Geomorphological and Structural Assessment of the Coastal Area of Capo Faro Promontory, NE Salina (Aeolian Islands, Italy)

Abstract

Capo Faro Promontory, located in Salina (Aeolian Islands, southern Italy), is a popular summer destination due to its volcanic morphologies, seaside, and enogastronomy. A flat area, right behind the scarp edge of a coastal cliff, hosts the Capo Faro Estate, one of the most renowned vineyards and residences on Salina Island. The promontory has been characterised in terms of geomorphological features. Remote sensing analysis, after nadir and off–nadir UAV flights, supports the field activities to explore the hazard to which the area is subjected. In particular, the coastal cliff turns out to be affected by a rapid retreat inducing landslides. Therefore, the cliff area has been investigated through a detailed stratigraphic and structural field survey. Using the generated high–resolution Digital Elevation Model, bathymetric–topographic profiles were extracted along the coastline facing the cliff. The thickness of volcanic deposits was evaluated to obtain a geological model of it. The main rock mass discontinuities have been characterised to define the structural features affecting the stability of the rock wall. The obtained results prove the contribution of such research fundamental in planning risk mitigation measures.

Assessment of geological hazard susceptibility based on remote sensing images

“…Therefore, rapid access to geohazard information in affected areas is the key to disaster mitigation and relief. However, extracting that information based on field surveys is limited in some scope, requiring time-consuming, heavy workload, inefficiency, high subjectivity, and so on [1,2]. In contrast, remote sensing technology's rapid, macroscopic, full-time, and all-weather monitoring advantages make it possible before or after geologic disasters.…”

Geomorphological Evolution of Volcanic Cliffs in Coastal Areas: The Case of Maronti Bay (Ischia Island)

“…In some cases, these processes are strictly connected, like in the case of soil erosion, where beach retreat and cliff instability lead to landslides, generating a complex multi-hazards scenario. In turn, the cliff erosion rates are connected to the geological features of the area, including the mechanical strength of the rock masses and the geometric properties of the fracture system [1][2][3].…”

Approaches for the sustainable management of the Apulian coastal areas: the potential of a geoportal

“…The causes of erosion are often linked to the space-time dynamism of the coastal environment, in its turn connected to the interaction of natural processes (e.g., landslides, sea level variations, natural gradients in the transport of longshore sediments, storms, presence of submarine canyons nearby to the coast, subsidence) (e.g., Ruberti et al, 2020;Bonasera et al, 2022) and of anthropogenic origin (e.g., construction of dams, ports, coastal protection works and sediment extraction processes) (e.g., Kondolf et al, 2014;Wang et al, 2015Scardino et al, 2022). These variables, sometimes interacting in a very complex way, can control and modify the entire sedimentary balance, thus causing the erosion of the stretch of the coast (e.g., Stronkhorst et al, 2018).…”