The History of Shoreline Stabilization on the Spanish Costa del Sol

Morphodynamic Environments of the Costa del Sol, Spain

“…This adaptation of the system towards generating dissipative environments, appears to be linked to some structural characteristics of the geological frame which has emplaced upon the Miocene ancient dunes a new (very recent perhaps) layer of marine sediments brought about by intense land use change and deforestation within the relevant river basins (Malvárez, 2012). The large volumes of sands potentially present at both ends of the bay are held in place by a schist dyke to the East and a submerged paleo volcanic cone to the West (Placer de las Bóvedas) which present underwater features that originates crucial wave refraction patterns in given (energetic) wave energy conditions.…”

“…The effective fetch is limited to an average 500 km and only rarely do swell waves filter from the Atlantic Ocean. This results in a concentration of wave action on a narrow fringe of steep coastal shelf where sediment supply is mainly reworked fluvial sands and supply is episodic and concentrated in time around seasonal heavy rainfall (Malvárez, 2012).…”

“…The Costa del Sol, located in the western Mediterranean coast is considered as a global tourist destination of some 100 km long (Malvárez, 2012). The Ensenada de Marbella (see Figure 1), comprises the stretch between Estepona and Punta Calaburras.…”

The Mediterranean Coast of Andalusia (Spain): Medium-Term Evolution and Impacts of Coastal Structures

“…Over the last decades, the Andalusia Mediterranean coast (Spain) recorded one of the fastest rates of urban development along the Spanish littoral and even in Europe. In the Costa del Sol (Málaga Province), population reached 1,136,712 [25] and population increase continued at an annual rate of 9.2% between 2006 and 2011-corresponding to 50% of the demographic increase recorded along the Andalusia littoral during the same period [26]. Nowadays, Costa del Sol receives ca.…”

Spatial distribution of storm wave energy dissipation for the assessment of beach morphodynamics

“…The effective fetch is limited to an average 500 km and only rarely do swell waves filter from the Atlantic Ocean. This results in a concentration of wave action on a narrow fringe of steep coastal shelf (Malvárez, 2012). Intermediate to reflective beaches are commonly found in the area, associated with plunging breakers.…”