Development of Shore Platforms along the NW Coast of Italy: The Role of Wind Waves

Abstract

ABSTRACT Pappalardo, M.; Cappietti, L.; Arozarena Llopis, I.; Chelli, A., and De Fabritiis, L., 2017. Development of shore platforms along the NW coast of Italy: The role of wind waves. This paper investigates whether waves are active morphologic agents capable of shaping the small shore platforms that characterize the rocky coast of NW Italy. Two study areas have been selected along this coastal tract: Calafuria (Livorno) and Lerici-Tellaro (La Spezia), located ca. 120 km apart, the first being shaped in sandstone and the second in dolomite bedrock. Propagation of waves in the nearshore has been simulated by numerical modeling. From wave model results, validated with data from an offshore wave meter buoy, it is inferred that waves break directly on the coast or very close to it at Calafuria, whereas for Lerici-Tellaro shores, waves mostly break up to 150 m seaward of the shore platform. This implies that the amount of energy delivered on the platform is much greater in the first case than in the second c...