Organised by:

University of Parthenope, Italy
University of Las Palmas (Canary Islands), Spain
Wessex Institute of Technology, UK

Supported by:

WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment
ASCE UK Group
International Journal of Sustainable Development and Planning

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Objectives
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Following the success of the first conference on coastal processes held in Malta in 2009, it has been decided to reconvene the meeting at the University of Naples Parthenope in 2011.

Coastal regions present a complex dynamic web of natural and human related processes. Although coastal zones are narrow areas occupying a small part of oceans and lands, these regions play a very important role as they account for nearly a quarter of all oceanic biological production. About 60% of the human population live in coastal zones, and around 70% of big cities are placed in this narrow area. Concomitantly, more than 90% of the pollutants generated by human economic activities end up in the coastal zone.

The unstoppable demand of the coast for recreational and tourism activities has increased the need for shore and beach protection and, increasingly, the construction of artificial beaches, ports and harbours. Wind waves and wave driven currents are the dominant mechanisms controlling littoral sand transport and determining the nearshore morphology. In addition, many other physical phenomena, such as tides and associated currents, long waves and storm surges, among others, can play a significant role in the dynamic behaviour of the coastal zone.

Coastal zones represent potential sources of renewable energy coming from winds, waves, tides, currents and thermohaline gradients but they are also exposed to risks related to energy generation. Thus, for instance, extraction and transportation of hydrocarbons can give rise to tremendous ecological disasters. Furthermore, thermal and nuclear power plants are often located in the coastal zone and use large volumes of cooling water and discharge these into marine environments.

It is well known that distinctive features of the coastal zone dynamics are not only due to the nearshore hydrodynamics, but also to the complex local behaviour of the atmospheric dynamics. As a result, complex interactions occur between the atmosphere, ocean and land, inducing large temporal and spatial variations in air-sea exchange processes. Due to its great socio-economic importance, the physical aspects of coastal processes have been of concern for decades, but recent advances in a number of areas, including satellite remote sensing, are giving rise to significant progress in this field.

The ocean side of the coastal zone represents a very sensitive and particularly vulnerable sector of the ocean to any kind of man-made action or natural extreme events. Consequently, the problem of environmental protection and conservation takes special relevance in this zone, and any decision concerning its viability must be preceded by a forecast of its consequences. Their adequate prediction is only possible on the basis of a clear understanding and careful analysis of the fundamental dynamic processes occurring in such areas.

The problems are essentially interdisciplinary and scientists need to be able to exchange ideas with colleagues from other disciplines with a variety of different experiences.

The application of the principles of sustainable development on coastal zones, together with the need to protect the environment and control the mechanisms acting on them is the reason why this conference provides an interdisciplinary approach.

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Conference Topics
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* Wave modelling
* Wave transformation hydrodynamics
* Extreme events and sea level rise
* Sea defences
* Interaction between coastal defences and processes
* Energy recovery
* Hydrodynamic forces
* Sediment transport and erosion
* Pollution and dispersion
* Planning and beach design
* Coastal geomorphology
* Coastal processes and navigation
* Coastal processes and GIS
* Bio-physical coastal processes
* Great Lakes problems

For more information contact Beverley Copland, Conference Secretariat, at bcopland@wessex.ac.uk