill cores, marine geophysical
maps and field observations to measure the volume of
sand deposited in Haifa Bay and the adjacent Zevulun
Plain during the Holocene (Fig. 2). These data cover the
last 7900–8500 years, and help explain the pattern of
LST and its volume. These measurements further shed
new light on the net LST estimates along the entire
Israeli Mediterranean coastline and inner sandy conti-
nental shelf.
2. The study area
The study area consists of Haifa Bay and the adjacent
Zevulun Plain. Haifa Bay is the most significant
morphological feature on the southeastern Mediterra-
nean coast. It opens to the west, and is bordered by
Carmel headland to the south, Zevulun Plain to the east,
and Akko (Acre) promontory to the north (Figs. 2 and 3).
The bay's 18 km long coastline is crescent-shaped, with
5 km of artificial coast in the southern part, and 13 km of
natural, sandy beaches on the eastern part. The beaches,
which start 1 km north of the Qishon River outlet, are
relatively wide and were backed by dunes until the
Fig. 2. Photograph of Haifa Bay area —the final depositional sink of the Nile-derived quartz sand, includes detail bathymetry. The photograph
modified after: NASA, Earth Sciences and Image Analysis. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, U.S.A. Astronaut Photography of Earth, Mission
ISS001, Roll: ESC: Frame 5982, Date: 28.12.2001, Time: 084321 (HHMMSS).
63D. Zviely et al. / Marine Geology 238 (2007) 61–73

beginning of the 20th century. Zevulun Plain is traversed
by two rivers, the Na'aman in the north, and the Qishon
in the south (Fig. 3). During the rainy season, both rivers
transport large amounts of silt and clay sediment to the
coast (Sandler and Herut, 2000). At present, most of the
area is built-up.
Morphologically, the bay's floor can be divided into
three sub-areas: a) the central and northern portions,
which range from 10 to 25 m deep, and feature
calcareous sandstone (locally termed kurkar) ridges
(Figs. 2 and 3)(Bakler, 1975; Hall, 1976); b) the
southern and eastern portions of the bay, which are 0 to
20 m deep, and contain a strip of Nile-derived quartz
sand (Nir, 1980; Zviely, 2006); and c) the portion west
of the submerged kurkar ridge area, which has a depth of
25 to 30 m and a smooth floor covered with fine
sediment.
Haifa Bay and the Zevulun Plain form a geological
graben, bordered to the north and south by the Ahihud
and Carmel faults, respectively (Kafri and Ecker, 1964)
(Fig. 3). The Holocene chrono-stratigraphy and lithol-
ogy of Haifa Bay and Zevulun Plain have been
Fig. 3. Haifa Bay and Zevulun Plain showing major fault lines. Numbers indicate location of the drill cores used in the current research andthe marine
geophysical surveys areas. Modified after Zviely et al. (2006).
64 D. Zviely et al. / Marine Geology 238 (2007) 61–73

described in detail by Slatkine and Rohrlich (1963),
Zviely (2006) and Zviely et al. (2006). Three coastal and
shallow marine Nile-derived sand types as well as partly
cemented aeolian Nile-derived sand were identified
(Fig. 4).
3. Methods
The Holocene stratigraphy and lithology of Haifa
Bay and Zevulun Plain are based on detailed analysis of
224 drill cores recovered during 1934–2004 (Zviely,
2006; Zviely et al., 2006)(Fig. 3). Approximately 70%
of these drillings were for construction projects; the rest
were for hydrological and geological research. Most of
the drillings have a depth of 10 to 50 m. The lithological
units and chrono-stratigraphy of the bay area were
identified by color, granulometry, mineralogy, faunal
assemblages and dating (Slatkine and Rohrlich, 1963;
Figs. 4 and 5). In addition, geological data concerning
the subsurface of the marine area were obtained from
geophysical maps (Hall, 1976; Ben-Avraham et al.,
1998)(Fig. 3).
Estimates of Holocene sand volumes in the Zevulun
Plain were based on thickness of sand units found in the
inland drillings, while those in Haifa Bay were deduced
mainly from marine geophysical maps. In the eastern
part of the bay, the thickness of the sand layer that
covers the Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene bedrock
was derived from a fill isopach map (Hall, 1976: their
Fig. 7). This map was constructed using four high-
resolution, continuous seismic reflection surveys carried
out in the northern two-thirds of Haifa Bay in 1974–
1976. Two sub-bottom profiling systems were acquired
for the work: an E.G and G. Uniboom™pulse boomer,
and an O.R.E. Model 1036 sub-bottom profiler. Over
800 km of profiles were used to make detailed
bathymetric, unconsolidated sediment isopach and
bedrock structural maps covering an area of about
45 km
2
(Hall, 1976). A similar process was used to
evaluate the southern part of the bay by Ben-Avraham
et al. (1998). In addition to the marine drilling data, an
isopach map for Late Pleistocene to Early Holocene
terrestrial clay bedrock (H2 reflector) was used to
measure sand layer thickness (Ben-Avraham et al.,
1998: their Fig. 15). The map was based on seismic data
acquired with a Datasonics CAP-6600 CHIRP acoustic
profiling system. The data included more than 1300 km
of seismic lines collected in November and December,
1997 (Ben-Avraham et al., 1998).
The drilling core sand thickness data were located on
a 3D digital-vector map and combined with sand layer
thickness contours obtained from marine geophysical
Fig. 4. Generalized stratigraphic sequences of Haifa Bay area showing the Holocene unconformably positional above the Late Pleistocene to Early
Holocene terrestrial bedrock. The Holocene sequence consists of two main sedimentary cycles: marine and eolian Nile-derived quartz sand, After
Zviely et al. (2006).
65D. Zviely et al. / Marine Geology 238 (2007) 61–73

maps. All the data were than imported into a mapping
software program (Microstation Java, 2000) to produce
a high-resolution Digital Terrain Model (DTM) grid.
Then the total Holocene sand volume in the bay area
was calculated using the “Volumes”prismoidal appli-
cation of GeoTerrain software (GeoTerrain, 2000), run
in a Microstation Java environment (Zviely, 2006).
4. Results and discussion
4.1. Paleogeography of Haifa Bay during the Holocene
At approximately 9500 to 9000 cal. yr BP, the global
sea-level reached a stand of about 35 to 30 m below its
present level (bsl) (Fairbanks, 1989; Bard et al., 1990,
1996; Lambeck and Bard, 2000; Lambeck et al., 2002,
2004), and invaded the bay of Haifa (Fig. 6a). With this
event, the region became a marine morphological
feature (Zviely, 2006; Zviely et al., 2006). The sea
continued to rise, and by about 8500 to 7900 cal. yr BP,
when it was about 15 m beneath present sea-level, most
of the bay was already submerged (Fig. 6b). Archaeo-
logical and geomorphological findings from the Carmel
coast, Israel, support the global and regional sea-levels
mentioned above (Galili et al., 1988, 1993; Nir, 1997;
Sivan et al., 2001; Galili, 2004; Galili et al., 2005). It
was at this point that the bay became the northernmost
depositional sink of the Nile littoral cell; it remains so to
this day. Between 8000 and 7150 cal. yr BP, the rising
sea advanced across the present-day coastline and began
to flood the Zevulun Plain, forming ria landscape. It is
unknown when the sea reached its maximum inland
penetration, but about 4000 years ago the shoreline was
still east of its present location, up to 3 km into the center
of Zevulun Plain and as far as 4.8 km into its
southeastern portion (Fig. 6c). When the coastline
began to retreat westward, the filling up of the sea
coastal region within the bay was followed mainly by
rapid deposition of coastal and shallow marine sand and
aeolian dunes (Fig. 6d).
4.2. Sand accumulation in Haifa Bay area during the
Holocene
The current research findings show that during the
Holocene, 700 million m
3
of sand accumulated in the
Haifa Bay area (Fig. 7a). Two-thirds (470 million m
3
)
were coastal and shallow marine sands (Fig. 7b), of
Fig. 5. Stratigraphic cross-sections in the Haifa Bay area. (A) 9 km long cross-section, from the vicinity of Haifa Port along the main breakwater to the
Qishon river valley inland. The geological data obtained from marine and land drill cores. (B) 6 km long cross-section, from the submerged kurkar
ridges in the central part of the bay to the Na'aman river valley inland. The sea side data is based mainly on marine geophysics survey (Hall, 1976),
while the land side is based on data obtained from drill cores.
66 D. Zviely et al. / Marine Geology 238 (2007) 61–73

which 135 million m
3
settled in Haifa Bay and
335 million m
3
settled in Zevulun Plain. The remaining
third (230 million m
3
) was aeolian sand deposited in
dunes (Fig. 7c). According to Nir (1980) and Zviely
(2006), the coastal and shallow marine sands in Haifa
Bay contain 70–85% quartz and 15–30% local
carbonate, while the dunes contain 85–95% quartz
and only 5–15% carbonate (Denekamp and Tsur Lavie,
Fig. 6. The location of the palaeo-coastlines and the LST dominant flow direction at Haifa Bay and its vicinity during the Holocene. Modified after
Zviely et al. (2006). (a) ∼9500 to 9000 cal. yr BP when the sea-level reached a height of about 35–30 m bsl (below sea-level). The contours indicate
the topography from the palaeo-coastline landward up to the present-day coastline. (b) ∼8500 to 7900 cal. yr BP when the sea-level reached a height
of about 15 m bsl. (c) Maximum sea invasion landward. The exact date is still unknown, but it seems to have been between 4000 and 3000 cal. yr BP.
(d) Maximum sea penetration landward, the coastline started to retreat westward to its present position because due to bay reclamation.
67D. Zviely et al. / Marine Geology 238 (2007) 61–73

Fig. 7. Three dimensions sand units accumulation maps of the Haifa Bay area during the Holocene period. (a) Total coastal and shallow marine sands
and dunes accumulated in the Haifa Bay and Zevulun Plain in the last 8500 to 7900 cal. yr BP. (b) Only the total coastal and shallow marine sands
accumulated in the bay area during the time of period mentioned above. (c) The total dunes sands accumulated in the Zevulun Plain during the last
4000–3000 years ago, since the sea-level reached it present-day height (Galili et al., 1988; Nir, 1997; Sivan et al., 2004; Galili, 2004; Galili et al., 2005).
68 D. Zviely et al. / Marine Geology 238 (2007) 61–73

1981a,b). Overall composition of this considerable
volume consists of 525–620 million m
3
of Nile-derived
quartz sand and 80–175 million m
3
is of local carbonate
sand.
4.3. LST at the southern entrance to Haifa Bay
Under typical weather conditions, the Carmel
headland area at the southern entrance to Haifa Bay
provides a natural barrier that prevents sand from
entering northward into the bay. Only rare, high, south–
west breaking waves can produce the strong northerly
currents needed to penetrate the headlands and move
sand eastward into the bay. In addition, the shape of the
headland area (where the gentle curve of the Israeli coast
is interrupted) together with its lack of a sandy beach
preclude the viability of traditional LST estimate
techniques. For example, straightforward use of the
CERC formula in this area shows that the net sand drift
should be southerly. Since there is no sand available in
this area to move in this direction, sand can only be
moved as described above.
4.4. Sand accumulation in Haifa Bay during the past
75 years
Prior to the construction of Haifa Port –and its main
breakwater –by the British (1929 to 1932), sand that
was able to penetrate the Carmel headland barrier
flowed freely along the bay's coast. But the completion
of the port's breakwater created a large trap for
migrating sand entering the bay's breaker zone —and
a bar of fine grain sand immediately began to
accumulate (Civil and Marine Engineering Co., 1960;
Golik et al., 1999). By 1938, the bar had reached the
main breakwater head (Fig. 8a); by the late 1950s, it ran
along the entire length of the breakwater, bypassing its
eastern head and penetrating into the port's main
entrance (Fig. 8b). In the early 1960s, the Haifa Port
Authority dredged 1.3 million m
3
of sand from the
sandbar (Civil and Marine Engineering Co., 1960) for
reclamation and construction of a new passenger quay.
At the end of the 1970s, the main breakwater was
extended by 600 m to protect the new eastern quay from
northwest approaching waves. Since this massive
dredging, the sandbar continued to accumulate sand
carried by wave-induced currents (Fig. 8c). The total
amount trapped along the port's main breakwater
between 1929 and 2004 (75 years of sand transport) is
estimated at about 5 million m
3
, or an average of
66,000 m
3
/yr (Zviely, 2006). Additional amounts of
sand that have bypassed the main breakwater during this
period and drifted eastwards into the bay are estimated
at 8000–10,000 m
3
/yr (DHI—Danish Hydraulic
Institute, 2000).
4.5. Recent net LST estimates along the Israeli coast
A survey of recent LST measurements along the
littoral cell shows an ongoing decrease as the longshore
currents move east and north up the coast. Inman et al.
(1976) estimated the rate of the eastward wave-induced
LST at the Damietta eastern promontory of the Nile
Delta at about 860,000 m
3
/yr. This rate decreases to
about 500,000 m
3
/yr along the outer Bardawil lagoon
Fig. 8. Developed of the sandbar up-drift Haifa Port breakwater, see
Fig. 2 for location: (a) 10 years after construction (1929–1938). (b)
30 years after construction (1929–1959). (c) 70 years after construction
(1929–1998).
69D. Zviely et al. / Marine Geology 238 (2007) 61–73

sand bar at the northern Sinai coast (Fig. 1). Further to
the northeast, an updated estimate by Perlin and Kit
(1999) shows that the average net LST along the
southern Israeli coast decreases from 450,000 m
3
/yr at
Ashkelon, to about 200,000 m
3
/yr at Ashdod. Moving
north, the rate decreases to approximately 100,000 m
3
/
yr at Tel Aviv, and diminishes to 60,000–70,000 m
3
/yr
at the south boundary of the northern Carmel coast just
before reaching Haifa Bay, the northern end of the Nile
littoral cell. Past this boundary, the lack of a sandy beach
and the sharp curvature of the coast make accurate LST
measurements difficult to obtain. The LST estimates by
Perlin and Kit (1999), were obtained using (1) the
modified CERC formula (Koutitas, 1988), and (2) the
LITDRIFT module of one-line package suite developed
by Danish Hydraulic Institute (LITPACK, 1998).
To develop the approximate directional statistical
distribution of waves, they used high-quality directional
wave data measured at Haifa and Ashdod (110 km apart)
starting from 1994 (Fig. 9) by CAMERI —The Coastal
and Marine Engineering Research Institute on behalf of
the Israel Ports Authorities. Correlation analysis and
further linear interpolation was then used to derive
characteristic wave direction estimates for various sites
in between. Their analysis shows that LST is strongly
dependent on the relative angle between characteristic
wave direction and shoreline azimuth. An updated
estimate of LST for the northern Carmel coast was
carried out by Zviely (2006) based on Perlin and Kit's
(1999) analysis, and on long-term sets of directional
wave data collected between 1994 and 2004. The new
estimate yielded an average net LST of sand to the north
of 72,000 m
3
/yr, during the years 1994–2004, confirm-
ing the previous estimate of wave-induced LST in the
vicinity of Haifa Bay.
The results of the this study do not support previous
claims that net LST in the surf zone from Carmel
headland to central Israel runs southward. Such claims –
if correct –would require a convergence zone between
Tel-Aviv and Herzliya, where huge amounts of sand
would have been accumulated. Coastal and seabed
observations in this region (Zviely, 2000; Zviely et al.,
2000; Klein and Zviely, 2001; Dror, 2005) fail to detect
any such accumulation.
4.6. Sand accumulation balance in Haifa Bay area
Using the above data, which cover the Holocene and
isolate the past 75 years, we can derive and compare
average annual sand budgets in the Haifa Bay area for
both periods.
a) The Holocene —given the volume of deposited in
the Haifa Bay and Zevulun Plain during the past
7900–8500 years –700 million m
3
–we can
calculate an annual average of 82,000–89,000 m
3
/yr.
b) The past 75 years —we can add together three
components to estimate this figure. The first compo-
nent is the 5 million m
3
of sand trapped along Haifa
Port's main breakwater —an average of 66,000 m
3
/yr.
The second is sand that managed to bypass the
breakwater and drift eastward into Haifa Bay,
estimated at 8000–10,000 m
3
/yr by DHI researchers
(2000). The third component is offshore sand transport
generated by wind-induced currents (Kit and Sladke-
vich, 2001; Kunitsa, 2000; Kunitsa et al., 2005), which
are not captured by LST measurements taken from
wave induced currents in the breaker zone. The wind
directional distribution was obtained by Israeli Ocean-
ographic and Limnology Research (IOLR) and is
presented in Fig. 10. The northerly transport due to
wind-induced currents occurs between 10–30 m
depth, and may result in an additional 10,000–
20,000 m
3
/yr of sand into Haifa Bay. Thus, average
annual accumulation during this period can be
estimated at 80,000–90,000 m
3
, similar to the average
for the past 7900–8500 years.
Fig. 9. Directional wave distribution measured using directional buoy in Haifa area during 1994–2005.
70 D. Zviely et al. / Marine Geology 238 (2007) 61–73

Therefore, while we cannot exclude the possibility of
substantial changes in volume and direction of sand
transport during the past 8500 years, as suggested by
Stanley (1978) and Stanley and Galili (1996), we can
otherwise assume –with some reservations –that the
characteristics of net LST along the coast of Israel have
not changed significantly throughout the period,
including the last 75 years.
5. Conclusions
The assessment of LST presented in this research is
based on the huge amount of Nile-derived quartz sand
deposited in the Haifa Bay and Zevulun Plain, sand
accumulation near the Haifa Port breakwater after its
construction and sand transport calculations derived
from detailed, accurate, directional wave data.
Evaluating calculated values over the long term, it is
suggested that the characteristics of net LST along the
coast of Israel have not changed significantly during the
past 7900–8500 years.
This research refers to the average, annual net LST. It
is well-known that longshore currents (and the sand
transported by them) are active in both directions,
subject to the wave climate (wave directions) along the
southeastern Mediterranean coast. It is further known
that in a relatively narrow band within 100 m from the
shore, net transport runs to the south (Perlin and Kit,
2002: their Fig. 3). Therefore, one may find clay and
other sediments that are not from Nile sources.
Nevertheless, global net transport across the entire
bottom profile (a band about 500 m wide) affected by all
breaking waves, runs to the north.
The near total blockage of Nile River sand caused by
Aswan High Dam forced the currents to take sand
instead from the Nile Delta coast, and led to significant
erosion in this area. The sand taken from the Delta coast,
however, has compensated for the reduction of Nile
River sand and prevented sand shortages further up the
Nile littoral cell coastline. Rohrlich and Goldsmith
(1984), however, assert that that within approximately
400 years, the reduction will ultimately affect the Israeli
coast.
The present study indicates that on the global
regional scale during the 20th century there have no
been changes in the LST processes along the coast of
Israel. This is based primarily on considerable volume
of sand that has accumulated along the Haifa Port
breakwater during the past 75 years. The annual
accumulation has not changed throughout the period,
despite the construction of significant marine struc-
turessuchasAshdodPort, Herzliya Marina, and
Ashkelon and Hadera cooling basins from the 1960s
onward.
This assertion is supported by findings from
morphological analysis of the changing coastline of
Haifa Bay in the 20th century. These show that until
construction of Haifa Port, sandy beaches of Haifa Bay
extended westward until port's main breakwater was
built. Since that time, only small morphological changes
have been observed at the beaches, stemming mainly
from seasonally variable impacts. Had the port of Haifa
not been built, the sandy beaches of the bay would have
probably continued the expansion they began
4000 years ago (Zviely, 2006).
Man-made disturbances along the Israeli coast during
the 20th century (ports, marinas, detached breakwaters,
sand mining) have undoubtedly altered coastal mor-
phology and affected the fragile environment. Yet, their
impacts appear largely contained and localized —and
there is no indication that they have affected sand
transport processes on the inner sandy continental shelf
of Israel between 0 to 30 m in depth. The effects of the
most significant project in the cell –the High Dam at
Aswan –have not yet reached the Israeli coast.
Acknowledgements
The authors wish to thank the editor and the
reviewers of the manuscript for their very helpful
comments, Mr. J. Zibelman for reviewing the English
manuscript and Ms. N. Yoselevich for illustrations.
Fig. 10. Directional wind distribution measured at Hadera coal
unloading terminal during 1994–1998.
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