Innovative Strategies, Monitoring and Analysis of the Coastal Erosion Risk: The STIMARE Project

Coastal erosion processes are often due to inappropriate coastal defense strategies. The construction of infrastructures that interfere with the coastal circulation and the sediment transport along the coast (piers, docks, etc.), the destruction of the dunes and other anthropogenic modifications to the beach, are some of the factors that limit the adaptability of the beach system and amplify the risk of erosion and flooding of the coastal land. Coastal defense interventions have historically been based on the construction of rigid works (seawalls, groins, breakwaters, jetties, etc.), which, while protecting the territory, have often shifted the problem of erosion to the neighboring coasts. The paper will present the contents and the first findings of the research project STIMARE (Innovative strategies, monitoring and analysis of the coastal erosion risk), financed by the Italian Ministry of the Environment and the Sea (MATTM), aimed to define strategies for coastal management, based on a strong involvement of the stakeholders, and on the use of innovative or low-costs technologies for coastal monitoring. Methodology is based on data acquisition, numerical modelling, laboratory tests, physical and ecological monitoring. All the information and results will be discussed with the local stakeholders, in order to provide a comprehensive strategy for coastal protection, following the European Marine Strategy framework. The Project involves researchers from two important Universities in Italy (University of Bologna and Politecnico di Bari) and has a strong interdisciplinary approach, involving coastal engineers, urban planners, geologists, ecologists and mechanical engineers.