Shoreline coastal evolution model: Two Portuguese case studies

• Type: Article in International Conference Proceedings Book
• Date: 2007

Authors

Coelho, C (Author) Other; Veloso Gomes, F (Author) FEUP; Silva, R (Author) FEUP

Conference proceedings International

Title: Proceedings of the Coastal Engineering Conference

Pages: 3430-3441

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge

Scopus - 22 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Engineering and technology

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-008-8ZT

Abstract (EN): With increasingly more population living in the littoral it is expected that natural hazards will have increasingly higher impacts. Hence, to avoid coastal erosion and flooding with its consequent social, economic and environmental negative impacts it is essential to accurately characterize coastal evolution trends, as well as to plan coastal defense interventions to protect assets invested along shorelines. Numerical models are being more relevant in several engineering areas and coastal engineering is not an exception. The ability to forecast medium and long-term evolution of a sandy beach coastline is a tremendous challenge due to the complexity of the processes involved. The one line modeling concept has been extended in order to achieve long-term predictions of coastline evolution, as well as to support and deliver better coastal engineering solutions for erosion control. The main limitations of the model are inherent to the actual knowledge of cross-shore profile evolution under persistent erosion or accretion. Rule-based modeling was adopted for cross-shore distribution of sediments along the active profile. The model is especially designed for sandy beaches, where the main cause of coastline evolution is the long-shore sediment transport, dependent on the wave climate, water levels, sediment sources and sinks, sediment characteristics and boundary conditions. The model has been applied to two Portuguese northwest coastal stretches: Aveiro and Figueira da Foz. The results allow a qualitative evaluation of the main potential consequences of ongoing erosion. There are already several hard coastal defenses protecting the existing urban fronts in both coastal stretches. It is expected that certain structures will require maintenance works and in some cases changes in their design will be needed. © 2007 World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 12