Urbanization leads to changes in the surface cover that alter the hydrological cycle of cities, particularly by increasing the impervious area and, thereby, reducing the interception, storage and infiltration capacity of rainwater. Nature-based solutions (NBS) can contribute to flood risk mitigation in urbanized areas by restoring hydrological functions. However, the effects of NBS on flood risk mitigation are complex and can differ substantially with the type of the NBS. Therefore, the effectiveness of NBS at the urban catchment scale is still subject to much debate, especially at the scale of urban catchments. In this study, the effects of different NBS on urban flood mitigation were evaluated for the city of Eindhoven in The Netherlands, as it has a history of urban flood events. To this end, various NBS scenarios were defined by municipal stakeholders and their impacts modelled with the numerical model Infoworks ICM. This was done for design storms with short, medium and long return periods (5, 10 and 100 years). Overall, the simulated NBS were effective in flood risk mitigation, reducing the flooded area as well as flood depth. The effectiveness of the individual NBS scenarios, however, depended strongly on the location and extension of the NBS, as well as on storm intensity. The effectiveness tended to increase with the increase in NBS surface area, while it tended to decrease with increasing storm intensity and, hence, return period. The NBS solution increasing street water storage was revealed to be more effective than those involving green car parks and green roofs. This study showed that numerical flooding models can be useful tools to assess the effects of NBS to reduce flood extent, water depth and/or velocity, providing insights that can support city planners to design and compare alternative strategies and plans for urban flood risk mitigation.

Costa, S. and Coelho, C., 2013. Northwest coast of Portugal Past – behavior and future coastal defense options Portugal's northwest coast, between Ovar and Marinha Grande presents an important sediment deficit, mainly due to rivers sediments supply reduction and harbors' constrains. The sediment transport capacity resulting from the wave's action (mainly from the northwest) is nourished with the sand of the up drift beaches, leading to the shoreline's erosion and retreat. The shoreline retreat represents conflicts with the land use and human occupation, and the protection of people and properties becomes essential. Thus, coastal interventions (seawalls and groins), try to constrain the shoreline evolution, conducting to an artificial coast and site aesthetical deterioration. This work's objective is to present an analysis of the shoreline evolution, in order to select a suitable model of coastal intervention. Thus, the current paper aimed a diagnostic based in the shoreline evolution indicators i...

Costa, S.; Picado, A.; Vaz, N.; Coelho, C.; Portela, L., and Dias, J.M., 2018. Climate change effects on suspended sediment dynamics in a coastal lagoon: Ria de Aveiro (Portugal). In: Shim, J.-S.; Chun, I., and Lim, H.S. (eds.), Proceedings from the International Coastal Symposium (ICS) 2018 (Busan, Republic of Korea). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 85, pp. 521–525. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. Coastal systems are very important interface areas between land and sea, subject to constant changes motivated by both natural and anthropogenic factors. In addition to the increasing modifications imposed by human activities, natural processes are also being altered as a result of climate change. Important consequences of climate change in coastal systems are sea level rise (SLR) and changes in freshwater discharge, due to modifications in rainfall patterns and air temperature. The aim of this work was to assess the impact of climate changes on the suspended sediment dynamics i...

Glass can be considered to be a high-technology engineering material with a multifunctional potential for structural applications. However, the conventional approach to the use of glass is often based only on its properties of transparency and isolation. It is thus highly appropriate and necessary to study the mechanical behaviour of this material and to develop adequate methods and models leading to its characterisation. It is evident that the great potential of growth for structural glass applications is an important opportunity of development for the glass industry and the building/construction sectors. The work presented in this paper is a reflection of this conclusion. The authors shortly present the state-of-the-art on the application of glass as a structural element in building and construction, and refer to other potential fields of application and available glass materials. The experimental procedures and methods adopted in three-point bending tests performed on 500 × 100 [mm2] float, laminated and tempered glass specimens with thicknesses between 4 and 19 mm are thoroughly described. The authors evaluated the mechanical strength and stiffness of glass for structural applications. This work contributes to a deeper knowledge of the properties of this material.

Aquatic ecosystems are increasingly threatened by human activities and climate change, leading to a loss of values in the form of the services they provide to both nature and society. These lost values are still not well understood, and the methods to carry out their assessment are very diverse. The objective of this study is to compile and synthesize the different methodologies employed by the academic community to economically value water quality in the context of ecosystem services (ESs). To this end, a systematic literature review is performed, using the SCOPUS database, expert-based review tools, and content analysis and synthesis. Results show that most studies on the subject come from the northern hemisphere and tend to value water quality using Regulating & maintenance ESs (notably bioremediation and freshwater chemical regulation) and cultural ESs (notably active recreation) as proxies. Most studies perform primary valuation studies, with stated preference methods being the most frequent; unit value transfer is also commonly seen. These findings suggest that there is a lack of understanding regarding the value of water quality in southern hemisphere nations, and point at a possible over-reliance on practical but potentially biased valuation methodologies.

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