Special Session 5

Coastal areas are known to be among the most dynamic elements of the physical landscape, strongly influenced by short to long term forcing factors. In the short term, seasonal and catastrophic meteo-marine events and human impacts can directly interfere with the equilibrium of these areas, sometimes producing drastic coastal changes and sea level oscillations. In a longer timescale, GIA, tectonics, volcano activity and climate changes, certainly are the main factors influencing global and local millennial sea-level variations.
In this perspective, it is crucial to understand the impact of relative sea level changes on coastal landscape at different geographic scales, to correctly manage the coastal areas and to prepare the coastal communities to face the expected changes driven by global warming.
In the last years, the integration between direct measurement and geo-acoustic and/or remote sensing methods allowed acquiring large amounts of four-dimensional -3D points and time – high –precision data directly related to relative sea-levels variations and/or to rapid changes in coastal morphology, mainly due to extreme events.
A multi-proxies approach based on sea-level geo-indicators and/or sensors-based measurements are challenges of great scientific interest, intended to populate specific databases at Mediterranean and global scale, useful to understand and reduce the uncertainty on sea-level changes models and future coastal scenarios.
This session welcomes studies from individuals or groups that use multidisciplinary or innovative approaches to measure relative sea levels and coastal changes from the past millennia to present time, to reconstruct geomorphological processes, human impact and system response, as well as issues of landscape resilience and human adaptation. Approaches involving the use of multi-scalar datasets are strongly encouraged.

Topics of this special session will include:

• Multi-proxies measurements and past sea-level changes
• Techniques and approaches for sea level analysis
• Extreme marine events: tsunamis and storm surges
• Relative sea level projections and modelling future coastal scenarios
• Sea level changes and human adaptions

Marco Anzidei. Degree in Geology, Phd in Geophysics (Physics of the complex systems). Senior Researcher at the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Rome (Italy). Held contract professorships at the University of Calabria (Italy), University of El Manar, (Tunisia) and the Ecole Normale Superieure, Paris (France). Research interest in geophysical geodesy and topography applied to crustal deformations in seismic and volcanic areas, sea level changes and flooding scenarios in the Mediterranean region. Author of more than 170 papers and three scientific documentaries in geosciences.

Pietro P.C. Aucelli, Associate Professor in Physical geography and Geomorphology at Università degli Studi di Napoli "Parthenope". He is graduated in Geological science. In the year 2000, he obtained the PhD in Environmental Geology at Molise University. During his formation, he got his specialization in applied geomorphology, geological survey and mapping and GIS analysis. Author of more than 220 scientific publications.

Giuseppe Mastronuzzi, Full professor of Physical Geography and Geomorphology, he carried out researches on the evolution of the landscape in North Africa, America and Europe conducting studies in the context of national and international projects on: ì - the dynamics of glacial and peri-glacial landscapes; ìì - the relation between karst dynamics and tectonics; ììì - the relation between changes in sea level and tectonics; ìv - the relation between coastal dynamics and human activities. In the last years he studied the dynamics and the effects of the sea level rise and of the impact of extreme waves like exceptional storms and tsunamis.
He participated in several oceanographic cruises in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. He has been visiting scientist at Bedford Institute of Oceanography (Ca) in 1995 and in 1998, at the University of Reading (UK) in 1996 and in 1997, at the Université de Rennes 2 (Fr) in 2003, at the 'University of Aix-Marseille (Fr) in 2011. He has taught at the Université de Rennes 2 (Fr) in 2004 and 2013.
It was the Italian delegate in several IGCP projects (437, 495, 588) by IUGS - UNESCO on coastal dynamics and sea level changes; currently he is the Italian delegate in the IGCP 693 project.

Gaia Mattei, Researcher in Coastal Geomorphology at Parthenope University of Naples. She has research interest in coastal geomorphology; Sea level changes and tectonics; geoarchaeology; marine survey applied to submerged geomorphology and underwater archaeology; GIS mapping and analysis. Author of more than 40 scientific publications.