Study on artificial island port in Beibu gulf

摘要

Regarding preservation and development of coast, artificial island port has been concerned for years by the government of Guangxi province which locates in the north coast of Beibu gulf in China. The nature conditions are suitable to build ports for the semi-closed gulf and curvilinear bays. There are three main port bays in Guangxi province named as Fangcheng, Qinzhou, and Tieshan. The former two bays have developed almost all the deepwater shoreline into docks. With many land reclamation projects been built in these port bays, almost 1/3 of the Qinzhou bay has been reclaimed in the past two decades. Compared with land reclamation along the shore, the offshore artificial island will not destroy coast beach. Besides, it protects the coastal ecosystems and nature resources in much better ways. In addition many other advantages, such as water depth, sedimentation and water quality problems, make the offshore artificial island a better choice for ports. Except for more cost for island building, there are some technology problems to be concerned. In this paper, the tidal currents, waves and sedimentation will be discussed. The study will be helpful for the designs of direction of harbor entrance, wave defending, docks direction etc. The success of the virgin artificial island port will do goodness to the sustainable coast development and can be referenced in the region.