Abstract
A framework to quantitatively assess the sustainability of coastal systems is presented. The framework makes use of the concept of vulnerability (here illustrated by geomorphological vulnerability) and has been formalised into a long-term coastal vulnerability assessment framework, BEACH-CVA, composed by two modules: a longterm coastal evolution model and a fuzzy-logic vulnerability assessment module. It has been specifically developed for the Ebro delta, a low-lying Mediterranean coast subjected to a high intensity coastal dynamics, but is general enough to be applied to similar coastal environments. The developed tool has been applied to two different coastal stretches (i) a coastal wetland located in a high erosive area and (ii) a barrier coast experiencing landward rollover with man-induced alterations of its natural dynamics. The framework has proven successful at quantitatively assessing the coastal vulnerability, provided an accurate enough prediction of the long-term coastal evolution and a proper parameterisation of its implications on coastal resources and/or uses.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Leie, S. and Noorgard, R.B. (1996) Sustainability and the scientist’s burden, Conservation Biology, 10, 354–365.
Costanza, R. and Pattern, B.C. (1995) Defining and predicting sustainability, Ecological Economics, 15, 193–196.
Day, J.W., Martin, J.F., Cardoch, L. and Templet, P.H. (1997) System functioning as a basis for sustainable management of deltaic ecosystems, Coastal Management, 25, 115–153.
Sánchez-Arcilla, A., Jiménez, J.A. and Valdemoro, H.I. (1998) The Ebro delta: morphodynamics and vulnerability, Journal of Coastal Research, 14, 754–772.
Jiménez, J.A. and Sánchez-Arcilla, A. (1993) Medium-term coastal response at the Ebro delta, Spain, Marine Geology, 114, 105–118.
Jiménez, J.A., Sánchez-Arcilla, A., Valdemoro, H.I., Gracia, V. and Nieto, F. (1997) Processes reshaping the Ebro delta, Marine Geology, 144, 59–79.
Dolz, J. (Ed.) (1997) El Delta del Ebro, Revista de Obras Públicas, 3368, Special Issue, 130 pp.
Valdemoro, H.I., Jiménez, J.A. and Sánchez-Arcilla, A. (2001) Vulnerability of wetlands to coastal changes. A methodological approach with application to the Ebro delta, in Y. Villacampa, C.A. Brebbia and J.L. Usó (Eds.), Ecosystems and Sustainable Development III. WIT Press, Advances in Ecological Sciences no. 10, Southampton, 595–604.
Baumann, R.H., Day, J.W. and Miller, C.A. (1984) Mississippi deltaic wetland survival: sedimentation versus coastal submergence, Science, 224, 1093–1095.
Ruth, M. and Pieper, F. (1994) Modeling spatial dynamics of sea-level rise in a coastal area, System Dynamics Review, 10,4, 375–389.
Valdemoro, H.I., Jiménez, J.A. and Sánchez-Arcilla, A. (1999) Vulnerability: evaluating the consequences of coastal changes. An application to deltaic coasts, Coastal Sediments’99, ASCE, 1450–1461.
Jiménez, J.A. and Sánchez-Arcilla, A. (1997) A conceptual model for barrier coasts behaviour at decadal scale, Coastal Dynamics’97, ASCE, 913–922.
Jiménez, J.A. and Sánchez-Arcilla, A. (1999) Modelling of barrier-spit system evolution at decadal scale, Coastal Sediments’99, ASCE, 1724–1738.
Sánchez-Arcilla, A. and Jiménez, J.A. (1997) Physical impacts of climatic change on deltaic coastal systems (I): an approach, Climatic Change, 35, 71–93.
Jiménez, J.A. and Sánchez-Arcilla, A. (1997) Physical impacts of climatic change on deltaic coastal systems (II): driving terms, Climatic Change, 35, 95–118.
De Vriend, H.J., Capobianco, M., Chesher, T., De Swart, H.E., Laiteux, B. and Stive, M.J.F. (1993) Approaches to long-term modelling of coastal morphology: A review, Coastal Engineering, 21, 225–269.
Sánchez-Arcilla, A. and Jiménez, J.A. (1996) A Morphological “Mixed-Type” Model for the Ebro Delta Coast. Proc. 25th Coastal Engineering Conference, ASCE, 2806–2819.
Sánchez-Arcilla, A. and Jiménez, J.A. (1994) Breaching in a wave-dominated barrier spit: The Trabucador Bar (NE Spanish coast), Earth Surface Processes and Landforms, 19, 483–498.
Leatherman, S.P. (1979) Migration of Assateague Island, Maryland, by inlet and overwash processes, Geology, 7, 104–107.
McGlade, J.M., Pauly, D. and Silvestre, G. (1996) SymCoast, CEC Final Report. CT1, CT93-0349, Brussels.
Zadeh, L.A. (1965) Fuzzy sets, Information and Control, 8, 338–353.
Cox, E. (1994) The Fuzzy Systems Handbook. Academic Press, London, 623 pp.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2002 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sánchez-Arcilla, A., Jiménez, J.A., Valdemoro, H.I., Gracia, V. (2002). Coastal Dynamics and Sustainability. In: Sain, B.C., Pavlin, I., Belfiore, S. (eds) Sustainable Coastal Management: A Transatlantic and Euro-Mediterranean Perspective. NATO Science Series, vol 12. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0487-9_21
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-010-0487-9_21
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-1-4020-0889-4
Online ISBN: 978-94-010-0487-9
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive