WP1 - Evolution, morphological structure and sedimentary balance

WP1 concerns with the study of the interaction between the evolution of coastal systems and human activities. Through the acquisition of integrated information, obtained through the application of different techniques of geological and geophysical investigation, the three-dimensional geometry of recent coastal deposits is reconstructed and in place sedimentary processes are observed and measured, focusing on coastal areas of particular national interest (North Adriatic coast of Pesaro, the Gulf of Taranto, Gulf of Naples, the Belice Basin in Sicily, the Gulf of Oristano in Sardinia).

The WP also includes the study of natural factors and human pressures that determine the flow of groundwater and soil movements in relation to the geo-morphological and hydro-logical asset of coastal plain and high coasts environments with fractured rocks. The development of methodologies for bathymetric high resolution measurements in shallow water coastal environments provides an important tool, new for Italy, to quantify sediment movements in relation both to gradual environmental changes, to sudden events and, in some cases, to catastrophic ones. This modern quantitative approach to seabed knowledge is functional to other project activities, such as habitat mapping, the development of hydrodynamic models and the characterization of contaminated sites.

The WP is divided into the following actions:

• AZ1 - Morphological structure and sedimetary dynamics

• AZ2 - Hydrological processes, soil dynamics and sea level changes

• AZ3 - Development of methodologies for high-resolution morphobathymetric survey

WP leader Giorgio Fontolan - CONISMA