Morphodynamic feedback of estuarine margins to climate change. The Morfeed project.

Abstract

Due to the increase in human occupation, estuarine margins are particularly vulnerable to climate variability and climate change effects. From the adaptation and mitigation perspectives and in accordance with European Directives, knowledge-based predictions are needed to sustain planning and management tools. The project MorFeed - /Morphodynamic feedback of estuarine margins to climate change/,//presented in this paper, aims at improving the current understanding on estuarine margins response to climate change impacts. Considering different spatial scales of approach and the specific dynamic variability of estuarine margins, the final goal of the project is the development of a conceptual model for morphological response to climate change and anthropic intervention scenarios. The project followed a multidisciplinary and integrative approach, in which predictions of estuarine evolution were based not only on the knowledge of present day dynamics, but also on past evolutionary trends. The Tagus estuary, located in the western Portuguese coast, was considered an appropriate testbed for this approach due to its particular hidro-morphological characteristics and environmental and socio-economic relevance.