This research proposes the acquisition of a time series from optical satellites to observe changes in the Venice lagoon, an ecosystem which is very challenging to monitor by means of in situ survey activities, let alone using remote sensing techniques, given the presence of land and sandbars (vegetated intertidal areas). The work describes the specific validation process performed by ISPRA on the results obtained as applied on some target sites of the Venice Lagoon, both natural and partially artificial islands, using fully artificial islands as reference.

The Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA) has developed the Geodatabase “Linea di Costa”. that allows to perform spatial analysis on the recorded geometrical elements, and to provide a periodic update on the evolution of the coastline. The main objective of this work is to highlight the potential of a continuously updated geodatabase over time in monitoring and analysing the state of the coasts at a local level, presenting one of several case studies carried out by ISPRA, following specific requests related to local coastal dynamics received from the stakeholders.