{"id":10403,"date":"2016-11-04T02:34:20","date_gmt":"2016-11-04T06:34:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/hkjh\/"},"modified":"2016-11-04T02:34:20","modified_gmt":"2016-11-04T06:34:20","slug":"the-queen-of-the-adriatic-is-sliding-into-the-sea-can-mose-flood-barrier-fight-the-laws-of-nature","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-rctom\/submission\/the-queen-of-the-adriatic-is-sliding-into-the-sea-can-mose-flood-barrier-fight-the-laws-of-nature\/","title":{"rendered":"The Queen of the Adriatic is sliding into the sea. Can MOSE flood barrier fight the laws of nature?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The impacts of sea level rise in the Venice\u2019s lagoon<\/h3>\n

Venice sits in a lagoon, separated from the Adriatic Sea by a series of barrier islands. Centuries of human intervention \u2014 including the diversion of rivers, widening of the lagoon’s entrances and dredging of channels to accommodate shipping, and the draining of mudflats for construction and agriculture \u2014 have disrupted the lagoon’s equilibrium with the sea [1].
\nSea level rise (SLR) represents the main threat for the survival of Venice, emerging today only 90 cm above the Northern Adriatic mean sea level.
\nSea level rise is a significant consequence of climate change and global warming. At present Venice is sinking at 0.05 cm\/year and the 25 cm of SLR occurred over the 20th century has increased the flood frequency by more than seven times. During the 21th century, global average sea level is expected to rise considerably faster that in the 20th [2] and the flooding events of 110 cm above datum or more could increase to 20\u2013250 times per year with respect to the present annual frequency of 4 times [3].<\/p>\n

\"Frequency<\/a>
Frequency of tides higher than 60 cm at Venice obtained from the sea level records over the last 40 year for the three selected SLR scenarios [3].<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MOSE: a barrier to hold back the tide<\/h3>\n

Finally, in 2001 the Italian government decided to put into action the most ambitious of the engineering solutions known by its Italian acronym of MOSE (MOdulo Sperimentale Elettromeccanico, Experimental Electromechanical Module<\/em>). The project is an integrated system consisting of rows of mobile gates situated in the three inlets through which water enters and leaves the lagoon. Gates are inserted into their concrete foundations on the bed of the Venetian lagoon and are able to be opened and closed separately to control the flow of water and temporarily isolate the Venetian Lagoon from Adriatic Sea tides of up to 3 meters (9.8 ft) [1].<\/p>\n

The Consorzio Venezia Nuova [4], made up of a group of national and local construction companies, is responsible for the work on behalf of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport \u2013 Venice Water Authority. Construction began simultaneously in 2003 at all three lagoon inlets and the gates are expected to be fully operational between 2018 and 2020, later than the originally anticipated 2016 completion date. The MOSE project is estimated to cost \u20ac5.5 billion, up \u20ac1.3 billion from initial cost projections [1].<\/p>\n

\"Venice\u2019s<\/a>
Venice\u2019s Mose flood barrier. Photograph: Vincenzo Pinto\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

To support and control the billionaire capital investment for the construction of the gates, Consorzio Venezia Nuova instituted the MOSE control center. The center has been simulating the control of the gates since 2011, collecting data that enables the creation of mathematical and statistical models that can be entered into the decision support system. The factors being considered are wind, water level, waves, pressure and fresh flood from the rivers [5].<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next<\/h3>\n

Supporters and opponents of MOSE are still debating in local newspapers and media. The Venice Water Authority has done an important step forward to preserve a masterpiece of the human heritage from the impacts of climate change and sea level rise, but more actions need to be taken considering that we only have predictions of what those impacts could be in the next century.<\/p>\n

First of all, the Venice Water Authority has to make sure that no further delays will affect the completion of the project. Secondly, additional measures suggested by many scientists should be put in place, such as narrowing the large canals that enter the city’s harbor, reinforce the coastal, raise special quaysides to protect historical buildings from high floods, and improve the pavement of the lagoon [6].
\nFurthermore, once the MOSE gates will be fully operational, Venice Water Authority should consider to add more resources to the MOSE control center so that it can operate 24 hours a day and manage flood emergency promptly.<\/p>\n

Finally, Italian Turism Authorities should run sensitization campaigns and raise funds from global organizations and private funds to support the Venice\u2019s cause. A successful example is the UK-based Venice In Peril Fund that supports restoration and conservation work in the city. In the words of the chairman of the fund Jonathan Keates, \u201cIf the thought of Venice sinking captures the imagination, then it should be as a wakeup call to save the city as an essential basis of the civilization we cherish. The world owes huge debts to Venice, including modern systems of democratic government and the printed book.\u201d (793 words)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

References<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Nicola Nosengo, \u201cVenice floods: SAVE OUR CITY!\u201d, Nature 424, 608-609, 7 August 2003, [http:\/\/www.nature.com\/nature\/journal\/v424\/n6949\/full\/424608a.html<\/a>], accessed October 2016<\/li>\n
  2. Gregory et al., \u201cOceanic Climate Change and Sea Level\u201d, IPCC 2007, accessed October 2016<\/li>\n
  3. Carbognin, L., Teatini, P., Tomasin, A. et al., \u201cGlobal change and relative sea level rise at Venice: what impact in term of flooding\u201d, Clim Dyn (2010) 35: 1039, [http:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s00382-009-0617-5<\/a>], accessed October 2016<\/li>\n
  4. www.consorziovenezianuova.it<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Windsor, Antonia, “Inside Venice’s bid to hold back the tide”, The Guardian Retrieved\u00a02015-06-24,\u00a0\u00a0[https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/cities\/2015\/jun\/16\/inside-venice-bid-hold-back-tide-sea-level-rise<\/a>], accessed October 2016<\/li>\n
  6. Paolo A. Pirazzoli, Georg Umgiesser, “The Projected “MOSE” Barriers Against Flooding in Venice (Italy) and the Expected Global Sea-level Rise”, Journal of Marine Environmental Engineering\u00a08.3 (2006): 247-261, accessed October 2016<\/li>\n
  7. \u201cVenice Hasn’t Stopped Sinking After All\u201d, Scripps Institution of Oceanography News (blog), 2012, [https:\/\/scripps.ucsd.edu\/news\/1860<\/a>], accessed october 2016<\/li>\n
  8. \u201cVenice: sliding down, tilting east\u201d, Nature 483 512, 29 March 2012, [http:\/\/www.nature.com\/nature\/journal\/v483\/n7391\/full\/483512a.html<\/a>], accessed October 2016<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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