Assessment of the sensitivity of Zakynthos Island (Ionian Sea, Western Greece) to climate change-induced coastal hazards

Low-lying coastal areas around the world are threatened by climate change-induced hazards such as long-term mean sea-level rise and extreme sea-level events. The eustatic sea-level is rising rapidly due to global warming, whereas storm surges are expected to become more frequent and intense, which necessitate the identification and protection of sensitive sections of coastline. This paper deals with the classification of the coasts of Zakynthos Island, located in the Ionian Sea, according to their sensitivity to both coastal erosion and flooding, caused by climate change-induced hazards, with the assessment of the Coastal Sensitivity Index (CSI). CSI allows six physical variables to be related in a quantifiable manner. The variables include geology-geomorphology, coastal slope, rate of long-term shoreline erosion or accretion, relative sea-level change rate, mean wave height and mean tidal range. The produced CSI map for the studied coastline indicates that nearly 14.1 km, (corresponding to 7.4% of the entire coastline of the island) is characterized as highly and very highly sensitive primarily due to the low regional coastal slope and the presence of highly erodible sandy and coble beaches. The coasts of high and very high CSI values host socio-economically important land uses (discontinuous urban areas, touristically developed beaches, sport and leisure facilities and agricultural activities). Furthermore, about 25% of the coastline of the Zakynthos Natura 2000 protected area is highly and very highly sensitive to climate change exacerbated coastal hazards.

Automated summary

Low-lying coastal areas are at risk from rising sea levels and increased storm surges due to climate change. This study focuses on Zakynthos Island in Greece and their sensitivity to coastal erosion and flooding caused by climate change-induced hazards. The Coastal Sensitivity Index (CSI) is used to assess the sensitivity of different sections of coastline. The results show that a significant portion of the island's coastline is highly sensitive, including socio-economically important areas.