Marina di Pisa Coastal Resilience Model Transforms Marble Waste into Storm Barriers

Marina di pisa: Marble waste is being transformed into natural barriers against storms and rising sea levels in the area of Marina di Pisa. The European coordination project Med-IREN is working to enhance the resilience of this Tuscan coastal stretch to the effects of climate change.

According to Ansa News Agency, the initiative takes advantage of the natural morphodynamic features of gravel and pebble beaches. These beaches reshape themselves, forming a ridge that prevents water overflow as the sea gets stronger. The energy of the waves is absorbed by these “dynamic barriers” made of marble waste, which, although not completely eliminating the risk, significantly reduce the chances of flooding in the inland areas.

Monitoring and employing these nature-based solutions as preventive measures against the impacts of climate change is a goal pursued locally along a specific stretch of the Tuscan coast by the Med-IREN project. This European coordination initiative combines natural processes and engineering developments to protect critical infrastructure from climate impacts.

Med-IREN is a collaborative effort involving several European countries, including Italy. It provides local administrators, academics, and civil society with the opportunity to share experiences and best practices for addressing the unique challenges of their territories. Historically, coastal defense in Tuscany relied on rigid structures such as seawalls and breakwaters. However, since the late 1990s, these measures have been gradually replaced by less visually intrusive natural coastal defense mechanisms.

The project in Marina di Pisa employs recycled marble waste from the Carrara quarries as the primary material for building these dynamic barriers, which can be periodically replenished. It also involves investment in an advanced monitoring network to enhance the prevention system. This includes the installation of wave buoys to measure sea motion, water level gauges to analyze coastal response to extreme weather events, and assessments of the long-term durability of marble gravel using GPS and webcam systems for real-time monitoring of coastal profile evolution.

In the long term, maintenance will be “strategic,” as the material used to absorb wave energy “is not hard, it remains soft, and therefore wears out over the years,” explained Lorenzo Cappietti, Associate Professor at the University of Florence. Together with the Tuscany Region, Cappietti has initiated research on artificial gravel nourishment in areas affected by storm surges.

In addition to the University of Florence, the Tuscany Region, and the Municipality of Pisa, the Sant’Anna School of Advanced Studies in Pisa is part of the European team “working to find nature-based solutions to address the problem of storm surges,” noted Marco Frey, coordinator of the Institute’s interdisciplinary center on sustainability and climate. These solutions are expected to be applied in other contexts beyond Italy.

Within the Med-IREN project, Tuscany is part of a network of five flagship regions in the Mediterranean area committed to developing climate adaptation strategies. The lessons learned are intended to be replicated in four other European regions to promote the dissemination of best practices in climate resilience. “It’s an important opportunity to share experiences and to benchmark ourselves with other European realities,” stated Luigi Cipriani, a member of the regional expert team.

Since its inception a year ago, the Med-IREN consortium has completed its initial coordination phase and is now advancing into the second operational phase, which focuses on co-creation and real-world testing. Until 2028, Med-IREN will mobilize just over £10 million under the European Commission’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme.