Integrating Case StudiesCoastal case study: Gulf of Valencia, Spain
The Ebro Delta and Cullera Bay, within the Gulf of Valencia, are examples of coastal features subject to a range of environmental pressures and vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The Ebro River delta has experienced increasing rates of coastal erosion, subsidence and a decline in water quality. Sea-level rise threatens to accentuate these environmental problems and could cause salinisation, while an increase in wave storminess would accentuate erosion of the coastal fringe. Cullera Bay suffers from problems of coastal pollution. Warming of sea-water due to climate change could accelerate eutrophication and further degrade water quality in the bay with deleterious effects to the natural ecosystem. A rise in sea level could further degrade the environment through salinisation and coastal erosion.
Documents
Gulf of Valencia information sheets:
Valencia case-study indicators
Leading team
This research is coordinated by Agustin Sanchez-Arcilla, LIM/UPC, Spain