User Needs Analysis for the Definition of Operational Coastal Services

According to the global growth of the "Blue economy", coastal zones are under pressure from both land and marine side economic activities. The fragmentation of sectorial interests and legislation along the coasts has led to the need for bridging knowledge (data/information and methods/tools) and governance (decision-makers at every level) in order to ensure sustainable economic development and social and ecosystem resilience. This poses the need for an interaction process that associates user needs to the European and national legislative framework to create a policy-oriented demand of Copernicus Earth Observation services in coastal areas. Such goals need a strong and effective system to monitor compliance and to assess the progress of the legislation. This study aims at identifying potential gaps in the current Copernicus product offer for the monitoring of the coastal sector through the elicitation of stakeholder requirements. The methodology is applied to the Italian landscape of users, but it is scalable at European level. The results provide a clear overview of the coastal user requirements, highlighting the common need of integrated information for the management, and represents the basis for defining the coastal services

Assessing the offshore wave energy potential for the Maltese islands

Direct wave observations using a Datawell buoy deployed to the west of Gozo, and a numerical wave modeling exercise targeted to map the spatial and temporal signatures of the wave fields around the Maltese Islands over a span of five years (1st January 2007 to 31st December 2011) have been conducted within the BLUE OCEAN ENERGY® project. This has provided a detailed characterization of local wave climates and an estimation of the available wave energy potentials in the coastal and offshore areas of the Maltese Islands. This data is essential to assess the overall feasibility of constructing wave energy production farms based on WECs, to test the most adequate devices to harvest wave energy, as well as to identify the best candidate sites for an optimal and most economically practical extraction. The study reveals that the best sites in the Maltese waters would be those located at the western approaches to the islands, given that these are more exposed to the prevailing North-Westerly winds. At these sites, maximum significant wave heights can exceed 7 m in winter, even in close proximity to the coast, and with a seasonal mean of 1.92 m as determined from direct measurements. The mean wave power transport during the winter season is estimated at 15 kW m-1; the wave resource is more than halved in spring and even weaker in autumn; it is under 2 kW m-1 during summer. Stronger wave fields occur at a few kilometres to the South West of Filfla Island where the modelled mean wave power reaches values of 13 kW m-1 in the winter months, but at less accessible sites and greater distances from shore.Alternative Technologies Ltd., Energy Investment Ltd, JMV Vibro Blocks Ltd., Solar Engineering Ltd. and Solar Solutions Ltd.peer-reviewe

EuroGOOS roadmap for operational coastal downstream services

The EuroGOOS Coastal working group examines the entire coastal value chain from coastal observations to services for coastal users. The main objective of the working group is to review the status quo, identify gaps and future steps needed to secure and improve the sustainability of the European coastal service provision. Within this framework, our white paper defines a EuroGOOS roadmap for sustained “community coastal downstream service” provision, provided by a broad EuroGOOS community with focus on the national and local scale services. After defining the coastal services in this context, we describe the main components of coastal service provision and explore community benefits and requirements through sectoral examples (aquaculture, coastal tourism, renewable energy, port, cross-sectoral) together with the main challenges and barriers to user uptake. Technology integration challenges are outlined with respect to multiparameter observations, multi-platform observations, the land-coast-ocean continuum, and multidisciplinary data integration. Finally, the technological, financial, and institutional sustainability of coastal observing and coastal service provision are discussed. The paper gives special attention to the delineation of upstream and downstream services, public-private partnerships and the important role of Copernicus in better covering the coastal zone. Therefore, our white paper is a policy and practice review providing a comprehensive overview, in-depth discussion and actionable recommendations (according to key short-term or medium-term priorities) on the envisaged elements of a roadmap for sustained coastal service provision. EuroGOOS, as an entity that unites European national operational oceanography centres, research institutes and scientists across various domains within the broader field of operational oceanography, offers to be the engine and intermediary for the knowledge transfer and communication of experiences, best practices and information, not only amongst its members, but also amongst the different (research) infrastructures, institutes and agencies that have interests in coastal oceanography in Europe

User Needs Analysis for the Definition of Operational Coastal Services

According to the global growth of the “Blue economy”, coastal zones are under pressure from both land and marine side economic activities. The fragmentation of sectorial interests and legislation along the coasts has led to the need for bridging knowledge (data/information and methods/tools) and governance (decision-makers at every level) in order to ensure sustainable economic development and social and ecosystem resilience. This poses the need for an interaction process that associates user needs to the European and national legislative framework to create a policy-oriented demand of Copernicus Earth Observation services in coastal areas. Such goals need a strong and effective system to monitor compliance and to assess the progress of the legislation. This study aims at identifying potential gaps in the current Copernicus product offer for the monitoring of the coastal sector through the elicitation of stakeholder requirements. The methodology is applied to the Italian landscape of users, but it is scalable at European level. The results provide a clear overview of the coastal user requirements, highlighting the common need of integrated information for the management, and represents the basis for defining the coastal services

Wave Forcing Assessment at Regional Scale in a Climate Change Scenario: The Sardinia Case Study

In recent decades, the world’s population is progressively shifting towards coastal areas, and it is estimated that it could reach 1 billion by 2050. On the other hand, meteocean forcings show increasing modification in terms of the occurrence and frequency of energetic events related to climate change trends. Then, the definition of adaptation strategies is crucial to managing coastal areas, especially in the most densely populated or highly valued tourist and environmental areas. Meaningful long-term strategies should then be based on quantitative estimation of future scenarios in a changing climate. Although most of the studies in the literature focus on extreme events, this paper aims to assess, through synthetic indicators, whether and how average and mild energy conditions related to wave climate will vary considering the current situation compared to future projections. The study is based on the analysis of wave data. The projection of average and mild energy conditions can indeed influence, just for example, the long-term morphodynamics of sandy beaches and the quality of bathing waters. Data extracted from the Copernicus database are considered. The methodology has been applied to the case of Sardinia island at a regional scale. Then, the aim of this paper is twofold: on the one hand, a method is proposed to evaluate the variation of average and mild wave conditions; on the other hand, it aims to apply the method to the case study of the Sardinia coastal area to highlight its feasibility. Results confirm that variations are expected. In the analyzed case study, it emerges that, on average, the long-term evolution of the wave climate shows a tendency toward intensification, while a decrease in the frequency of calm conditions is estimated. The average annual number of events undergoes an increase. Moreover, changes in wave directional sectors are observed, which, from being unimodal, are estimated to exhibit bimodal characteristics in particular on the west coast of the island

Pylephlebitis secondary to strangulated umbilical hernia with small bowel ischemia

Pylephlebitis is a septic thrombophlebitis of the portal venous system that infrequently complicates small bowel infarction. We present a case of pylephlebitis with portomesenteric vein gas bubbles secondary to small bowel ischemia caused by a strangulated umbilical hernia, diagnosed on computed tomography (CT) and confirmed in the operating theater. This case is an example of the usefulness of CT in early recognition of suggestive radiologic findings of pylephlebitis associated with intestinal ischemia for prompt treatment of the patient

Steady streaming and sediment transport at the bottom of sea waves

The flow and sediment transport in the boundary layer at the sea bottom due to the passage of surface waves are determined by considering small values of the wave steepness and of the ratio between the thickness of the boundary layer and the local water depth. Both the velocity field and the sediment transport rate are determined up to the second order of approximation thus evaluating both the steady streaming and the net (wave-averaged) flux of sediment induced by nonlinear effects. The flow regime is assumed to be turbulent and a two-equation turbulence model is used to close the problem. The bed load is evaluated by means of an empirical relationship as function of the bed shear stress. The suspended load is determined by computing the sediment flux, once the sediment concentration is determined by solving an appropriate advection\u2013diffusion equation. The decay of the wave amplitude, which is due to the energy dissipation taking place in the boundary layer, is taken into account. The steady streaming and the sediment transport rate at the bottom of sea waves turn out to be different from those which are observed in a wave tunnel (U-tube), because of the dependence on the streamwise coordinate of the former flow. In particular, in the range of the parameters presently investigated, the sediment transport rate at the bottom of sea waves is found to be always onshore directed while, in a water tunnel (U-tube), the sediment transport rate can be onshore or offshore directed

Pylephlebitis secondary to strangulated umbilical hernia with small bowel ischemia

Pylephlebitis is a septic thrombophlebitis of the portal venous system that infrequently complicates small bowel infarction. We present a case of pylephlebitis with portomesenteric vein gas bubbles secondary to small bowel ischemia caused by a strangulated umbilical hernia, diagnosed on computed tomography (CT) and confirmed in the operating theater. This case is an example of the usefulness of CT in early recognition of suggestive radiologic findings of pylephlebitis associated with intestinal ischemia for prompt treatment of the patient

Short term change of sea climate and influence on the littoral of Belvedere Marittimo (Cosenza - Italy)

Le aree costiere rappresentano delle entità fisiche in continua e rapida evoluzione e sono il prodotto della combinazione di pressoché tutti i processi morfogenetici. Inoltre i litorali sono da sempre stati considerati dall’uomo zone di particolare interesse economico - sociale e conseguentemente sfruttati per la costruzione di infrastrutture abitative, per il trasporto e per il turismo. Ciò ha portato spesso ad una eccessiva pressione sui paesaggi costieri, con gravi conseguenze sul territorio. È noto come, a livello mondiale, circa il 70% delle coste mobili sia soggetto a intensi fenomeni erosivi che, a partire dagli anni ’50-’60, hanno reso necessaria la costruzione di opere di difesa. Queste ultime spesso non hanno prodotto pascimenti sufficienti a ripristinare le ampiezze antecedenti la crisi erosiva. Sebbene tra i principali fattori dei processi erosivi siano da imputare sicuramente la diminuzione delle precipitazioni e l’impatto antropico, con la costruzione di porti, moli e di dighe sui fiumi che limitano la fonte principale di sedimento per le spiagge, è anche possibile che un cambiamento nel regime del vento possa aver comportato una variazione nell’idrodinamica delle aree costiere, che a sua volta potrebbe avere influenzato il trasporto dei sedimenti lungo la costa. Secondo studi effettuati sul Mediterraneo il regime del vento ha infatti subito alcuni mutamenti dovuti a cause su scala globale come il global warming, che ha portato a una deviazione delle perturbazioni cicloniche verso l’Europa Centrale e dunque a una diminuzione degli eventi estremi nel bacino del Mediterraneo. Tuttavia il fenomeno sembra avere differenti tendenze se si aumenta il dettaglio della scala delle aree in esame, situazione riscontrata ad esempio nel Golfo del Leone come in alcune stazioni meteorologiche in Italia, che hanno registrato un aumento della ventosità generale e delle velocità a partire dagli anni ’70. In Italia l’arretramento delle spiagge ha riguardato oltre il 50% dei litorali sabbiosi e specie negli ultimi decenni le spiagge sono andate incontro a un intensificarsi dei fenomeni erosivi, con un conseguente arretramento della linea di riva che ha reso necessari urgenti e costosi interventi ingegneristici con la costruzione di opere di difesa, al fine di proteggere la costa dall’azione erosiva del moto ondoso, non più bilanciata dall’apporto sedimentario dall’entroterra. In particolar modo, la Calabria ha subito un incremento erosivo a partire dalla seconda metà del XX secolo ed è stata oggetto di numerosi piani e progetti atti a contrastare l’erosione costiera. Nello specifico, nel presente lavoro, è stato esaminato il paraggio tirrenico compreso fra Diamante e Capo Bonifati (CS), che presenta i più cospicui fenomeni di erosione della Calabria e che risulta listato da diverse tipologie di opere di difesa costruite a partire dagli anni ’70. Tali opere sono state spesso danneggiate dalle violente mareggiate invernali, rendendo necessaria la riprogettazione e il ripristino delle stesse e che ad oggi non sembrano aver prodotto i risultati attesi. Il paraggio in esame ha molto prossima la boa di Cetraro della Rete Ondametrica Nazionale (R.O.N.), ma soprattutto la stazione anemometrica di Bonifati (che presenta registrazioni a partire dal 1961, con più di 50 anni di dati), che hanno consentito la ricostruzione del clima meteomarino. Data la scarsità di dati ondametrici a disposizione (poco meno di 10 anni), l’analisi di quelli anemometrici ha permesso di individuare i cambiamenti in termini di ventosità e regime dei venti, responsabili del moto ondoso, a sua volta principale agente morfogenetico e morfodinamico del litorale. Da queste valutazioni sono quindi state eseguite delle simulazioni con modelli numerici che, paragonandone i risultati con l’andamento della linea di riva nel corso del periodo studiato, hanno permesso di stabilire gli effetti di tali variazioni su quest’ultima. Il presente lavoro si prefigge lo scopo di indagare la presenza di eventuali cambiamenti nel regime del vento, secondo un approccio statistico, e di valutarne i possibili effetti sulla zona costiera del comune di Belvedere Marittimo, attraverso l’utilizzo di modelli numerici in grado di simulare l’idrodinamica del luogo. Tale metodologia, in un ambiente microtidale dove domina l’energia del moto ondoso, è facilmente esportabile su qualunque tipo di costa mobile che abbia in prossimità una stazione anemometrica, in grado di fornire serie storiche di dati, sopperendo così all’assenza o carenza di dati ondametrici. Un analisi di questo tipo permetterebbe quindi di: 1) valutare le oscillazioni decennali del clima ondoso (un intervallo di tempo generalmente coincidente con la durata media di un’opera di difesa); 2) valutare i cambiamenti nel verso della corrente lungoriva, in particolare nel semestre invernale, responsabile dello spostamento dei materiali lungo costa (drift); 3) di indicare possibili correttivi alle opere di difesa qualora non risultino efficaci ai fini del pascimento dell’arenile.In Italy, during the last decades, the coasts have undergone an intensification of erosive processes. This has led to many problems due to the proximity of communication routes (like roads and railways) and inhabited areas to the coast. One of the most affected areas is the coast of Belvedere Marittimo, located on the Tyrrhenian side of Calabria, South Italy. The erosional crisis of the beaches is certainly due to the increasingly urbanization of the territory, both coastal and inland, which prevents normal sediment influx that feed the beaches. However, it is equally true that there are well-known global scale changes of climate, which it is possible that are causing an increase storm intensity of tropical hurricanes and extra tropical storms. The Mediterranean Region has showed different behaviors related to local factors, with some exceptions to the general trend showing an increase of extreme events, related to wind speed and direction and therefore with effects on sea climate. In this scenario, the coast of Belvedere Marittimo will be the area of interest of the project, as previous works on the location has showed a correlation to the shoreline retreat with the increase of wind extreme events, especially in the 2001-2010 period. The decision to focus the research on wind data allows overcoming one of the most common problems of this type of studies in Italy, which is the shortage of wave data. This area has already been object of different sea defenses during the decades, but the breakwaters and groins, built for more than thirty years, did not produce significant progradation of the beaches. The proposed methodology is applicable in a microtidal regime where dominates the wave climate, and is easily exportable on the beach near an anemometric station, capable of providing historical data series thus fill the data gap on the waves. Moreover, the evaluation of changes in speed and direction of the winds / waves will allow a rethinking of the types of defenses along the beaches

Comparative Analysis of Coastal Flooding Vulnerability and Hazard Assessment at National Scale

The evaluation of the coastal hazard and vulnerability caused by storm conditions is an important issue related to coastal flooding and erosion. Although these topics have been widely tackled by past research, they cannot be avoided, but need to be carefully managed by local authorities in order to limit damage to coastal infrastructure, to protect human life, habitats and sensitive species. Usually, this issue is tackled through common approaches at the regional scale. This paper illustrates the first steps of a research project aimed at assessing coastal hazard and vulnerability to wave-induced flooding at the national scale. In order to apply the method to the national scale, it is necessary to select a suitable dataset. This has to be consistent with the whole application area, concerning its spatial distribution, reliability and availability. Thus, one of the aims of this project is to perform a comparative analysis using data available at the national and local scale. The analysis was performed for the area of Montalto di Castro (Tyrrhenian Sea) by using datasets with different spatial resolutions. The results revealed that the use of low resolution data does not significantly affect the estimated nearshore wave features, while the wave runup in underestimated by about 25%. This underestimation influences also the vulnerability and hazard assessments. In particular, the vulnerability is conservatively assessed if low resolution data are used. On the other hand, the hazard is conservatively assessed when low resolution data are used only if the wave runup is amplified by considering the 25% underestimation. The results presented herein can be extended to other sites with the same general features (i.e., microtidal and dissipative coastal stretches)