Sediment budget and management of the Veneto beaches, Italy: an application of the modified Littoral Cells Management System (SICELL)

A practical tool for coastal data spatial cataloguing based on sediment budget computation is herein proposed and discussed, using a modified version of the Littoral Cells Management System (SICELL) originally created by the Emilia-Romagna Region, Italy. For coastal management purposes, a geodatabase of the Veneto coast has been constructed, that includes 77 sedimentary units or cells, described by physical- morphological, evolutionary, land-use pressure and coastal defences data. Each littoral cell is basically identified by the more recent pluriannual sediment budget state, i.e. Accretionary, Stable, Precarious and Erosional (ASPE). The modified version of SICELL includes the sediment budget computation and equilibrium state of 5 river mouths and 5 ebb-tidal deltas cells, considered as specific nearshore sedimentary sinks. There, sand stored or dredged for navigation could be used to nourish adjacent erosional beach cells, respecting their natural morphodynamic relationship.