In Portugal, coastal protection has proceeded largely in an ad hoc manner and has been based on the construction of hard engineering protection structures generally constructed to address emergency situations. This paper presents the results of two case studies that were used to compare the local and global cost-effectiveness of two coastal protection strategies: construction of groin fields and beach nourishment. According to the results of this study, beach nourishment is the most cost effective solution in the Algarve open beaches, with moderate energy conditions. In the high energetic environment of the Aveiro coast, beach nourishment was also shown to be cost effective when a significant fraction of the sediment cell is considered.
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