Shoreline Evolution Near River Mouths. Analysis of Correlations Between Climatic, Marine, and River Forcings
摘要
Removing soil particles within river basins is followed by transporting and depositing these detached particles across rivers. These processes influence the river and coastal dynamics, especially regarding degradation and aggradation. Indeed, the eroded material within the river basins can reach the beaches near the river mouths and act as a natural nourishment. On the other hand, low soil erosion and transport can lead to shoreline erosions. Therefore, coastal and river dynamics should be analyzed as one system. The equilibrium conditions of this system depend on both natural and anthropogenic forcings. The main natural forcings are climatic, marine, and river types and are related to rainfall, landslide, debris flow, sea storms, and extreme events, especially when they are concurrent. From this point of view, Calabria, a region in Southern Italy, represents an interesting case study due to its geomorphological, climatic, hydrological, and anthropic peculiarities. Therefore, the paper analyzes the correlation between shoreline evolution and climatic, marine, and river forcings near some Calabrian river mouths. The analyzed forcings are rainfall, wave climate, and longshore and river sediment transport. The analysis concerns a cross-analysis of these forcings to preliminarily evaluate which of them has the greatest influence on shoreline evolution. This analysis was carried out both the entire time interval where the data are available and various sub-intervals, and each interval is related to the available shorelines. These issues are crucial for effective planning and management of river and coastal areas.