Page 30: of Marine Technology Magazine (March 2026)

COASTAL ERROSION

Lineup Ocean’s SURFREEF

Project in Palavas-les-Flots © Lineup Ocean he Mediterranean coastline faces signi? cant eco- to dissipate the energy of destructive waves and promote the logical and economic challenges. The Gulf of Lion, regeneration of sandbanks.

which has been studied for erosion and ? ooding risks The UpBlock modules, 3D-printed from a bio-based mate-

Tfor over 15 years, exempli? es these issues. The re- rial (low-carbon shell mortar), represent a promising French duced sediment supply from rivers—including the Rhône— advancement. They are designed to enhance a beach’s natural ? owing into the gulf has intensi? ed coastal erosion, a problem resilience while supporting local biodiversity.

further exacerbated by climate change. For YellowScan, the technical challenge of the SURFREEF

The increasing frequency and intensity of storms have ac- project is both inspiring and stimulating. The team supported celerated beach erosion. Arti? cial structures built to mitigate Lineup Ocean by deploying its topo-bathymetric LiDAR sys- this phenomenon, such as rock groynes and breakwaters tem, the Navigator.

installed since the 1970s, have often reached their limits.

While these structures have helped stabilize sandbanks lo- Establishing a Baseline cally, they degrade over time and prevent the natural regen- The ? rst phase of the project focused on creating a compre- eration of beaches. hensive baseline, integrating physical and biological indica-

In the 2010s, signi? cant beach replenishment projects were tors. Topography was a major component of this coastal proj- undertaken using dredgers. These efforts, costing millions of ect. As part of this, the Navigator system was used to model euros, were intended to provide sand for several years or even the entire beach, including breakwaters, under calm sea and decades, according to local stakeholders. However, the effects clear water conditions.

of storms quickly undermined these projections, reducing Bathymetric LiDAR uses green laser pulses. These enable their effectiveness to less than ? ve years. the measurement of the distance from the water’s surface to the seabed. From a ? ying platform, a laser scanner emits

The SURFREEF Project green radiation that passes through the water and is re? ected

The Lineup Ocean team has extensively studied the pro- on the bottom of the seabed. The laser scanner collects the cesses affecting Mediterranean coasts. With the SURFREEF re? ected radiation of the pulse and calculates the time elapsed project, they are testing a new generation of submerged struc- between the emission and reception to obtain the distance to tures designed to limit coastal erosion. Inspired by the natural both the water surface and seabed. The maximum water depth mechanisms of mangroves, this eco-designed innovation aims that can be measured using the Navigator is 2 Secchi depths.

Image above: A view on Palavas-les-Flots coastline with waves. 30 March/April 2026

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