Human influence over 150 years of coastal evolution in the Volturno delta system (southern Italy)

Modelling Actual and Future Seawater Intrusion in the Variconi Coastal Wetland (Italy) Due to Climate and Landscape Changes

“…Here evapoconcentration period shift until middle September for the future period (Figure 3d) further highlighting the decreasing future summer precipitation pattern respect to the present period ( Figure 3c). According to Ruberti et al [32] and Donadio et al [52], shoreline position for the 2040 is predicted as unchanged because the Variconi littoral is protected from erosion with a submerged breakwater, whereas large coastline variations are expected northward the Volturno river mouth. The subsidence rates in the alluvial and coastal plain of the Volturno river can be highly variable, but they are rather stable near the river mouth [35] The subsidence rate was included in the predictive model using a lumped parameter [53] that provided minimum and maximum relative sea level rise (RSLR) at the Volturno river mouth.…”

“…The subsidence rates in the alluvial and coastal plain of the Volturno river can be highly variable, but they are rather stable near the river mouth [35] The subsidence rate was included in the predictive model using a lumped parameter [53] that provided minimum and maximum relative sea level rise (RSLR) at the Volturno river mouth. In fact, according to Lambeck et al [54], the Tyrrhenian Sea level According to Ruberti et al [32] and Donadio et al [52], shoreline position for the 2040 is predicted as unchanged because the Variconi littoral is protected from erosion with a submerged breakwater, whereas large coastline variations are expected northward the Volturno river mouth. The subsidence rates in the alluvial and coastal plain of the Volturno river can be highly variable, but they are rather stable near the river mouth [35] The subsidence rate was included in the predictive model using a lumped parameter [53] that provided minimum and maximum relative sea level rise (RSLR) at the Volturno river mouth.…”

“…Accordingly, a management strategy is necessary, but is also important to understand how SWI occurs in costal aquifers and how it spreads toward inland [29]. The Variconi oasis was selected because a precise stratigraphic framework is available [30] and land use changes over the last century were recorded and mapped [31,32]. Thus, a reconstruction of the past and present-day zones where groundwater and surface water actively exchange was obtained.…”

Subsidence Trends of Volturno River Coastal Plain (Northern Campania, Southern Italy) Inferred by SAR Interferometry Data

“…Evidence for a persisting progradational trend of the shoreline has been documented since the 3rd century BC [39,64]. During the last century, a significant shoreline retreat affected the Volturno River mouth, particularly at the delta cusp, which was related to the decrease in river sediment load [39,41,65].…”

“…Human activity often resulted in dramatic changes of the landscape, loss of coastal wetland and accelerated coastal erosion [39][40][41]65]. The effects of the above anthropic impacts are currently adding complexity to a scenario characterized by long-term land subsidence and predicted sea-level rise [69].…”