Coastal monitoring
Human intervention, such as dredging, beach nourishment or jetty construction, alters the near coastal morphodynamic, with the aim to preserve the present coastal status. Coastal management aims at mitigating human impact by assessing the risks of long and short-term changes, under the prism of optimal coastal zone use. Additionally, the monitoring of the near coastal bathymetry is of vital importance for security in shipping and the detection of oil pollution. Consequently coastal monitoring programs, assisted by innovative instruments and techniques, assess coastal status through the measurement of environmental parameters. In order to assess the status and possible risks within the environment of the coastal zone, actual thematic information is needed. The OROMA project (Operational Optical and Radar Mapping of coastal zones) met this challenge by establishing methods for monitoring and mapping near coastal bathymetry and related environmental parameters. The OROMA team focused on converting scientific knowledge into actual thematic information to be distributed via an electronic network. An integrated system was developed for an IT network which connected responsible experts in coastal management, monitoring agencies and interested public to a centralised data base system. The stakeholders have access to the database through a password login using a graphical user interface, accessible through the Internet. The feedback gathered during interactive sessions from coastal managers and scientist ensures that such a system includes all the essential functions necessary to present bathymetry and water quality information in a correct, succinct manner. The technologies developed during OROMA can unite with other EU projects outcomes to form water Quality Service addressed to the national monitoring agencies responsible for implementing EU Directives.
