Giorgio Anfuso’s research while affiliated with Universidad de Cádiz and other places

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Publications (35)


The Effects of Anthropic Structures on Coastline Morphology: A Case Study from the Málaga Coast (Spain)
  • Article
  • Full-text available

February 2025

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58 Reads

Journal of Marine Science and Engineering

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Giorgio Anfuso

The Málaga coast, in the south of Spain, is a densely populated tourist destination where ports, marinas and coastal protection structures of various typologies (e.g., groins, breakwaters, revetments) and shapes (e.g., “Y”, “L”, etc., shaped groins) have been emplaced. Such structures have modified the long- and cross-shore sediment transport and produced changes in beach morphology and the evolution of nearby areas. To characterize the changes related to shore-normal structures, beach erosion/accretion areas close to coastal anthropic structures were measured using a sequence of aerial orthophotos between 1956 and 2019, and the potential littoral sediment transport for the two main littoral transport directions was determined by means of IT IS CORRECT BECAUSE IS A SPECIFIC NAME CMS (Coastal Modeling System). Available data on wave propagation and coastal sediment transport reflect the complex dynamics of the study area, often characterized by the coexistence of opposing longshore transport directions. Accretion was observed on both sides of ports in all studied periods and on both main coastal orientations. Groins and groups of groins presented mixed results that reflect the heterogeneity of the study area; in certain sectors where the wave regime is bidirectional, changes in shoreline trend were found from one period to another. The study cases described in this paper emphasize the difficulties in finding clear spatial and temporal trends in the artificially induced erosion/accretion patterns recorded along a heavily modified shoreline.

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Figure 1. Location map showing the seven studied sites with wave rose for Cadiz area, observation period: 2012-2023 (source: www.puertos.es, accessed on 15 October 2024).
Figure 2. Box plots of beach litter abundance (a), expressed as number of items m −1 , and litter density (b), expressed as grams of items m −1 . Boxes enclose 50% of data; associated standard deviations are represented with whiskers, averages with red dots, median values with black lines and individual points outside the whiskers are outliers.
Figure 3. Beach litter composition. Calculations are based on the number of items per meter.
Figure 4. Beach litter classified according to the use categories proposed by the Joint List of Litter 346 Categories for Macrolitter Monitoring. Calculations are based on the number of items per meter.
Figure 5. Food consumption-related beach litter categories by material and percentage.

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Fresh Versus Beach Users’ Deposited Litter in El Puerto De Santa Maria (Cádiz, SW Spain)

January 2025

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41 Reads

Journal of Marine Science and Engineering

This study is based on a 10-day survey carried out at seven beaches in March 2023 in El Puerto de Santa María municipality (SW Spain). An amount of 5592 items were collected, with a combined weight of 26 kg. Fresh litter, which refers to litter transported to the shore by marine/coastal processes, accounted for 4634 items weighing 23 kg. The remaining 958 items, weighing 3 kg, were identified as litter deposited by beach visitors. The average total litter recorded during the sampling was 0.40 ± 0.07 items m‒1 with a density of 1.85 ± 0.69 g m‒1. Litter materials were relatively consistent regardless of whether they were stranded by marine processes or discharged by beachgoers. Plastic dominates fresh and deposited litter followed by metal and glass, with minimal contributions of chemicals, organic matter, clothing, rubber, wood, and paper. They were identified 115 items’ categories from the 184 listed in the EU Joint List: 107 for fresh and 75 for deposited litter. Food consumption-related items made up a significant portion of the total debris followed by personal hygiene and care-related and smoking-related litter. The obtained information is very useful to propose sound management actions that have to be especially devoted to raise beach users’ responsibility. Last, in order to have a year-round view of litter characteristics and behavior, further investigations should be carried out during winter, when the number of visitors is very low and waves’ energy is high, and summer, when opposite conditions are recorded.


Coastal Sceneries of Albania, An Emerging 3S Destination: Analysis of Physical Characteristics and Human Activity Impacts

January 2025

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26 Reads

Land

The increase in tourism economic benefits is the most common purpose along the Mediterranean coastal regions but, very often, conflicts of interest arise between short-term benefits and long-term conservation goals. This is particularly the case of Albania, a very popular emerging “Sun, Sea and Sand” (3S) destination characterized by massive fluxes of national/international visitors during the summer period. Among beach users’ preferences, global studies show that five parameters of greater importance stand out from the rest, i.e., safety, facilities, water quality, no litter, and scenery, and the latter is the main concern of this study. Albania is well known for its outstanding natural coastal beauty which was assessed at 40 sites by using the Coastal Scenic Evaluation System (CSES) method. Based on the evaluation of 26 physical/human parameters and using weighting matrix parameters and fuzzy logic mathematics, the technique enables one to obtain an Evaluation Index (D) that allows one to classify each investigated site into five scenic classes, from Class I (extremely attractive natural sites; D ≥ 0.85) to Class V (very unattractive developed urban/industrial sites; D < 0.00). Pragmatically, the higher the “D” value is, the better the site scenery is. After a long process of field testing along the whole Albanian coastline (ca. 523 km in length), selected sites were chosen in rural/remote environments (22), villages (6), and urban (4) and resort areas (8) to reflect the Albanian coastal typicity and characterize the scenic impact of human activities. Most sites belonged to Class III (14), Class IV (13), Class II (8), and Class I (1). Several sites could be upgraded to Class I or Class II with slight management efforts, e.g., by carrying out cleaning operations or by reducing intrusive beach facilities.



Beaches’ Expulsion from Paradise: From a Natural to an Artificial Littoral in Tuscany (Italy)

November 2024

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42 Reads

Coasts

This study investigated the shoreline evolution of the Tuscany coast (Italy) from 1878–1883 to 2019. The 205 km sandy coastline, divided into 821 sectors, each one 250 m long, was analyzed to understand how human activities have altered this once-pristine coast. Sub-period analyses highlighted the impacts, both positive and negative, of various shore-protection projects. Initially, regional beaches were undeveloped and accreting, except for a few river deltas where alternating phases of erosion and accretion were observed. Coastal erosion began at deltas’ areas due to the reduction in sediment inputs and, at other areas, enhanced by the development of human settlements and tourism activities. This triggered the construction of protection structures that shifted erosion processes downdrift, a process that induced the downdrift extension of the structures (according to the “domino” effect), determining the transformation of a completely natural and resilient environment into a largely rigid one. Beach nourishment projects, mostly using inland quarries, added about 1 million cubic meters of sediment from the 1980s to 2019. Currently, 57.8% of beaches are larger than in the 1880s, 9.4% did not change and 32.8% are narrower. Overall, the Tuscan coast gained 6.5 km2 of beach surface with an average shoreline advancement of 32 m. Recent trends (2005–2019) show that 37.7% of the coast is eroding, 21.1% is stable, and 41.2% is accreting, with a total surface area increase of about 200,000 m2. The beach surface area is still increasing despite the existing reduced sediment input due to the limited sediment loss resulting from the presence of morphological cells enclosed by very prominent headlands and the absence of submarine canyons that would otherwise direct sediments to the continental shelf.


Natural and Human Impacts on Coastal Areas

November 2024

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106 Reads

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1 Citation

Journal of Marine Science and Engineering

Coasts are the most densely populated regions in the world and are vulnerable to different natural and human factors, e.g., sea-level rise, coastal accretion and erosion processes, the intensification of sea storms and hurricanes, the presence of marine litter, chronic pollution and beach oil spill accidents, etc. Although coastal zones have been affected by local anthropic activities for decades, their impacts on coastal ecosystems is often unclear. Several papers are presented in this Special Issue detailing the interactions between natural processes and human impacts in coastal ecosystems all around the world. A better understanding of such natural and human impacts is therefore of great relevance to confidently predict their negative effects on coastal areas and thus promote different conservation strategies. The implementation of adequate management measures will help coastal communities adapt to future scenarios in the short and long term and prevent damage due to different pollution types, e.g., beach oil spill accidents, through the establishment of Environmental Sensitivity Maps.


Beaches Expulsion from Paradise: From a Natural to an Artificial Littoral in Tuscany (Italy)

October 2024

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33 Reads

This study investigates the shoreline evolution of the Tuscany coast (Italy) from 1878−83 to 2019. The 205 km sandy coastline, divided into 821 sectors each one 250 meters long, was analyzed to understand how human activities have altered this once-pristine coast. Sub-period analyses highlighted the impacts, both positive and negative, of various shore protection projects. Initially, regional beaches were undeveloped and accreting, except for some river deltas where alternating phases of erosion and accretion were observed. Coastal erosion began at these deltas due to reduced sediment input and expanded with the development of human settlements and tourism. Shore protection structures were quickly built to safeguard these areas: some succeeded but others increased erosion rates in downdrift sectors. Beach nourishment projects added about 1 million cubic meters of sediment since the 1980s, mostly from inland quarries. Currently, 57.8% of beaches are larger than in the 1880s, 9.4% remained the same, and 32.8% are narrower. Overall, the Tuscan coast gained 6.5 km&sup2; of beach surface with an average shoreline advancement of 32 m. Recent trends (2005-2019) show that 37.7% of the coast is eroding, 21.1% is stable, and 41.2% is accreting, with a total surface area increase of about 200,000 m&sup2;. Although these changes may seem significant, from geomorphological and coastal management perspectives, they highlight that beach surface area is still increasing despite the existing reduced sediment input. This is due to the reduced loss of sediment due to the existence of morphological cells enclosed by headlands and the absence of submarine canyons directing sediments to the continental shelf.


Distribution and Composition of Beach Litter along the Ionian Coastline of Albania

August 2024

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55 Reads

Water

This paper deals with beach litter presence on the Ionian coast of Albania, i.e., at Vlora Bay and the Albanian Riviera, which is the most famous coastal tourist destination in the country. Along 16 beaches surveyed in November–December 2022 was found a total amount of 6621 litter items (or 416 kg) belonging to 114 categories of the EU J−code list. Most of these were plastic fragments and items (82%), mainly linked to local tourist activities. Wastewaters were responsible for bringing different litter items to the urban beaches of Vlora Bay. The most commonly observed litter items were cigarette butts, plastic caps/lids, and medium-sized plastic fragments of non-foamed plastic. The cleanest beaches, quite often, were the ones where beach clubs implemented clean-up programs during and at the end of the summer season. The results of this paper constitute a baseline of the beach litter amount and content along the study coast, which has never been investigated before. Municipalities and beach clubs have to implement more frequent and efficient clean-up activities and educational initiatives to reduce beach pollution, with special attention paid to the presence of cigarette butts and other small plastic items.


Evolution of the Beach–Dune Systems in Mediterranean Andalusia (Spain) Using Two Different Proxies

August 2024

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79 Reads

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1 Citation

Land

Coastal environments are complex systems that are influenced by a combination of natural processes and human activities. Scientific interest in the effects of coastal erosion/accretion and climatic change-related processes has greatly increased in recent decades due to the growing human development along coastal areas. This paper investigates the state and evolution of beach–dune systems for the 1977–2001 and 2001–2019 periods of the Mediterranean coast of Andalusia (Spain) using two different proxies: the dune toe line, which was used to track foredunes evolution, and the high-water line, which was used to assess shoreline evolution. Results showed a general erosional behavior of the studied beach–dune systems and identified cases where the main trend was altered through human interventions. During the 1977–2001 period, foredunes essentially showed erosion (54%), accretion (24%), and stability (22%) and shorelines showed accretion (40%) and erosion and stability (34% each). During the 2001–2019 period, foredunes essentially showed erosion (42%), stability (30%), and accretion (28%), and shorelines showed erosion (40%), accretion (34%), and stability (26%). Combining the evolution classes of each proxy (dune toe/shoreline) allows the behavior of both shoreline proxies to be assessed together and provides insights additional to those derived from the use of a single proxy. In this regard, Erosion/erosion (EE) and Accretion/accretion (AA) were the most frequent behaviors in the first and second periods. The results obtained provide additional insights on the nature and drivers of coastal change that aid local coastal managers and administrations in understanding erosion processes. The method can be applied to other areas around the world where a similar database is available.


Evolution of the Beach-Dune Systems in Mediterranean Andalusia (Spain) Using Two Different Proxies

June 2024

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88 Reads

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1 Citation

Coastal environments are complex systems that are influenced by a combination of natural processes and human activities. Scientific interest in the effects of coastal erosion/accretion and climatic change-related processes greatly increased in recent decades due to the growing human development along coastal areas. This paper investigates the state and evolution of beach-dune systems for the 1977-2001 and 2001-2019 periods of the Mediterranean coast of Andalusia (Spain) using two different proxies: the dune toe line, which was used to track foredunes evolution, and the high-water line, which was used to assess shoreline evolution. Results showed a general erosional behavior of the studied beach-dune systems and identified cases where the main trend was altered through human interventions. In the 1977-2001 period, 54% of foredunes showed erosion, 24% accretion and 22% stability while and 34% of shorelines showed erosion, 40% accretion and 34% stability. In the 2001-2019 period, 42% of foredunes showed erosion, 28% accretion and 30% stability, and 40% of shorelines showed erosion, 34% accretion and 26% stability. Combining the evolution classes of each proxy (dune toe/shoreline) allows the behavior of both shoreline proxies to be assed together and provides insights additional to those derive from the use of a single proxy. In this regard, Erosion/Erosion (EE) was the most frequent behavior, with 25% and 27% in the first and second periods respectively, and Accretion/Accretion (AA), with 17% in both periods. Erosion of foredunes combined with stability or accretion of the shoreline (ES and EA) were the most common pairings in the first period, while stability of dunes combined with accretion of the shoreline (SA) and Stability/Stability (SS) dominated in the second period. The results obtained provide additional insights on the nature and drivers of coastal change that aid local coastal managers and administrations in understanding erosion processes. The method can be applied at other areas around the world where a similar data base is available.


Citations (19)


... This article addresses the following research question: How can public and private actors be integrated into the management of tourist beaches? This research integrates the theoretical and methodological frameworks of integrated coastal zone management [24][25][26], sustainable development [59], and marine-coastal governance [60][61][62] to analyze the subject of study. The methodological structure of the research was developed in three stages, as illustrated in Figure 1. ...

Reference:

Community-Based Adaptive Governance Model for Colombian Tourist Beaches: The Case of Playa Blanca in Santa Marta, Colombia
Natural and Human Impacts on Coastal Areas

Journal of Marine Science and Engineering

... Regarding dune systems, they were mainly located in the westernmost part of the littoral, south of the Guadalhorce river mouth and west of the Vélez river delta (Figure 1). Today, there are very few dune systems left, and they are strongly affected by urban pressure and tourism development [43,62,[70][71][72]. ...

Evolution of the Beach–Dune Systems in Mediterranean Andalusia (Spain) Using Two Different Proxies

Land

... Coastal adaptation [9] offers a flexible and holistic [10] approach to risk reduction in terms of key parameters, mainstreaming resilience into coastal management plans. These plans should, in our case, explicitly consider Mediterranean weather variability [11,12] under future scenarios [12], together with the multiple infrastructures affecting coastal dynamics and supported by GIS and statistical tools depending on site-specific criteria [13,14]. Adaptation plans should be tailored to the features of the analyzed coastal archetype [15], considering its socioeconomic and biophysical features, as well as the limitations imposed by the availability of resources, such as freshwater or sediment [16], commonly affecting coastal Mediterranean archetypes. ...

The Coastal Scenery of São Miguel Island, Azores Archipelago: Implications for Coastal Management

Journal of Marine Science and Engineering

... In this type of mining, chemicals such as mercury and cyanide 8 are frequently employed without supervision. Additionally, mining activity in the Ecuadorian Amazon tripled in size from 2015 to 2021 (7495 ha) across various provinces (Chinchipe, Napo, Morona Santiago, and Sucumbíos) [11][12][13][14]. The major concern is that not just mining activities but also petroleum extraction in the area jeopardizes indigenous communities in the Pastaza, Corrientes, Tigre, and Marañón rivers [15,16]. ...

Analysis of Mercury in Aquifers in Gold Mining Areas in the Ecuadorian Amazon and Its Associated Risk for Human Health

Toxics

... This overwhelming prevalence aligns with its durability and lightweight nature. The predominant positive and neutral buoyancy of plastic items allows them to easily move at the water surface because of wind-induced and Stokes drift currents [62]. Rivers and other inland waterways contribute a large part of this floating debris, as has been observed on some beaches located near rivers' mouths in the Cádiz province [44]. ...

A First Attempt to Describe the Real-Time Behavior and Fate of Marine Litter Items in the Nearshore and Foreshore under Low Energetic Marine Conditions

Water

... The present paper focuses on the analysis of "fresh" (i.e., litter transported to the shore by marine/coastal processes) and "deposited" litter (i.e., discharged by beach users) over a 10-day long survey along seven beach sectors in the municipality of El Puerto de Santa María. Dissimilarly from most studies around the world that focus on single or seasonal surveys with limited attention to shortterm dynamics [43], this research is based on an innovative daily monitoring program conducted over ten consecutive days during early spring (15−24 March 2023), complementing and making a further step onward with respect to previous research conducted in the region by Williams et al. [38] and Asensio-Montesinos et al. [44,45], which investigations were based on isolated sampling campaigns and Ciufegni et al. [46] that focused on daily variations in the abundance, typology, and accumulation rates of "fresh" beach litter. It is relevant to highlight that fresh litter often shows signs of prolonged exposure to saltwater and marine processes, such as abrasion, discoloration, and the presence of biofouling. ...

Spatial and Temporal Deposition Rate of Beach Litter in Cadiz Bay (Southwest Spain)

Sustainability

... In Spain, the "Sea, Sun and Sand" (3S) tourism is a major source of income and employment [3]. However, the intensive use of beaches, particularly during summer months, leads to the accumulation of litter such as food remnants and wrappers, beverage bottles, cigarette butts, etc. [4], most of them consisting of plastics [5]. ...

Beach Litter Variability According to the Number of Visitors in Cádiz Beaches, SW Spain

Journal of Marine Science and Engineering

... River basin regulation for water management for tourism and agriculture has led to the construction of dams that have reduced sediment supply to the coast and promoted coastal retreat in most deltas along this coast [64][65][66][67]. In Málaga province, 10 rivers are regulated by dams-31 dams in total [68]-especially the Guadalhorce and Vélez river basins with 9 dams each [69]. ...

A DAPSI(W)R(M) framework approach to characterization of environmental issues in touristic coastal systems. An example from Southern Spain
  • Citing Article
  • October 2023

Ocean & Coastal Management

... The study area reached from Tangier towards Al Hoceïma. The diverse coast attracts increasing tourist numbers, both domestic and international (Er-Ramy et al., 2023). The study area along the Tunisian coast stretched from Tabarca to Monastir. ...

The Sector Analysis as a Coastal Management Tool for Sustainable Tourism Development on the Mediterranean Coast of Morocco

Sustainability

... Land and sea interact in coastal areas, where natural and human activities occur, creating complex and sensitive interrelationships (Gong et al., 2023). These sites have exceptional scenic quality, implying an advantage in tourist attraction (Er-Ramy et al., 2023;Lagarias and Stratigea, 2023;Williams et al., 2023). Marinas have a twofold advantage concerning the coastal landscape. ...

A Novelty Methodological Approach to Coastal Scenic Quality Evaluation—Application to the Moroccan Mediterranean Coast

Journal of Marine Science and Engineering