Pocket Beaches Research Articles

Aeolian sand cover on a granite peninsula (Hammeren, Bornholm, Baltic Sea) formed in three episodes during the past 11,600 years

Aeolian sand covers a significant part of the granite peninsula Hammeren on northernmost Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. The coastline of Hammeren is rocky and apart from one relative wide and sandy pocket beach at the east coast only few, small and gravelly pocket beaches exist. The aeolian deposits form three sand covers that stretch inland from the east and northwestern facing coasts of Hammeren. The largest sand cover forms a rising sand plain that cover the granitic landscape up to 700 m inland and reaches up to 60 m above sea level. Historical sources mention aeolian sand movement around CE 1775 in the middle of the Little Ice Age, but until this study no absolute age control has been available to confirm these observations. Luminescence dating of selected sample sites indicates that aeolian sand movement took place in three episodes. The first episode was in the last part of the Younger Dryas at about 11,500 BP, the second episode was in the Danish Late Bronze Age at about 2700 BP, and the youngest episode was indeed during the Little Ice Age around 200 BP (CE 1750). These episodes with aeolian activity all fall during relatively cold climatic intervals and add support to previous studies indicating a link between cold climates an increased storminess in Northwest Europe including the southern Baltic Sea region.

Foredune-ridge development along an urban pocket beach, Montrose dunes natural area, Southwestern Lake Michigan

While foredune geomorphology has been studied along many Great Lakes coastlines, little attention has been given to the development and evolution of foredune ridges along engineered ‘pocket’ beaches, which are common along many urban lakefronts of the region. This paper reports on the recent morphodynamics of Montrose Beach, the largest of Chicago’s engineered coastal embayments, with emphasis on its ‘Dunes Natural Area.’ A post-2020 period of beach recovery occurred after 2013–2020 lake-level rise of >1.5 m, which was accompanied by shoreline recession and overwash-induced backshore accretion. The influx of sand into the urban embayment during this time facilitated post-2020 beach recovery with lake-level fall. This phase of beach expansion was marked by the formation of three distinct, parallel berm lines that have become vegetated and functioned as focal points for eolian accretion. Undisturbed by grooming and other beach-management activities, the Dunes Natural Area continues to be influenced by lake-level changes and storms. Vegetative establishment and eolian sand trapping upon disconnect from active reworking along the shoreline have increased the expression of linear topographic highs. Seasonal ridgelines along natural beach environments, including barrier spits, tend to undergo reworking prior to such stabilization. Insights from Montrose Beach provide coastal managers with up-to-date information on important geomorphic developments at Chicago’s most popular beach destination, whose Dunes Natural Area provides habitat for the endangered Great Lakes piping plover. Understanding its geomorphic trajectory can help inform coastal resiliency planning, here and elsewhere, to protect valuable ecosystems and infrastructure within the urban coastal landscape.

Marine debris characteristics in various coastal typologies in the Gunungkidul coastal area of Yogyakarta—Indonesia

Marine debris is one of the environmental issues that can be brought on by rapid human development and activity, including marine tourism, like what happened in the coastal area of Gunungkidul, Indonesia. The issue of marine debris might decrease the environmental quality and impact tourism in Gunungkidul. This study aims to identify the characteristics of coastal typologies in Gunungkidul and analyze their influence on the characteristics of marine debris. Google Earth images and the Digital Elevation Model were used to interpret and classify the typology across the study area based on their physical characteristics. Marine debris samples, either macro or meso-sized, were collected using the transect method for each beach. Based on the imagery interpretation combined with elevation data from DEMNAS, there are three typologies in the Gunungkidul coastal area, i.e., pocket, non-pocket, and cliff beaches. Cliff typology was eliminated and only pocket and non-pocket beaches were used as marine debris sample collection locations. Hence, four beaches were chosen as study areas, i.e., Seruni, Drini, Sepanjang, and Sedahan; each represents each coastal typology. About 193 macro-sized and 217 meso-sized debris were found in our research area, totaling 1380.31 g. Compared to non-pocket beaches, pocket beaches contain more marine debris. The higher slopes of the pocket beach typology will trap marine debris and make it challenging to reenter the water. On pocket beaches, oceanographic processes concentrate marine debris in one location. Still, on non-pocket beaches, marine debris can disperse and return to the sea more readily due to the cycling of currents near the coast.

Longshore sediment transport rate at a pocket beach in Phu Quoc City, Kien Giang Province, Vietnam

Longshore sediment transport rate at a pocket beach in Phu Quoc City, Kien Giang Province, Vietnam

Overtopping Flow Velocity Characterisation Of Focused Waves On Promenades Using The Bubble Image Velocimetry Technique

This study characterises the flow velocity of individual extreme waves that overtop promenades using the bubble image velocimetry (BIV) technique (Ryu et al., 2005). Experimental tests were carried out in the small-scale wave flume CIEMito, at the Marine Engineering Laboratory (LIM) of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya – BarcelonaTech (UPC), and the obtained images were post-processed to calculate the flow velocities. The ultimate objective of the experimental campaign is to develop more precise models for forecasting wave overtopping of structures with an emergent toe, commonly found on sandy beaches and frequently utilized as promenades or waterfronts in most urbanized coastal environments. The NewWave theory (Tromans et al., 1991) was used to simulate the extreme individual wave overtopping in a real random sea state. The NewWave theory establishes a correlation between the expected form of a large wave in a linear sea state and the bulk characteristics of the sea state. Using focused wave groups instead of long-duration irregular wave time series offers several benefits. It improves the ability to repeat experiments and enhances measurement capabilities by providing greater temporal resolution in models used to investigate significant wave interactions (Hofland et al., 2014). Additionally, due to the compactness of focused wave groups, wave absorption becomes unnecessary. The research identifies two distinct case studies with varying wave forcing, tidal regimes and coastal layouts. This work presents a case study of a typical Mediterranean Sea configuration, which is a micro-tidal environment with steep and relatively short foreshores and pocket beaches. The study aims to characterize the overtopping flow velocity on the selected structure, and the feasibility of non-intrusive measurements such as a BIV technique has been investigated. The work includes preliminary results.

Assessing beach litter trapping efficiency in Mediterranean sandy coasts: A comparative study between typical and invaded embryonic dunes

Beach litter is one of the most evident indicators of marine litter pollution, an anthropogenic component that can affect and interact with the habitat of coastal dunes. In this study, we aim to assess the role of the Mediterranean embryonic dunes in trapping beach litter. Moreover, we investigate if dunes with native vegetation and those invaded by the alien plant C. acinaciformis differ in the trapping of beach litter. To this end, two samplings were carried out in the Tavolara-Punta Coda Cavallo Marine Protected Area, considering four beaches with different morphologies, using a paired sampling method that considers plots in the embryonic dunes and in the same habitat with C. acinaciformis. Our results indicate that plastic is the primary type of beach litter and that its distribution varied across the different beaches; especially, the greatest amount was found on pocket beaches. Based on our results, we can conclude that there are no differences between embryonic dunes with native vegetation and their invaded form, but the different beach morphologies may play a role in the distribution of beach litter. These findings may support habitat conservation initiatives such as the eradication of C. acinaciformis since it has no additional role in trapping beach litter.

Controls on the morphological evolution of embayed beaches: Morphometry versus external forcing

AbstractThe morphological evolution of embayed beaches on a microtidal coast is assumed to largely respond to the degree of exposure to wave conditions, decreasing the mobility with increasing beach indentation (and vice versa). However, the number of sediment arrivals at the beach or the impact of extreme storms can modify this relationship. Here, we present an analysis of 10 embayed beaches along the Catalan coast with different morphometric and sedimentary characteristics to identify the most relevant parameters controlling the morphological evolution of these embayed beaches at the inter‐annual and decadal scales. The study was mostly based on LiDAR topographic data collected from 2012 to 2017, aerial photographs from 1945 to 2021, sediment sampling and a long‐term series analysis of the forcing parameters (waves, sea level, precipitation and land‐use changes). The results show a net loss of volume on all the studied beaches at an inter‐annual scale and a general shoreline retreat during the last few decades, suggesting the influence of common processes on the evolution of the studied beaches. Smaller pocket beaches with medium‐to‐high indentations are more sensitive to changes induced by local factors and show higher variability in the volume of the emerged beach and shoreline position than larger beaches. The most relevant factors influencing the evolution of the studied beaches on a decadal scale were identified as changes in sea level and the reduction in sediment inputs provided by streams due to land‐use changes in the drainage basin. At the inter‐annual scale, the impact of extreme events is the main factor controlling beach behaviour. These general trends can be opposite locally for beaches that receive large amounts of sediment via longshore transport from adjacent beaches.

A Potantial Nesting Site for Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta): Yakacık Beach, Türkiye

Monitoring of sea turtle nesting beaches in Türkiye have been conducted since 1988 and the number of beaches reached to 22. Mediterranean coast of Türkiye has many small pocket beaches and other inaccessible remote sandy beaches. In this study, I introduce a new nesting site, Yakacık Beach, for the loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) in the border of Antalya and Mersin provinces. Following the preliminary field studies on the 1.7 km long beach, 201 and 197 nests were found in 2020 and
 2021, respectively, and the average nest density of the two years was calculated as 117.6 nests/km-1. Satellite images were also used to ensure and estimate the number of nests. The number of nest and the nest density were compared with the literature and Yakacık has the second highest nest density in Türkiye with a high predation rate up to 68%. The potential importance of Yakacık Beach and threats to the nesting beach and mitigation measures were discussed. Türkiye has one of the most important
 nesting sites for the loggerhead turtles and the green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) in the Mediterranean, with 17 nesting beaches identified in 1989. With the discovery of additional nesting sites such as Çıralı, Alata, Sugözü, Davultepe, and METUKocahasanlı beaches in the following years, the importance of Türkiye for sea turtle populations in the Mediterranean has gradually increased. With this study, a new nesting beach was identified and the importance of Türkiye for the Mediterranean Sea turtles was emphasized.

Assessing Shallow Soft Deposits through Near-Surface Geophysics and UAV-SfM: Application in Pocket Beaches Environments

This study employs a multimethod approach to investigate the sediment distribution in two pocket beaches, Ramla Beach and Mellieha S Beach, in Malta. Both study sites were digitally reconstructed using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry. For each case, an ERT and a dense network of ambient seismic noise measurements processed through a horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) technique were acquired. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) analysis enables the estimation of sediment thickness in each beach. HVSR analysis revealed peaks related to beach sediments overlying limestone rocks in both sites and also indicated a deeper stratigraphic contact in Mellieha S Beach. Based on ERT measurements, sediment thickness is calculated for each HVSR measurement. Interpolation of results allows for bedrock surface modelling in each case study, and when combined with digital terrain models (DTMs) derived from photogrammetric models, sediment volumes are estimated for each site. The geometry of this surface is analyzed from a geological perspective, showing structural control of sediment distribution due to a normal fault in Mellieha S Beach and stratigraphic control facilitated by a highly erodible surface in Ramla Beach. The results emphasize the importance of adopting a three-dimensional perspective in coastal studies for precise sediment volume characterization and a deeper understanding of pocket beach dynamics. This practical multimethod approach presented here offers valuable tools for future coastal research and effective coastal management, facilitating informed decision making amidst the growing vulnerability of coastal zones to climate change impacts.

Evolution of Hvar island pocket beaches during the last 200 years (eastern Adriatic coast, Croatia)

This study examines the evolution of 30 pocket beaches on the island of Hvar in Croatia over the last ~200 years. The oldest available data was extracted from the Franciscan cadastre and dates back to 1834. The following period was analysed using State Geodetic Administration orthophotos from 1952 and 1958, while the recent period was studied using UAV, GNSS measurements, and photogrammetric techniques, aiming to create high-resolution models. All analyses were carried out using GIS and semi-automatic statistical tools. Our results show that the beaches on Hvar eroded on average 50 % of their total area during the studied period, while the shorelines retreated by 6.5 m. Significant changes in beach areas and shoreline retreat were observed in both periods, without differences in erosion rates (~2.3 m2/yr). Here we showed that rates of shoreline retreat of gravel/pebble beaches revealed to be slower compared to sand beaches (0.04 m/yr and 0.07–0.38 m/yr respectively). Most beaches are formed in alluvial fans and represent therefore part of geomorphic systems which relate beaches to their catchments. Therefore, land cover changes in the catchments, was found to be an important factor affecting beach morphology. Obtained results reveal that 85 % of the analysed catchments exhibited decline in arable land coinciding with obtained trends of beach erosion. We find out that changes in beach size correlates to the changes in shoreline retreat (r2 = 0.7) for 70 % of beaches. However, 30 % of the beaches could be also influenced by other effects, particularly socio-economic activities in the catchment, which could importantly impact on natural variability but could also be associated with errors in Cadastral mapping. This study has shown that there is a trend of beach erosion on Hvar island which is expected to continue in the future. The acquired knowledge can thus contribute to future beach vulnerability assessment.

Seasonal Morphodynamics of Fringing Reef Pocket Beaches and Responses to Rapid Vertical Tectonic Movements

Seasonal Morphodynamics of Fringing Reef Pocket Beaches and Responses to Rapid Vertical Tectonic Movements

Analytical studies of the dynamics of pocket beach

The beach site is located in the utmost northeastern part of the Nevskaya Bay. A boulder dam is built on the western side, which, however, fails to protect the beach from the effects of waves that cause longshore sediment transport. The planned construction of transverse beach–retaining structures outlines in the “Water Sports Base in Primorsky District” initiative, mightchange the current situation. This study objective is to predict the evolution of the coastal contour resulting from the planned construction in the next few decades. A natural analogue of such an artificial structure could be a pocket beach located between two natural promontories. The sediment equilibrium at this study location includes three main components: volumes of erosion, accumulation and bypassing. The results include the computed wave patterns and the movement of sediment along the shoreline. The lateral sediment transport diminishes notably over time, driven by the alteration of the shoreline contour and the reduction in the angle between the wave equilibrium and the coastal resultant. The erosion and accumulation volumes increase over time, but their rates slow down. The shoreline displacement becomes more prominent over time; however, the rates of erosion differ from accumulation. The shoreline is moving particularly fast in the first years after construction, and then the process slows down gradually. The introduction of artificial beach protection structures in the 300th Anniversary Park of St. Petersburg will considerably reduce both the pace of beach erosion and the affected area. However, the erosion process will not be completely halted.

Geomorphological Evolution of Volcanic Cliffs in Coastal Areas: The Case of Maronti Bay (Ischia Island)

The morphoevolution of coastal areas is due to the interactions of multiple continental and marine processes that define a highly dynamic environment. These processes can occur as rapid catastrophic events (e.g., landslides, storms, and coastal land use) or as slower continuous processes (i.e., wave, tidal, and current actions), creating a multi-hazard scenario. Maronti Bay (Ischia Island, Southern Italy) can be classified as a pocket beach that represents an important tourist and environmental area for the island, although it has been historically affected by slope instability, sea cliff recession, and coastal erosion. In this study, the historical morphoevolution of the shoreline was analysed by means of a dataset of aerial photographs and cartographic information available in the literature over a 25-year period. Furthermore, the role of cliff recession and its impact on the beach was also explored, as in recent years, the stability condition of the area was worsened by the occurrence of a remarkable landslide in 2019. The latter was reactivated following a cloudburst on the 26th of November 2022 that affected the whole Island and was analysed with the Dem of Difference technique. It provided an estimate of the mobilised volumes and showed how the erosion and deposition areas were distributed and modified by wave action. The insights from this research can be valuable in developing mitigation strategies and protective measures to safeguard the surrounding environment and ensure the safety of residents and tourists in this multi-hazard environment.

MULTI-PLATFORM MONITORING OF COASTAL EROSION AT A POCKET BEACH

As in many other regions of the world, coastal recession in West and Central Africa is the result of natural factors, anthropogenic factors, or both (Anthony et al., 2016; Luijendijk et al., 2018), and when it occurs, it may continue unless it is firmly addressed. Erosion along Ghana's coastline is endemic as in most of the Gulf of Guinea countries in West Africa. The current challenge is how to document and understand the dimensions of erosion despite limited human and logistical capacity. Regular monitoring of coastal areas is a prerequisite to evade any imminent erosive disaster within the coastal cities (Angnuureng et al., 2022). Data-driven decisions have remained more uncertain because most monitoring platforms are unable to capture events of a certain frequency. The main goal of this work is to test the feasibility of using multiple sources of remote sensing platforms to assess the dynamics of a pocket beach at Elmina in Ghana, as a showcase for local governance.

Coastal landforms and fetch influence shoreline restoration effectiveness

Coastal shorelines are a key interface between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems and are vital for human livelihood. As a result, shorelines have experienced substantial human modifications worldwide. Shoreline “hardening” – the construction of armor including seawalls, bulkheads, or rip-rap – is a common modification that has substantial negative ecological effects. Currently, restoration involving the removal of armor and replacement with “living” shorelines is becoming an established practice. Still, the ecological response to armor removal is oftentimes unpredictable and site-specific. We hypothesized that the confluence of larger-scale geophysical features might strongly influence ecological restoration outcomes at particular locations. To measure the effectiveness of armor removal in the context of broad-scale geophysical features across the Salish Sea, WA, USA, we studied 26 paired restored and natural reference beaches of the same shoretype (feeder bluff, accretion shoreform, or pocket beach), as well as corresponding fetch, sub-basin, and percent of shoreline sediment drift cell armored. Sites were restored for an average of six years. We gauged restoration effectiveness based on levels of five ecological response variables: beach wrack (percent, depth), logs (count, width), sediments (percent sand), vegetation (percent overhanging, count of fallen trees), and insects (density, taxa richness). We found that armor removal often restored these variables to natural levels, but that restoration response was dependent on geophysical features such as shoretype and fetch. Natural beaches did have higher measurements of overhanging vegetation, fallen trees, and insect taxa richness, as these features likely take time to mature at restored beaches. Feeder bluffs had a higher proportion of surface sand and number of fallen trees than other shoretypes, coinciding with the erosion of bluff material, whereas natural pocket beaches within bordering rocky headlands had higher insect densities. Sites with a large fetch had higher input of deposited wrack and logs, whereas sites with a small fetch had higher input from localized terrestrial sources – fallen trees and eroding sand. By incorporating the effectiveness of restoration with landscape features such as shoretype and fetch, we can more effectively plan for future restoration actions and better predict their outcomes.

Satellite-Derived Bathymetry for Selected Shallow Maltese Coastal Zones

Bathymetric information has become essential to help maintain and operate coastal zones. Traditional in situ bathymetry mapping using echo sounders is inefficient in shallow waters and operates at a high logistical cost. On the other hand, lidar mapping provides an efficient means of mapping coastal areas. However, this comes at a high acquisition cost as well. In comparison, satellite-derived bathymetry (SDB) provides a more cost-effective way of mapping coastal regions, albeit at a lower resolution. This work utilises all three of these methods collectively, to obtain accurate bathymetric depth data of two pocket beaches, Golden Bay and Għajn Tuffieħa, located in the northwestern region of Malta. Using the Google Earth Engine platform, together with Sentinel-2 data and collected in situ measurements, an empirical pre-processing workflow for estimating SDB was developed. Four different machine learning algorithms which produced differing depth accuracies by calibrating SDBs with those derived from alternative techniques were tested. Thus, this study provides an insight into the depth accuracy that can be achieved for shallow coastal regions using SDB techniques.

Sedimentary Coastal Cliff Erosion in Greenland

AbstractClimate change will increase the duration of annual sea‐ice‐free periods and shift precipitation patterns across the Arctic. Those factors are likely to increase erosion rates along its coasts. Large parts of the Arctic coast consist of hard rock. However, glacial, deltaic, and coastal sedimentary deposits occur in deglaciated areas and isostatic uplift following glaciations has created beach ridge plains and pocket beaches with coarse soft‐sediment cliffs. Hitherto, very little was known about the spatial distribution, erosion rates, and morphodynamics of soft sediment cliffs along the coast of Greenland. Here, we investigate a 3‐km sedimentary cliff section on the south coast of Qeqertarsuaq (Disko Island). We measured 2D cliff top erosion over 50 years between 1964 and 2014 as well as 3D cliff profile change over 2 years between 2019 and 2021. Morphometric indices of the gravel beach and cliff were calculated based on a series of cross‐shore elevation profiles. Wave run‐up at the beach fronting the cliff was modeled with XBeach‐G for a series of storm events under present day sea‐ice conditions and for a reduced sea‐ice scenario. Cliff top erosion rates varied along the cliff with maximum rates of 0.3 m y−1. The investigated coastal cliff erodes by two coupled processes: (a) precipitation‐driven surface runoff downslope the cliff and (b) wave‐driven erosion at the cliff toe. In a continuously warming climate, this study shows that erosion of soft coastal cliffs in Greenland thus can accelerate due to increased storminess and prolonging open water periods.

Seasonal and Episodic Runup Variability on a Caribbean Reef‐Lined Beach

AbstractMany low‐lying coastlines are exposed to overwash and marine flooding during large storm events, and the role of coastal ecosystems in reducing these hazards has been increasingly investigated and reported. This paper deals with the assessment of processes involved in coastal flooding over 2 years and 10 months at Anse Maurice, a reef‐fringed pocket beach located in Guadeloupe Island, in the Caribbean region. Daily maximum marine inundation was assessed using a fixed video system, and a hydrodynamic measurement campaign was organized to monitor local wave transformation through the reef system. The results show that daily highest runups (dHRs) are not linearly correlated with storm events since storm runup intensity is highly modulated by (a) the steric‐induced annual periodicity of sea level which showed minima in April and maxima in September and (b) the tidal level which influenced shortwave propagation on the reef flat (RF). These variables determined the reef submergence, an important parameter involved in wave transformation over reefs. Consequently, different runup responses existed for similar incident wave conditions, but generally wave attenuation ranged between 50% and 80%. Low‐frequency waves were found to dominate the hydrodynamics on the RF for the most intense wave conditions. The upper beach vegetation also reduces the maximum swash excursion at the beach between 1.7% and 42.8% for the observed storms, and thus reduces the potential for back beach flooding. This study demonstrates new comprehensive elements on runup behavior and nearshore processes, at different time scales, on reef‐lined beaches.

Wave Runup Prediction and Alongshore Variability on a Pocket Gravel Beach under Fetch-Limited Wave Conditions

Most empirical equations used for wave runup predictions have been developed from measurements at straight sandy beaches in unlimited fetch environments. While there are empirical equations to predict wave runup on gravel beaches, they have not been tested for prediction of wave runup on pocket gravel beaches, in limited-fetch environment, which can be found around Mediterranean. This paper addresses this lack of measurements on this type of beaches and examines the alongshore variability of wave runup. Wave runup measurements were made using video observations along 3 cross-sectional profiles on the pocket beach of Ploče, Croatia. The measurements have shown that the wave runup can vary for about 71% even around the centerline of the pocket beach. This variability is due to beach orientation and alignment of beach profiles to the prevailing wave direction, as well as difference in beach slope. Comparison of wave runup predictions from five well-known empirical equations and field measurements showed significant underprediction (up to NBIAS = −0.33) for energetic wave events, and overall high scatter (up to NRMSE = 0.38). The best performing wave runup equation was used for further refinement outside the original parameter space by including the Goda wave peakedness parameter (Qp). The newly developed empirical equation for wave runup reduced the NBIAS to 0 and the NRMSE by 31% compared to the original equation (developed equation metrics: R = 0.91, NBIAS = 0, NRMSE = 0.2, HH = 0.2 on the study site). This empirical equation can potentially be used for design of coastal structures and artificial beaches in similar environments, but further measurements are needed to test its applicability to a range of forcing and environmental conditions.

Analysis of the Rockfall Phenomena Contributing to the Evolution of a Pocket Beach Area Using Traditional and Remotely Acquired Data (Lo Zingaro Nature Reserve, Southern Italy)

The coastal domain of central western Sicily is characterized by the presence of rocky coasts, which mainly consist of pocket beaches situated between bedrock headlands that constitute ecological niches of great touristic and economic value. In this peculiar morphodynamic system, the sedimentary contributions are mainly derived from the rockfall that affects the back of nearby cliffs or the sediment supply of small streams that flow into it. In this study, we investigated the geomorphological processes and related landforms that contribute to the evolution of a pocket beach area located in a coastal sector of NW Sicily Island. The cliffs in this are affected by several rockfalls, and deposits from these rockfalls also add to the rate of sedimentary contribution. The analysis was conducted through the application of traditional approaches and contemporary methods that have previously been used to forecast the collection of input data in the field, often under difficult conditions due to the accessibility of the sites, and which have been supported by UAV surveys. Through the analysis of the digital models of terrain and orthophotos, geometrical and multitemporal analyses of landforms were carried out. A dedicated software was utilized for the detection of rockfall runout zones and block trajectories and for defining the automatic extraction of rock mass discontinuities. The data were compared with those derived from traditional geomechanical surveys. The availability of the existing and acquired remote sensing data proved essential for this study for both defining the reference geological model and for performing the site-specific analysis of rockfall.