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September 2014
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In addition, there are no hydrographic and oceanographic data available for the proposed SCMP. Figure 1 shows Villa Bay, which is sheltered by offshore islands in the south and a coral reef in the east. However due to the absence of an airport in the 1960s, a channel was cut through the reef to allow seaplanes to land. The opening of this channel has resulted in strong currents entering the bay and removing sediments from the beach. Over the years, the beach has become very narrow: a mere 8m. The loss of beach sediments through erosion has caused hoteliers to construct seawalls along the coast (Figure 1).
For three days, the students collected information for their coursework project. The purpose of the data collection exercise was to train the students to use equipment to collect data on the bathymetry, oceanography (tide, waves and water circulation), environmental water quality, beach and sediment dynamics of the marine and coastal areas of Villa Bay. At the end they presented the preliminary findings to staff at government ministries. |