SANDTRACK

Beach nourishment: an integrated methodology for coastal management support

Artificial beach nourishment constitutes an effective and environmental friendly protection that guarantees existing standards of coastal defence and management against coastal erosion while preserving beach recreational values. To improve the design and performance of such operations, a comprehensive understanding of the processes governing nourished beach evolution is needed.

This project proposes to develop an innovative multidisciplinary approach combining the use of fluorescent and magnetic sand tracers, as well as numerical modelling, to monitor and quantify the sediment transport. This approach is applied to the case study of the Costa Nova-Aveiro where shots of several million cubic meters are foreseen. The project results will contribute to evaluate the effectiveness of artificial nourishments of submerged beaches and will also have important implications for risk and natural hazard management.

This project is funded by FEDER, through COMPETE2020 - Programa Operacional Competitividade e Internacionalização (POCI), and by national funds (OE), through FCT/MCTES.

10 August 2018 - 10 August 2021