A Multi-source Geospatial Framework for Assessing Coastal Risks and Cascading Processes into the COASTLINE Project

After the Second World War, the coastal areas have been subjected to a wide range of hazards, including human activities, geomorphological changes, and hydrodynamic forcing, which have molded their shapes and generated non-linear risk patterns. Nevertheless, most of the existing approaches assess hazards individually and do not explore the consequences of their interaction. To go beyond these constraints, this work introduces a novel geospatial pipeline for assessing risks in coastal environments, including cascading processes through the integration of heterogeneous data sources. The proposed framework is based on the integration of multi-source data (satellite observations, UAV surveys, in situ, and geophysical datasets), which are incorporated in a structured data fusion process, along with the evaluation of hazard dependency and propagation. This methodology is tested on three case studies in order to derive spatial indicators of hazard intensity and risk amplification. The results show that this approach allows for improving the detection of critical areas, elements at risk, exposure, and vulnerability. In contrast to conventional methods, this approach provides a more comprehensive representation of coastal zones. Additionally, the methodology is designed to be scalable and transferable, supporting the planning of adaptation and mitigation strategies.