The Port Works Laboratory of the School of Civil Engineering of the NTUA, in the battle to save the Shipwreck of Zakynthos

The Port Works Laboratory of NTUA, with a 10-member team of researchers led by Professor and Director of the Laboratory Ms. Vicky Tsoukalaas part of the program of the National Technical University of Athens for the rescue of the modern monument-landmark M/V Panagiotis on the coast of Navagio, Zakynthos, carried out field measurements in the period April – June with state-of-the-art equipment in the marine area of ​​Navagio, for the simultaneous measurement of wave characteristics in deep and shallow water.

The program was prepared from the Foundation’s own resources and Scientific Officer the Rector of NTUA, Professor Mr. Ioanni Hatzigeorgiou. The main objective of the Port Works Laboratory team was to increasing the reliability and optimizing the measures which the NTUA proposed for the protection of the M/V Panagiotis, from maritime action but also the safe visitation of the coast.

The Port Works Workshop Approach: Purpose & Results

The research team of the Port Works Laboratory pointed four measuring instruments at selected points in the sea, in Navagio Bay. The two of them were acquired by NTUA for the needs of the specific program and are advanced technology meters of marine wave characteristicstemperature and atmospheric pressure, by sending real-time data via satellite.

In addition, a wave meter and a rheumatograph were also installed in shallower waters.

These gauges simultaneously recorded the marine state, from deep to shallow waters, in Navagio Bay, and provided valuable data for: a) the in-depth understanding of the complex coastal processes taking place in the study area, b) the comparison with data from European bases (e.g. Copernicus) and c) the calibration of sophisticated mathematical simulation models (of the wave and hydrodynamic field, stereotransport and morphodynamic evolution).

The main objective of the above measurements, in combination with:

• her oceanographic backscatter survey (backscatter survey) for the mapping of the seabed using a multibeam echosounder and a side scan sonar to create a three-dimensional model of the bottom in which the bathymetry and the morphology of the bottom were depicted in detail,
• the litho-seismic analysis of the substrata (sub bottom survey) to provide information on the structure, character and thickness of the upper sub-bottom strata, as well as
• the collection and analysis of bottom samples from typical locations of the maritime area of ​​the wreck,

was the optimization of the geometric characteristics, as well as the reduction of the volume and time of replenishment of the proposed extension of the protection zone of the M/V Panagiotis, through artificial replenishment.

It is worth noting, as explained to us by the Professor of Port Works of NTUA and Director of the Port Works Laboratory, Mrs. Vicky Tsoukala, that the group of scientists of the Laboratory, on the occasion of the rescue study of the Shipwreck of Zakynthos, leads the way by simultaneously measuring wave characteristics in deep and shallow water, producing new knowledge and innovative methodseffectively contributing to covering not only an important gap in the science of Coastal Engineering, inside and outside the borders, but also creating at the same time a legacy of approach methodology for solving the complex coastal engineering problems faced by the entire coastal zone of Greece in recent years, from worsening coastal erosion which is recorded as a result of climate change.

The proposal of the Port Works Laboratory, on the occasion of the NTUA study for the protection and rescue of the M/V Panagiotis, is to protect the coasts from erosion and the consequences of coastal flooding, with soft and sustainable interventions which will be located in synergy with nature and natural processes and they will ensure the preservation of the country’s natural and environmental capital with a direct impact on income at the local and national level.