The Port of Ensenada is one of the busiest ports of the eastern pacific, and the busiest port in all of Mexico. To help protect areas of flooding from large waves created by fright and cruise ships, a breakwater jetty was built. Jetties are long, thin strips of man made land that break up waves. Most breakwater jetties are built using large rocks. The jagged rocks, help break up the waves hence the name breakwaters. The official name of these small jetties along the coast are groynes and almost always, groynes can actually grow due to the sediment being carried by the water.
This groyne was built next to one of the two cruise ship terminals in Ensenada. It's location is key into protecting low lying areas prone to flooding, especially during storm seasons. When waves are created from a ship coming into port or a tsunami, a large wave travels in the port and bounces off everything it touches. Because the port of Ensenada is a U-shape, the wave reverberates throught-out the entire port and amplifies in hight and duration. Eventually, the wave dissipates and the water becomes calm again. This is similar to a tsunami, but on a smaller scale.
If this groyne wasn't here, protecting the coast, some houses and business may flood a few times a week due to both natural and artificial waves. Natural phenomena that can cause flooding would include the natural tide caused by gravitational forces of the earth and moon or occasional tsunamis from subduction zones in Japan or Chile.
Works Cited
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groyne
https://www.crd.bc.ca/education/our-environment/geology-processes/coastal-sediment
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1. Port of Ensenada on the first line of your email.
2. Estimate the average hight of the waves you see during 1 minute. Record your time you saw the waves as see if it matches any high or low tides.
3. Which side of the groyne do you see the greatest amount of wave action (hight). Explain why this might be.
4. Do you see any sediment buildup? If so how far does it extend from the groyne AND on what side do you see it the most? If not, why might this be?
Caches with the 'Cruise Ship' photo
- are pedestrian friendly,
- within walking distance of the pier.