Developments of innovative methodologies for Marine Relict Sand Deposits (DSMRs) identification and remotely-sensed shoreline extraction

This Industrial PhD project is a part of the theme set out in point “Blu Growth” of the National Strategy of Intelligent Specialization (SNSI) approved by the European Commission, which defines among the objectives the sector that refers precisely to the marine extraction industry: activities of extraction of natural resources from the sea, that can be reported to the ATECO code “08.12.0, Extraction of gravel, sand; extraction of clays and kaolin". The proposal includes research actions aimed at the development of innovative systems and tools useful to identify and study the area where is higher the probability to detect the submerged relict sand deposits in some sector of the Mediterranean Sea. Moreover, a study of sandy beaches with a quantification of the shoreline variation is also required. In order to satisfy these objectives, the research was focused on the study of sediment flux, a non-invasive method useful to predict accurately the volume, timing and location of sediments that are transported from an erosional source region into a basin-depocenter sink. This kind of approach could led to the identification of areas on the continental shelf where the probability to found relict sand deposits is higher. The other part of the project was aimed at the development of a remotely sensed method to estimate and quantify the shoreline variation useful for understanding which beaches are more subject to erosion processes and consequently plan targeted nourishment interventions on them. The identification and recovery of relict sand from the submerged environment could become, in the immediate future, a widespread practice to tackle the problem of coastal erosion. Currently, the beach nourishment technique with the use of marine sands is highly developed in Northern Europe where the coasts are monitored regularly and managed with long-term programs. In Italy, researches for the location of sandy deposits and their evaluation for a possible extraction activity have been carried out in the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic Seas. In Sicily, relict sediment deposits have been identified in the Gulfs of Termini Imerese and Palermo. The international scientific community and modern coastal engineering indicate the structural nourishment and periodic maintenance of the coasts with submerged sand as the most suitable eco-compatible tools for functional coastal defense. They allow the reconstruction and conservation of the beach profile (emerged and submerged), restoring its original ability to dissipate wave energy.