nature-based solutions and climate adaptation for the metropolitan beach of barcelona

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Nature-based solutions and climate-adaptation for west Mediterranean urban beaches

Rationale:

• Beach sand: a scarce natural resource, within an altered morphodynamic environment, providing huge amounts of ES, but without an comprehensive integrated management plan.

• Current management system does not include emerged sand management.

• Recent storm events show a relevant vulnerability that will increase with climatic change.

SIZE MATTERS

The 15,5 km of public beaches at the Llobregat delta amount only 2.370.000 m3

of backshore and dunes, less than the 12% of the replenishment of the Sand Engine experiment at the Netherlands.

SIZE MATTERS

Very few sand, with no sand inflow after the construction of the new port dyke entering into the sea 1,8 km. No more sand arriving from the river. No sand cleaning by the sea, as it is a micro tidal environment.

SIZE MATTERSVery few sand but:

• Delivering huge amounts of ES.

• The most visited landscape of Catalonia.

• Densities arriving to 500 sun-bathers/100m.

• The “brandscape” of the Metropolitan Area of Barcelona.

PURPOSE:

• Can an ES-based management plan aim to achieve a resilient beach in front of climatic change?

• Explore the limits of the dune construction as a NBS.

SCOPE:

• Information sources

• What kind of sand needed?

• How much dry sand needed?

High resolution LIDAR (1 point/m2)

Wave environment & wind direction

Wind intensity, direction and seasonality

Satellite imaginery and flights, one of them only 4 days after the biggest storm in 15 years.

Geotagged photos

And citizen science opportunity

Basic elements of a beach

Basic elements of a beach Size needs for intensive use

Dry sand anywhere over 1,2 m height.

Sewage dischargeWashover flooding

Limit of windscouring

Low energy wave limit

Minimum volume needed to cope with the highest density of sunbathers found on fieldwork: 4.950 m3 /100 m beach stretch (if slope optimized!).

Urbanized areas with less than 5.000m3 of sand, and without dunes

Relevant drivers:

Dyke south-west

Pets

Intensive social use-Mechanical sand screening

Coastal regression Climatic

changeSand inflow interruption

100.000 m3 of beach nourishment each year

The expected sand transport model within the sand nourishment project did not work.

Analysis:Processes triggered by the most determinant drivers:

• Concave beaches.• Beaches losing natural recovering capacity.• Beach regression.• Limits on dune formation and management.

Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) shows how the construction of the Dyke has affected the whole beach System.

Extensive beach widening Coastal regression

DSAS analysis show how 69% of the beaches have widened from 2004, when the construction of the dyke ends.

Pressures:

At the SW half of the beaches, significant widening due to sediment accumulation by Port Ginesta

Mechanical sieving impedes vegetation growth. Strong winter winds scour the beach till arriving to the saturated level.

This process has lead to the loss of more than 42.000 m3 of sand in just the 6 year period (2008-14).

A process growing in intensity, frequency and affected area.

The concavity affected by wave overwash, but also by sewage on storm events.

The risk of a non linear response to sea level rise.

A process leading to other dysfunctions

Winter profiles that do not restore spontaneously

Pressures:

We have found that the process of scouring, which leads to higher sand loss, is related to beach slope (> 6%).

Wave d

ista

nce

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

1970-2003 2004-2016

group

Excluded Rows 3

1970-2003

2004-2016

Level

13

20

Number

59,2308

84,5000

Mean

13,8212

26,7001

Std Dev

3,8333

5,9703

Std Err Mean

50,879

72,004

Lower 95%

67,583

96,996

Upper 95%

Means and Std Dev iations

Onew ay Analysis of Wav e distance By group Probably sand nourishment operations increases the volume of sandbars and its distance to the shoreline, thus creating lower wave energy environments.

Not enough space for a ratio of 5m2/person and 500 visitors/100 m

More spectacular sand bars related to sand nourishment works from 2004 .

Slope determines vulnerability

When higher than 5%

A second storm, even of a much lower intensity, can scour a much bigger amount of sand. Leaving flat beaches with much less sand volume and increased vulnerability.

Finally the most exposed beaches keep enduring a continued erosion process.

Pressures:

2005

2017

Slow but constant

Pressures:

The role of dunes:

Exploring their limits as Nature Based solution.

Dune erosion shows how that the root system of marram grass and other dune plants don’t oppose any resistance to erosion.

Marram grass (Ammophila arenaria) protects the coast by capturing sand

Biotic soil factors affecting the growth and development of Ammophila arenaria.

A negative feed back with vegetation cover increase.

The need of mobile and semi-mobile dunes.

Transverse dunes linked to summer winds

Mechanical sieving and intensive social use impedes the natural sand aeolian transport, but is only one of

the relevant factors

But wind still keeps its ability to erode dunes and uproot marram grass

Wind direction and its angle

with the shore leads to

different responses

Erosion risk areas can be thus determined. Relative slope is also a relevant factor.

We have developed a new system to transform marram grass plantings in to efficient sand-trapping

systems

Marram grass as natural capital (dune builder)

Marram grass as natural capital and core element of a nature based solution

Also by the design of “illegal” dunes (in geomorphologic terms!). Constructed dunes that are perpendicular to shoreline. Thus being able to capture winter sand transport (when a critical size has been achieved).

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

nº ½ h events>11knts 180º-270º

13

13.5

14

14.5

15

15.5

16

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Mean velocity knts

skn

t

12

14

16

18

20

22

24

26

28

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

Month

Excluded Rows 8761

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Level

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

Minimum

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

10%

13

13

13

13

13

12

13

13

12

13

12

12

25%

14,5

14

14

15

15

14

14

14

13

14

14

14

Median

17

17

17

18

17

16

16

15

15

16

16

15

75%

20

19

19

20

19

18

17

17

18

17

18

18

90%

27

25

28

25

25

25

25

20

22

21

25

24

Maximum

Quantiles

Rsquare

Adj Rsquare

Root Mean Square Error

Mean of Response

Observations (or Sum Wgts)

0,043359

0,04181

2,602155

14,80318

6803

Summary of Fit

Month

Error

C. Total

Source

11

6791

6802

DF

2084,166

45983,285

48067,451

Sum of Squares

189,470

6,771

Mean Square

27,9817

F Ratio

<,0001

Prob > F

Analysis of Variance

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Level

400

558

610

748

889

702

831

691

393

381

324

276

Number

15,3900

15,0771

15,1328

15,7527

15,3127

14,3533

14,4079

14,0883

14,2494

14,2887

14,6389

14,2717

Mean

0,13011

0,11016

0,10536

0,09514

0,08727

0,09821

0,09027

0,09899

0,13126

0,13331

0,14456

0,15663

Std Error

15,135

14,861

14,926

15,566

15,142

14,161

14,231

13,894

13,992

14,027

14,355

13,965

Lower 95%

15,645

15,293

15,339

15,939

15,484

14,546

14,585

14,282

14,507

14,550

14,922

14,579

Upper 95%

Std Error uses a pooled estimate of error variance

Means for Onew ay Anova

Onew ay Anova

Onew ay Analysis of sknt By Month

0

500

1000

1500

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

nº 1/2h events >11 knots 270º-360º

skn

t

12

14

16

18

20

22

24

26

28

30

32

34

1 2 3 4 5 6

7

8

9

10 11 12

Month

Excluded Rows 10182

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Level

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

Minimum

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

10%

12

12

13

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

12

25%

13

14

14

13

13

13

13

13

13

13

13

13

Median

15

16

17

15

14

14

14

14

15

14,25

14

15

75%

17

18,7

20

16

17

16,3

15

15

19

16

16

16

90%

34

25

29

20

24

21

19

24

31

21

23

28

Maximum

Quantiles

Rsquare

Adj Rsquare

Root Mean Square Error

Mean of Response

Observations (or Sum Wgts)

0,040347

0,038382

2,450314

14,02267

5382

Summary of Fit

Month

Error

C. Total

Source

11

5370

5381

DF

1355,557

32241,678

33597,234

Sum of Squares

123,232

6,004

Mean Square

20,5249

F Ratio

<,0001

Prob > F

Analysis of Variance

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

Level

1196

872

437

181

181

96

73

80

99

226

718

1223

Number

14,1756

14,4472

15,2334

13,7238

13,7569

13,7396

13,2055

13,1625

14,1717

13,6150

13,4123

13,7702

Mean

0,07085

0,08298

0,11721

0,18213

0,18213

0,25008

0,28679

0,27395

0,24627

0,16299

0,09144

0,07007

Std Error

14,037

14,285

15,004

13,367

13,400

13,249

12,643

12,625

13,689

13,296

13,233

13,633

Lower 95%

14,314

14,610

15,463

14,081

14,114

14,230

13,768

13,700

14,654

13,935

13,592

13,908

Upper 95%

Std Error uses a pooled estimate of error variance

Means for Onew ay Anova

Onew ay Anova

Onew ay Analysis of sknt By Month

12

12.5

13

13.5

14

14.5

15

15.5

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

mean velocity knts

Recommendations and results:

• Data driven adaptive management systems would work quite well.• 3D beach structure is as relevant as the total emerged sand volume.• Dune construction can be a core element of the sand budget management,

and a very efficient and effective nature based solution.• Dune construction must be balanced and complemented with other actions

like beach profile reconstruction (and beach slope control), and coastal lagoons excavation.

• A sound improvement of the governance system is needed.

Slope 2014

Volume 2014

Slope and its relation with emerged sand volume

Slope and its relation with vulnerability

Zones que escapen a la lògica de la correlació indiquen processos diferents: escarpaments permanents i cubetes inundables.

Allows to identify zones that do not follow the correlation trend: areas with permanent sand escarpments, and flood-prone concavities.

It is possible to have a global view of pressure trends and its response to management measures

Moving emerged dry sand is very cheap and effective!

A good way to protect coast against storm surges and erosion

Governance needs, transparency, social involvement .

Thank you very much

@volemdunes#volemduneslascurain@sgm.es

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