Talk:Coastal defense techniques
General remark
The contribution is a short but comprehensive introduction to the different techniques of coastal defense. However the term “defense” may lead to the interpretation that only “typical” defences are considered – while this contribution has a broader perspective and considers: Coastal technologies or strategies for resilient or safer coasts (this is a proposal for revising the title).
Comments and suggested improvements
Among the listed engineering technologies, the only completely innovative solution is the use of wave energy converters for coastal protection – first time for a systematic verification of the effects on incident wave height considering multiple installations. The paragraphs “Improving existing defense structures (see main articles of the Coastal Wiki)” and “Developing innovative new techniques (see articles from the THESEUS official deliverable)” should be merged. As far as ecologically mitigation measures are concerned, the title should be shortened into “Natural habitats for coastal protection”; in this paragraph, the list of mitigations should be included and then the link to related articles. Social and economic dimension is missed. Insurance schemes, Spatial planning, Enhancement of social resilience, Business recovery actions, etc. are some examples of the measures examined within THESEUS. Only WP 2 is listed but ecologically based mitigation measures are examined in WP 3 and social and economic strategies are under exam in WP 4. The sentence “These objectives are measurable and verifiable as the projects show steady progression from innovative concepts through modelling to verified results” reported here has no meaning and has to be removed. The sentence “A risk based approach, based on the climate scenarios developed within THESEUS Work Package 1 as well as literature review, is applied” is not complete. The technologies were analysed considering a scenarios approach based on the short (2020), medium (2050) and long term (2080) climate conditions developed within WP 1. The technologies have been integrated in a holistic risk assessment model and multi-criteria decision making has been applied to select the sustainable defence strategy. The sentence “All progresses with physical model testing, numerical modeling and selected prototype activities within THESEUS follow a verifiable design methodology and the best practices for innovative defences will be documented.” has to be updated. THESEUS major outcomes are going to be synthesised in guidelines on coastal risk assessment and mitigation in a changing climate, to be published by Elsevier. The best combination of mitigation options in study sites is being analysed through a GIS based decision support system whose application will be delivered through the project website.
