Multicriteria Model for Prospective Locations for Sediment Dump Sites Coastal Dunes Management: Case Study from Barroquinha City, Northeast Brazil

Abstract

Coastal zones are attractive for the development of economic interests (real estate and tourism) and are intensely occupied in a disorderly manner. Development in areas with available sediments can lead to conflicts between the natural movement of dunes and cities and communities and may result in burial processes. In addition, natural structures, such as dunes, play key roles in protecting against coastal erosion by balancing the beach-dune system with the sediment input, thus slowing the erosion process. This study aims to determine suitable areas for creating dune field dump sites in Barroquinha, Ceará, northeastern Brazil. The results showed that along the study area, the places with the greatest viability for creating dump sites were those furthest from the urban and permanent protection areas. In the stretch connecting Barroquinha City to the Bitupitá community on the CE-187 highway, 45 deposition points were monitored across five sectors under different environmental conditions. Sectors 2, 3, and 4 showed good responses to sediment fixation, in agreement with what was presented in the locational feasibility model. These results add to the discussion on urban infrastructure burying processes, making important contributions to urban planning and management in coastal areas. The results of this study will form an integral part of the Regional Contingency Plan for Incidents and/or situations of risk of environmental impacts in the coastal and/or oceanic zones of Ceará, which was conceived by the Chief Environment Scientist Program of Ceará State and contributes to the Action Plan against burying infrastructure by dune fields.