Abstract
The vulnerability of coastal areas is related to the existence and functionality of infrastructure. Ports have had increased activity in the last few decades due to growing needs of the market. At the same time, there have been huge changes in maritime traffic, and some ports are specialized in container traffic. The port in Valencia developed notably in the last expansions, in the 1980s and in the recent northern expansion. Valencia’s port specializes in container traffic, and has become a Mediterranean leader and the metropolitan area is an important logistics center. Ports can create coastal erosion by altering wave patterns. The environmental effects of the port of Valencia were analyzed. The Spanish Mediterranean coastline as well as morpho-dynamic units were monitored. The solid transport capacity to the north and south of the Valencia port was estimated, and the effects of other infrastructure on sedimentary sources of beaches were also studied. The port of Valencia’s barrier effect is responsible for the situation at the beaches to the north and south. This effect is total and impedes net sediment transport, predominantly to the south along the stretch of coastline. However, the port is not the only factor responsible for this situation, and the lack of continental sediments must also be considered. In addition, climate change has an influence on the behavior of the coastline. The vulnerability of the coast has increased due to changes in coastal morphology, variations in littoral transport rates, and coastal erosion. To promote sustainable port management, some correction measures, such as sand bypassing, dune rehabilitation, and dune vegetation, are proposed.
Highlights
Changes in the characteristics of maritime traffic have created a highly competitive environment among shipping ports [1,2]
The port of Valencia is situated in the center of a natural morpho-dynamic unit known as the Valencia Oval, confined on the north by the Ebro Delta and Cape St
The port of Valencia clearly forms a total barrier to sediment transport and its effects are defined
Summary
Changes in the characteristics of maritime traffic have created a highly competitive environment among shipping ports [1,2]. Between 1990 and 2007, before the last economic crisis prior to the pandemic, the average growth of the world’s GDP was 2.3% and, in the same period, external commerce grew by 8.2% [3,4] This was basically caused by the offshoring of industry in search of better productivity, entry into the market of new geographic areas, a reduction in transport costs due to technological advances and business organizations in the sector, the growing need of the markets for a supply of global products, and the increased acquisitive power of countries in economic transition, for example Eastern Europe, China, and the ASEAN countries [5,6,7,8]. In just a few decades, these operators grew from local public centers to global and private centers In addition to this phenomenon of concentration of terminals, all the important ones have become highly automated, there are many uncertainties [10]. Adaptation plans to climate change are being considered worldwide [12]
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