1The Last Interglacial (MIS 5e, is among the most studied past periods in Earth's history. The 2 climate at that time was warmer than today, primarily due to different orbital conditions, with smaller 3 ice sheets and higher sea-level. Field evidence for MIS 5e sea-level was reported from thousands of sites, 4 but often paleo shorelines were measured with low-accuracy techniques and, in some cases, there are 5 contrasting interpretations about paleo sea-level reconstructions. For this reason, large uncertainties still 6 surround both the maximum sea-level attained as well as the pattern of sea-level change throughout 7 MIS 5e. Such uncertainties are exacerbated by the lack of a uniform approach to measuring and 8interpreting the geological evidence of paleo sea-levels. In this review, we discuss the characteristicsof 9 MIS 5e field observations, and we set the basis for a standardized approach to MIS 5e paleo sea-level 10 reconstructions, that is already successfully applied in Holocene sea-level research. Application of the 11 standard definitions and methodologies described in this paper will enhance our ability to compare data 12 from different research groups and different areas, in order to gain deeper insights into MIS 5e sea-level 13 changes. Improving estimates of Last Interglacial sea-level is, in turn, a key to understand the behavior of 14 ice sheets in a warmer world. 15 12 Bruneau, N., Fortunato, A.B., Dodet, G., Freire, P., Oliveira, A., Bertin, X., 2011. Future evolution of a tidal 13 inlet due to changes in wave climate, Sea-level and lagoon morphology (Óbidos lagoon, Portugal). ., 2010. The last 21 interglacial sea-level high stand on the southern Cape coastline of South Africa. Quat. Res. 73, 351-22 363. 23Casella, E., Rovere, A., Pedroncini, A., Mucerino, L., Casella, M., Cusati, A.L., Vacchi, M., Ferrari, M., 24Firpo, M., 2014. Study of wave runup using numerical models and low-altitude aerial 25 photogrammetry : A tool for coastal management.

A traversing micro-erosion meter was used to measure rock surface micro-topography over 40 cm 2 on a supra-tidal cliff face from early morning to late evening in late spring. From 06:00 hours to 22:00 hours the relative heights of 188 coordinates were obtained using the meter at 2-hour intervals, resulting in a data set of 1607 readings. Monitoring shows that rock surfaces are dynamic entities, with significant rise and fall relative to the first measurement at shorter timescales than previously reported. The maximum positive rise between readings was 0·261 mm and lowering was 0·126 mm. The pattern of change did not relate as expected to environmental variables such as temperature or insolation. Rather, the surface showed greater surface change in the early morning and late afternoon. It is hypothesized that this pattern relates to the expansion and contraction of lichen thalli as moisture is absorbed during higher humidity in the morning and late afternoon. The implications of these results for weathering studies are considered.

New monitoring technologies are being progressively implemented in open-ocean and coastal observatories. The Mediterranean Sea is a well-known, reduced-scale ocean, an ideal natural laboratory to study global ocean processes, in particular those associated with meso- and submesoscale variability, interactions with mean flows and associated ecosystem response. SOCIB, the Balearic Islands Coastal Ocean Observing and Forecasting System, is one of such observatories, a multiplatform distributed and integrated system, a facility of facilities that extends from the nearshore to the open sea. SOCIB profits from the strategic position of the Balearic Islands at the Atlantic/Mediterranean transition area, one of the “hot spots” of biodiversity in the world’s oceans, and also of societal needs in islands where preservation of the environment is essential to assure both residents’ welfare and the competitiveness of the tourist sector. SOCIB is unique in that, from peer-reviewed excellence, its mission and objectives are science-, technology-, and society-driven. These types of new marine infrastructures, because of their critical mass and sustained funding, are presently establishing new ways of international cooperation, leading to major science breakthroughs, innovations in oceanographic instrumentation, and new ways of more efficient and science-based coastal and ocean management. We describe the major elements and structure of SOCIB and present some recent scientific, technological, and society-related results that are of relevance at a global ocean scale.

Rock coasts and shore platforms are conspicuous landforms along the Mediterranean and Black Sea (MBS) coasts. These coasts have been fashioned by changes in sea level because of vertical movements of the land and variations in eustatic and isostatic sea-level. For this reason, the Quaternary evolution of MBS coasts has been extensively studied, even starting from geomorphological markers, while very few researches have addressed the processes related to their origin and evolution. Despite most of the Mediterranean coast being rocky, studies about rocky shore processes are almost completely lacking, except for limited areas. Data on sea cliff retreats have mainly been collected to study the susceptibility of cliff failures or to prevent landslides, in particular along shores used for tourism. Data on erosion rates and processes on shore platforms are generally scarce and restricted to limestone bedrocks. In this paper, we summarize the results of studies of rates and processes of rocky coasts of the countries overlooking the Mediterranean and Black Seas and review the current knowledge concerning rock coasts in the MBS area.

Microorganisms are a ubiquitous feature of most hard substrata on Earth and their role in the geomorphological alteration of rock and stone is widely recognized. The role of microorganisms in the modification of engineering materials introduced into the intertidal zone through the construction of hard coastal defences is less well understood. Here we use scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to examine microbial colonization and micro-scale geomorphological features on experimental blocks of limestone, granite and marine concrete after eight months' exposure in the intertidal zone in Cornwall, UK.Significant differences in the occurrence of microbial growth features, and micro-scale weathering and erosion features were observed between material types (ANOVA p < 0·000). Exposed limestone blocks were characterized by euendolithic borehole erosion (99% occurrence) within the upper 34·0 Ϯ 12·3 mm of the surface. Beneath the zone of boring, inorganic weathering (chemical dissolution and salt action) had occurred to a depth of 125·0 Ϯ 39·0 mm. Boring at the surface of concrete was less common (27% occurrence), while bio-chemical crusting was abundant (94% occurrence, mean thickness 45·1 Ϯ 27·7 mm). Crusts consisted of biological cells, salts and other chemical precipitates. Evidence of cryptoendolithic growth was also observed in limestone and concrete, beneath the upper zone of weathering. On granite, biological activity was restricted to thin epilithic films (<10 mm thickness) with some limited evidence of mechanical breakdown.Results presented here demonstrate the influence of substratum lithology, hardness and texture on the nature of early micro-scale colonization, and the susceptibility of different engineering materials to organic weathering and erosion processes in the intertidal zone. The implications of differences in initial biogeomorphic responses of materials for long-term rock weathering, ecology and engineering durability are discussed.

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A low cost, automated, remote monitoring video system built on standard commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components and implemented with open source software is presented. The system has been implemented in a coastal area to perform image acquisition and processing, generating statistical products and transferring the information from the fi eld to a central node where post-processing and data visualization are made available to the general public. The open structure of the software allows the user to implement new routines and modules appropriate to fi t specifi c needs as well as to adapt the system to study other dynamical processes where continuous observation is required. The software and image data base can be obtained as freeware.

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