Monitoring of Coastal Evolution in Constanta and Eforie North Areas

Abstract

Following research carried out by research institutes as well as other institutions and international agencies which concluded that the southern part of the Romanian shoreline is constantly under attack by erosion, reaching measured land loss rates of up to 2 meters per year which in turn impacts litoral ecosystems, overall safety, businesses, livelihood and living quality, the Dobrogea-Litoral Water Basin Administration contracted technical assistance in order to devise a coastal zone management strategy (Coastal Zone Master Plan[1]).

The whole coastal area between the Chilia branch of the river Danube to the north and the Vama Veche locality to the south was analyzed, studies in multiple fields were carried out including hydraulic modelling and a diagnostic analysis of the erosion process and it`s effects on the environment was made. The results of these studies laid the base for a coastal zone management strategy over the span of the following 30 years. Conclusions of the master plan were that the northern unit was not an immediate priority from the point of view of the erosion, the coastline was more stable and less human presence. The southern unit, however, was classified as being under the intense influence of coastal erosion and thus determined the introduction of short-term structural measures materialized through the completion of the first phase of the “Reduction of Coastal Erosion” major project. Total length of protected coastline is 7.3 kilometers, and the works were finalized in 2015. Since then, we have been investigating the evolution of the morphology of the coast area (shoreline) and modifications due to natural and human factors by means of photogrammetry and GNSS on a UAV and underwater echo sounders. In addition, other factors such as water biology, chemistry and even beach sand grain size were also monitored to create a better image of the coastline evolution.