The spatial and temporal variability of the coastline, and in particular beaches, is something that can only be studied continuously by remote systems capable of carrying out a continuous and detailed study.

The processes associated with morpho-dynamic changes in beaches have still not been studied sufficiently due to the difficulty in maintaining for long periods instrumentation capable of analysing the surf zone, characterised by high variability and elevated turbulence.

Classic experiments (pressure sensors and Doppler current meters, etc.) provide high-quality information but their high cost and limited coverage make them unviable for studying large coastal areas and complex systems such as beaches.

So, the past five years have seen the appearance of systems capable of not only covering coastal areas, but also inferring processes and dynamics using some derived variables. These systems, based on remote sensing, analyse photographs gained from a fixed system of cameras with a high shot frequency, allowing us to obtain measurements on a wide range of spatial (from centimetres to kilometres) and temporal scales (seconds to months).

 

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Team

Principal Investigator:

Alejandro Orfila (I1)

Other investigators:

Guillermo Vizoso

Tomeu Garau

Alberto Álvare

Amaya Alvare

Gonzalo Simarro

Gabriel Oliver

,Joaquín Tintoré