scholarly journals Quaternary Coastal Landscape Evolution and Sea-Level Rise: An Example from South-East Sicily

Geosciences ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (12) ◽  
pp. 506
Author(s):  
Salvatore Distefano ◽  
Fabiano Gamberi ◽  
Laura Borzì ◽  
Agata Di Stefano

Coastal depositional environments are the site of complex interactions between continental and marine processes. Barrier islands are highly dynamic coastal systems, typical of these transitional environments, and are affected by sea level changes and the accumulation of transgressive deposits with the landwards migration of the coast. The offshore of Marzamemi (Syracuse Province, Sicily), in the south-eastern portion of the Hyblean foreland, represents an excellent site for the study of transgressive deposits and their connection with the sea-level changes. The available dataset consisted of new high-resolution bathymetry (Multibeam), whose description and interpretation through a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) was integrated with a grid of eighteen seismic profiles (SPARKER). In the investigated bathymetric range, from about −5 m to −60 m, a sensibly different morphological setting between the northern and southern sectors was evident. Within the whole study area, three bathymetric contours (−45 m, −35 m and −20) were identified and assumed as the markers of the main locations of the paleo-coastlines during the recent changes in the sea level. Along the northern sector, three submerged barrier-lagoon systems developed on a calcarenite substratum, marking important steps of the Late Quaternary sea-level rise. They coexisted with numerous karst forms (poljes and dolines). In the southern sector the transgressive environmental evolution was significantly different and submerged lagoons did not form. Here the outcropping calcarenite substratum was affected by the development of paleo-rivers and karsts structures, a tract in common along with many Mediterranean carbonate coastal areas.

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott A. Kulp ◽  
Benjamin H. Strauss

Abstract Most estimates of global mean sea-level rise this century fall below 2 m. This quantity is comparable to the positive vertical bias of the principle digital elevation model (DEM) used to assess global and national population exposures to extreme coastal water levels, NASA’s SRTM. CoastalDEM is a new DEM utilizing neural networks to reduce SRTM error. Here we show – employing CoastalDEM—that 190 M people (150–250 M, 90% CI) currently occupy global land below projected high tide lines for 2100 under low carbon emissions, up from 110 M today, for a median increase of 80 M. These figures triple SRTM-based values. Under high emissions, CoastalDEM indicates up to 630 M people live on land below projected annual flood levels for 2100, and up to 340 M for mid-century, versus roughly 250 M at present. We estimate one billion people now occupy land less than 10 m above current high tide lines, including 230 M below 1 m.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
mageswaran thangaraj ◽  
Sachithanandam V ◽  
Sridhar R ◽  
Manik Mahapatra ◽  
R Purvaja ◽  
...  

Abstract We report here a four decades of shoreline changes and possible sea level rise (SLR) impact on landuse/landcover (LULC) in Little Andaman Island by using remote sensing (RS) and GIS techniques. A total of six remote sensing data sets covering years between 1976 and 2018 were used to understand the shoreline changes. Moreover, a Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) was used to estimate short- and long- term shoreline changes from ArcGIS environment. Besides, the Island vulnerability due to SLR was studied through using digital elevation model (DEM). As a result of Sumatra earthquake (2004), the results were showed a significant variation in shorline upliftment and subsidence. The land subsidence was noticed in the range of 1042-3077 ha with sea level rise between 1 and 5 m. Hence, we conclude that Little Andaman Island is vulnerable to SLR and overwhelm low elvation coastal zone.


2020 ◽  
Vol 2 (12) ◽  
Author(s):  
Deivid Cristian Leal-Alves ◽  
Jair Weschenfelder ◽  
Miguel da Guia Albuquerque ◽  
Jean Marcel de Almeida Espinoza ◽  
Marlize Ferreira-Cravo ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Vol 3 (4) ◽  
pp. 2493-2536
Author(s):  
D. Paprotny ◽  
P. Terefenko

Abstract. Polish coastal zone is thought to be of the most exposed to sea level rise in Europe. With climate change expected to raise mean sea levels between 26 and 200 cm by the end of the century, and storms increasing in severity, accurate estimates of those phenomena are needed. Recent advances in quality and availability of spatial data in Poland made in possible to revisit previous estimates. Up-to-date detailed information on land use, population and buildings were used to calculate inundation risk at a broad range of scenarios. Inclusion, though imperfect, of flood defences from a high-resolution digital elevation model contributes to a further improvement of estimates. The results revealed that even by using a static "bathtub fill" approach the amount of land, population or assets at risk has been significantly revised down. Sea level rise or storm surges are unlikely to reach intensity required to cause significant damage to the economy or endanger the population. The exposure of different kinds of assets and sectors of the economy varies to a large extent, though the structural breakdown of potential losses is remarkably stable between scenarios.


2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (4) ◽  
pp. 145-154
Author(s):  
Caroline Schuldt ◽  
Jochen Schiewe ◽  
Johannes Kröger

AbstractThe future sea-level rise caused by climate change will lead to coastal regions being flooded and ecological and socio-economic systems being disrupted. This study examines the question of how the sea-level rise in Northern Germany can be simulated on a regional level and visualized as a media map. The simulation is based on the TanDEM-X digital elevation model, IDW interpolated current measurements of the sea level and the vertical land movement, as well as regional sea surface elevation projections for the year 2100. Two different climate scenarios were applied based on IPCC forecasts. Particular attention was paid to transforming elevation systems into orthometric heights. In addition, the uncertainties existing in the simulation of future developments were quantified and visualized. Depending on the applied scenario, an area between 1061 and 9004 km2 will be inundated. Accordingly, the affected population varies between 5477 and 626,880 people. The calculation of the inundated areas reveals serious differences; between the various climate scenarios, as well as between the North and Baltic coasts, but above all between the assumption of a stable coastal protection on the one hand and a dike breach on the other. Based on the requirements of journalistic cartography and the specific requirements of the German broadcasting company Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), static maps were developed, which will be shown as a sequence starting with the least and ending with the most severe possible impact.


2018 ◽  
pp. 143-156
Author(s):  
Tomaž Podobnikar

Environmental conditions and access to natural resources are important factors for human behaviour and choices about where to make settlements. This important information must be understood and abstracted into appropriate spatial datasets, so as to be modelled in geographic information systems (GIS). The main objective is to design and realize a seamless integrated digital elevation model (DEM) from several data sources, including bathymetry. The important focus of this paper is to collect and interpret the sea level data for the Central Dalmatian islands over the past 15,000 years, describing the entire case study’s implementation in terms of hydrology, landscape archaeology, geodesy, data quality assessment, and spatial analysis. The results demonstrate that the proposed model has the potential to rethink the archaeological theories of settlement patterns in the studied area. The limitation of the proposed study is a lower quality of bathymetric datasets, and the determination of the historical sea level due to a number of uncertain factors. The work has profound implications in terms of the developed GIS tools that make it possible to generate reliable datasets and simulate various scenarios, as well as for a non-destructive prediction of the past archaeological landscapes. The solution may help increase awareness about cultural heritage, environmental conservation, and climate change.


2014 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ifan R Suhelmi ◽  
Achmad Fahrudin ◽  
Ferdinand Hariyanto Triwibowo

Coastal city of Semarang is susceptible to the impact of coastal hazard due to its flat topographic condition. Various environmental problems are faced by Semarang involve tidal inundation, land subsidence, and floods during rainy season. This study was conducted to examine the potential economic losses caused by the sea level rise phenomenon. Distribution of inundated area mapped using Digital Elevation Model and Land Subsidence data. The Scenarios of International Panel on Climate Change (2007) sea level rises used to build a model of inundated area that notes by 2030 the rise of sea level rise at 13.4 cm. The inundated map was overlayed with landuse map to calculate the potential economic losses. The results show that the inundated area that occurred in 2030 was 1,718.2 ha with the potential economic losses Rp. 6,130 trillion. With the land subsidence scenario that happen at the area, inundated area increased to 5,171.3 ha with the eonomic potential loss about Rp. 28,724 trillion.


BioScience ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 70 (10) ◽  
pp. 924-932
Author(s):  
José C Brito ◽  
Marisa Naia

Abstract Sea-level rise, a consequence of climate change, is progressively affecting coastal areas around the globe. In turn, protected areas are keystones for protecting coastal biodiversity and the ecosystems services ensuring sustainable livelihoods. Effective management and adaptation plans are needed to maintain ecological function and integrity. In the present article, we used a coastal digital elevation model to simulate inundation surfaces and a prioritization index for ranking management interventions in 278 coastal protected areas from 27 African countries. Of these, 15 areas and eight countries demonstrated a high need for proactive management actions because of high levels of biodiversity, international conservation relevance, and exposure to sea-level rise. From the array of management actions available, tailored solutions are being implemented according to the morphology and location of the areas. Concerted action by international, government, and local partners is required for successful protection of the areas, including implementation of adaptive plans and monitoring progress schemes.


Geobios ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 35 ◽  
pp. 40-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Gabriella Carboni ◽  
Luisa Bergamin ◽  
Letizia Di Bella ◽  
Fabrizia Iamundo ◽  
Nevio Pugliese

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