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High coastal sectors constitute the most widespread coastal environment and, under the present accelerated sea-level rise scenario, are suffering huge impacts in terms of erosion. The aim of this paper is the proposal of a new methodological approach for the assessment of their susceptibility to erosive processes. The method is based on the combination of two matrices, i.e., a matrix considering the main physical elements (essentially morphological and geotechnical characteristics) that determine the proneness to erosion of a specific high coastal sector, and a forcing matrix, which describes the forcing agents affecting the considered sector. Firstly, several variables were selected to construct each one of the two matrices according to existing studies and, in a second step, they were interpolated to obtain the susceptibility matrix (CSIx). The approach was applied to Procida Island and Cilento promontory, both located in southern Italy. Results obtained were validated by comparing them with cliff retreat data obtained by means of aerial photographs and satellite images. The analysis shows that the greater part of the analyzed high coastal sectors belongs to the high-susceptibility class due to the combination of adverse morphological, geotechnical and forcing characteristics. Such sectors can be considered "hotspots" that require an increase in monitoring programs and, at places, urgent protective actions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Naples and its surroundings are a very young landscape, originated from 40 ka in response to strong and explosive volcanic processes, which created the Campi Flegrei, one of the largest volcanic fields of the world. Despite the repeated and continuous volcanic activity, this territory was selected for human settlements since Neolithic times and hosted some of the most important Greek and Roman towns in the Mediterranean area (e.g., Cuma, Parthenope, Neapolis, Baia and Puteoli). Geoarcheological data and historical chronicles testify to human coexistence with eruptions, bradyseismic ground motions, coastline changes, floods and landslides. With the aim of describing the geomorphological evolution of this area to a wide audience, including also non-experts, we constructed a synthetic geomorphological map of the area and sketches that synthesise the main stages of the geomorphological evolution of the historical centre of Naples and the coastal belt of the Gulf of Pozzuoli during the last millennia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper demonstrates that accurate data concerning bathymetry as well as environmental conditions in shallow waters can be acquired using sensors that are integrated into the same marine vehicle. An open prototype of an unmanned surface vessel (USV) named MicroVeGA is described. The focus is on the main instruments installed on-board: a differential Global Position System (GPS) system and single beam echo sounder; inertial platform for attitude control; ultrasound obstacle-detection system with temperature control system; emerged and submerged video acquisition system. The results of two cases study are presented, both concerning areas (Sorrento Marina Grande and Marechiaro Harbour, both in the Gulf of Naples) characterized by a coastal physiography that impedes the execution of a bathymetric survey with traditional boats. In addition, those areas are critical because of the presence of submerged archaeological remains that produce rapid changes in depth values. The experiments confirm that the integration of the sensors improves the instruments' performance and survey accuracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we present the results of a multidisciplinary study aimed to reconstruct the Roman coastal landscape between Pizzofalcone hill and Megaris islet—the area of the ancient Parthenope, the first settlement along the Naples coast. This coastal sector was surveyed by a team of specialized divers (archaeologists and geomorphologists) and by using an Unmanned Surface Vessel (USV) equipped with acoustic and optical sensors. The indirect surveys provided a high-resolution dataset of morpho-acoustic and optical measurements, useful to obtain the geological, geomorphological and archaeological interpretations necessary to formulate hypotheses on the functionality of the complex submerged archaeological structure detected in the study area. In particular, the integration between the surveyed data, the high-resolution seafloor mapping and the previous knowledge deriving from the 1980s underwater research carried out by Centro Studi Subacquei, led us to interpret the submerged remains as a vivarium related to a 1st century BC Roman villa. Finally, by measuring the submersion of several channels and a well-preserved crepido, a relative sea level during the period of use at −2.2 m ± 0.2 m mean sea level (MSL) was deduced, in agreement with the previous geoarchaeological studies realized in the near coastal sectors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]