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The Garigliano alluvial-coastal plain, at the Latium-Campania border (Italy), witnessed a long-lasting history of human-environment interactions, as demonstrated by the rich archaeological knowledge. With the aim of reconstructing the evolution of the landscape and its interaction with human activity during the last millennia, new pollen results from the coastal sector of the Garigliano Plain were compared with the available pollen data from other nearby sites. The use of pollen data from both the coastal and marine environment allowed integrating the local vegetation dynamics within a wider regional context spanning the last 8000 years. The new pollen data presented in this study derive from the analysis of a core, drilled in the coastal sector, which intercepted the lagoon-marshy environments that occurred in the plain as a response to the Holocene transgression and subsequent coastal progradation. Three radiocarbon ages indicate that the chronology of the analyzed core interval ranges from c. 7200 to c. 2000 cal yr BP. The whole data indicate that a dense forest cover characterized the landscape all along the Prehistoric period, when a few signs of human activity are recorded in the spectra, such as cereal crops, pasture activity and fires. The main environmental changes, forced by natural processes (coastal progradation) but probably enhanced by reclamation works, started from the Graeco-Roman period and led to the reduction of swampy areas that favoured the colonisation of the outer plain.

Soil erosion is one of the main environmental problems in the Mediterranean area. This problem is becoming even more important especially in Italy, in the Apennines, where severe erosive processes occur due to the action of concentrated running water. The erodibility (K-Factor) of a soil, estimated using the Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation (RUSLE), is a measure of its susceptibility to erosion and depends on several soil properties such as organic matter, texture and permeability and structure. To assess the spatial variability of soil properties and soil erodibility in hilly agricultural areas and to investigate the relationships between soil features and landscape morphodynamics, a detailed study in Molise region (southern Italy), in a small drainange basin located along its hilly Adriatic flank, was carried out. In this catchment, 63 topsoil samples (A horizons) were collected and 10 soil profiles, forming a catena crossing 3 land units, were sampled. The calculated K-Factors ranges between 0.012 and 0.048 t ha h ha−1 MJ−1 mm−1 indicating a complex spatial distribution, due to the several local pedological and geomorphological factors affecting soil erodibility. The results give clear evidence about the relationships among soil characteristics, soil erodibility and landscape morpho-dynamics (land units). Comparing the soil loss rates estimated for the study area with those reported in literature, a good correspondence can be observed only for the more stable land unit, not characterized by intense erosive processes. The proposed methodology is suitable to highlight areas characterized by similar morphodynamics features, and comparable soil erodibility, for a more effective spatialization of K factor.

Sea-level rise as a consequence of global warming increases the need to analyze coastal risks to conceive adaptation strategies aimed at coping with marine impacts at both short- and long-term scales. In this context, this study presents future scenarios of inundation risk evaluated along the main alluvial coastal plains of the Campania region (Italy). Due to their geomorphological and stratigraphical setting, the investigated areas are characterized by low topography and relevant but variable subsidence rates. Based on the upgrade of already published data and the new analysis of available datasets derived by multi-temporal interferometric processing of satellite Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images, future scenarios of local sea level for the years 2065 and 2100 have been evaluated coupling global projections with local subsidence trends. Furthermore, aspects related with the distribution of natural and anthropic assets, as well as the local social vulnerability, have been taken into account to calculate the overall risk. The inundation risk maps here proposed can effectively address the request to improve the knowledge of policymakers and local administrators and to raise their awareness about the potential impacts of climate change in coastal areas.

We studied in detail the Gioia Sannitica active normal fault (GF) along the Southern Matese Fault system in the southern Apennines of Italy. The current activity of the fault system and its potential to produce strong earthquakes have been underestimated so far, and are now defined. Precise mapping of the GF fault trace on a 1 : 20,000 geological map and several point data on geometry, kinematics and throw rate are made available in electronic format. The GF, and in general the entire fault system along the southern Matese mountain front, is made of slowly-slipping faults, with a long active history revealed by the large geologic offsets, mature geomorphology, and complex fault pattern and kinematics. Present activity has resulted in Late Quaternary fault scarps resurrecting the foot of the mountain front, and Holocene surface faulting. The slip rate varies along-strike, with maximum Late Pleistocene – Holocene throw rate of ~0.5 mm/yr. Activation of the 11.5 km-long GF can produce up to M 6.1 earthquakes. If activated together with the 18 km-long Ailano-Piedimonte Matese fault (APMF), the seismogenic potential would be M 6.8. The slip history of the two faults is compatible with a contemporaneous rupture. The observed Holocene displacements on the GF and APMF are compatible with activations during some poorly known historical earthquakes, such as the 1293 (M 5.8), 1349 (M 6.8; southern prolongation of the rupture on the Aquae Iuliae fault?) and CE 346 earthquakes. A fault rupture during the 847 poorly-constrained historical earthquake is also compatible with the dated displacements.

Coastal areas globally are facing a significant range of environmental stresses, enhanced by climate change-related processes and a continuous increase of human activities. The economic benefits of tourism are well-known for coastal regions, but, very often, conflicts arise between short-term benefits and long-term conservation goals. Among beach user preferences, five parameters of greater importance stand out from the rest, i.e., safety, facilities, water quality, litter and scenery, the latter is the main concern of this study. A coastal scenic evaluation was carried out in the Balearic Islands and focused on two major issues: coastal scenic beauty together with sensitivity to natural processes and human pressure. The archipelago is renowned as a top international coastal tourist destination that receives more than 13.5 million visitors (2019). Impressive landscape diversity makes the Balearics Islands an ideal field for this research. In total, 52 sites, respectively located in Ibiza (11), Formentera (5), Mallorca (18) and Menorca (18), were field-tested. In a first step, coastal scenic beauty was quantified using the coastal scenic evaluation system (CSES) method, based on the evaluation of 26 physical and human parameters, and using weighting matrices parameters and fuzzy logic mathematics. An evaluation index (“D”) was obtained for each site, allowing one to classify them in one of the five scenic classes established by the method. Twenty-nine sites were included in class I, corresponding to extremely attractive sites (CSES), which were mainly observed in Menorca. Several sound measures were proposed to maintain and/or enhance sites’ scenic value. In a second step, scenic sensitivity was evaluated using a novel methodological approach that makes possible the assessment of three different coastal scenic sensitivity indexes (CSSI), i.e., the natural sensitivity index NSI, the human sensitivity index HSI and the total sensitivity index TSI. Future climate change trends and projection of tourism development, studied at municipality scale, were considered as correction factors. All the islands showed places highly sensitive to environmental processes, while sensitivity to human pressure was essentially observed at Ibiza and Mallorca. Thereafter, sites were categorized into one of three sensitive groups established by the methodology. Results obtained are useful in pointing out very sensitive sceneries as well as limiting, preventing and/or anticipating future scenic degradation linked to natural and human issues.

The lower Calore and middle Volturno valleys preserve stratigraphical and morphological evidence and tephrostratigraphic markers particularly suitable for reconstructing the long-term geomorphological evolution of the central-southern Apennines. Aim of our study is to identify the main steps of the Quaternary landscape evolution of these valley systems and to improve knowledge about the relationships between fluvial processes and tectonics, volcanic activity, climatic and human influences. To this purpose, we carried out an integrated geomorphological and chrono-stratigraphical analysis of identified fluvial landforms and related deposits, integrated by 230Th/234U datings on travertines from the Telese Plain area. The study highlighted in particular: (1) fluvial sedimentation started in the Middle Pleistocene (~650 ka) within valleys that originated in the lower Pleistocene under the control of high-angle faults, (2) extensional tectonics acted during the Middle and Upper Pleistocene, driving the formation of the oldest fluvial terraces and alluvial fans, and persisted beyond the emplacement of the Campanian Ignimbrite pyroclastic deposits (~39 ka), and (3) from the late Upper Pleistocene onwards (&lt, 15 ka), the role of tectonics appears negligible, while climatic changes played a key role in the formation of three orders of valley floor terraces and the youngest alluvial fans.

This study aims to present new additional data regarding the relative sea-level (RSL) changes and the vertical ground movements (VGM) occurred in Campi Flegrei caldera since the Early Roman period (3rd century BC), commenting also on the accompanying changes of the coastal landscape and its implications in terms of human adaptation. The study area is located along the western sector of the Campi Flegrei caldera, one of the active volcanic systems of the Mediterranean region that started its activity more than 60 ka BP. Despite the human occupation of Campi Flegrei started not later than the Early Bronze Age (about 3.5 ka BP) and the earliest coastal settlements date back to the first Greek colonization of Southern Italy (ca. 800 BC), nowadays, the numerous coastal archaeological sites that are scattered in the studied area belong to the Roman period. The geoarchaeological interpretation of these remains allows detecting and dating of ancient positions of relative sea levels (RSLs), reconstructing of past coastal conformations, and measuring ancient VGM. The coastal sector between the modern Baia and Miseno was surveyed with a transdisciplinary and multi-proxy approach by means of direct and indirect methods, including, among others, paleo-environmental and archaeo-stratigraphic well logs analysis, geo-acoustic maps interpretation, and measurements of archaeological indicators of ancient sea levels. By comparing our measurement of RSL with the eustatic models of Peltier (2004) and Lambeck et al. (2011), the VGMs history of the coastal sector in the last 2300 years was reconstructed. Even if several volcano-tectonic oscillations were recorded, the obtained multi-proxy indications allow reconstructing two different behaviours in terms of vertical displacements: an overall subsiding trend affecting the area between the Early Roman period and the Middle Age, and a prevailing uplift after that period. The main coastal changes that occurred in the same period can be summarized in a coastal retreat ranging between 40 and 300 m, mainly due to the submersion of the pre-existing coastal area and leading to the submersion of villas, thermae, and other structures built on it. However, based on our measurements, the time span covered by the high-resolution data obtained from the three fish tanks here studied (60 BC – 12 AD) appears to be a period of volcano-tectonic stability, without significant VGMs.

This research aims to reconstruct the submerged morphologies of the high-coast sectors of Naples discriminating between landforms and anthropogenic structures, by analysing the high-resolution data of a multibeam survey in a GIS environment. In the case of natural landforms, a signal analysis was performed to characterize the seabed and discern between sandy and rocky bottom, together with a slope analysis pointing to the detection and mapping of different orders of palaeo-shore platforms at different bathymetric ranges and interpreted as erosional traces of the Holocene sea cliff retreat affecting the study area, mainly caused by a subsiding trend that exacerbated the glacio-hydro-isostatic sea-level rise. Then, the detected palaeo-shore platforms were further analysed to quantify their roughness degree and, consequently, the differential erosion affecting the rocky platforms. On the other hand, regarding the submerged anthropogenic structures, the multibeam survey allowed several underwater archaeological remains of Roman Age to be mapped, demonstrating the high cultural relevance of the study area.

Aim of this work is to implement an environment object detection system for a marine drone. A Deep Learning based model for object detection is embedded on ARGO drone equipped with geophysical sensors and several on-board cameras. The marine drone, developed at iMTG laboratory in partnership with NEPTUN-IA laboratory, was designed to obtain high-resolution mapping of nearshore-to-foreshore sectors and equipped with a system able to detect and identify Ground Control Point (GCP) in real time. A Deep Neural Network is embedded on a Raspberry PI platform and it is adopted for developing the object detection module. Real experiments and comparisons are conducted for identifying GCP among the roughness and vegetation present in the seabed.

Destructive marine storm bring large waves and unusually high surges of water to coastal areas, resulting in significant damages and economic loss. In this study it is examined the characteristics of a destructive marine storm on the strongly inhabited coastal area of Naples Gulf, along the Italian coasts of the Tyrrhenian Sea, which is highly vulnerable to marine storms due to the accelerated relative sea level rise trend and the increased anthropogenic impact on the coastal area. The marine storm, occurred on the 28th December 2020, was analysed through an unstructured wind-wave coupled model that takes into account the main weather-marine components of the coastal setup. The model, validated with in-situ data allowed to establish threshold values for the most significant marine and atmospheric parameters (i.e., wind intensity and duration) beyond which an event can produce destructive effects. Finally, a first assessment of the return period of this event was evaluated using local press reports on damage on urban furniture and port infrastructures.

In recent decades, the study of sea-level changes as recorded along entire coastlines around the world has been a primary scientific focus in climate change studies; it allows the exploration of past landscape evolution, geomorphological processes, human impact, and system response to develop future perspectives [...]

Coasts worldwide face a great variety of environmental impacts, as well as increased anthropogenic pressures due to urbanization and rapid population growth. Human activities menace ecosystem services and the economy of coastal countries, often based on &ldquo, Sun, Sea and Sand&rdquo, (3S) tourism. The five parameters of greatest importance (the &ldquo, Big Five&rdquo, ) for beach visitors are safety, facilities, water quality, no litter and scenery, and the characterization of the latter was recently carried out by means of a checklist of 26 natural and human parameters, parameter weighting matrices and fuzzy logic, according to the &ldquo, Coastal Scenic Evaluation System&rdquo, (CSES) methodology. In order to propose sound coastal management strategies, the main aim of this paper is to propose a method to determine the scenic sensitivity of (i) natural parameters to coastal natural processes in a Climate Change context and (ii) human parameters to visitors&rsquo, pressure in a scenario of increasing tourism and coastal developments. Regarding natural parameters, the sensitivity of &ldquo, Beach face&rdquo, and &ldquo, Dunes&rdquo, parameters is determined according to an Erodibility Index with a Correction Factor, taking into account wave forcing characteristics, tidal range and trends at a local scale of Sea Level Rise and Storm Surge. This establishes a Sensitivity Index to natural processes. A site&rsquo, s scenic sensitivity to human pressure/activities was determined by considering the sensitivity of several human parameters of the CSES method according to beach typology and access difficulty together with the Protection Area Management Category to which a site belongs. A Human Impact Index is obtained, which is afterwards corrected by taking into account local trends of tourism pressure, establishing a Sensitivity Index to human pressure. Finally, a total Sensitivity Index considering both natural processes and human pressure is obtained, and sites divided into three sensitive groups. The results can be useful to limit and prevent environmental degradation linked to natural processes and tourism development, and also to suggest measures to improve the scenic value of investigated sites and their sustainable usage. The method was tested for 29 sites of great scenic quality along the Mediterranean coast of Andalusia, Spain.

The Volturno alluvial-coastal plain is a relevant feature of the Tyrrhenian side of southern Italy. Its plan-view squared shape is due to Pliocene-Quaternary block-faulting of the western flank of the south-Apennines chain. On the basis of the stratigraphic analysis of almost 700 borehole logs and new geomorphological survey, an accurate paleoenvironmental reconstruction before and after the Campania Ignimbrite (CI, about 40 ky B.P.) eruption is here presented. Tectonics and eustatic forcing have been both taken into account to completely picture the evolution of the coastal plain during Late Quaternary times. The upper Pleistocene-Holocene infill of the Volturno plain has been here re-organized in a new stratigraphic framework, which includes seven depositional units. Structural analysis showed that two sets of faults displaced the CI, so accounting for recent tectonic activity. Yet Late Quaternary tectonics is rather mild, as evidenced by the decametric vertical separations operated by those faults. The average slip rate, which would represent the tectonic subsidence rate of the plain, is about 0.5 mm/yr. A grid of cross sections shows the stratigraphic architecture which resulted from interactions among eustatic changes, tectonics and sedimentary input variations. On the basis of boreholes analysis, the trend of the CI roof was reconstructed. An asymmetrical shape of its ancient morphology&mdash, with a steeper slope toward the north-west border&mdash, and the lack of coincidence between the present course of the Volturno River and the main buried bedrock incision, are significant achievements of this study. Finally, the morpho-evolutionary path of the Volturno plain has been discussed.

The nowadays submerged Roman harbour of Portus Julius, located inside the Campi Flegrei caldera (Pozzuoli Gulf, Naples, Italy) and within the Underwater Archaeological Park of Baia, is one of most important coastal archaeological site in Italy and, in the past, it has been the subject of several geoarchaeological studies, since anthropic structures, reflecting the former coastal morphology, are still clearly visible.High precision data from direct underwater surveys carried out on many reliable archaeological sea level markers are allowing us to evaluate ancient relative sea level (RSL) positions and the amount of the vertical ground movements (VGM) since Roman Time. In this study, we present data regarding the coastal area of the famous archaeological site of Portus Julius.In the 37 BC, the study area was chosen by Agrippa for the construction of the new military harbour of Portus Julius, equipped with an entry channel sheltered by several pilae structures. In the 12 BC, the site has been transformed into a commercial hub and renewed through the construction of a fish tank and systems of warehouses.By using a metric roll and a depth gauge, three direct surveys were carried out on as many sea level markers, each of them related to a precise constructive phase of the port. The submersions of some living floors belonged to a maritime villa of the Republican Age (before 37 BC) have been measured at -3.2 m asl. Instead, nearby the main entry channel, we measured the submersion of the concrete change (i.e. limit between the areas in hydraulic concrete set underwater and the areas in concrete totally laid in subaerial environment) of five roman pilae (37 BC) located at the entrance at -2.6 m asl and the submersion of the top of the sluice gate, belonging to the fish tank built directly on the channel bank (12 BC), at a depth of -2.7 m asl.From these submersion measurements, corrected with respect to the indicative meaning, the tidal height and the barometric pressure, we have determined a RSL of -4.7/-5.0 m related to the period before the 37 BC from the living floors, a RSL of -3.1 related to the 37 BC from the pilae and a RSL of 3.1 m related to the 12 BC from the fish tank.Comparing the oldest RSL value with the one obtained by the pilae, it is evident that a subsidence has already occurred before the 37 BC leading to an increase of the water depth and favouring the construction of the port facility. On the other hand, the RSL stationing at -3.1 m asl between the 37 BC and the years after the 12 BC proofs that the area lived a period of VGM stability. As geomorphic response, a local sea level rise of about 1.5 m occurred all over the I century BC, not balanced by neither other coastal processes and anthropic forces, resulting in a coastal retreat up to 0.6 km.

This research aims to present new data regarding the relative sea-level variations and related morpho-evolutive trends of Naples coast since the mid-Holocene, by interpreting several geomorphological and historical elements. The geomorphological analysis, which was applied to the emerged and submerged sector between Chiaia plain and Pizzofalcone promontory, took into account a dataset that is mainly composed of: measurements from direct surveys, bibliographic data from geological studies, historical sources, ancient pictures and maps, high-resolution digital terrain model (DTM) from Lidar, and, geo-acoustic and optical data from marine surveys off Castel dell&rsquo, Ovo carried out by using an USV (Unmanned Surface Vehicle). The GIS analysis of those data combined with iconographic researches allowed for reconstructing the high-resolution geomorphological map and three new palaeoenvironmental scenarios of the study area during the Holocene, deriving from the evaluation of the relative sea-level changes and vertical ground movements of volcano-tectonic origin affecting the coastal sector in the same period. In particular, three different relative sea-level stands were identified, dated around 6.5, 4.5, and 2.0 ky BP, respectively at +7, &minus, 5, and &minus, 3 m MSL, due to the precise mapping of several paleo-shore platforms that were ordered based on the altimetry and dated thanks to archaeological and geological interpretations.

The Boiano Basin is one of the largest Quaternary intermontane basins of the central-southern Apennines within one of the most tectonically active areas of the Mediterranean region. In order to reconstruct its entire Quaternary stratigraphic, tec- tonic, and palaeoenvironment evolution, lithofacies and palaeomagnetic analyses have been performed on a 900 m-deep borehole (CP1) drilled in the southwestern sector of the basin. The Quaternary succession consists of an alternating of alluvial fan and fluvial-marshy deposits for a total thickness of 240 m, unconformably laying on Lower Miocene deposits of the Sannio Unit, thrusted on upper Miocene deposits of the Molise Flysch. In addition, the stratigraphic study and facies distribution of 29 intermediate and shallow wells drilled in the basin, allowing us to define the thick- ness and lithofacies variations of the Quaternary sedimentary units inside the entire Boiano Basin in the sector of Campochiaro alluvial fan. Our results demonstrate that the Boiano Basin infilling started during the late Early Pleistocene (c. 1.1 Ma) and developed with variation in lithofacies distribution and thickness. The first deposi- tional unit (Early Pleistocene-early Middle Pleistocene in age) was palustrine and fluvial-marshy, the second (Middle Pleistocene in age) was characterized by the occurrence of the first cycle of alluvial fan deposition, the third (late Middle Pleisto- cene in age) was newly palustrine and fluvial marshy and, finally, the fourth recorded two cycles of alluvial fan deposition (late Middle Pleistocene and Late Pleistocene in age, respectively), interspersed by short periods of palustrinity, tephra layers deposi- tion, and palaeosols development. The study allows the hypothesizing that the Qua- ternary infilling was accommodated within a graben (or semigraben) structure, affected mainly by extensional fault systems localized in the inner part of the basin and secondly by fault systems bounding the basin.

This research aims to evaluate the amount of vertical ground movements during Roman times inside the archaeological area of Portus Julius (Gulf of Pozzuoli) using high-precision surveys on the most reliable archaeological sea-level markers. Measuring the submersion of ancient floors, structural elements belonging to a former fish tank, and several roman pilae, two different relative sea levels (RSLs), related to the beginning and the end of the first century BCE, respectively, &minus, 4.7/&minus, 5.20 m and &minus, 3.10 m MSL (mean sea level), were detected. A photogrammetric survey was carried out in order to produce a 3D model of the fish tank. The results in terms of the RSL variations have enabled us to reconstruct a morpho-evolution of the ancient coastal sector during the last 2.1 kyBP. At the beginning of the first century BCE, the area was characterized by a sheltered gulf with numerous maritime villae located along the coast. In 37 BCE, the construction of the military harbour of Portus Julius strongly modified the paleogeography of the sector, which was also affected by a prevailing subsidence at least until the end of the first century BCE (year 12 BCE), when the port was converted into a commercial hub.

The map is aimed at illustrating the relationships between landscape evolution and human occupation in the Isernia basin since the Middle Pleistocene. We carried out a detail scale geological–geomorphological investigation integrated with archaeological data. Overall data suggest enhanced landscape modification related to the long-term evolution of the Isernia basin. Moreover, during the Middle Pleistocene an alluvial plain environment was present, as testified also by the famous Lower Palaeolithic site of Isernia La Pineta dated to ca. 600 ky. From 600 ky onwards, extensional tectonics and related valley incision reshaped the Isernia basin, with the formation of terraced surfaces and the deposition of a travertine plateau. Archaeological findings from the Lower Palaeolithic up to the Chalcolithic Age testify to pre- and protohistoric settlements on these surfaces. In historical times, Romans settled on the Isernia terrace ridge taking advantage of the outcropping travertines to support wall foundations and to extract construction material.

Naples and its surroundings are a very young landscape, originated from 40 ka in response to strong and explosive volcanic processes, which created the Campi Flegrei, one of the largest volcanic fields of the world. Despite the repeated and continuous volcanic activity, this territory was selected for human settlements since Neolithic times and hosted some of the most important Greek and Roman towns in the Mediterranean area (e.g., Cuma, Parthenope, Neapolis, Baia and Puteoli). Geoarcheological data and historical chronicles testify to human coexistence with eruptions, bradyseismic ground motions, coastline changes, floods and landslides. With the aim of describing the geomorphological evolution of this area to a wide audience, including also non-experts, we constructed a synthetic geomorphological map of the area and sketches that synthesise the main stages of the geomorphological evolution of the historical centre of Naples and the coastal belt of the Gulf of Pozzuoli during the last millennia.

Interdisciplinary studies of the last years highlight that the Italian coasts are significantly subject to retreat and to inundation by sea ingression due to natural and anthropic causes. In this study, the effects of future relative sea level have been evaluated for the Volturno River Plain, one of the widest coastal plain in southern Italy. The plain is characterized by high economical and ecological value, for the presence of farm activities, tourist structures and wetland protected zones. The study area is potentially prone to coastal flooding due to its very low topography and because it is affected by a severe subsidence, which emphasize the local effect of sea level rise due to the ongoing climate changes. In accordance with the guidelines of the MEDFLOOD project, the areas prone to inundation in the years 2065 and 2100 have been evaluated by comparing the future topographical information and expected relative sea level scenarios. The local Vertical Ground Displacements have been derived by PS-InSAR processing data whilst the mean values of the scenarios RCP 2.6 and RCP 8.5 provided by the IPCC (2014) have been used as future sea level projections in 2065 and 2100. The PS-InSar data elaboration shows that the area affected by subsidence corresponds to 35% of the Volturno plain and that the annual rate of the phenomenon ranges between −1 and −25 mm/yr. The inundation analysis, based on the classification of the areas in four hazard classes, indicates that in 2065 the zones located below the sea level will increase approximately of 50% respect to the present conditions, while between 2065 and 2100 the increase can be at least of 60% (IPCC, RCP 8.5 scenarios). Considering the socio-economical and ecological exposure, evaluated following the EUROSION project guidelines, the coastal flooding risk maps have been produced. Almost 8.2 km 2 and 14.4 km 2 of the investigated area has to be considered subject to very high marine inundation risk in 2065 and 2100, respectively.

The mapping of landforms in the Gulf of Naples is fundamental to understanding the recent evolution of this perithyrrenian basin controlled by several systems of Quaternary faults and characterised by the presence of the Campi Flegrei and Somma Vesuvius volcanoes. In this paper a 1:85,000 map of the recent evolution of the Gulf of Naples coasts is presented. This cartographic product has been obtained using a compilation of previously published geoarchaeological coastal studies integrated with new field data. The morphogenetic map suggests a differential evolution of various coastal stretches over the past 2000 years driven not only by measured vertical ground movements and eustatic sea-level rise (of 1 m) but also by eruptions of Mt. Vesuvius, in particular the Plinian eruption of 79 AD and the subsequent reworking of it’s products, as well as by the erosive action of the sea.

The prediction of the formation, spacing and location of rip currents is a scientific challenge that can be achieved by means of different complementary methods. In this paper the analysis of numerical and experimental data, including UAV observation, allowed to detect the presence of rip currents and rip channels at the mouth of Sele river, in the Gulf of Salerno, southern Italy. The dataset used to analyze these phenomena consisted of two different bathymetric surveys, a detailed sediment 5 analysis and a set of high-resolution wave numerical simulations, completed with satellite and UAV observation. The grain size trend analysis and the numerical simulations allowed to identify the rip current system, forced by topographically constrained channels incised on the seabed, which were detected by high resolution bathymetric surveys. The study evidenced that on the coastal area of the Sele mouth grain-size trends are controlled by the contribution of fine sediments, which exhibit suspended transport pathways due to rip currents and longshore currents. The results obtained were confirmed by satellite and UAV 10 observations in different years.

A multidisciplinary methodology, integrating stratigraphic, geomorphological and structural data, combined with GIS-aided analysis and PS-InSAR interferomettic data, was applied to characterize the relationships between ground deformations and the stratigraphic and the morphostructural setting of the Venafro intermontane basin. This basin is a morphostructural depression related to NW-SE and NE-SW oriented high angle normal faults bordering and crossing it. In particular, a well-known active fault crossing the plain is the Aquae Juliae Fault, whose recent activity is evidenced by archeoseismological data. The approach applied here reveals new evidence of possible faulting, acting during the Lower to Upper Pleistocene, which has driven the morphotectonic and the environmental evolution of the basin. In particular, the tectonic setting emerging from this study highlights the influence of the NW-SE oriented extensional phase during the late Lower Pleistocene- early Middle Pleistocene, in the generation of NE-SW trending, SE dipping, high-angle faults and NW-SE trending, high-angle transtensive faults. This phase has been followed by a NE-SW extensional one, responsible for the formation of NW-SE trending, both NW and SE dipping, high-angle normal faults, and the reactivation of the oldest NE-SW oriented structures. These NW-SE trending normal faults include the Aquae Juliae Fault and a new one, unknown until now, crossing the plain between the Venafro village and the Colle Cupone Mt. (hereinafter named the Venafro-Colle Cupone Fault, VCCF). This fault has controlled deposition of the youngest sedimentary units (late Middle Pleistocene to late Upper Pleistocene) suggesting its recent activity and it is well constrained by PSInSAR data, as testified by the increase of the subsidence rate in the hanging wall block. (C) 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

We investigated the northern slope of the Matese Mts. (Molise, Central Italy) with the aim of characterizing the N- to NE-dipping active normal fault system in the Bojano basin, a sector of primary importance from a seismic hazard perspective. We collected field data to define the geometry and segmentation pattern of two sub-systems (Patalecchia-Colle di Mezzo and Bojano–Campochiaro). New evidence of late Quaternary faulting was obtained by exploiting well log interpretations. Kinematic analysis revealed the interaction of pre-Quaternary inherited (mainly E-W-striking) and newly formed (NW-SE-striking) normal faults. Slip accommodation through linkage was clearly noted in the case of the Patalecchia-Colle di Mezzo sub-system. Detailed topographic profiles across the active fault segments provided post-LGM (15 ± 3 kyr) slip rates up to ∼2 mm/yr which agree with the high deformation rates based on different approaches in the literature. Finally, the instrumental seismicity analysis constrained the bottom of the seismogenic layer to depths of 13–14 km, and the gathered information allowed us to reconstruct the North Matese seismogenic source. Its 3D geometry and dimensions agree with both the dimension-magnitude relationships and macroseismic information available for the 1805 earthquake (Mw 6.6), the main historical earthquake to have struck the Bojano basin.

Two boreholes, both about 16 m-deep, have been drilled in the Garigliano Plain, a coastal-alluvial plain located at the boundary between southern Latium and northern Campania, Italy. The drill holes have been planned and carried out in the southern part of the plain, near to the bordering ridge of Mount Massico. The multidisciplinary analyses performed on sediment samples from both cores revealed the presence of several marine and continental sedimentation environments, transitional facies and volcanic rocks. All these data, together with the stratigraphic correlation between the two logs, allowed the reconstruction of the sedimentary and morphological evolution of the plain during the Late Quaternary. Further, such an evolutionary sequence has been used as a comparison scheme with regard to other coastal plains of the Tyrrhenian side of central and southern Italy to stress similar or different behaviours among them on a distance of about 400 km of coastal belt. Some remarkable differences have been actually enlighten, with particular reference to the MIS 5.5 and the Holocene. The occurrence in both cores of products of the Campanian Ignimbrite – a ~ 40 ka pyroclastic unit – and associated reworked deposits (about five metres-thick in both cases), has been here reported for the first time in the subsurface of the southern part of the Garigliano Plain. In addition, a tephra layer has been detected at −14.50 m of depth (i.e. 13.50 m a.s.l.) in the northernmost core. This layer has been 40Ar/39Ar dated at 124.5 ± 0.5 ka. In the upper part of the same drill core, deposits interpreted as lagoonal-swamp facies have been recognized. On the basis of 14C dating, we can attribute the starting stage of such a sedimentation to the effects induced by the Post-glacial sea-level rise at about 8000 yr BP. These chronological constraints permitted us to obtain from the paleoecological, palynological, and granulometric analyses of the sampled successions helpful and precise information about sea-level changes along that coastal belt.

This paper describes the results of a multidisciplinary study of four geoarchaeological sites on the Sorrento Peninsula coast (Italy) where the submerged ruins of Roman buildings have enabled the ancient position of both the sea level and the coastline to be reconstructed. The results highlight that the sea level in Roman times, deduced from the submersion measurement of archaeological markers, did not exceed 1.2 m ± 0.30 m, except for Seiano whose submerged remains and surrounding area were heavily damaged by extreme events following the 79 CE Vesuvius eruption. The comparison of these results with the eustatic sea-level curve in Roman times together with the submersion of the tectonically stable site on the Tyrrhenian coast of Italy (Torre Astura, with a well-preserved Roman fishpond) demonstrate that the Sorrento Peninsula has been tectonically stable over the last two millennia. This behaviour started many thousands of years ago, not later than the last interglacial, while the nearby plain of Pompeii and probably the bottom of the adjacent Gulf of Naples have been subsiding at rates of 1 or more mm per year. In the same time span, two of the investigated coastal sectors (Capo di Sorrento and Punta Campanella) have not suffered any significant changes because their sea cliffs are cut in hard limestone. The tufa sea cliff of the Sorrento plain on the other hand, has been retreating by several metres. On the Marina di Equa (Seiano) alluvial coastal plain, which suffered the effects of the 79 CE eruption, the debris and hyperconcentrated flow produced a progradation of > 200 m, which has been totally dismantled over three centuries.

The Roman Villa on the Marina di Equa (Vico Equense, Sorrento Peninsula, Italy), built in the first century A.D., is an important coastal site where the geological effects of the A.D. 79 eruption of Vesuvius are combined with archaeological remains, thus representing an interaction of both human and natural events. At this site, a patrician Roman villa, located at the outlet of a steep V-shaped valley on the northern flank of a ridge in the Lattari Mountains, was completely destroyed by the A.D. 79 eruption and by subsequent mud/debris flows and floods. During these catastrophic events, the villa was rebuilt twice, in the second and third centuries A.D., as shown by archaeological evidence on the beach. A marine geophysical survey was conducted to study the unexplored portion of this archaeological site. A geographical information system (GIS) analysis of integrated geophysical survey data has identified and mapped (in two and three dimensions) the major underwater archaeological structures on and below the seabed in the villa harbor. A map of the ancient port of the Roman villa has been created by correlating the submerged remains with the construction phases of the villa.

Many coastlines around the world are subsiding, often due to tectonic causes. In tectonically active areas, the exploitation of natural resources has caused acceleration of subsidence rates. In these cases, it is difficult to separate the many different components of the subsidence process. We try to fill this gap, using both remote sensing data and geological evidence, in an area located in southern Italy (Sele River plain) and characterized by the presence of both human activities and natural processes. The coastal sector of the Sele plain shows a complex subsidence pattern, as testified by Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PS InSAR) data related to a period of about two decades (1992–2010), that we put in correlation with stratigraphical data from both outcrops and boreholes (ca. 250). The Quaternary infill of the coastal sectors of the plain is not laterally isotropic and homogeneous because of the presence of layers of clastic sediments with different degrees of compaction. Dunal and beach sands, back-ridge (lagoonal and palustrine) silty clays, palaeosols and thick peaty layers are the main facies of this sedimentary prism. The back-ridge depressions hosted palustrine and marshy environments and were artificially drained in the last centuries. The main output of the PS- InSAR analysis is a map of vertical ground deformation (VGD), which has been a useful tool to understand the causes of the subsidence process if combined with geological data from field and boreholes. In fact, the overlay of the SAR interferometry VGD map with the geomorphological and stratigraphical features shows that the subsidence is higher in the northern sector of the plain, where the Quaternary alluvial-coastal deposits are thicker because of the structural asymmetry of the graben. The maximum subsidence rate, however, can be observed in the central part of the plain, in correspondence of the Sele, Tusciano and Picentino river mouths and in the coastal belt. This could be related to the thickness of loose sediments (>20 m) and to the presence of still compacting clay-rich sediments. In the southernmost sector the rates are the lowest recorded in the plain due to the minor thickness of Holocene deposits and to the presence of very thick sedimentary bodies of travertine. The understanding of subsidence patterns may represent a basic tool for future studies about the assessment of the coastal inundation hazard and related risk mitigation in the Sele River plain. Such a tool may reinforce the methodological approach to risk assessment in similar morphological settings.

The aim of this paper was to implement an integrated method for high-resolution surveys by using a robotics technology. In order to reconstruct underwater landscapes of high cultural value, geophysical and photogrammetric sensors were integrated on-board of an USV allowing a precise mapping of the seabed morphology as well as a detailed three-dimensional reconstruction of the archaeological remains.

The main aim of this paper is to present a new methodology to determine coastal susceptibility to erosion and flooding processes by means of an index-based method. The proposed indices take into account physical parameters, such as dune and beach geomorphologic characteristics, shoreline evolution, local significant wave height and relative run-up. The coastal susceptibility has been estimated by elaboration of spatial input data into a GIS environment. The method has been tested in Valdelagrana area, a sandy spit located in SW Spain. The spit includes several morpho-sedimentary environments: sandy beach, discontinuous embryo dunes and foredunes, mud flats and wide areas of vegetated salt marshes. The Northernmost sector is densely urbanized whilst the rest is part of a natural protected area belonging to the Bahia de Cadiz Natural Park. The results obtained showed how the Southern part of the spit presented a high susceptibility due to an elevated erosion rate and the presence of low and discontinuous dune ridges.

This paper illustrates an index-based coastal risk assessment that was performed on a micro-tidal alluvial plain taking into account the relative sea level rise (RSLR) for the evaluation of coastal vulnerability and exposure. This process took into account both the inundation of inshore land and the beach retreat due to storm surge, calculated on the basis of geomorphological data (bathymetry, sedimentology and beach width) and wave climate. The evaluation process was conceived with reference to a low and high hazard, associated with a wave storm with 1 year and 50 years return period. For the latter case, the response to RSLR was calculated taking into account both isostatic response and ice cap melting due to global warming, while the vertical land movement was assessed taking into account the different its rates in the northern and southern coastal area. The exposure and the damage of the coastal assets were evaluated with a simplified conceptual framework, which uses land cover data and a statistical population dataset. The risk assessment procedure was applied to Sele coastal plain, which involves numerous properties and important infrastructures, and is strongly susceptible to marine inundations. A sensitivity analysis of the vulnerability and the risk relative to different hazards and to RSLR was performed. Moreover, the final risk assessment classification was validated with a conceptual framework based on the observed damage ranking related to the tested coastal area. The obtained results showed that the northern high density urban areas were characterized by the highest risk, followed by some central areas with strong localized erosive focus. On the contrary, the southern zones, with wider beaches and almost intact dunes, were characterized by the lowest risk level. The results of this study were used for the development of a coastal protection project which, in fact, provided a different scheme for the coastline northwards and southwards of the Sele river mouth, according to the different risk ranking established.

Some major rivers in southern Italy (Trigno, Biferno, Fortore and Volturno), as most of Italy's rivers, have suffered significant channel changes during the last 60 years. Channel adjustments mainly consisted in channel narrowing and bed lowering coupled with pattern changes. Over the last 10-15 years, these rivers have undergone some important modifications in their evolutionary trends. More specifically, the Trigno River and the reaches of the Fortore River located upstream the Occhito dam are interested by moderate channel recovery, while the Volturno and Biferno rivers and the Fortore reaches located downstream the dam are affected by slight channel recovery or no significant changes in morphology. Key driving factors of these recent evolutionary trends seem to be the occurrence of major flood events and the degree of channel mobility that is conditioned by channel works and riparian woody vegetation.

This paper concerns the reconstruction of the main stages of the long-term landscape evolution of the Molise portion of the central-southern Apennines along a transect divided into three sectors (SW, Central and NE). Analysis mainly focused on geomorphological, stratigraphical and structural data supported by chronological constraints, coming from an overall review of past literature and several studies carried out by the authors of the paper during the last 20 years. The results obtained allowed the elaboration of a conceptual model of the long-term evolution of the Molise sector of the central-southern Apennines. Starting from the Pliocene, the emersion of the Molise area occurred gradually from SW to NE, allowing a polycyclic landscape to evolve under the major controls first of compression then transtensional to extensional tectonics as well as climatic variations. Principal markers of the Quaternary geomorphological evolution of the Molise area are represented by the infill successions of the intermontane tectonic depressions located in its internal, SW sector and by four orders of palaeosurfaces that developed between the Early Pleistocene and the beginning of the Late Pleistocene across the region. These markers testify to the alternation of phases of substantial tectonic stability and uplift whose spatial-temporal distribution could be assessed along the investigated transect. Results highlight that the most important stages of landscape evolution occurred during the Early and Middle Pleistocene. At the beginning of the Late Pleistocene, the Molise sector of the Apennine chain had already reached its present setting and further landscape evolution occurred under the major control of climate and land-use.

Vesuvius and Campi Flegrei are among the best known active volcanoes in the world because of their well-documented activity in historical times (witnessed also in the archaeological sites) and due to the risk they create in the surrounding densely populated area. Vesuvius is a composite stratovolcano including an older cone cut by a large caldera (Mt. Somma, 1131 m) and a younger cone called Vesuvius Gran Cono (1256 m). The Campi Flegrei are composed by a large caldera (12 km wide) occupied by about 30 younger monogenic edifices, mainly tuff rings and tuff cones, created by explosive eruptions due to the interaction between trachytic magma and underground water. Very famous is also the vertical ground deformation (bradyseism) affecting Pozzuoli in the Campi Flegrei. This phenomenon has been recorded for the last 2000 years by sea level marks on the columns of the Roman temple Serapeo.

The Coastal Vulnerability and Exposure Degree (CVED) of the Gran Canaria Island and the coastal risk of Playa de Las Canteras (Las Palmas de G.C.) have been assessed by means of a GIS analysis. The evaluation of coastal vulnerability (H) has been performed by using two different levels of analysis: the first one regarding the entire Island (Coastal Vulnerability Index method - CVI), the second one regarding specifically Las Canteras Beach, selected for its socio-economic importance (Coastal Vulnerability Assessment method - CVA). The application of the CVI method, based on geologic-geomorphologic and meteomarine data easily available, has allowed the regional scale assessment of coastal vulnerability (H) along the Gran Canaria coastline and, therefore, the individuation of more critical coast stretches deserving further analysis. The application of the CVA method, based on more specific morphologic-sedimentary beach features that allow to consider both the beach retreat due to storm surge and the coastal inundation due to run-up on the beach, has provided a large scale detail on the coastal vulnerability of Las Canteras Beach. Socio-economic and damage indexes have been determined for the 15 coastal municipalities included in the study area and, by means of the resulting matrix product, the degree of exposure (Ex) along the Gran Canaria coast has been assessed. Finally, the combination of coastal vulnerability and exposure levels has allowed to obtain the Coastal Vulnerability and Exposure Degree (CVED) for the entire Island and the risk levels that characterize specifically Las Canteras Beach. Major results in terms of CVED highlight prevailing low vulnerability and exposure levels along the western coast, and overall high vulnerability and exposure levels along the eastern coast, from Las Palmas de G.C. to San Bartolome de Tirajana. The focus made on Playa de Las Canteras has allowed to identify the areas characterized by medium and high risk levels that represent approximately one third (940 m) of the entire beach and are located in its central part. The used two-level analysis approach has proved its efficiency by highlighting the degree of coastal vulnerability along the study coast and, especially, more critical coast stretches (CVI method) such as the Playa de Las Canteras that can be successfully analysed with the CVA approach allowing for a large-scale assessment of risk aspects, essential for a correct definition of priority management strategies. Results obtained with the present study, along with the awareness of the increasing phenomena of coastal erosion and marine flooding arising on the mid-long term due to the effects of global climate change, highlight the need for the competent public administrations of Gran Canaria to develop a strategic approach to coastal management and sustainable development that considers as a whole socio-economic values and natural resources, coastal vulnerability and exposure degree, and risk aspects.

The need for a multidisciplinary approach for characterizing water bodies in terms of morphological, chemical and ecological quality has hastened the growth of hydromorphology as a cross-disciplinary topic at the interface of hydrology, geomorphology and ecology. Many authors have analysed how hydroecology may affect freshwater biodiversity, although little is known about how this biodiversity might be affected by river morphological quality. We examined how well the presence of the semi-aquatic Eurasian otter can be predicted by the rivers' morphological quality and its adjustments over the last decades. We tested the morphological quality index (MQI) methodology in 38 reaches of five rivers in southern Italy, 23 of which were positive to otter presence. In each reach, we examined 28 indicators contributing to the MQI and its 11 sub-indices. The results showed a significant relationship between the probability of the presence of otters, MQI, and some sub-indices. The best performing sub-indices were related to channel adjustments and the continuity of river processes. A more detailed analysis of channel adjustments showed a detrimental effect of channel incision (>3 m) and a positive effect of narrowing, particularly where it occurred simultaneously with the development of forest in the new floodplain. The continuity of river processes has driven the migration of river banks and the development of ponds and secondary channels, likely increasing the availability of dens and resting sites and the hunting capabilities of otters. Our results stressed the importance of fluvial dynamics and sustainable adaptive river management for the habitat quality of semi-aquatic species. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Many elements determine land sensitivity to desertification, whose analysis requires multifactorial approaches to be used. The environmental sensitive areas methodology is a well-known approach to estimate sensitivity to desertification that accounts for multiple interacting driving forces, conceived and validated in a Mediterranean environment. We show that the environmental sensitive areas methodology can be used, with minor modifications, in a tropical context, where it allows the discrimination among environments with different degree of susceptibility to degradation and resilience. The results obtained for the Dominican Republic show that 48·4% of its territory is critically sensitive to desertification, and 16·4% of it is highly critically sensitive to desertification, mostly because of intense and inadequate land use practices. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

An integrated morpho-stratigraphic approach has been used to reconstruct the Quaternary history of the Boiano basin, the largest tectonic depression of the Molise Apennine (Italy). Lacustrine, marshy and fluvial environments alternate all along the investigated infilling succession as a response to tectonic subsidence, volcaniclastic inputs and climate changes, from ca. 500 ka. Two tephra layers 40Ar/39Ar have been dated and referred to the Middle Pleistocene explosive activity of the Roccamonfina volcano, while a younger tephra layer has been related to the Campi Flegrei Neapolitan Yellow Tuff (ca. 15 ka). Pollen analysis has highlighted the vegetation changes related to the 100 ka glacial-interglacial cyclicity, between MIS 13 and 2. From 500 to 350 ka, a strong subsidence led to lacustrine deposition, while between 350 and 250 ka, a decrease in subsidence rates caused the transition to fluvial-marshy conditions and, at a later stage, to floodplain environments. The analysis of palaeosurfaces allowed the geomorphological evolution of the basin to be reconstructed since the Middle Pleistocene and the morpho-sedimentary events to be related to the SW-NE extensional tectonics affecting this sector of the central-southern Apennine. This tectonic behavior is also testified by the differential subsidence rates recorded within the basin through the analysis of two deep cores drilled in the center of the Boiano town.

Molise is an Italian region with a high concentration of landslides. However, an estimation of landslide susceptibility for the entire region has never been officially performed. In this paper, a landslide susceptibility analysis is illustrated based on the implementation of two different statistical methods (bivariate and multivariate). The aim is to obtain a susceptibility map that provides a good representation of the criticality of the study area together with a reliable statistical performance. Various combinations of conditioning factors were tested with the two methods and, based on expert judgment and ROC (Receiver Operating Curve) values, the one obtained through the multivariate approach was selected as the best map.

Soil loss caused by accelerated erosion is a growing problem in the Mediterranean belt in general, and in many parts of the Calabrian region (Southern Italy), in particular. It is due to the combination of peculiar geo-morphological, pedological and climatic features, very often exacerbated by unsuitable land management. The aim of this study was to analyze and map soil loss by water-induced soil erosion at catchment scale. Soil loss was quantified using the revised universal soil loss equation (RUSLE) model implemented in a geographical information system (GIS). The RUSLE is an empirical model which estimates the average annual soil loss that would generally result from splash, sheet and rill erosion. Soil loss (A) is measured as a product of rainfall erosivity (R), soil erodibility (K), slope length and steepness (LS), land use (C), and support practice and management (P). The analysis showed that the total soil loss estimated in the study area was 8,949.7 t yr-1 with an average annual soil loss of 3.07 t ha-1 yr-1. Spatial variation and rates of soil erosion are mainly linked to land use, and the rate of soil erosion varied from less than 1 t ha-1 yr-1 in the wooded areas to more than 10 t ha-1 yr-1 in the barren lands. In addition, the comparison between soil loss and slope maps showed that more than 50% of the estimated soil loss involved slopes with a gradient of over 20°. Finally, the soil loss map was classified into five classes: very low, low, moderate, high, and very high. About 17.5% of the study area falls in the high to very high soil loss classes, while about 53% of the study area falls in the very low soil loss class.