Sea-level changes in the Adriatic from tide-gauge data Fabio RaicichAssessing the impact of climate change in Italian coastal areas: tools and methods of risk and vulnerability assessment. Silvia Torresan, Elisa Furlan, Petra dalla Pozza, Diana Derepasko, Andrea Critto, Melania Michetti, Mattia Amadio, Jaroslav Mysiak 35131, Padova, Italy alessandro.fontana@unipd.it, livio.ronchi@gmail.com ANNAMARIA CORREGGIARI CNR-ISMAR Institute of Marine Sciences in BolognaVia Gobetti 101, 40129, Bologna, Italy anna.correggiari@bo.ismar.cnr.it STEFANO FURLANIUniversity of 34128, Trieste, Italy Stefano.furlani@units.it MLADEN JURAČIĆ, IGOR FELJAUniversity of Zagreb -Faculty of Science, Department of Geology Horvatovac 102a, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia mjuracic@geol.pmf.hr, igorfelja@geol.pmf.hr In the last years strong e orts have been done by the scienti c community to reconstruct the post-LGM transgression and describe it through geophysical models that could match with the observed eld data. Notwithstanding, the eustatic curve is still largely unconstrained before 8 ka BP because of the few available data. Northern Adriatic is one of the very few places in the Mediterranean Basin where the sea-level variations occurred between Lateglacial and Early Holocene are recorded. These changes are documented by sediments and landforms, thanks to the gentle slope of the continental shelf and the occurrence of lagoon and paralic environments, which are strongly sensitive even to subtle variations of the sea level. This research considered the large database of CHIRP-Sonar pro les and stratigraphic cores collected by CNR-ISMAR of Bologna, especially through the oceanographic missions carried out on-board of the research vessel Urania. A major issue is the recognition and characterization of the periods of rapid increase of the sea level, which punctuated some phases during the Lateglacial and the rst part of Holocene, which caused the abrupt submersion of large sectors of the coast. In the study area the remnants of a large barrier-island system formed during Younger Dryas and drowned in place soon after are present. Moreover, important information about a sea-level jump occurred around 9.5-9.2 ka BP have been recently documented in the deltaic plain of Po River and in the submerged shelf. This phase of transgression led the Adriatic to enter in the Gulf of Trieste, dramatically transforming the area between Istria and the coast of Friuli. Some key questions, still partly unsolved, are related to the main indexes allowing the identi cations of sea-level jumps and the possible occurrence of sea-level stillstands or the apparent decrease of the marine rise because of the increase in sediment supply.Keywords: transgressive deposits, lagoon environments, submarine landforms We investigated MIS 5.5 fossil tidal notches located in tectonically stable coasts of the central Mediterranean. In these stable areas, the elevation of the base of the MIS 5.5 notch ranges from 2.09 to 12.48 m, with a mean of 5.7 m. Such variability,...

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Coastal retreat is a non-recoverable phenomenon that—together with a relevant proneness to landslides—has economic, social and environmental impacts. Quantitative data on geological and geomorphologic features of such areas can help to predict and quantify the phenomena and to propose mitigation measures to reduce their impact. Coastal areas are often inaccessible for sampling and in situ surveys, in particular where steeply sloping cliffs are present. Uses and capability of infrared thermography (IRT) were reviewed, highlighting its suitability in geological and landslides hazard applications. Thanks to the high resolution of the cameras on the market, unmanned aerial vehicle-based IRT allows to acquire large amounts of data from inaccessible steep cliffs. Coupled structure-from-motion photogrammetry and coregistration of data can improve accuracy of IRT data. According to the strengths recognized in the reviewed literature, a three-step methodological approach to produce IRTs was proposed.

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Through a non-invasive and interdisciplinary approach, distribution and size/age structure of deep dwelling populations of the precious red coral Corallium rubrum (LINNAEUS, 1758), were described in two different areas of the south Sardinia continental shelf: San Pietro Island and Capo Carbonara. Although its presence in south Sardinian waters is known, data on coral populations dwelling in deeper waters (below 50 meters of depth) are still represented by few studies. Data collected in the framework of the project "MaGIC" (Marine Geohazard along Italian Coasts), carried out in summer 2009 and spring 2010, furnished the guideline to map and identify rocky habitats (e.g. submarine canyons and outcrops) along the continental margin, which are suitable for red coral settlement. An extensive ROV survey, carried out in autumn 2011, provided useful information on occurrence, abundance, density and morphometric parameters of coral colonies. Red coral was found in both sites, distributed in patches, in different scenarios characterized by different habitat complexity. Over 1400 colonies were found in Capo Carbonara along the steep walls of a secondary channel of the Carbonara Canyon, while hundreds of specimens were found west of San Pietro Island along the outcrops ridges and on small boulders. Both populations were mainly composed by small and young colonies, while densities were different among sites, possibly affected by the role that habitat complexity plays in hydrodynamic and, consequently, on food supply, sedimentation, and settlement of colonies. These preliminary results contribute to advance knowledge on distribution and demography of deep dwelling populations of C.rubrum, which gain considerable importance in conservation and management of this precious resource. We strongly stress that interdisciplinary approaches that combines different scales of multibeam and ROV investigation are today fundamental to better understand distribution patterns within habitats, at species or community level

During the lowstand sea-level phase of the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), a large part of the current Mediterranean continental shelf emerged. Erosional and depositional processes shaped the coastal strips, while inland areas were affected by aeolian and fluvial processes. Evidence of both the lowstand phase and the subsequent phases of eustatic sea level rise can be observed on the continental shelf of Sardinia (Italy), including submerged palaeo-shorelines and landforms, and indicators of relict coastal palaeo-environments. This paper shows the results of a high-resolution survey on the continental shelf off San Pietro Island (southwestern Sardinia). Multisensor and multiscale data—obtained by means of seismic sparker, sub-bottom profiler chirp, multibeam, side scan sonar, diving, and uncrewed aerial vehicles—made it possible to reconstruct the morphological features shaped during the LGM at depths between 125 and 135 m. In particular, tectonic controlled palaeo-cliffs affected by landslides, the mouth of a deep palaeo-valley fossilized by marine sediments and a palaeo-lagoon containing a peri-littoral thanatocenosis (18,983 ± 268 cal BP) were detected. The Younger Dryas palaeo-shorelines were reconstructed, highlighted by a very well preserved beachrock. The coastal paleo-landscape with lagoon-barrier systems and retro-littoral dunes frequented by the Mesolithic populations was reconstructed.