Conclusion

A wide range of tools and techniques are available to assess the coastal risks associated with storms. Observation technologies such as lasers or airborne radar (lidar, ENVISAT, RADARSAT, etc.) provide a wealth of imaging data that can be used to characterize beach geomorphology, as well as sea state. Observation of beach and dune geomorphology over time is essential for assessing changes induced by extreme storms. In addition, video surveillance systems such as ARGUS enable regular monitoring of the evolution of the beach, and more specifically of its sedimentary context and hydro- and morphodynamic characteristics. Field data, which complements remotely sensed data, generally consists of GPS surveys along transverse transects in order to better characterize beach profiles and eventually integrate them into coastal dynamics models. The MICORE project has made a major contribution to the...