Online the video about the pilot case in Patras

The first available educational video deals with the Gulf of Patras, which has been selected within the Triton project as a pilot area for the creation of the “Coastal Erosion Observatory” in the Region of Western Greece, because it is affected by relevant coastal erosion phenomena.

Climate change impacts across the shoreline, mapping and prioritization of coastal erosion risk in protected areas and influence on coastal morphodynamics are among the tests and studies that were performed in the selected pilot area.

The video shows the equipments and explains the methodology used for monitoring the coastal erosion evolution. Video interviews with: Fokion Zaimis, Deputy Governor of Entrepreneurship, Research and Innovation of Region of Western Greece Nikos Depountis, George Papatheodorou and Konstantinos Nikolakopoulos, University of Patras. The research area in the Gulf of Patras

Coastal areas of Western Greece are affected by widespread coastal erosion causing social and economic problems as loss of coastal land, destruction of coastal infrastructures and impacting on tourism industry through partial or total loss of beaches. According to studies, the phenomenon of erosion is becoming more pronounced in some specific areas near Patras.

In some areas from 1965 until today beach widths of up to 26 meters have been lost while the river Pyros has lost estuaries of 100 meters wide.

Through the Triton project the Gulf of Patras has been selected as a research area because across its coastline (which is quite 55 Km long) serious problems of erosion have been detected in different parts.

One goal of the project is to investigate what is happening in that area with different equipments, to explore the properties of soils and areas where the sediment is being transported through high wave of currents and detect which areas need more protection.

The model observatory of coastal erosion include equipments as a wave data buoy system, a weather station and a tideograph, a vessel used for the bathymetric survey, a motion sensor and a heading sensor used for the recording of the vessel movements, echosounders, drones to take aerial photographs to map all the shoreline and to make comparison with previous aerial photographs from past years.

The aim of the installation is to facilitate the collection of useful data and the monitoring of coastal erosion in the Region and thus to aid the development and adoption of necessary measures for addressing the phenomenon.

Link to the video