Francesca Ribas Prats

Associate professor
Campus Baix Llobregat (UPC), Edifici C3, Despatx 105
Esteve Terradas, 5
08860 Castelldefels

Telèfon: +34 934134145
E-Mail: francesca.ribas

upc.edu
Web del grup de recerca: http://df.upc.edu/en/morfos
Web personal: http://futur.upc.edu/FrancescaRibasPrats

My primary academic interest is unravelling the physical processes that dominate the dynamics of sandy coasts, with the final goal of increasing the presently-limited predictive capacity of mathematical models and unveiling the future of these complex, fragile and valuable systems. Within the research field of coastal morphodynamics, including sediment transport, wind, waves and currents, my specialization is understanding the formation of nearshore sand patterns and the large-scale coastal evolution under climate change. The approach consists on combining mathematical models, which contain the physical processes, with field observations, especially those obtained with video-cameras.

Short CV

1994 - 1998: Bachelor degree in Physics. Universitat de Barcelona (UB), Barcelona.
1999 - 2003: Doctoral degree with a FI scholarship. Department of Physics, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Barcelona.
2004 - 2004: Postdoctoral contract. Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research (IMAU), Utrecht University, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
2005 - 2007: Postdoctoral contract Juan de la Cierva. Marine Research Institute (ICM-CSIC), Barcelona.
2007 - 2014: Assistant professor. Department of Physics, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Barcelona.
2014 - present: Associate professor. Department of Physics, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC), Barcelona.

1- UOrtos: Methodology for co-registration and subpixel georeferencing of satellite imagery for coastal monitoring
Simarro Grande, Gonzalo; Calvete, D.; Ribas, F.; Castillo, Y.; Puig-Polo, C.
Remote sensing 17, 7, article 1160 (2025)

2- Sediment leakage on the beach and upper shoreface due to extreme storms
Guillén, J.; Simarro Grande, Gonzalo; Calvete, D.; Ribas, F.; Fernández-Mora, M.A; Orfila, A.; Falques, A.; De Swart, R.L.; Sancho-Garcia, A.; Duran, R.
Marine geology 468, article 107207 (2024)

3- Role of the forcing sources in morphodynamic modelling of an embayed beach
Carrion, N.; Falques, A.; Ribas, F.; Calvete, D.; De Swart, R.L.; Durán, R.; Marco-Peretó, C.; Marcos, M.; Amores, Á.; Toomey, T.; Fernández, À.; Guillén, J.
Earth surface dynamics 12, 819-839 (2024)

4- Development of methods for satellite shoreline detection and monitoring of megacusp undulations
Angelini, R.; Angelats, E.; Luzi, G.; Masiero, A.; Simarro Grande, Gonzalo; Ribas, F.
Remote sensing 16, 23, article 4553 (2024)

5- Automatic shoreline detection by processing planview timex images using bi-LSTM Networks
Marti-Puig, P.; Serra-Serra, M.; Ribas, F.; Simarro Grande, Gonzalo; Caballería, M.
Expert systems with applications , 122566 (2024)

6- New methodology for shoreline extraction using optical and radar (SAR) satellite imagery
Zollini, S.; Dominici, D.; Alicandro, M.; Cuevas-González, M.; Angelats, E.; Ribas, F.; Simarro Grande, Gonzalo
Journal of marine science and engineering 11, 627 (2023)

7- Impact of mean sea-level rise on the long-term evolution of a mega-nourishment
Ribas, F.; Portos, L.; Falques, A.; Arriaga, J.; Marcos, M.; Ruessink, B.
Climatic change 176, 66 (2023)

8- A review and test of shoreline extraction techniques
Angelini, R.; Angelats, E.; Luzi, G.; Ribas, F.; Masiero, A.; Mugnai, F.
The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences 48, 17-24 (2023)

9- Shoreline response to sea-level rise according to equilibrium beach profiles
Luque, P.; Gómez-Pujoll, L.; Ribas, F.; Falques, A.; Marcos, M.; Orfila, A.
Scientific reports 13, Article 15789 (2023)

10- Observations of megacusp dynamics and their coupling with crescentic bars at an open, fetch-limited beach
De Swart, R.L.; Ribas, F.; Calvete, D.; Simarro Grande, Gonzalo; Guillén, J.
Earth surface processes and landforms 47, 3180-3198 (2022)

11- ¿Cómo afectará el cambio climático a las playas de arena?
Ribas, F.
The conversation Octubre, 1 (2022)

12- The role of bathymetry and directional wave conditions on observed crescentic bar dynamics
De Swart, R.L.; Ribas, F.; Simarro Grande, Gonzalo; Guillén, J.; Calvete, D.
Earth surface processes and landforms 46, 3252-3270 (2021)

13- A new morphodynamic instability associated with cross-shore transport in the nearshore
Falques, A.; Ribas, F.; Mujal-Colilles, A.; Puig-Polo, C.
Geophysical research letters 48, 13 (2021)

14- Long-term performance of mega-nourishments: Role of directional wave climate and initial geometry
Arriaga, J.; Ribas, F.; Falques, A.; Rutten, J.; Ruessink, B.
Journal of marine science and engineering 8, 965 (2020)

15- Automatic shoreline detection from video images by combining information from different methods
Ribas, F.; Simarro Grande, Gonzalo; Arriaga, J.; Luque, P.
Remote sensing 12, 3717 (2020)

16- Optimal estimations of directional wave conditions for nearshore field studies
De Swart, R.L.; Ribas, F.; Calvete, D.; Kroon, Aart; Orfila, A.
Continental shelf research 196, 1-15 (2020)

17- Emerging crescentic patterns in modelled double sandbar systems under normally incident waves
Coco, G.; Calvete, D.; Ribas, F.; de Swart, H.; Falques, A.
Earth surface dynamics 8, 323-334 (2020)

18- UBathy: a new approach for bathymetric inversion from video imagery
Simarro Grande, Gonzalo; Calvete, D.; Luque, P.; Orfila, A.; Ribas, F.
Remote sensing 11, 2722:1-2722:24 (2019)

19- Formation events of shoreline sand waves on a gravel beach
Arriaga, J.; Falques, A.; Ribas, F.; Crews, E.
Ocean dynamics 68, 735-748 (2018)

20- ULISES: an open source code for extrinsic calibrations and planview generations in coastal video monitoring systems
Simarro Grande, Gonzalo; Ribas, F.; Alvarez, A.; Guillén, J.; Chic, O.; Orfila, A.
Journal of coastal research 33, 1217-1227 (2017)

21- Formation mechanisms for self-organized kilometer-scale shoreline sand waves
Falques, A.; Ribas, F.; Idier, D.; Arriaga, J.
Journal of geophysical research: Earth surface 122, 1121-1138 (2017)

22- Modeling the long-term diffusion and feeding capability of a mega-nourishment
Arriaga, J.; Rutten, J.; Ribas, F.; Falques, A.; Ruessink, B.
Coastal engineering 121, 1-13 (2017)

23- Understanding coastal morphodynamic patterns from depth-averaged sediment concentration
Ribas, F.; Falques, A.; de Swart, H.; Dodd, N.; Garnier, R.; Calvete, D.
Reviews of geophysics 53, 362-410 (2015)

24- Observations and modeling of surf zone transverse finger bars at the Gold Coast, Australia
Ribas, F.; ten Doeschate, A.; de Swart, H.; Ruessink, B.; Calvete, D.
Ocean dynamics 64, 1193-1207 (2014)

25- On the mechanism of wavelength selection of self-organized shoreline sand waves
Van den Berg, N.; Falques, A.; Ribas, F.; Caballería, M.
Journal of geophysical research 119, 665-681 (2014)

26- On the predictability of mid-term cross-shore profile evolution
Fernandez, M.; Calvete, D.; Falques, A.; Ribas, F.; Idier, D.
Journal of coastal research , 476-481 (2013)

27- A mechanism for sandbar straightening by oblique wave incidence
Garnier, R.; Falques, A.; Calvete, D.; Thiebot, J.; Ribas, F.
Geophysical research letters 40, 2726-2730 (2013)

28- Modeling shoreline sand waves on the coasts of Namibia and Angola
Ribas, F.; Falques, A.; Van den Berg, N.; Caballería, M.
International journal of sediment research 28, 338-348 (2013)

29- Modeling large scale shoreline sand waves under oblique wave incidence
Van den Berg, N.; Falques, A.; Ribas, F.
Journal of geophysical research 117, 3 (2012)

30- Modeling and analyzing observed transverse sand bars in the surf zone
Ribas, F.; de Swart, H.E.; Calvete, D.; Falques, A.
Journal of geophysical research 117, F02013 (2012)

31- Dynamics of single-barred embayed beaches
Ojeda, E.; Guillén, J.; Ribas, F.
Marine geology 280, 76-90 (2011)

32- Shoreline instability due to very oblique wave incidence: some remarks on the physics
Falques, A.; Calvete, D.; Ribas, F.
Journal of coastal research 27, 291-295 (2011)

33- Modeling waves, currents and sandbars on natural beaches: The effect of surface rollers
Ribas, F.; de Swart, H.E.; Calvete, D.; Falques, A.
Journal of marine systems 88, 90-101 (2011)

34- Long-term evolution of nourished beaches under high angle wave conditions
Van den Berg, N.; Falques, A.; Ribas, F.
Journal of marine systems 88, 102-112 (2011)

35- The morphodynamic responses of artificial embayed beaches to storm events
Ojeda, E.; Guillén, J.; Ribas, F.
Advances in geosciences 26, 99-103 (2010)

36- Assessing the suitability of video imaging for studying the Dynamics of nearshore sandbars in tideless beaches
Ribas, F.; Ojeda, E.; Price, T.D.; Guillén, J.
IEEE transactions on geoscience and remote sensing 48, 2482-2497 (2010)

37- Rhythmic surf zone bars and morphodynamic self-organization
Falques, A.; Dodd, N.; Garnier, R.; Ribas, F.; Machardy, L.; Larroude, P.; Calvete, D.; Sancho, F.
Coastal engineering 55, 622-641 (2008)

38- Characteristics and dynamics of surfzone transverse finger bars
Ribas, F.; Kroon, Aart
Journal of geophysical research 112, F03028-- (2007)

39- Nearshore oblique sand bars
Ribas, F.; Falques, A.; Montoto, A.
Journal of geophysical research 108, C4 (3119) (2003)