Chapter A multiscale analysis of the morphological setting along the susceptible coastal area of the Agri river (southern Italy)

Abstract

Assessment of coastal vulnerability to physical and anthropic processes is a crucial step in coastal risk management, especially in climate change scenarios characterized by sea level rise and increasing human pressure. The application of geomorphological-based indices is a consolidated approach to estimate the degree of vulnerability to erosion processes of low-relief coasts at a regional/wide scale. Such a method is based on the combination of physical variables such as shoreline changes, dune and beach geometry, vegetation, and coastal infrastructures, which are statistically or arbitrarily ranked to extract a vulnerability classification. Recent advances in the availability of UAV platforms with higher performance in terms of flight duration, sensor availability, and mapping resolution provide a unique opportunity for a comparison between high-resolution DEMs and the results that can be obtained from the application of a Coastal Index. In this study, short- and medium-term comparison (i.e. about ten years) of high-resolution DEMs (derived by LiDAR) was performed in one of the sectors of the Ionian coastal belt, providing new insights about the geomorphological evolution of a highly vulnerable sector along a retreating coast. Such a comparison was tested along a sector of the coastal areas of the Basilicata region, southern Italy, that includes the Agri River mouth. The study area is featured by a strong human impact and environmental factors that have promoted in the last years the occurrence of remarkable shoreline retreat and coastal erosion.