Abstract
The storm of 12–13 November 2019 provoked the displacements of boulders on a central Mediterranean rocky coast; with reference to a selected area, prone to boulder production and geomorphologically monitored for years, a field-oriented study approach was applied for the phenomenon, by collating data concerning the pre-storm locations and kinematics of these boulders. The number of displaced boulders is 11, that is in terms of the morphological imprint of a specific storm, one of the major study cases for the Mediterranean. In addition, based on widely used hydrodynamic equations, the minimum wave height required to displace the boulders is assessed. The values conform with the expected values for the wave climate dominating during the causative meteorological event and give a measure of the energy of the storm slamming the coast. Boulder dislodgement usually plays a key role in determining the rate of the coastal recession, likely also in the investigated area. In view of an adverse climate evolution with a possible increase of the energy and frequency of severe storms, the results deriving from the study of this morphodynamics should be considered for hazard assessment and coastal management.
Highlights
For the hazard assessment and defense planning of coastlines, reliable data on the impact produced by high-energy waves are required [1,2]
The Salento Peninsula belongs to the Apulian Platform, a crustal domain characterized by a horst-and-graben structure and formed by Cretaceous limestones overlain by Tertiary and Quaternary clastic carbonates and clayey marls
To alternatively quantify the impact of the storm, hydrodynamic equations are applied to estimate the minimum energy of a solitary wave necessary for a boulder displacement
Summary
For the hazard assessment and defense planning of coastlines, reliable data on the impact produced by high-energy waves are required [1,2]. The 29 October 2018 storm event [17,18] affected the western coast of the Salento Peninsula, where it caused the displacement of some boulders [23]. The note is structured as a follows: in Section 2, the features of the investigated coastal stretch are reported; in Section 3, IonicS19 is described; in Section 4, the results of the field surveys are shown; in Section 5, an assessment of the wave impact on the coast during the storm event is presented; in Section 6, the discussion and conclusion are given; in Appendix A.1, some specific features of the geomorphological monitoring of the affected area are reported; and in Appendix A.2, several details of the pre- and post-storm data are explained
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