Shoreline evolution and protection strategiesalong thetuscany coastline, Italy

The Tuscany coastline in Italy has experienced severe beach erosion since the latter part of the 19 century. The littoral sediment budget has been dramatically and negatively affected by changes in land use in the river basins and construction of shoreline defence structures and coastal infrastructure such as harbours. This paper synthesises the findings of coastal studies implementing cross shore profiles from the backshore to the 8m isobath, dry beach and nearshore sediment analyses, and photo-restitution of maps for the years 1938, 1954, 1967, 1978, 1985 and 1997/98. Elucidation of the littoral cell dynamics obtained from these data analyses highlights the morphological and sedimentological processes acting on the coast and recognition of both the natural and human influences working on local and regional scales. The results also illustrate the potential ineffectiveness of relying on traditional 'hard' engineering protection methods for ongoing mitigation strategies. It is hypothesized that in many cases, coarse clastic nourishment projects (under the framework of "Back-To-The-Beach" protection strategies) may offer a more viable and feasible option to all concerned parties. The modification of current protection structure configurations to more 'softer' options such as submergence is also currently being tested as a viable coastal zone management strategy deemed more appropriate to meet the criteria of recent policy changes for managing Italian coastlines.