Melhoria das estruturas costeiras e portuárias para promover a resiliência costeira, a melhoria ecológica e a ligação da comunidade com a orla marítima.

The aim of COASTLIFE is to produce consistent scientific findings, guidelines, and tools concerning both ecological and engineering aspects of NBS/hybrid solutions. These insights will encompass present-day conditions as well as the impacts of climate change, focusing on the performance of NBS/hybrid infrastructure solutions. To achieve this goal the project aims and challenges to be met are: 1.Coastline Assessment and Habitat Enhancement Strategies i)Assessment of rocky shore communities, including the identification of keystone species that provide habitat for other species (e.g. mussel beds, algal canopies, beds of red algae and Sabellaria reefs), and non-indigenous species that threaten the diversity of coastal areas, for the Portuguese west coast. Recommendations will be provided on how to identify target-species that qualify for habitat enhancement, and the characteristics of their habitat preferences. 2.Sea-State Sequences and Climate Change Scenarios i)Application and description of established procedures to define sequences of sea-state characteristics associated with the climate change scenarios, to be applied in physical and numerical modeling. 3.Co-Design and Co-Development and Engineering Guidance i)Design/develop ECOblocks, for cube-type and rock-type armour layers, adapted to the target-species. -Define criteria and configurations to assess the ecological suitability of ECOblocks by relating hydrodynamic properties to the target-species habitats (e.g. placement, type, size); ii)Incorporate innovative approaches that have not yet been streamlined into architectural design for upgraded structures: -Test and development of new designs, to connect with and get closer to the water, with public access to hard and softscapes and green infrastructure elements, while providing safe and inclusive spaces for all individuals; -Promote an integrated approach to the comprehension of the human occupation processes, through the various cultural (social, economic and political) as well as biophysical factors that determine them; -Enhancing the connection of the local community with the intervened coastal front, through the support of the local economic activities, as well as a pedagogical approach towards the coastal ecosystems. iii)Test and define the levels of function and metrics for upgraded structures: -Identify thresholds of functionality; -Evaluate longevity of performance of NBS/hybrid solutions solutions (structure's long-term response); -Defining equivalent functions in NBS/hybrid solutions performance compared to grey solutions; iv)Select and identify the most effective/economical combination of techniques, instrumentation and data analysis, in the 2D/3D physical experiments. -Guidelines on physical model setup, geometrical scale, and application of techniques and instrumentation; -Guidelines to produce scaled ECOblocks molds (3D printer) and blocks, to be tested in the physical model; v)Calibrate/validate 2D numerical models for wave structure interaction -Guidelines on the application of numerical models to access the performance of the proposed upgraded structures under wave attack, so that it will be possible to model the structure's long-term response. 4.Field testing, installation and monitoring i)Comparison of innovative and traditional materials -Deployment of 12 trials to complete baseline monitoring, help identify optimal surface textures and determine colonization rates and species type.