Flooding scenario for four Italian coastal plains using three relative sea level rise models

Figures & data

Figure 1. The Italian coastal areas are characterized by important human settlements that are sensitive to sea level rise: (a) the Fondi Plain, near Latina (Latium, Italy) is one of the 33 areas of the Italian coastal zones prone to marine flooding (Lambeck et al., 2011) (Photo G. Mastronuzzi, 2005); (b) the Mouth of Carapelle river, near Foggia (Apulia, Italy) with damaged wetlands after the sea-storms occurred on February/March 2009 (Photo by M. Caldara, 2009).

Figure 2. Sea level rise projections for 2100, as proposed by the IPCC 2013 report.

Figure 3. The four Italian areas investigated in this study, characterized by coastal plains and geo-diversity.

Table 1. (1) The investigated areas: the northern Adriatic area is distinguished according to the different tectonic and isostatic rates here presented. (2) Long-term tectonic rates and (3) relative references. (4) Isostatic rates and (5) reference. (6) Period of LIDAR survey and (7) the Agency that produced the DTM used in this study.

(1) Area	(2) Tectonic vertical movement (mm/yr)	(3) References	(4) Isostatic rates (mm/yr)	(5) References	(6) Base map	(7) References
Northern Adriatic 1 (from Trieste to Caorle)	−0.40	Ferranti et al. (2006); Antonioli et al. (2007); Antonioli et al. (2009)	−0.12	Lambeck et al. (2011)	2003	Regions of Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto, INGV
Northern Adriatic 2 (from Caorle to Chioggia)	−0.60		−0.13		2003	Regions of Friuli Venezia Giulia and Veneto, INGV
Northern Adriatic 3 (from Chioggia to Cesenatico)	−0.95		−0.21		2008	Italian Ministry of the Environment, Emilia Romagna Region
Northern Adriatic 4 (the Comacchio lagoon area)	−0.78		−0.21		2008	Italian Ministry of the Environment, Emilia Romagna Region
Gulf of Taranto	+0.14	Amorosi et al. (2014); Negri et al. (2014); Lisco et al. (2016); Mastronuzzi and Sansò (2003)	−0.45		2008	Italian Ministry of the Environment
Gulf of Cagliari	0.0	Ferranti et al. (2006); Orrù, et al. (2004, 2011, 2014); De Falco et al. (2015)	−0.58		2007	Autonomous Region of Sardinia, Italian Ministry of the Environment
Gulf of Oristano	0.0		−0.62		2008	Autonomous Region of Sardinia, SRTM

Table 2. Vertical land motion rates obtained from the historical and recent GPS stations.

	Vertical land motion rates (mm/yr)
North Adriatic
Po Delta	−5
Veneto-Romagna Plain	−5
Gulf of Trieste	∼0
Venice Lagoon	from −2.2 to −9.2
Gulf of Taranto	∼0
Gulf of Oristano	Unknown
Gulf of Cagliari	−0.5

Table 3. Sea level rates for the ISPRA Tidal network and historical stations with the relative time span.

Sea level trends
ISPRA Tidal Network (www.mareografo.it)	Historical station from the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (www.psmsl.org)	Time span	Rate (mm/yr)
Adriatic Coast
	Trieste	1875–2011	+1.32 ± 0.1
Venezia		2000–2013	+10.7 ± 0.3
	Venezia – Punta della Salute	1909–2000	+2.44 ± 0.1
Ravenna		2000–2013	+8.3 ± 0.3
Ancona		2000–2013	+3.9 ± 0.2
Gulf of Taranto
Taranto		2000–2013	+9.4 ± 0.1
Sardinia
Cagliari		2000–2013	+6.8 ± 0.1
Carloforte		2000–2013	+5.6 ± 0.1

Table 4. The map limits for each area are reported as projections (WGS84_UTM 32/33N) together with both the main map and inset map scale.

Area	North (m)	South (m)	West (m)	East (m)	Main map scale	Inset maps scale
Northern Adriatic	57,579,821	5,463,846	1,287,228	1,519,909	1:300,000	1:150,000
Oristano	4,874,152	4,817,775	894,173	993,297	1:60,000	1:33,000
Cagliari	4,780,625.5	4,740,135.5	995,546	1,027,377	1:60,000	1:30,000
Taranto	4,947,271	4,926,155.5	1,901,828	1,935,899	1:30,000	1:10,000

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