Events

01.032025

Innovative approaches to coastal protection - a new project in the Department of Hydrology and Hydrodynamics

The EcoC2S project aims to develop a holistic flood risk assessment approach. It will focus on quantifying the contribution of natural systems, such as wetlands, mangroves, and retention basins, which absorb excess water and slow its flow, as well as semi-natural infrastructure solutions that support flood protection in transitional and coastal areas. The project also involves the co-creation and further implementation of resilient pathways based on ecosystem services.

Coastal and transitional systems play a crucial role in natural flood protection. However, climate change effects intensify hazards in flood-prone areas, putting additional physical pressure on ecosystem services while also affecting social systems. This creates an urgent need for reliable risk assessment, management, and communication methods.

EcoC2S will establish a two-tier Community of Practices, bringing together project partners and external stakeholders to facilitate co-learning and co-design. This scheme will ensure the transferability of results to other international contexts and support their dissemination. It will initiate exchange and learning processes among stakeholders in case studies as well as at trans-project and EU levels.

Project Objectives

  • Co-defining knowledge gaps and scenarios with stakeholders.
  • Characterizing the joint behavior of geophysical conditions in the catchment with atmospheric and marine drivers at the coast.
  • Developing an integrated modeling framework that includes eco-morphodynamic effects on compound flood hazards.
  • Analyzing the long-term eco-morphological evolution driven by interactions between vegetation dynamics, water flow, and sediment transport.
  • Establishing a framework that guides the development of long-term mitigation measures and management strategies.

Funding and Project Partners

The project is funded under the Water4All 2023 Joint Transnational Call, with the Institute of Geophysics PAS receiving funding from the National Centre for Research and Development (NCBR, Poland).

Project duration: March 1, 2025 – February 29, 2028
Total budget: 1,165,800 EUR
Institute of Geophysics PAS budget: 198,250 EUR
Principal investigator: Assoc. Prof. Michael Nones

Project Partners:

  • University of Granada (Spain)
  • Polytechnic University of Marche (Italy)
  • Universidade Lusófona (Portugal)
  • Institute of Geophysics PAS (Poland)
  • Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Germany)
  • University of Santiago de Compostela (Spain)

Expected Outcomes

  • 3+ scientific articles
  • 8+ presentations at national and international conferences
  • 3+ workshops with stakeholders
  • 2+ lay reports for stakeholders

EcoC2S will provide knowledge and tools to support flood risk assessment and the development of strategies for protecting coastal regions from the impacts of climate change.