URUGUAYAN NATIONWIDE BEACH REMOTE MONITORING INITIATIVE

Uruguayan coast is mainly constituted by sandy beaches, with an extension of approximately 700 km: 300 km corresponding to the Río de la Plata (RDP) estuary, and 400 km facing the south Atlantic Ocean. Sandy beaches are dynamic environments that change at different spatial and temporal scales, such as storm, seasonal and inter annual scales. The understanding of these dynamics is fundamental for the management of the coastal zone, where decision makers are constantly challenged when facing beach erosion and coastal flooding. As these problems become more pressing due to the rise in mean sea level caused by climate change, information on beach dynamics is essential for proposing successful adaptation strategies. Furthermore, since adaptation strategies will need to be reviewed periodically, it is essential to have operational beach monitoring systems. Here we describe the implementation of the system, the information generated so far, and the use that has been made of it for beach management and the proposal of climate change adaption measures.