Erosion hazard assessment along the Capitolo coast (Monopoli, southern Italy)

Abstract

Erosion affects about 25% of the coast of the Apulia region, with the severest consequences being along sandy coastlines. Beach retreat is mainly due to the decrease of solid material transport, the destruction of dune deposits and the building of docks that obstruct the longshore current. A survey was conducted around Capitolo, the main sandy coastline near Bari, to examine the hazards affecting beaches and to provide guidelines for the management of human activities along the coasts. The survey was carried out along a coastal stretch of about 3 km, extending in a South Easterly direction from 178 21 ′ 30 ′′ E, 408 54 ′ 20 ′′ N to 178 23 ′ E, 408 53 ′ 40 ′′ N. The map, at a scale of 1:3000, shows three levels of hazard, determined as follows: (i) the state of preservation of the dunes and watercourses, based on the geomorphological map of the Apulia region; (ii) data collected from July 1989 to April 2008 by the Monopoli buoy of the National Wave Measuring Network; (iii) the shoreline change rates computed within a geographic information system (GIS). A matrix was established taking into account of these features, weighting each parameter in order to develop a hazard-level measurement for shoreline lengths of about 25 meters. The results show that all Capitolo beaches have a high level of shore preservation hazard. The results of this study should be a factor in any decisions made on the management of the present day village, both existing commercial activities and the future development of the area.

Exploring the Ever-Changing Seashore Using Geoinformatics Technology

“…The radical change of the shoreline over time is one of the most important factors to be taken into consideration when designing structures along the coastline [2][3][4][5][6][7]. Detecting, Earth 2021, 2 extracting and monitoring shoreline changes using historical Google Earth images, aerial photography, unmanned aerial vehicle survey, and ground truth survey using GPS and realtime kinematic are vital for coastal zone management [8,9].…”