Barbara Proença

• PhD
• Senior Geophysical and Ecology Specialist at HAEDES

The sea-level rise and intensification of extreme weather events pose a significant threat to coastal regions and their communities worldwide. With significant wave heights reaching over 5 m, and wave periods over 10 s (Mendes & Oliveira, 2021), the Portuguese coastline is exposed to major coastal erosion, due to the marine harsh conditions of the...

Due to the increase in world population over the past 30 years, the overall demand for food is expected to increase over the next few decades. To meet the additional demand for food, the world will need to increase global food production by 70% by 2050. In addition, population growth, which will be most noticeable in typically more attractive coast...

In this study, numerical modelling investigations were performed to assess whether aquatic vegetation can be used to mitigate two coastal engineering problems. The first problem is sedimentation on navigation channels in estuaries. The second problem is wave overtopping of coastal defence structures on wave-dominated beaches. Regarding the first pr...

Field measurements of bed elevation and related wave events were performed within a tidal marsh, on two cordgrass species, Spartina anglica (exotic) and Spartina maritima (native), in the Bay of Arcachon (SW France). Bed- and water-level time series were used to infer on the sediment behavior patterns from short to long term. A consistent response...

Spartina anglica is a hybrid exotic cordgrass that inhabits coastal salt marshes. This species arrived in the Bay of Arcachon in the 1980s and since has importantly colonized the salt marshes and tidal flats formerly only occupied by the native Spartina maritima and Zostera noltei, respectively. This work aims at understanding, with an interdiscipl...

An early assessment of biological invasions is important for initiating conservation strategies. Instrumental progress in high spatial resolution (HSR) multispectral satellite sensors greatly facilitates ecosystems’ monitoring capability at an increasingly smaller scale. However, species detection is still challenging in environments characterized...

Questions Invasiveness depends in part on the ability of exotic species to either exclude native dominants or to fill an empty niche. Comparisons of niches and effects of closely related native and invasive species enable the investigation of this topic. Does Spartina anglica invade European salt marshes through competitive exclusion of the native...

In the Portuguese southern coast, national and international appeal turns it into a highly relevant area concerning the country's economy. Vale do Lobo is a resort located in the centre of this coast, where the beach has been suffering from erosion problems for several years now. Local interventions have been executed in order to prevent the erosio...