Estudo da Evolução da Fisiografia da Restinga do Rio Douro desde 2002

The erosion processes acting on the river Douro's sandspit have been pushing it inwards into the estuary and reducing its size and volume. The strong waves that often hit the river mouth and the constant silting up of the access channel make the navigation in this area difficult and dangerous. In order to improve the navigational conditions in the river mouth and stimulate the recovery of the sandspit, two breakwaters were built. This study compared the behavior of the sandspit before and after the construction of the breakwaters. The results obtained show that, up to this date, the breakwaters seem to be generating the desired recovery of the sandspit and preservation of the conditions of the access channel.