Geological and Hazards Cartography of the coastal zone, at a scale of 1: 3000

The strategic importance of the coastal zone, as well as the need of increasing knowledge regarding coastal dynamics and processes, to assure the effective protection and integrated management of this sector, is well-expressed by the Portuguese State diplomas [RCM nº82/2009, National Strategy for Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ENGIZC); RCM nº24/2010, National Strategy for Adaptation to Climate Change; RCM 78/2012, National Strategy for Geological Resources].

LNEG, as the Portuguese National Institute with the mission of developing the geoscientific knowledge of the national geological infrastructure, including the coastal zone, the continental shelf and the offshore areas, started, in 2015, the development of a program for the Geological and Hazards Mapping of the coastal zone, at a 1: 3000 scale, complementing the smaller scale geological mapping series, already in production on the LNEG (https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852-018-0612-2). The aim of this program is to increase and provide the geological knowledge in the coastal areas, due to their strategic importance on environmental, economic, social and cultural activities, using a more adapted scale to the land use.

Together with geology, which is intended to improve, regarding the existent maps, geological information detail and geographic accuracy, in accordance with the used scale, the map will also bring a coastal vulnerability index, based on the shoreline evolution along the last decades, allowing that the user, in an intuitive manner, to have a clear perception of the occurred changes.