Shoreline Dynamics And Preventive Measures At Southern Part Of Durresi Bay

One of the most important aspects of coastal management and planning programs thatneeds to be investigated is shoreline dynamics. Long-term coastal analysis uses historical datato identify the sectors along the coast where the shoreline position has changed.At the southern part of Durresi Bay, the sandy beach has suffered strong erosions for thelast 20 years. In particular, in different segments situated at Karpen - Qerret lowland, duringthe last year the annual erosion rates reach values up to 30-37 m. The analysis of the coastal dynamics and spatiotemporal changes in the coastal morphology for the period between 1944and 2010 is an important tool to identify the principal factor of these changes and consequently to recommend the appropriate engineering interventions necessary to protectand recover the interested area.The present study takes advantage of geographical information system (GIS) tools tocontribute to the knowledge of the shoreline dynamics of the southern part of Durresi Bay.Shoreline changes were analyzed using the ArcGIS extension "Digital Shoreline AnalysisSystem" (DSAS). The length of the shoreline analyzed is about 3 km.Five shoreline position scorresponding to four time intervalswereanalyzed. These analyses are based on bathymetric studies, sediments and sediment transport analyses, and the mapping of the shoreline positionsfor the periods1944-1980, 1980-2007, 2007-2009and2009-2010.Annual rates of erosion, grain size distribution and the alongs

Setting thresholds is not enough: Beach litter as indicator of poor environmental status in the southern Adriatic Sea

This study deals with the issue of beach litter pollution in the context of the Descriptor 10 of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive Good Environmental Status of EU waters and Ecological objective 10, Common indicator 22 of IMAP. Analyses of the amount, distribution and categorization of beach litter were conducted on nine beaches during 108 surveys covering the area of 206.620 m2 in Albania, Italy and Montenegro. Our findings showed that the level of beach litter pollution on south Adriatic beaches is significantly above the adopted threshold values, with a median item numbers of 327, 258 and 234 per 100 m of beach stretch for Albania, Italy and Montenegro, respectively. It can be concluded that, when it comes to beach litter pollution, GES has not been achieved. Given the defined baseline and threshold values at the EU level, the process of reducing the total amount of marine litter in southern Adriatic Sea will be very challenging and needs urgent and specific actions