From a comprehensive diagnosis of the associated basins, islands, and wetlands of the coastal lagoon system of Ciénaga Grande de Santa Marta, Colombia, this work describes feasible options for the recovery of its ecosystem’s health and ecological resilience. Firstly, the state of the coastal lagoon was assessed, finding that hydrology, wave climate, and the morphological changes of the coastline explain recent changes in the coastal wetlands. Key variables were used to describe the level of conservation or degradation of the coastal lagoon system and to identify measures to improve its ecological functions. Finally, to mimic some of these functions and improve connectivity of the ecosystems, green infrastructure alternatives were proposed for the short and medium term to recover the services of these ecosystems and restore their resilience.

This article shows the design and development of a reactive early warning model as part of a reactive early warning system for urban flash flood management in the city of Barranquilla, Colombia. The system is divided into four components: (i) measuring equipment with rainfall and flow rate gauges, datalogging and transmission, (ii) a system for database processing and a web interface, (iii) a numerical rainfall-runoff model in PCSWMM calibrated and validated, and (iv) a reactive early warning model for determining the hazard level, and for making decisions of alertness along the main streets. Twelve (12) rainfall gauges were installed in the city, covering around 150 Km². The numerical model in PCSWMM was calibrated and validated with rainfall and flow rate data measured in a typical subcatchment of the city. A time of concentration equation was developed from the characteristics of the subcatchment such as slope and length. A pilot urban watershed was selected to test the system, from which hazard alerts every minute with forecasting of up to 40 minutes ahead on the lower parts of the watershed were determined. That time may allow people to make prompt decisions regarding their mobility over the city and reducing accidents caused by flash floods.

The use of Fibre Reinforced Cementitious Matrix (FRCM) for structural retrofitting requires prior assessment of the composite’s mechanical properties, particularly its tensile stress–strain response. This paper presents a LASSO regression model applied to 107 uniaxial tensile tests on Carbon FRCM in order to investigate the impact of both the material and testing parameters on FRCM performance. A highly effective LASSO regression model was trained using k-fold validation, resulting in concise and comprehensible models. Within the testing parameters, both the gripping system and load–speed ratio significantly affected the performance. A substantial impact on ultimate values was found for the load–speed ratio. From the material-related parameters, the most influential was the textile coating in terms of strength and the existence of bilinear or trilinear behaviour. It was also concluded that the combination of textile and matrix properties influenced the stress–strain response at all stages, with high-performance mortars resulting in better textile-to-matrix interaction.

The development of wave energy converters (WECs) faces several technical challenges, particularly enhancing the capturing efficiency, improving the conversion of mechanical to electric energy, and reducing energy losses in the transmission of electricity to land-based facilities. The present study is an assessment of the interaction between an oscillating buoy-type wave energy converter (WEC) and waves using experimental and numerical methods. A small-scale model was tested in a wave tank to evaluate its energy capturing efficiency, taking wave heights and periods as independent variables. The recorded data were used to validate OpenFOAM (version 9.0) simulations, which provided insights into system response characteristics. The findings highlight the critical role of resonance in optimizing energy capture, with maximum efficiency observed for medium wave periods, and with specific buoy configurations. The study also identified an inverse relationship between the capture width ratio and wave height, suggesting the need for customized buoy designs, tailored to specific sea states. The integrated approach used in this research provides a comprehensive understanding of WEC behaviour and offers valuable insights for advancing wave energy technologies and improving their sustainability and efficiency in diverse marine environments.

The conventional practice in the design of storm drainage systems is based on statistically stationary load and resistance conditions that remain invariant over time. However, uncertainties in the variables affect the design accuracy and the satisfactory performance of these hydrosystems during their operation and service. To overcome this limitation, a design methodology for a storm drainage channel was proposed using a probabilistic framework that incorporates uncertainty analysis of random variables and estimates the system’s probability of failure in terms of design depth and maximum allowable velocity. This methodology employs the Monte Carlo simulation technique and offers an alternative design and analysis approach to strengthen the conventional sizing method for drainage channels in urban watersheds. Based on uncertainty criteria associated with hydraulic design, operation, and prospective changes in the watershed and the channel, appropriate dimensions were estimated regarding design depth and freeboard. The results of this study demonstrate that the annual probability of failure of a channel, when considering uncertainty, is significantly higher than the yearly exceedance probability associated with the hydrological design return period event. Therefore, the proposed methodology is appropriate for estimating the system’s capacity and potential failure risk. This methodology may also be applied to sizing other stormwater drainage structures.