Detecting problematic beach widths for the recreational function along the Gulf of Valencia (Spain) from Landsat 8 subpixel shorelines

[EN] This work shows a continuous and regional monitoring of the beach width and how to link it with the recreational function of these spaces. Shorelines automatically derived from Landsat 8 satellite were employed for this purpose, covering up to 83 dates (2013¿2016) and 150¿km of beaches. The study included the microtidal beaches of the Gulf of Valencia, a strongly developed coast with intensive use in the Western Mediterranean. Beach widths were defined in alongshore coastal segments of 80-m length. Annual mean width and annual percentiles appeared as representative statistics of the beach state and the most unfavorable widths occurred throughout the year. Considering these statistical descriptors, beach segments were classified according to their adequacy to sustain a recreational function. The integration of descriptors of the beach width and use of the beach data on a regional scale offers a holistic approach to identify potentially problematic segments, crucial information for coastal managers.This study integrates findings and results obtained within the framework of the FPU15/04501 granted by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports to Carlos Cabezas Rabadan, and by the funds of the research project RESETOCOAST (CGL2015-69906-R) supported by the Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Competitiveness. Authors acknowledge the USGS for providing free access to the Landsat imagery.Cabezas-Rabadán, C.; Pardo Pascual, JE.; Almonacid-Caballer, J.; Rodilla, M. (2019). Detecting problematic beach widths for the recreational function along the Gulf of Valencia (Spain) from Landsat 8 subpixel shorelines. Applied Geography. 110:1-13. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2019.102047S11311

Assessing users expectations and perceptions on different beach types and the need for diverse management frameworks along the Western Mediterranean

[EN] Beach management follows a homogeneous and rigid decision-making process that tries to fulfill expectations assumed from mass tourism without really getting to know the real users' perception. Decisions are usually taken without considering the diversity of values of the beaches, causing high environmental, economic and recreational impacts. In this study, users' profiles, expectations and perceptions have been defined on six Valencian beaches with both different degree of artificialization and sediment type. This has allowed a comparison between semi-natural and urban beaches, and between pebbly and sandy beaches. Differences between beach types have been observed, and a critical analysis of the current management framework and practices has been carried out. Therefore, decision-making should take greater account of users, and actions should be adapted to the diversity of beaches and their particularities, leading to a differential beach management.This study integrates findings and results obtained within the framework of the FPU15/04501 granted by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports to C. Cabezas-Rabadan, and by the funds of the research project RESETOCOAST (CGL2015-69906-R) supported by the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness.Cabezas-Rabadán, C.; Rodilla, M.; Pardo Pascual, JE.; Herrera-Racionero, P. (2019). Assessing users expectations and perceptions on different beach types and the need for diverse management frameworks along the Western Mediterranean. Land Use Policy. 81:219-231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.landusepol.2018.10.027S2192318

Characterizing beach changes using high-frequency Sentinel-2 derived shorelines on the Valencian coast (Spanish Mediterranean)

[EN] Shoreline position can be efficiently extracted with subpixel accuracy frommid-resolution satellite imagery using tools as SHOREX. However, it is necessary to develop procedures for deriving descriptors of the beach morphology and its changes in order to become truly useful data for characterizing the coastal dynamism. A new approach is proposed based on a spatiotemporal model of the beach widths. Divided into 80 m analysis segments, it offers a robust and detailed characterization of the beach state along large micro-tidal regions, with continuous information through time and space. Geographical and temporal differences can be recognized andmeasured, making it possible to study the beach response both to general factors (as wave conditions) and to punctual anthropic actions (as small sand nourishments). Widths were defined throughout two and a half years from 60 shorelines (3.04 m RMSE) covering 50 km of the Gulf of Valencia. Important width contrasts appeared along the study site associated with sediment imbalances motivated by sediment traps and other anthropic actions. Segments too narrow for maintaining the recreational function were located and mapped (16% narrower than 30 m). Short-term width changes appeared linked to storm events, with fast retreatments and slow recoveries. Punctually, even small-magnitude nourishments created perceptible changes in width (12,830 m(3) were associated with a 4 m increase). This novel description of the beach state and its changes from Satellite-Derived Shorelines is useful for coastal management, especially considering the global coverage of these free satellite images. It may improve the comprehension of coastal processes as well as monitor human interventions on the coast, helping in the decision making. (c) 2019 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.This study is supported by the contract of C. Cabezas-Rabadan (FPU15/04501) from the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports, and by the project RESETOCOAST (CGL2015-69906-R) from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness.Cabezas-Rabadán, C.; Pardo Pascual, JE.; Palomar-Vázquez, J.; Fernández-Sarría, A. (2019). Characterizing beach changes using high-frequency Sentinel-2 derived shorelines on the Valencian coast (Spanish Mediterranean). The Science of The Total Environment. 691:216-231. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.07.084S21623169

Shoreline Analysis and Extraction Tool (SAET): A New Tool for the Automatic Extraction of Satellite-Derived Shorelines with Subpixel Accuracy

[EN] SAET (Shoreline Analysis and Extraction Tool) is a novel open-source tool to enable the completely automatic detection of shoreline position changes using the optical imagery acquired by the Sentinel-2 and Landsat 8 and 9 satellites. SAET has been developed within the ECFAS (European Coastal Flood Awareness System) project, which is intended to be the first European service for coastal flood forecasting, management, and recovery analysis. The tool is developed to characterise the shoreline response associated with punctual events such as coastal storms as well as any other phenomenon. For a given beach segment, SAET facilitates the selection of the satellite images closest in time to the analysed events that offer an adequate cloud coverage level for analysing the shoreline change. Subsequently, the tool automatically downloads the images from their official repositories, pre-processes them and extracts the shoreline position with sub-pixel accuracy. In order to do so, an initial approximate definition of the shoreline is carried out at the pixel level using a water index thresholding, followed by an accurate extraction operating on the shortwave infrared bands to produce a sub-pixel line in vector formats (points and lines). The tool offers different settings to be adapted to the different coastal environments and beach typologies. Its main advantages refer to its autonomy, its efficiency in extracting complete satellite scenes, its flexibility in adapting to different environments and conditions, and its high subpixel accuracy. This work presents an accuracy assessment on a long Mediterranean sandy beach of SDSs extracted from L8 and S2 imagery against coincident alongshore reference lines, showing an accuracy of about 3 m RMSE. At the same time, the work shows an example of the usage of SAET for characterising the response to Storm Gloria (January 2020) on the beaches of Valencia (E Spain). SAET provides an efficient and completely automatic workflow that leads to accurate SDSs while only relying on publicly available information. The tool appears to be a useful extraction tool for beach monitoring, both for public administrations and individual users.The ECFAS (European Coastal Flood Awareness System) project (https://www.ecfas.eu/) has received funding from the EU H2020 research and innovation programme under Grant Agreement No. 101004211. This research is also supported by the projects MONOBESAT (PID2019-111435RB-I00) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, and the Margarita Salas contract within the Re-qualification programme by the Ministry of Universities financed by the European Union¿NextGenerationEU and the grant Primeros Proyectos de Investigación (PAID-06-22), Vicerrectorado de Investigación de la Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV) associated with the corresponding author.Palomar-Vázquez, J.; Pardo Pascual, JE.; Almonacid-Caballer, J.; Cabezas-Rabadán, C. (2023). Shoreline Analysis and Extraction Tool (SAET): A New Tool for the Automatic Extraction of Satellite-Derived Shorelines with Subpixel Accuracy. Remote Sensing. 15(12). https://doi.org/10.3390/rs15123198151

Analysis of the morphological changes of the beaches along the segment València - Cullera (E Spain) from satellite-derived shorelines

Beaches are spaces of paramount importance for coastal societies currently threatened by coastal erosion. Their preservation requires accurate quantification of their changes in order to understand their behavior and to propose efficient solutions. Landsat 8 and Sentinel 2 mid-resolution satellites offer free-of-charge images with great potential for coastal monitoring. From them, it is possible to automatically extract the shoreline position as a quantitative indicator of the beach morphology over large territories and with high temporal frequency. Beach changes take place at different spatial and temporal scales, typically responding to coastal storms and human interventions on the coast. The collection of large packages of satellite-derived shorelines (SDS) at the coastal sector València-Cullera (W Mediterranean) covering the period 2013-2020 makes it possible to characterize the state of its beaches and their width changes over space and time. Results reveal a widespread erosional trend, most likely caused by a shortage of sediment in the coastal system. Thus, the majority of the beaches are not capable of restoring their previous conditions after storm-driven retreats. The information provided by the SDS also shows the ineffectiveness of the nourishment actions, at least in the way they have been carried out, and the urgent need for a strategy to address the erosion problem

Coastline variability from satellite imagery and its relation with sediment texture

[EN] Beaches are natural environments of great interest for our society. They go through remarkable changes run by key factors that are interconnected according to the literature. A better understanding of these parameters, such as sediment texture and shoreline variability, would be of a great interest for coastal monitoring and planning. Shorelines of all Landsat 8 (OLI) images available over the course of one year have been obtained for determining the variability that has occurred in different Valencian beaches. Likewise, the relation between shoreline variability and sediment texture has been evaluated, showing that beaches with higher variability over the year have smaller sediment texture, which is also related with gentle slopes, and vice versa. The methodology allows obtaining the shoreline variability, a key parameter of beach morphodynamics, in a semiautomatic way. The variability allows developing a gross estimate of beach texture.[ES] Las playas son entornos naturales de enorme interés para nuestra sociedad. Estos espacios están sometidos a grandes cambios regidos por factores clave fuertemente interrelacionados según la literatura. Un mayor conocimiento de estos parámetros, como la textura del sedimento o la variabilidad de la línea de costa de las playas resultaría de gran interés para la monitorización y gestión de la costa. Se han obtenido las líneas de costa de todas las escenas Landsat 8 (OLI) disponibles a lo largo de un año para, a partir de ellas, determinar la variabilidad de diferentes playas valencianas. Asimismo, se ha evaluado la relación existente entre dicha variabilidad y la textura del sedimento de las playas, mostrando que las playas con mayores cambios en la línea de costa a lo largo del año son aquellas con un tamaño de grano menor, asociado a pendientes más suaves y viceversa. La metodología seguida incluye la obtención de forma semiautomática de la variabilidad de la línea de costa, un parámetro clave de la morfodinámica costera, y a partir de ella la estimación a grandes rasgos de la textura del sedimento de las playas.Este proyecto ha sido realizado con la ayuda de la beca FPU15/04501 concedida por el MECD a C. Cabezas, así como con el proyecto RESETOCOAST (CGL2015- 69906-R) del programa Retos del MINECO. Los autores agradecen el apoyo de la Oficina Técnica DevesaAlbufera.Cabezas-Rabadán, C.; Almonacid-Caballer, J.; Pardo-Pascual, JE.; Soriano-González, J. (2017). Variabilidad de la línea de costa a partir de imágenes de satélite y su relación con la textura del sedimento. En Primer Congreso en Ingeniería Geomática. Libro de actas. Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 153-161. https://doi.org/10.4995/CIGeo2017.2017.6628OCS15316

Assessing Satellite-Derived Shoreline Detection on a Mesotidal Dissipative Beach

[EN] The accuracy and robustness of the shoreline definition from satellite imagery on different coastal types are crucial to adequately characterising beach morphology and dynamics. However, the generic and widespread application of satellite-derived shoreline algorithms is limited by the lack of robust methods and parameter assessments. This work constitutes a quantitative and comprehensive assessment of the satellite-derived waterlines from Sentinel-2 by using the novel SAET tool (Shoreline Analysis and Extraction Tool) on the exposed and mesotidal beach of La Victoria (Cádiz, SW Spain). The diverse parameters available in SAET, such as water indexes, thresholding methods, morphological filters, and kernel sizes, were combined to define water/land interface positions that were compared against coincident video-derived waterlines. Satellite-derived waterline errors are found to be affected by extraction parameters, as well as by the oceanographic and morphological conditions at the time of the image acquisition. The application of a morphological erosion filter on the water mask, which tends to shift the extracted waterline seawards and reduce bias, is the best solution at the dissipative site of La Victoria Beach. Moreover, using a 3 × 3 kernel size consistently shows higher accuracies than a larger kernel. Although there was no parameter combination showing the best skill for all dates, the employment of the Automated Water Extraction Index for images with no shadows (AWEInsh) with a threshold = 0, erosion morphological filter, and 3 × 3 kernel was, overall, the best combination of extraction parameters for this beach (average waterline RMSE of 5.96 m). The combination of the Modified Normalised Difference Water Index (MDNWI) with the Otsu thresholding also led to similar positions of the resulting waterlines and offered good accuracies. In line with other recent research efforts, our work stresses the lack of generic shoreline extraction solutions that can be applied automatically at a global level and the necessity to adapt and validate the extraction methodologies to the different types of coastlines.This research was funded by the projects MONOBESAT (PID2019-111435RB-I00) by the Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities; CRISIS (Coastal Risk Evaluation Under Climate Change Scenarios), by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (PID2019-109143RBI00); the grants PAID-06-22 (CCR) by the Vicerrectorado de Investigación de la Universitat Politècnica de València (UPV), and PR-2023-032 (JM) by Universidad de Cádiz (UCA); CCR and JM were funded by MS contracts within the Re-qualification programme by the Spanish Ministry of Universities also financed by the EU¿NextGenerationEU; BC by Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) grant number ANR-21-CE01-0015.Cabezas-Rabadán, C.; Almonacid-Caballer, J.; Benavente, J.; Castelle, B.; Del Río, L.; Montes, J.; Palomar-Vázquez, J.... (2024). Assessing Satellite-Derived Shoreline Detection on a Mesotidal Dissipative Beach. Remote Sensing. 16(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/rs1604061716

Monitoring the response of mediterranean beaches to storms and anthropogenic actions using Landsat imagery

[EN] Large-scale and continuous monitoring of morphological changes on beaches is of great interest for coastal management. Shoreline positions were extracted with the system SHOREX on multiple dates on three beaches of the Gulf of Valencia from Landsat 5, 7 and 8 images from the period 1984-2014. These data made it possible to analyze the evolution of the beaches over three decades, as well as their short-term changes. In this way, the capacity of the shorelines to represent the response of the beaches to coastal storms and anthropogenic actions was evaluated. The shorelines obtained from SHOREX show great potential for monitoring and surveillance of the state of the beaches, while the analysis of their changes provides key information on the nature of the beaches.[ES] La monitorización a gran escala y de forma continua de los cambios morfológicos en playas presenta un gran interés para la gestión costera. La posición de la línea de costa ha sido definida en tres playas del golfo de Valencia en múltiples fechas durante el periodo 1984-2014 partiendo de las imágenes Landsat 5, 7 y 8 y el sistema para la extracción de líneas de costa SHOREX. Estos datos han permitido analizar la evolución de las playas durante tres décadas, así como sus cambios a corto plazo. De este modo, se ha evaluado la capacidad de las líneas para representar la respuesta de las playas ante fenómenos de temporales costeros y actuaciones antrópicas en el medio costero. Las líneas obtenidas de SHOREX muestran un gran potencial para el seguimiento y la vigilancia del estado de las playas, a la vez que el análisis de sus cambios suministra información clave de la naturaleza de las playas.Este trabajo se ha beneficiado del contrato de investigación FPU15 otorgado por el Ministerio de educación, ciencia y deporte al primer autor, así como por fondos del proyecto RESETOCOAST (CGL2015-69906-R) del Programa Retos-2015 del Ministerio de Economía, Industria y Competitividad.Cabezas-Rabadán, C.; Pardo Pascual, JE.; Almonacid-Caballer, J.; Palomar-Vázquez, J.; Fernández-Sarría, A. (2019). Monitorización de la respuesta de playas mediterráneas a temporales y actuaciones antrópicas mediante imágenes Landsat. GeoFocus. Revista Internacional de Ciencia y Tecnología de la Información Geográfica. (23):119-139. https://doi.org/10.21138/GF.640S1191392

Beach Morphology and its Dynamism from Remote Sensing for Coastal Management Support

Tesis por compendio[ES] Las playas son espacios costeros que desarrollan numerosas funciones ambientales. Éstas proporcionan importantes beneficios a la sociedad y a las comunidades costeras, entre las que destacan la función ecológica, el suministro de protección para los territorios costeros y el hecho de que constituyen un recurso básico de la industria turística. De forma ligada al cambio climático, así como a acciones humanas que alteran el dinamismo natural de la costa, las playas están experimentando procesos erosivos cada vez más dañinos que afectan a su integridad física y al mantenimiento de sus funciones. La gestión de las playas en muchas ocasiones no se encuentra adaptada a las particularidades de los diferentes segmentos costeros. La toma de decisiones no se sustenta en información suficiente sobre las características, el dinamismo y el estado actual de las playas, dando lugar a soluciones cortoplacistas o ineficaces. Las características geomorfológicas son esenciales en el desarrollo de sus funciones al condicionar sus dimensiones físicas y su comportamiento frente a la acción del mar. Por ello, su caracterización de forma detallada y actualizada es necesaria para llevar a cabo acciones eficientes, permitiendo virar hacia una gestión costera más ecosistémica y sostenible. Las técnicas de teledetección presentan una gran capacidad para la adquisición de datos de la superficie terrestre. En concreto, los satélites Sentinel-2 y Landsat (5, 7 y 8) permiten disponer de forma gratuita imágenes de resolución media con cobertura mundial y alta frecuencia de revisitado. Los algoritmos de extracción de la línea de costa desarrollados recientemente por el Grupo de Cartografia GeoAmbiental y Teledetección (CGAT - UPV) permiten definir sobre estas imágenes la posición de la línea de costa, constituyendo datos potencialmente útiles para describir la morfología de las playas y su dinamismo. Universalizar su aplicación requiere su testeo y validación en diferentes tipos de costa. Para ello, el proceso de extracción ha sido adaptado para su explotación en entornos mareales, y las líneas de costa resultantes han sido evaluadas ante diferentes condiciones oceanográficas ofreciendo una precisión cercana a los 5 m RECM (raíz del error cuadrático medio). Teniendo en cuenta las necesidades de información para la gestión existentes, a partir de estas líneas de costa se propone derivar indicadores que permitan caracterizar la geomorfología de las playas y monitorizar sus cambios. Para ello, las metodologías propuestas aseguran una gestión eficiente de grandes volúmenes de líneas de costa, siendo así capaces de caracterizar las playas cubriendo grandes territorios y periodos de tiempo. Así se derivan el ancho de playa y el tamaño de los granos de sedimento como indicadores objetivos y fácilmente comprensibles de la geomorfología de la playa. La modelización espacio-temporal del estado y los cambios de la línea de costa y de la anchura posibilita monitorizar la respuesta de las playas a temporales y a actuaciones antrópicas, permitiendo analizar los cambios ocurridos cada pocos días hasta cubrir décadas. Su cobertura espacial junto a la integración con otras bases de datos cartográficas permite caracterizar la influencia de la geomorfología de la playa en el desempeño de sus funciones, permitiendo un análisis holístico de la costa a escala regional. Las metodologías desarrolladas en esta tesis y los indicadores derivados desde la teledetección brindan apoyo para dotar de criterios y priorizar las acciones de los gestores. Se contribuye así a llenar el espacio existente entre la disponibilidad de técnicas para obtener información remota y su aplicación en los procesos de toma de decisiones sobre la costa.[CA] Les platges són espais costaners que desenvolupen nombroses funcions ambientals. Aquestes proporcionen importants beneficis a la societat i comunitats costaneres, entre les quals destaquen la funció ecològica, el subministrament de protecció per als territoris costaners i el fet que constitueixen un recurs bàsic de la indústria turística. De forma lligada al canvi climàtic, així com a accions humanes que alteren el dinamisme natural de la costa, les platges estan experimentant processos erosius cada vegada més nocius que afecten la seua integritat física i al manteniment de les seues funcions. La gestió de les platges en moltes ocasions no es troba adaptada a les particularitats dels diferents segments costaners. La presa de decisions no es sustenta en informació suficient sobre les característiques, el dinamisme i l'estat actual de les platges, donant lloc a solucions curtterministes o ineficaces. Les característiques geomorfològiques són essencials en el desenvolupament de les seues funcions en condicionar les seues dimensions físiques i el seu comportament enfront de l'acció de la mar. Per això, la seua caracterització de manera detallada i actualitzada és necessària per a dur a terme accions eficients, permetent virar cap a una gestió costanera més ecosistèmica i sostenible. Les tècniques de teledetecció presenten una gran capacitat per a l'adquisició de dades de la superfície terrestre. En concret, els satèl·lits Sentinel-2 i Landsat (5, 7 i 8) permeten disposar de manera gratuïta d'imatges de resolució mitjana amb cobertura mundial i alta freqüència de captura d'informació a un mateix punt. Els algorismes d'extracció de la línia de costa desenvolupats recentment pel Grup de Cartografia Geo-Ambiental i Teledetecció (CGAT - UPV) permeten definir sobre aquestes imatges la posició de la línia de costa, constituint dades potencialment útils per descriure la morfologia de les platges i el seu dinamisme. Universalitzar la seua aplicació requereix el seu testatge i validació en diferents tipus de costa. Per a això, el procés d'extracció ha sigut adaptat per a la seua explotació en entorns mareals, i les línies de costa resultants han sigut avaluades davant diferents condicions oceanogràfiques oferint una precisió pròxima als 5 m RMSE (arrel de l'error quadràtic mitjà). Tenint en compte les necessitats d'informació per a la gestió existents, a partir d'aquestes línies de costa es proposa derivar indicadors que permeten caracteritzar la geomorfologia de les platges i monitorar els seus canvis. Per a això, les metodologies proposades asseguren una gestió eficient de grans volums de línies de costa, sent així capaces de caracteritzar les platges cobrint grans territoris i períodes de temps. Així es deriven l'ample de platja i la grandària dels grans de sediment com a indicadors objectius i fàcilment comprensibles de la geomorfologia de la platja. La modelització espai-temporal de l'estat i els canvis de la línia de costa i de l'amplària possibilita monitorar la resposta de les platges a temporals i a actuacions antròpiques, permetent analitzar els canvis ocorreguts cada pocs dies fins a cobrir dècades. La seua cobertura espacial al costat de la integració amb altres bases de dades cartogràfiques permet caracteritzar la influència de la geomorfologia de la platja en l'acompliment de les seues funcions, permetent una anàlisi holística de la costa a escala regional. Les metodologies desenvolupades en aquesta tesi i els indicadors derivats des de la teledetecció brinden suport per a dotar de criteris i prioritzar les accions dels gestors. Es contribueix així a omplir l'espai existent entre la disponibilitat de tècniques per a obtenir informació remota i la seua aplicació en els processos de presa de decisions sobre la costa.[EN] Beaches are coastal spaces that perform numerous environmental functions. They provide important benefits to society and coastal communities, including the ecological function, the provision of protection for coastal territories, and constitute a basic resource for the tourism industry. Due to climate change and human actions that alter the natural dynamism of the coast, beaches are experiencing increasingly harmful erosive processes that affect their physical integrity and the maintenance of their ecological functions. Beach management is often not adapted to the particularities of the different coastal segments. Decision-making is not based on sufficient information about characteristics, dynamism, and current state of beaches, resulting in short or ineffective solutions. Geomorphological characteristics are essential in the development of beach functions as they condition their physical dimensions and their behavior in response to the action of the sea. Therefore, their detailed and updated characterization is necessary to carry out efficient actions, allowing a more ecosystemic and sustainable coastal management. Remote sensing techniques have a great capacity for acquiring data from the land surface. In particular, Sentinel-2 and Landsat (5, 7, and 8) satellites freely provide medium resolution images with global coverage and high-revisit frequency. The algorithms for extracting the water/land interface recently developed by the Geo-Environmental Cartography and Remote Sensing Group (CGAT - UPV) allow defining the position of the shoreline on these images, constituting potentially useful data to describe beach morphology and dynamics. Universalizing their application requires testing and validation at different coastal types. For this purpose, the extraction process has been adapted for exploitation in tidal environments, and the resulting shorelines have been assessed under different oceanographic conditions offering an accuracy close to 5 m RMSE (Root-Mean-Square Error). From these shorelines, and taking into account the existing information needs for management, it is proposed to derive indicators to characterize the geomorphology of the beaches and to monitor their changes. To this end, the proposed methodologies ensure the efficient management of large volumes of shorelines, being able to characterize the beaches along broad coastal segments and periods. Thus, beach width and sediment grain size are derived as objective and easily understandable indicators of the beach geomorphology. Spatial-temporal modeling of the state and changes of shoreline position and beach width makes it possible to monitor the response to storms and anthropogenic actions, allowing to analyze changes that occur every few days or over decades. The large spatial coverage together with the integration with other cartographic databases allows characterizing the influence of beach geomorphology in the performance of its functions, offering a holistic view of the coast from a regional scale. The methodologies developed in this thesis and the indicators derived from remote sensing provide support and criteria for prioritizing the actions of managers. This contributes to fill the gap between the availability of techniques to obtain remote information and its application in the coastal decision-making process.This research integrates findings and results obtained within the framework of the contract FPU15/04501 granted to the author by the Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture, and Sports, which has allowed this doctoral thesis to become a reality. The research has been supported by the funds of the project RESETOCOAST, by the Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Competitiveness (chapters 2 to 5), and the project MONOBESAT PID2019-111435RB-I00 by the Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities (chapter 6). About my stay in Portugal, it was possible with the funds of the Erasmus+ program. The contribution of Ó. Ferreira was funded by EW-COAST (PTDC/CTA-OHR/28657/2017) and by FCT and Univ. Algarve through the grant UID/MAR/00350/2013, while S. Costas’ was funded by IF/01047/2014. The following institutions have provided free access to essential data for the development of the publications that constitute this thesis: ESA and USGS for the satellite imagery; Puertos del Estado, and the Portuguese Hydrographic Institute in collaboration with CIMA for supplying oceanographic data; Ministry MITECO and DGSCM for data regarding beach sedimentology and nourishments.Cabezas Rabadán, C. (2021). Beach Morphology and its Dynamism from Remote Sensing for Coastal Management Support [Tesis doctoral]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/165076TESISCompendi

Propuesta para la adecuación de una vía verde con contenidos divulgativos entre Gandia y l'Orxa

Los municipios de Gandia y l¿Orxa se encontraron en el pasado unidos por la línea férrea Alcoi - Gandia. El trayecto, especialmente en el tramo l¿Orxa - Gandia, cuenta con un gran atractivo paisajístico, histórico y natural, de ahí que sea interesante la conservación de esta ruta y de sus valores. Sobre los terrenos por los que discurre la ruta entre Gandia y l¿Orxa, se realiza un análisis de la situación en la que se encuentran, para posteriormente plantear medidas para la adecuación de una vía verde que siga el antiguo recorrido del tren, incluyendo elementos de divulgación ambiental y de interpretación del entorno.The towns of Gandia and l¿Orxa were linked in the past by the railway Alcoi - Gandia. The route, especially in between l¿Orxa and Gandia, has very attractive history, nature and landscape, and this is why is interesting the conservation of this pathway and its values. On the land where the road runs between Gandia and l¿Orxa, it is developed an analysis of its situation, and later on it is used to propose measures for adapting a greenway that follows the old route of the train, including environmental education elements.Cabezas Rabadán, C. (2013). Propuesta para la adecuación de una vía verde con contenidos divulgativos entre Gandia y l'Orxa. Universitat Politècnica de València. http://hdl.handle.net/10251/33636Archivo delegad