THE ROLE OF MORPHO-STRUCTURAL SETTINGS ON ROCKY COASTS INSTABILITY

Rocky coasts are one of the environments where various processes act on landscape modelling and evolution across different spatial and temporal scales. Over the past few decades, they have garnered growing attention from the scientific community, especially with the ongoing Global Changes that exacerbate the evolution of phenomena and pose risks to both the population and tourism. The study of rocky coasts is often challenging due to inaccessibility of the sites, leading to a reliance on remote sensing methods. In the present day, remote sensing techniques have an important role for natural risk assessment, but there is a tendency to overlook the importance of fundamental field data for precise interpretation and evaluation of active surface processes. This thesis underscores the role of the geomorphological characterizations and in particular the understanding of morpho-structural evolution through the combination of field surveys and remote sensing analyses which are essential for obtaining accurate insights into interactions with vulnerable elements within an area. To achieve this, three study areas composed by rocky coasts with different evolutionary scenarios were selected and investigated: Mt. Conero and Mt. San Bartolo in the western coasts of the Adriatic Sea (Italy) and La Herradura section in the coastal sector of the Granada province (Spain). The methodology of this study has allowed for a comprehensive understanding of sea slope evolution and how to mitigate the associated natural risks.