Integrating observational targets and instrumental data on rock coasts through snorkel surveys: A methodological approach

Furlani, Stefano

doi:10.1016/j.margeo.2020.106191

Cited by 13 publications

(30 citation statements)

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“…Remote sensing techniques from satellite imagery and aerial photos can be sometimes unhelpful due to cliff attitude and/or in the case of high-angle sloping coasts, as for example plunging cliffs. [26] proposes a methodological approach for the continuous acquisition of geological, geomorphological, hydrogeological, and biological datasets along rocky coasts based on a snorkeling approach. The latter is helpful for a detailed mapping of landforms and processes at the foot of the coastal slopes.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated Field Surveying and Land Surface Quantitative Analysis to Assess Landslide Proneness in the Conero Promontory Rocky Coast (Italy)

et al. 2020

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Rock slopes involved in extensive landslide processes are often characterized by complex morphodynamics acting at different scales of space and time, responsible for different evolutionary scenarios. Mass Rock Creep (MRC) is a critical process for long-term geomorphological evolution of slopes and can likewise characterize actively retreating coastal cliffs where, in addition, landslides of different typologies and size superimpose in space and time to marine processes. The rocky coast at the Conero promontory (central Adriatic Sea, Italy) offers a rare opportunity for better understanding the predisposing role of the morphostructural setting on coastal slope instability on a long-time scale. In fact, the area presents several landslides of different typologies and size and state of activity, together with a wide set of landforms and structural features effective for better comprehending the evolution mechanisms of slope instability processes. Different investigation methods were implemented; in particular, traditional geomorphological and structural field surveys were combined with land surface quantitative analysis based on a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) with ground-resolution of 2 m. The results obtained demonstrate that MRC involves the entire coastal slope, which can be zoned in two distinct sectors as a function of a different morphostructural setting responsible for highly differentiated landslide processes. Therefore, at the long-time scale, two different morphodynamic styles can be depicted along the coastal slopes that correspond to specific evolutionary scenarios. The first scenario is characterized by MRC-driven, time-dependent slope processes involving the entire slope, whereas the second one includes force-driven slope processes acting at smaller space–time scales. The Conero promontory case study highlights that the relationships between slope shape and structural setting of the deforming areas are crucial for reaching critical volumes to induce generalized slope collapse as the final stage of the MRC process. The results from this study stress the importance of understanding the role of morphostructures as predisposing conditions for generalized slope failures along rocky coasts involved in MRC. The findings discussed here suggest the importance of the assessment of the slope instability at the long time scale for a better comprehension of the present-day slope dynamics and its major implications for landslide monitoring strategies and the hazard mitigation strategies.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrated Field Surveying and Land Surface Quantitative Analysis to Assess Landslide Proneness in the Conero Promontory Rocky Coast (Italy)

et al. 2020

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“…Studies on rocky coasts would greatly benefit from 3D reconstructions, in which the submerged and emergent parts of the intertidal zone can be matched in a single model. Moreover, this work illustrates the possibility of using images from the Geoswim archive [5], collected using low-cost equipment with rapid acquisition, to reconstruct the intertidal morphology of long stretches of rocky coastlines.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…Moreover, such a task can be accomplished in a relatively short time and with a high degree of precision. The availability of a large number of time-lapse images collected awl and bwl, collected within the Geoswim program [5], directed our efforts at testing the matching of independent models obtained from images collected awl and bwl avoiding the use of metal bars or other targets to perform the matching. This is particularly important in the case of surveys conducted within campaigns along large stretches of coast.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Conversely, the acquisition of horizontal images on low-lying rocky coasts or shore platforms is completely impossible, in particular in the submerged sections [5]. Unfortunately, the collection of images in the latter segment of sea cliffs can be strongly influenced by sea conditions.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The support console consisted of a set of 20 × 20 mm aluminum bars, shown in Figure 2, fixed together for their purpose, on which three cameras were attached. The support was hosted on a raft 1.2 m long, used within the Geoswim program, which is well-described by [5]. One GoPro Hero Black 5 was fixed on the support at +0.35 m awl, and up to two GoPRO Hero Black 6s were fixed at − 0.35 m bwl within plastic domes produced by Telesin, shown in Figure 3, in order to preserve the field of view (FOV) and focal length of the camera-lens system [32].…”

Section: Support Console and Camerasmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A Cost-Effective Method to Reproduce the Morphology of the Nearshore and Intertidal Zone in Microtidal Environments

et al. 2020

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The photogrammetric method is widely used in coastal areas and in submerged environments. Time-lapse images collected with unmanned aerial vehicles are used to reproduce the emerged areas, while images taken by divers are used to reproduce submerged ones. Conversely, 3D models of natural or human-made objects lying at the water level are severely affected by the difference in refractive index between air and seawater. For this reason, the matching of 3D models of emergent and submerged coasts has been very rarely tested and never used in Earth Sciences. The availability of a large number of time-lapse images, collected at the intertidal zone during previous snorkel surveys, encouraged us to test the merging of 3D models of emerged and submerged environments. Considering the rapid and effective nature of the aforementioned program of swim surveys, photogrammetric targets were not used during image acquisition. This forced us to test the matching of the independent models by recognizing prominent landforms along the waterline. Here we present the approach used to test the method, the instrumentation used for the field tests, and the setting of cameras fixed to a specially built aluminum support console and discuss both its advantages and its limits compared to UAVs. 3D models of sea cliffs were generated by applying structure-from-motion (SfM) photogrammetry. Horizontal time-lapse images, collected with action cameras while swimming parallel to the coastline at nearly constant velocity, were used for the tests. Subsequently, prominent coastal landforms were used to couple the independent models obtained from the emergent and submerged cliffs. The method was pilot tested in two coastal sites in the north-eastern Adriatic (part of the Mediterranean basin). The first site was a 25 m sea wall of sandstone set within a small harbor, while the second site was a 150 m route below plunging limestone cliffs. The data show that inexpensive action cameras provide a sufficient resolution to support and integrate geomorphological field surveys along rocky coastlines.

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Towards a local mass mortality of the Mediterranean orange coral Astroides calycularis (Pallas, 1766) in the Pelagie Islands Marine Protected Area (Italy)

Bisanti

Sabata

Visconti³

et al. 2022

Aquatic Conservation

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In late summer 2020, a widespread mortality event severely affected colonies of the Mediterranean endemic orange coral Astroides calycularis in the Pelagie Islands (Strait of Sicily, southern Mediterranean Sea). The degree of the mortality impact at seven study sites of the archipelago (five within the Pelagie Islands Marine Protected Area) was quantified by estimating the proportion of affected colonies in populations of A. calycularis. Five of the seven surveyed sites revealed a low degree of impact, but Punta Ruperta and Cala Creta (both on the island of Lampedusa) showed a medium impact with values of 32.3% and 30.5% of affected colonies respectively. The 2020 mortality event coincided with a longer lasting and warmer anomalous summer period, with sea surface water reaching the highest temperatures recorded in the last decade across the archipelago. Given the alarming climatic predictions for the near future, new mortality events could occur, causing potentially new local extinctions in the Mediterranean Sea. In this context, the role of marine protected area management becomes crucial to detect mortality events of vulnerable species.

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Integrating observational targets and instrumental data on rock coasts through snorkel surveys: A methodological approach

Cited by 13 publications

References 28 publications

Integrated Field Surveying and Land Surface Quantitative Analysis to Assess Landslide Proneness in the Conero Promontory Rocky Coast (Italy)

Integrated Field Surveying and Land Surface Quantitative Analysis to Assess Landslide Proneness in the Conero Promontory Rocky Coast (Italy)

A Cost-Effective Method to Reproduce the Morphology of the Nearshore and Intertidal Zone in Microtidal Environments

Towards a local mass mortality of the Mediterranean orange coral Astroides calycularis (Pallas, 1766) in the Pelagie Islands Marine Protected Area (Italy)

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