Abstract
This paper presents a Coastal Vulnerability Assessment (CVA) of a microtidal beach located on the Ionian Sea in Calabria region (southern Italy) in order to examine the influence of the different run-up equations on CVA score and propose mitigation measures for the most vulnerable parts of the beach. The coastal area has been severely eroded by extreme wave storms, which have also damaged important archaeological structures located on a nearby cliff. A typical 1 year return period (Tr) storm, associated with the recent criticalities, was chosen to test the different run-up formulas (Holman (1986), Mase (1989) Stockdon et al. (2006) and Poate et al. (2016)) on a number of beach profiles in order to check the sensitivity of the CVA calculation with regard to the different run-up equations. The obtained results provide evidence that different run-up levels often give rise to different CVA scores. Based on vulnerability results, some mitigation measures have been proposed for the beach in front of the archaeological area, based on submerged detached breakwater and an adherent gabion wall for the cliff defence.
Highlights
The complex multi-dimensional behaviour of coastal systems to a wide range of stresses and perturbations requires a strategic approach for the management of the coastal environment
The coastal vulnerability assessment (CVA) is based on the methodology firstly proposed by Di Paola et al [4], who calculated this index according to the following equation: Coastal Vulnerability Assessment (CVA) = IRu + IR + ID + E + T, (6)
The sensitivity of the coastal vulnerability assessment to different wave run-up formulas was examined with reference to a micro-tidal beach in front of an archaeological site
Summary
The complex multi-dimensional behaviour of coastal systems to a wide range of stresses and perturbations requires a strategic approach for the management of the coastal environment. The Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI), introduced by Gornitz [1], was based on seven physical variables, associated with inundation and erosion hazard related in a quantitative manner. This index, suitable for regional studies, was used by a number of researcher both in Mediterranean context, as De Leo et al [2] and Besio et al [3] and in ocean coastal sites as in Di Paola et al [4]. A more specific coastal hazard index, which needs local information in the Coastal Vulnerability With the addition of demographic variables, the CVI was transformed in the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) [5,6].
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