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Description
The coast and the nearshore is a resource of extremely high value to the Baltic States and a location of major conflict of interests by different user groups. It is an important ecosystem that supports human wellbeing, incl. providing food and recreational opportunities. It also has an important commercial function, supporting trade, the movement of people, and recreation through the beaches, ports and marinas. It is the buffer between land and sea, with coastal erosion and integrity of the nearshore ecosystem being a particular concern.
This research brings together specialists from Tallinn University of Technology, Latvian Institute of Aquatic Ecology, Klaipeda University and Norwegian University of Science and Technology, each with their own internationally recognized expertise, to provide solutions to the current and future problems that already and will affect how we use coastal resources.
The major source of energy to the nearshore are waves. Many of the problems we experience (such as erosion and port siltation) relate to how sediment (mainly gravel, sand and mud) is moved. Much current knowledge comes from open ocean and cannot be directly applied to very different conditions of the Baltic Sea. This research will provide environmentally friendly solutions to coastal problems in ways that very specifically account for the wave, water level and sediment conditions in the eastern Baltic Sea and are transferable for all similar water bodies.
This is accomplished using i) data and knowledge that we currently have to provide much better and higher resolution knowledge about waves than are presently available, ii) by measuring sediment transport using novel sensors developed at TalTech, iii) by applying the new knowledge to examine how the interactions of waves and sediment impact the natural shores and coastal structures, and iv) provide tools so that coastal managers can make use of the knowledge produced to estimate how vulnerable are single coastal sections.