Sand bag barriers for coastal protection along the Emilia Romagna littoral, Northern Adriatic Sea, Italy

Abstract

Beach nourishments protected by submerged sand bag barriers have been largely used in Emilia Romagna (Italy), whose low and sandy coast faces the relatively mild Northern Adriatic Sea. The paper, after a brief description of the eight projects of this type realised in the last 25 years along the Emilia Romagna littoral, details the case study of Riccione Southern beach. The performance of the defence is described by means of cross-shore profiles, bathymetries, collection of sediment samples, underwater pictures, monitoring of environmental conditions and performed maintenance. The combined analysis of the available data suggests that the sand bag barrier may stabilise the position of the natural sandy bar and ultimately the beach profil

Experimentally Based Model to Size the Geometry of a New OWC Device, with Reference to the Mediterranean Sea Wave Environment

“…Total energy is 2.5 kW average. In several beaches of the Southern coast of Emilia Romagna, low impact innovative solutions have been tested [29] as alternative to traditional barriers or groynes for coastal protection, gaining the approval of stakeholders. The expected reduction of the waves incident the coastline would very likely be welcome and it could build up to the effect of the existing submerged sand bag barriers.…”

“…The power per unit width is multiplied by the corresponding CW. Using the hypothesis 1 in [29] (i.e., when the available power exceeds 3 kW, the turbine is operated at this rate, and part of the flow is diverted to the atmosphere), the device can convert 1340 W in average (yearly production of 11.7 MhW/year), corresponding to a capacity factor of 0.4 (i.e., as if the turbine produced energy for 40% of the time).…”

Vulnerability Analysis of the Venetian Littoral and Adopted Mitigation Strategy

“…The expected piling up [46] and wave transmission [47] are small. It is considered effective in stabilising the cross-section profile, since breaking always occurs at the same point, and therefore the bar is stabilised, minimising the offshore CST associated with offshore bar migration [48]. For very large CST (case "a" in Figure 3), a more effective solution is required.…”

Coastal erosion problem, modelling and protection

“…Besides, having a relatively low wave energy coastal environment, the coast of the Delta is found to be suitable for the use of gabions, which are increasingly being used as an alternative and an environmentally friendly solution to coastal erosion problems around the world. In line with integrated coastal zone management issues, and particularly considering the environmental and aesthetic impact of coastal defenses, the use of low crested structures, and more specifically geosynthetics or gabion boxes, for coastal protection has recently increased (Martinelli et al 2011;Mori et al 2008;Pilarczyk 2000;Alvareza et al 2007). Construction of low crested barriers by gabion boxes (soft coastal defense structures) has some advantages compared to rock and concrete (hard coastal defense structures) such as better resistance to sinking since the load is evenly distributed and the compactness of the final structure.…”