Coelho, C., Silva, R., Veloso-Gomes, F., and Taveira-Pinto, F. 2009. Potential effects of climate change on northwest Portuguese coastal zones. – ICES Journal of Marine Science, 66: 1497–1507. Coastal erosion is a common problem in Europe; a result of the dynamic nature of its coastal zones, of anthropogenic influences, such as coastal interventions and littoral occupation, and of the effects of climate change. The increase in the occurrence of extreme events, the weakening of river-sediment supplies, and the general acceleration of sea level rise (SLR) probably tends to aggravate coastal erosion on decadal time-scales. Describing vulnerability and risk patterns for energetic environmental actions is important for coastal planning and management to rationalize the decision-making process. To minimize negative effects, the various processes causing erosion must be understood to assess the possible prediction scenarios for coastal evolution in the medium to long term. This paper describes the application of a coastal (shoreline evolution) numerical model to a stretch of the Portuguese coast to determine the effects of various scenarios of wave action and SLR that might result from climate change over the next 25 years. We conclude that the effects of SLR are less important than changes in wave action. The numerical model was also applied in a generic situation to compare shoreline evolution with and without anthropogenic intervention.

The offshore wind is the sector of marine renewable energy with the highest commercial development at present. The margin to optimise offshore wind foundations is considerable, thus attracting both the scientific and the industrial community. Due to the complexity of the marine environment, the foundation of an offshore wind turbine represents a considerable portion of the overall investment. An important part of the foundation’s costs relates to the scour protections, which prevent scour effects that can lead the structure to reach the ultimate and service limit states. Presently, the advances in scour protections design and its optimisation for marine environments face many challenges, and the latest findings are often bounded by stakeholder’s strict confidential policies. Therefore, this paper provides a broad overview of the latest improvements acquired on this topic, which would otherwise be difficult to obtain by the scientific and general professional community. In addition, this paper summarises the key challenges and recent advances related to offshore wind turbine scour protections. Knowledge gaps, recent findings and prospective research goals are critically analysed, including the study of potential synergies with other marine renewable energy technologies, as wave and tidal energy. This research shows that scour protections are a field of study quite challenging and still with numerous questions to be answered. Thus, optimisation of scour protections in the marine environment represents a meaningful opportunity to further increase the competitiveness of marine renewable energies.

Seaports are at the forefront of global trade networks, serving as hubs for maritime logistics and the transportation of goods and people. To meet the requirements of such networks, seaport authorities are investing in advanced technologies to enhance the efficiency and reliability of port infrastructures. This can be achieved through the digitalization and automation of core systems, aimed at optimizing the management and handling of both goods and people. Furthermore, a significant effort is being made towards a green energy transition at seaports, which can be supported through marine renewable sources. This promotes energy-mix diversification and autonomy, whilst reducing the noteworthy environmental footprint of seaport activities. By analyzing these pertinent topics under the scope of a review of container-terminal case studies, and these ports’ respective contexts, this paper seeks to identify pioneering smart seaports in the fields of automation, real-time management, connectivity and accessibility control. To foster the sustainable development of seaports, from an energy perspective, the potential integration with marine renewable-energy systems is considered, as well as their capabilities for meeting, even if only partially, the energy demands of seaports. By combining these fields, we attempt to construct a holistic proposal for a “model port” representing the expected evolution towards the seaports of the future.