Special Session 7

SPECIAL SESSION #7

Giovanni Randazzo

University of Messina, Italy

• grandazzo@unime.it

Mauro Bonasera

Institute for Environmental Protection and Research, Italy

• mauro.bonasera@isprambiente.it

The effects of Climate Changes are undermining the long-term sedimentary balance of the coastlines. The erosion processes are less and less reversible, not associated with seasonal periodicity and ever more widespread. They are threatening the already-controversial hard and soft defences, built over time to protect the anthropogenic structures occupying the coastal areas. Over the last fifty years, the increase in expenditure for rigid defence works and artificial nourishment has been exponential, even flanked by a surprising increase in the length of coastal erosion.

Until future solutions are probably deployed, the frontier for countering more frequent and violent storms is a resilient reaction for softly containing the medium-long term coastal evolution. It should be driven by a monitoring activity to be carried out before, during and after the construction of man-made works, focusing on the parameters for which impacts are expected. Monitoring is useful to verify the accuracy of the calculations and to intervene for any corrective actions. It also aims to evaluate the economic and socio-environmental sustainability of the interventions.

In consideration of the platform hosting this Special Session, contributions that can provide quantitative evaluation, in terms of resilient protection, targeted monitoring and cost-benefit analysis will be welcomed.

Giovanni Randazzo - During these 30 years he collaborated with the Smithsonian Institution of Washington D.C. in the study of the Nile Delta, with the Thai Geological Service in the study of the east coast of the local peninsula; with ENEA he participated in the X Italian expedition in Antarctica. He has also worked in Texas, Mexico, France and Mozambique (as expert of the Italian Foreign Ministry). He was President of the Med Center of the EUCC - The Coastal Union based in Barcelona and he is still component of the board of the same organization.
In 2007/08 he was a free consultant to President of the Sicilian Region, Lombardo, for the protection and enhancement of coastal heritage and coordinated.
He has collaborated in the environmental assessment impact of various public works (especially in the coastal area) and he participated in the drafting of the Territorial Landscape Plan of the Province of Messina. In 2007/08 he was a free consultant to President of the Sicilian Region, Lombardo, for the protection and enhancement of coastal heritage and coordinated. On behalf of the Regional Civil Protection, the Seismic Microzonation Plan for 19 municipalities of the island.
In 2013 he founded GEOLOGIS s.r.l., Spin Off of the University of Messina, active in the field of surveys from aerial and marine drones, using cameras, LiDAR, spectrophotocameras and thermal imaging cameras.
On behalf of the European Union he has coordinated at national level and/or as a local unit several projects related to coastal management (EUROSION, M.E.S.S.I.N.A.) and territorial security (eSec).
Between 2017 and 2020 he has been the lead partner of POCKET BEACH MANAGEMENT & REMOTE SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM (BESS) project and from 2020 to 2022 has been WP lead partner of Robotic BIOremediation for coastal debris in in BLUE Flag beach (BIOBLU) project, both as part of the Interreg Italy - Malta Program.
He is the author of more than 120 scientific publications.

Mauro Bonasera - Technologist at Geological Survey of Italy - Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA). In 2016 he received his Master’s degree in Geological Science at Roma Tre University and in 2021 his PhD in Earth Science at University of Turin. Strong experience in GIS software, geological/geomorphological mapping, geothematic cartography, field surveys, landslide monitoring, morphotectonics and coastal geomorphology. Member of AIGEO (Italian Association of Physical Geography and Geomorphology) and coordinator of Italian Young Geomorphologists AIGeo.