scholarly journals Exploring the partial use of the Mo.S.E. system as effective adaptation to rising flood frequency of Venice

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (12) ◽  
pp. 3629-3644
Author(s):  
Riccardo A. Mel
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Venice Lagoon ◽  
Flood Frequency ◽  
Tidal Range ◽  
Relative Sea Level ◽  
Relative Sea Level Rise ◽  
Set Up ◽  
Flooding Events ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. The Venice lagoon (Italy) is particularly vulnerable to the impact of subsidence and sea level rise driven by climate change. Some structural measures have been adopted over time to protect Venice from flooding, among which a system of flap gates (Experimental Electromechanical Module, Mo.S.E., system) has been operational in the testing phase since October 2020. However, relative sea level rise and wind set-up pose relevant management challenges, as a frequent closing of the lagoon would have negative impacts on flushing capacity, the fishing industry, and port activities. Here, the focus is on the hydrodynamic effects of a partial closure of the Mo.S.E. barriers that, compared to closing all the three inlets of the lagoon, could play a role in reducing the economic and environmental impacts of the Mo.S.E. system. The main goal is to identify the flooding events that can be counteracted by closing only the Lido inlet, which is the closest to the city of Venice. Based on the tidal and meteorological dataset collected in the period 2000–2019, a robust modelling exercise identifies a linear relationship between tidal range and reduction of the sea level peaks, which results in the protection of all urban settlements within the lagoon from two-thirds of the flooding events up to a relative sea level rise of +0.4 m.

scholarly journals Exploring the partial use of the Mo.S.E. system as effective adaptation to rising flood frequency of Venice

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Riccardo Alvise Mel
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Venice Lagoon ◽  
Optimal Operation ◽  
Relative Sea Level ◽  
Relative Sea Level Rise ◽  
Structural Measures ◽  
Flooding Events ◽  
The Impact

Abstract. In times of climate change the impact of coastal hazards should be mitigated by identifying and implementing effective adaptation strategies, encompassing a balanced mix of structural and non-structural measures based on high level scientific knowledge. Due to its hydro-geological features, the Venice lagoon (Italy) is particularly vulnerable to climate change. Some structural measures have been adopted over time to protect Venice from flooding, among which a system of flap gates (Mo.S.E. system) has been operational under testing phase since October 2020. However, relative sea level rise and wind setup pose relevant management challenges, as a frequent closing of the lagoon would have negative impacts on flushing capacity, fishing industry and port activities. Hence, optimal operation rules for the existing control structure are searched to anticipate and to adapt to a possible acceleration of sea level rise induced by climate change. Here, the focus is on the hydrodynamic effects of a partial closure of the Mo.S.E. barriers that, with respect to closing all the three inlets of the Lagoon, could play a role in reducing the economic and environmental impacts of the Mo.S.E. system. The main goal is to identify the flooding events that can be counteracted by closing only the Lido inlet, which is the closest to the city of Venice. Based on the tidal and meteorological dataset collected in the period 2000–2019, a robust modelling exercise indicates that the closing of the Lido inlet only would protect the Venice lagoon from two third of the flooding events up to a relative sea level rise of +0.4 m.

Assessment of the sensitivity of the southern coast of the Gulf of Corinth (Peloponnese, Greece) to sea-level rise

2012 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Efthimios Karymbalis ◽  
Christos Chalkias ◽  
George Chalkias ◽  
Eleni Grigoropoulou ◽  
George Manthos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Tidal Range ◽  
Sensitivity Index ◽  
Southern Coast ◽  
Gis Technology ◽  
Relative Sea Level ◽  
Gulf Of Corinth ◽  
Rise Rate ◽  
Relative Sea Level Rise

AbstractThe eustatic sea-level rise due to global warming is predicted to reach approximately 18–59 cm by the year 2100, which necessitates the identification and protection of sensitive sections of coastline. In this study, the classification of the southern coast of the Gulf of Corinth according to the sensitivity to the anticipated future sealevel rise is attempted by applying the Coastal Sensitivity Index (CSI), with variable ranges specifically modified for the coastal environment of Greece, utilizing GIS technology. The studied coastline has a length of 148 km and is oriented along the WNW-ESE direction. CSI calculation involves the relation of the following physical variables, associated with the sensitivity to long-term sea-level rise, in a quantifiable manner: geomorphology, coastal slope, relative sea-level rise rate, shoreline erosion or accretion rate, mean tidal range and mean wave height. For each variable, a relative risk value is assigned according to the potential magnitude of its contribution to physical changes on the coast as the sea-level rises. Every section of the coastline is assigned a risk ranking based on each variable, and the CSI is calculated as the square root of the product of the ranked variables divided by the total number of variables. Subsequently, a CSI map is produced for the studied coastline. This map showed that an extensive length of the coast (57.0 km, corresponding to 38.7% of the entire coastline) is characterized as highly and very highly sensitive primarily due to the low topography, the presence of erosionsusceptible geological formations and landforms and fast relative sea-level rise rates. Areas of high and very high CSI values host socio-economically important land uses and activities.

scholarly journals New Estimation of the Post Little Ice Age Relative Sea Level Rise

Geosciences ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (8) ◽  
pp. 348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Pascucci ◽  
Gabriela Frulio ◽  
Stefano Andreucci
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Little Ice Age ◽  
Ice Age ◽  
Tidal Range ◽  
Relative Sea Level ◽  
Geotechnical Characteristics ◽  
Relative Sea Level Rise ◽  
The City ◽  
New Buildings

The study area is located in NW Sardinia Island (Italy), Mediterranean Sea. Sardinia is considered stable since the late Pliocene with a negligible subsidence of about 0.01 mm/y. It is therefore normally used to reconstruct the Pleistocene and Holocene sea level curves. Our research focusses on the sea-facing city of Alghero that from 1353 to 1720 was under the Spanish government. During this time, the city was renovated and new buildings edified. Dimension stones were quarried all around Alghero both in the nearby inland and along the coast. Coastal quarries were considered the most suitable for both rock quality and the easiest way to transport the quarried material by boat. The quarried rocks are late Pleistocene dune and beach sandstones deposited from the 132 ka (Marine Isotopic Stage—MIS5) to about 65 ka (MIS4). Sandstones crop out from few cm to 3 m above the present sea level and underwent several consolidation processes related to loading and marine weathering. This latter favoured dissolution and circulation of calcium carbonate which cemented the rocks. It is reported that the Spanish were looking for these “marine” sandstones for their high geotechnical characteristics. Different rules were adopted through time for the size of the dimension stones and this has allowed us to establish a quarry exploitation chronology. For example, “40 × 60 × 20” cm was the size of the dimension stones used for the Alghero Cathedral dated at 1505–1593. Nowadays most of the coastal Spanish quarry floors are 30 centimetres below mean sea level (tidal range is 30 cm). Accordingly, we infer that relative sea level from 1830 AD (and of the Little Ice Age) rose in about 200 years to the present level at the rate of about 1.4 mm/y. Considering that relative sea level rise during the Medieval warm period was of 0.6 mm/y over a period of about 400 years, we may deduce that human influence was strong enough to lead to a relative sea-level rise faster and in shorter time.

Relative sea level rise and Venice lagoon wetlands

1998 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-34 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. W. Day ◽  
A. Rismondo ◽  
F. Scarton ◽  
D. Are ◽  
G. Cecconi
Keyword(s):  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Venice Lagoon ◽  
Relative Sea Level ◽  
Relative Sea Level Rise

Submergence, nutrient enrichment, and tropical storm impacts on Spartina alterniflora in the microtidal northern Gulf of Mexico

2020 ◽  
Vol 644 ◽  
pp. 33-45
Author(s):  
JM Hill ◽  
PS Petraitis ◽  
KL Heck
Keyword(s):  
Gulf Of Mexico ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Spartina Alterniflora ◽  
Anthropogenic Impacts ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Relative Sea Level ◽  
Hurricane Disturbance ◽  
Submergence Stress ◽  
Relative Sea Level Rise

Salt marshes face chronic anthropogenic impacts such as relative sea level rise and eutrophication, as well as acute disturbances from tropical storms that can affect the productivity of these important communities. However, it is not well understood how marshes already subjected to eutrophication and sea level rise will respond to added effects of episodic storms such as hurricanes. We examined the interactive effects of nutrient addition, sea level rise, and a hurricane on the growth, biomass accumulation, and resilience of the saltmarsh cordgrass Spartina alterniflora in the Gulf of Mexico. In a microtidal marsh, we manipulated nutrient levels and submergence using marsh organs in which cordgrasses were planted at differing intertidal elevations and measured the impacts of Hurricane Isaac, which occurred during the experiment. Prior to the hurricane, grasses at intermediate and high elevations increased in abundance. After the hurricane, all treatments lost approximately 50% of their shoots, demonstrating that added nutrients and elevation did not provide resistance to hurricane disturbance. At the end of the experiment, only the highest elevations had been resilient to the hurricane, with increased above- and belowground growth. Added nutrients provided a modest increase in above- and belowground growth, but only at the highest elevations, suggesting that only elevation will enhance resilience to hurricane disturbance. These results empirically demonstrate that S. alterniflora in microtidal locations already subjected to submergence stress is less able to recover from storm disturbance and suggests we may be underestimating the loss of northern Gulf Coast marshes due to relative sea level rise.

Relative sea-level rise and climate change over the last 1500 years

Terra Nova ◽  
1992 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 293-304 ◽  
Author(s):  
J.C. Varekamp ◽  
E. Thomas ◽  
O. Plassche
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Relative Sea Level ◽  
Relative Sea Level Rise
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