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Description
Cost-benefit assessments to attest the execution of coastal interventions are increasingly common at both national level - with the Portuguese Environmental Agency demanding this component in the public procurement - and at international level. The AX-COAST is a project that aims to contribute for the improvement of an innovative tool in the field of cost-benefit assessments of coastal interventions. The COAST is an integrated tool for this kind of assessment, combining 3 modules: shoreline evolution module; coastal defence structures pre-design module; cost-benefit module. The proposal is to add the cross-shore processes into the shoreline evolution module, opening the possibility to effectively apply the COAST to a wider selection of coastal areas and to do deeper analysis to artificial nourishments, by assessing the benefits of where to deposit the sediments on the beach. The integration of cross-shore functionality will be led by the University of Aveiro, who has experience in both longshore and cross-shore evolution models and is the author of the COAST. Moreover, in collaboration with Vatnaskil, a Donor Partner, a methodology for using data processed from global datasets to apply the COAST will be developed, taking advantage of the large experience of this partner in the subject. This partnership will also contribute for the COAST tool to be introduced into Iceland, potentially opening the door for applications in the country. The project management will be promoted by R5e Consulting Engineers, who has a vast experience in project management and has the objective of promote the sustained growth of R5m Marine Solutions as a company. R5m Marine Solutions will be responsible for the characterization of socio-economic and environmental benefits of the case study and overall application of the COAST. The successful conclusion of this proposal will allow the internationalization of the COAST at and ultimately contribute for sustainable coastal management policies.
Summary of project results
Coastal areas around the world are experiencing a raise in problems related to Ocean driven phenemonena, mainly lead by sea level rise. The disappear of beaches and territory loss caused by: Erosion; Overwashing; Stormsurges and Floods are impacting a wide range of communities in different levels causing economic, social and even health problems. Amidst this background, the AX-COAST appears as a project that aims to contribute for the improvement of an innovative tool in the field of cost-benefit assessments of coastal interventions.
The project was divided in 8 main tasks attending to a variety of competencies, from project management and communication to physical, social and environmental characterization, modelling of scenarios, methodologies and discussion of results. Project management and creation of media communication were held by R5e, where organizational tasks and reports were done, together with the development of the ax-coast website and social media (in mainstream plataforms). Updates of events,news,partnerships and conferences that are associated and related to the project are wide spread and shared through the social media pages. The physical, socioeconomic and environmental characterization of the area tasks were spread in between R5 marine, Vatnaskill and UA. Vatnaskill works alongside a well-known specialist in Sediment Transport Dr. Van Rijn, which is giving support for the tasks and already entered in contact with the other partners, provided some physical, environmental and socioeconomic data from the project area and discussed the demands and information needed for the execution of the ongoing tasks. This data is and will be utilized for R5 marine as a strong component for the cost benefit analysis and model assemble. University of Aveiro partners are conducting the modelling activities of the project, recently working on the evaluation of the performance of the numerical model of transverse behavior, X-Beach; Comparison of the performance of the CS-model and X-Beach models, applied to generic situations, for comparison of the processes considered and the importance of the time scales of analysis; Evaluation of the characteristics of the study area and preparation of the calculation domain, in terms of bathymetry and topography.
AX – COAST will be a tool that can offer to coastal populations a more safe and pleasant interaction with their local beach. Which can include supporting stakeholders from different sectors of society, such as, local users, commerce owners, municipalities, tourism companies and other sectors directly impacted by the use of the coast. Helping to find the best solution for the desired budget, offering alternatives and flexibility. The project comes as a response to present and future coastal hazards promoting healthier and more sustainable coastlines.
Summary of bilateral results
Having a project partner from a different country is an enrichable and challenging experience that provides cultural and work potential gains. At the same time that new ideas, different point of views and ideas are shared, the happening of language and communication differences takes us from our comfort zone, estimulating the team capabilities of adapting, working and learning in different circustances. By the time of this report the interactions in between partners were resumed to on-line meetings, where genreal topics of work were discussed, mainly regarding to data acquirement. Vatnaskill alongside Leo Rijn provided some data and local knowledge about the study area. Furthermore, future meetings and events were projected for possible presential interactions in order to solidify the sense of team and promote a better integration of the parts towards the project. So far, the collaboration is working well and supplying the project structure with good quality of work input. At the moment of the making of this report, it has not been discussed any future perspectives regarding to possible additional collaborations, but, it does not mean that lately, this topic can be discussed.