Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Abstract
Coastal hazards affect the majority of sandy shores worldwide, and are responsible for damage to, and destruction of,
property and infrastructure. The research reported here presents an integrated method for dening set-back lines
associated with coastal hazards on sandy shores for a 50-year period of interest. The method is based on a worst-case
scenario approach, the shoreline evolutionary trend being the basis for the initial set-back line determination. Set-back
lines are afterwards adjusted by incorporating changes associated with the acceleration of sea-level rise and the evaluation
of the consequences (instantaneous shoreline retreat and overwash) of an extreme storm. The method considers different
approaches depending on the shoreline behaviour (erosion, dynamic stability or accretion). The set-back lines as
determined are plotted over rectied aerial photographs, allowing for a straight-forward interpretation of results. The
method was applied to a test case within a barrier island system (Ancao Peninsula, Ria Formosa, Algarve, Portugal). This
study area was chosen because it exhibits the three different types of shoreline evolution. The method easily shows the
differences in erosion-related coastal hazards along the study area, being an important tool for coastal management.
However, the method should be able to be rened at every 510 years, for a new 50-year period, by integrating new
formulations based on advances in coastal science, and by including updated information and data about the areas to
which the method is applied.
r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords: Coastal hazards; Shoreline evolution; Sea-level rise; Extreme storms; Overwashes; Mapping; Ria Formosa; Algarve; Portugal
1. Introduction
Many coastal areas are at risk from natural and
human-induced hazards. Coastal hazards, such as
shoreline retreat and coastal oods, are caused by
sediment starvation, sea-level rise, storms, storm
Corresponding author. Tel.: +351 289 800900;
fax: +351 289 818353.
E-mail address: oferreir@ualg.pt (O. Ferreira).
0278-4343/$ - see front matter r 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.csr.2005.12.016
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Fig. 1. Case study location within the Ria Formosa barrier island system.
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(1)
(2)
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Fig. 2. Schematic representation of set-back lines representation for a 50-year period, including (a) denition of shoreline position, (b)
adjustment for ASLR, and (c) extreme storm impacts, for three different situations of accretion, dynamic stability, and erosion.
(3)
(4)
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(5)
concerning the model, including the various formulations, can be found in Kriebel and Dean
(1993), while examples of the models application
are demonstrated in the Coastal Engineering
Manual (US Army Corps of Engineers, 2002).
However, an outline of the main features of the
model pertinent to the method developed in this
study follows below.
The convolution model consists of simple analytical solutions to predict the time-dependent beach
prole response to severe coastal storms. It assumes
that beaches subjected to steady-state erosionforcing conditions respond to a storm towards a
stable or equilibrium form in a roughly exponential
manner. The forcing mechanism considered is the
storm-induced variation in water level, with the
magnitude of the erosion response being determined
by two parameters: (i) the maximum potential
response, which would occur if the beach were
allowed to respond completely to a new equilibrium;
and (ii) the characteristic erosion time scale, which
governs the exponential rate at which the prole
responds toward the new equilibrium.
In the convolution model, initial beach proles
are split into two parts, the upper part of the prole
above MSL, and the submerged part below MSL.
For the upper part of the prole, a schematic prole
can be used, based on actual proles, requiring
simplied prole parameters such as berm elevation
above MSL, berm width, dune height, and beach
face slope. For the submerged portion, the convolution model uses the equilibrium prole dened
by Dean (1977). To compute the maximum potential shoreline retreat and the associated maximum
potential volume of erosion, a series of closed-form
solutions was developed by Kriebel and Dean
(1993). These computations are dependent on storm
characteristics and the initial beach prole form.
The standard prole type in the case study area of
the current study is the equilibrium prole with
dune and wide backshore.
In the model, the maximum shoreline retreat and
volume of erosion are obtained by shifting the
equilibrium prole vertically through a distance S0
(maximum sea-level, including both tidal elevation
and storm surge) above MSL, and then landward
through a distance equal to the retreat value, such
that a mass balance is achieved between the eroded
and deposited sand volumes. Thus, the solution for
the equilibrium beach recession is obtained by
equating the volume eroded from the beach face
with the volume deposited offshore. The obtained
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2.3.2. Overwash
For the purposes of this study overwash occurs
when the maximum swash level exceeds the dune
elevation (or berm if dune is absent) at the S50s line.
The maximum runup associated with the 50-year
return period storm can be determined by applying
the Battjes (1971) formulation
Rmax H so Lo 0:5 tan b,
(7)
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Fig. 3. Transects used for determining shoreline evolution rates along Ancao Peninsula between 1989 and 2001.
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Fig. 4. Final coastal hazards representation for Ancao Peninsula, including all dened set-back lines for the western, central, and eastern
sectors.
the sum of the contributions from thermal expansion, glaciers, ice sheets, thawing of permafrost, and
sedimentation effects (IPCC, 2001). By using these
values for Eq. (2), an adjustment value for ASLR
(SLRa) of about 0.215 m was obtained.
Based on a 2-year monitoring programme of
beach topography and bathymetry at the study
area, including monthly surveys, it was possible to
dene the depth of closure (h) as lying 11 m below
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Table 1
Set-back line positions (in m) landward to the shoreline position
at time zero (S0) for all transects and sectors
Transect
Sector
S50
S50c
S50s
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
West
West
West
West
West
West
West
West
West
West
West
West
West
West
West
Central
Central
Central
Central
Central
Central
Central
Central
Central
Central
Central
Central
East
East
East
East
34
40
53
60
63
63
57
54
41
33
24
23
31
23
18
11
9
7
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
42
49
62
68
71
71
65
63
49
41
33
31
39
32
26
20
18
16
9
9
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
68
75
88
94
97
98
91
89
75
67
59
57
65
58
52
51
49
46
40
40
31
31
31
31
31
31
31
23
23
23
23
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Sector W
Sector C
Sector E
Hso (m)a
Td (days)b
Ac
S0 (m)d
tan be
B (m)e
D0 (m)e
W (m)e
R50 (m)
8.1
5
0.18
2.15
0.11
3.2
6.1
14.3
26
8.1
5
0.18
2.15
0.11
2.9
4.4
12.7
31
8.1
5
0.18
2.15
0.13
3.5
3.0
26.4
23
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5. Conclusions
The denition of set-back lines is of fundamental
importance to the development of good coastal
management, since it denes boundaries that mark
the extent of impingement by coastal hazards. The
main goal of this paper was to present a new
method for the denition of set-back lines, integrating results from shoreline evolution, acceleration of
sea-level rise, and instantaneous shoreline retreat
and potential overwashes induced by an extreme
storm. The method is based on a worst-case
scenario approach and is applied to a 50-year
period. It has been developed for sandy shores,
and should be of use not only for areas facing
coastal erosion but also for coastal stretches under
conditions of dynamic stability or accretion.
The method was applied to a case study along
Ancao Peninsula, a barrier spit located within the
Ria Formosa barrier island system, Algarve, Portugal. Three sectors (western, central and eastern)
were dened according to the morphological
characteristics and dominant shoreline evolution
(erosion, dynamic stability, and accretion). Along
the western sector, the method predicts the future
destruction of the dune ridge, and the starting of a
roll-over evolution process, together with the
occurrence of inlet opening processes. For the
central sector, intensication of overwashes and
consequent infrastructural damage is predicted.
Along the eastern sector, the main coastal hazards
relate to the potential occurrence of an extreme
storm, which could cause the erosion of the
foredune and the occurrence of overwashes.
Since most of the assumptions of the method are
embedded with a worst-case scenario approach, the
method has a conservative character, which is
benecial for coastal management purposes. For
more accurate predictions, detailed long-term data
coupled with a renement of coastal evolution
models, for both coastal changes and on-shore
wave parameters, would be necessary. However, the
periodic denition of the set-back lines tends to
attenuate some degree of uncertainty stemming
from the low quality/quantity (or absence) of some
key variables (e.g. depth of closure, or morphologic
changes induced by extreme storms). It is therefore
recommended that the method, if possible, should
be rened in the future, and reapplied every 510
years to the coastal areas of interest.
It is also important to stress that the denition of
set-back lines does not necessarily mean that it is
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