This study examines coastal erosion in Gjiri i Lalzit, Albania. The goals are to understand the causes of erosion, quantify biological, physical and socioeconomic factors contributing to erosion, and identify sustainable management practices. Methods include interviews, topographic surveys, grain size analysis, dendrochronological analysis, and analysis of satellite images and numerical models. Preliminary results indicate erosion is driven by changes in wave patterns, land use changes like deforestation, infrastructure development near rivers, and declining river sediment transport from factors like dams and mining. Over 30 years, the coastline receded over 1 km. Future work includes additional data collection and modeling to understand erosion drivers and inform management.

1. Study
of
the
coastal
erosion
in
Gjiri
i
Lalzit
University
of
Trento
(with
Univ.
of
Genoa)
Polytechnic
University
of
Tirana

2. • Understand
possible
causes
of
coastal
erosion
in
‘Gjiri
i
Lalzit’
• Quantify
biological,
physical
and
socio-­‐
economical
processes
affecting
coastal
erosion
• Identify
and
suggest
relevant
sustainable
land
and
coastal
management
Goals

3. General
view
1.Sea
waves
The
action
of
the
sea
waves
controls
the
transport
of
sediments
and
shapes
the
coastline
2.Changes
in
land
use
Land
use
modification
(e.g.
forest
cut,
new
constructed
areas…)
can
affect
the
stability
of
the
coastline
3.Antropic
changes
The
capacity
of
rivers
to
transport
sediments
is
linked
to:
• Its
morphology
(which
is
controled
by
the
flow
and
sediment
supply
regime)
• Dams,
gravel
and
sand
mining,
water
obstractions
(change
the
flow
and
bed
regimes)
4.River
morphodynamics
The
river
mouth
is
the
source
of
most
sediments
transported
by
sea
waves
1984
2014

4. a.
Methods
Interviews
• 10
interviews
along
the
coast
• 4
interviews
along
the
Erzen
river

5. a.
Methods
Topographic
surveys
• 16
sections
along
the
coast
• 6
sections
along
the
river

6. Section
position
and
grain
size
Field
Work
(1)

7. • Topographic
survey
•
Grain
size
analysis
Field
Work
(2)

8. a.
Methods
Grain
size
analysis
• 15
analysis
for
every
section
• 245
total
analysis

9. a.
Methods
Dendrocronological
analysis
• 8
Trees’
coring
detected
along
the
river

10. b.
Methods
Data
elaboration:
• Analysis
of
satellite
images
(by
geopositional
tools)
• Reconstruction
of
sea
wave
field
(hindcast
and
numerical
model,
SWAN)
• Hydraulic
and
sediment
transport
modelling
(in
situ
measurements
and
analytical
estimates)

11. 1979
–
2014:
Different
waves
regimes
Preliminary
results:
Sea
waves
(1)
Wave
hindcast
data
provided
by
numerical
modelling
(University
of
Genoa)
www.dicca.unige.it/meteocean

12. The
wave
height
doesn’t
change
significantly,
although
the
wave
direction
does.
Sea
waves
(2)

13. Wave
propagation
(SWAN)
Sea
waves
(3)
W-­‐NW
Tr
50
yrs
S-­‐SW
Tr
50
yrs

14. Sea
waves
(4)
2007
2015

15. Characterization
of
the
beaches
Sea
waves
(5)

16. Preliminary
results:
2.
Changes
in
land
use
• On-­‐field
photos
• Photos
georeferentation
• Land
use
maps
creation
and
comparison
throught
different
years

17. Changes
in
land
use
(2)
Forests
1930
Urbanized
Agricolture
Forests
2015

18. Preliminary
results:
3.
Antropic
changes
• Landsat
photos
analysis
• On-­‐field
surveys
• Areas
estimation

19. Antropic
changes
(2)
Mappa
cave
+
ettari
The
total
area
covered
by
gravel
units
is
almost
50
ha

20. Preliminary
results:
4.Erzen
River
morphodynamics
• Field
analysis
• Interviews
• Topographic
surveys
• Trees’
coring
in
floodplain
zone
• Landsat
Images
comparison
of
river
mouth

21. The
river
bed
is
engraving
Erzen
River
morphodynamics
(2)
• Trees
are
more
or
less
25
years
old
• Witnesses
say
floods
are
less
frequent
and
water
depth
has
decreased
in
the
last
years
• The
shape
of
the
river
bed
is
narrow
and
deep
Erosion
and
reduction
of
sediment
transport

22. Further
analysis
(1)
1984
Volume
of
sediment
trasported:
O(3
·∙
105)
m3/y
2014
Beach’s
eroded
volume
:
O(1·∙105)m3/y

23. In
30
years
the
coast
line
moved
for
more
than
1
km
Further
analysis
(2)

24. 2007
Further
analysis
(3)
2015

25. Further
analysis
(4)
2007
2015

26. Further
analysis
(5)
2015
2007

27. Timeline
1930
1940
1950
1960
1970
1980
1990
2000
2010
2020
COAST
LINE
RIVER
BED
HEIGHT
DEFORESTATION
???
2020

28. Summary
• Understand
possible
causes
of
coastal
erosion
in
‘Gjiri
i
Lalzit’
• Quantify
biological,
physical
and
socio-­‐
economical
processes
affecting
coastal
erosion
• Identify
and
suggest
relevant
sustainable
land
and
coastal
management

29. Next
steps:
• data
collection
(bathimetry,
hydarulics
and
hydrology
…)
• models
refining
• final
results
report:
February
2016
University
of
Trento
(with
Univ.
of
Genoa)
Polytechnic
University
of
Tirana

30. Data
we
would
like
to
complete
the
study
University
of
Trento
(with
Univ.
of
Genoa)
Polytechnic
University
of
Tirana
Bathymetry
Tide
characteristics
DTM/LIDAR
Hydrometric
Rain
records
Ortophoto
Land
use
map
Bunker
map