Beach erosion due to climate change: evaluation and best mitigation practices in touristic beaches of North Aegean Islands and Cyprus – The methodological structure of BEACHTECH project

The expected relative sea level rise (RSLR) and changes in the intensity/ frequency of extreme sea levels pose a growing erosion threat to beaches, the most important natural resources of touristic islands. In the framework of the BEACHTECH project, the beaches of Lesvos and Chios Islands (NE Aegean) and Cyprus have been digitized and modeled under different scenarios of sea level rise to assess their erosion. Four pilot beaches were selected for further study aiming to determine the present and model the future erosion risk and design effective technical adaptation measures. The results are envisaged to advance knowledge on the assessment of the anticipated coastal erosion and flood risk at island settings, offer options of technical measures (involving prospection for potential marine aggregate deposits) to the partner regional authorities, advance our understanding of the interactions between beaches and their backshore hydrological basins, and promote our capability to observe beach erosion using high frequency coastal monitoring systems.