HYDRAULIC PERFORMANCE OF ECOFRIENDLY BREAKWATER ARMOUR UNITS

Traditional coastal defence structures tend to foster less diverse aquatic populations and larger concentrations of invasive species than natural habitats, which can be harmful to the ecosystem (Firth et al., 2016). There is growing interest in implementing principles and methods of ecological engineering, which combines ecosystems with engineering principles to develop coastal structures to decrease their negative environmental effects. When designing coastal constructions, ecoengineering has the potential to build sustainable coastal protection structures and to improve coastal habitat. Developing eco-friendly breakwater design guidelines represents a new and inherent progression step for coastal ecoengineering.