**Landscapes and Landforms of Terrestrial and Marine Areas**

Editors

**Mauro Soldati Federica Foglini Mariacristina Prampolini Alessandra Savini**

MDPI • Basel • Beijing • Wuhan • Barcelona • Belgrade • Manchester • Tokyo • Cluj • Tianjin

*Editors* Mauro Soldati University of Modena and Reggio Emilia Italy

Federica Foglini National Research Council, Institute of Marine Sciences Italy

Mariacristina Prampolini National Research Council, Institute of Marine Sciences Italy

Alessandra Savini University of Milano-Bicocca Italy

*Editorial Office* MDPI St. Alban-Anlage 66 4052 Basel, Switzerland

This is a reprint of articles from the Special Issue published online in the open access journal *Water* (ISSN 2073-4441) (available at: http://www.mdpi.com).

For citation purposes, cite each article independently as indicated on the article page online and as indicated below:

LastName, A.A.; LastName, B.B.; LastName, C.C. Article Title. *Journal Name* **Year**, *Volume Number*, Page Range.

**ISBN 978-3-0365-1653-0 (Hbk) ISBN 978-3-0365-1654-7 (PDF)**

© 2021 by the authors. Articles in this book are Open Access and distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license, which allows users to download, copy and build upon published articles, as long as the author and publisher are properly credited, which ensures maximum dissemination and a wider impact of our publications.

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## **Contents**


Reprinted from: *Water* **2021**, *13*, 178, doi:10.3390/w13020178 ..................... **183**


Reprinted from: *Water* **2021**, *13*, 566, doi:10.3390/w13040566 ..................... **313**

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## **About the Editors**

**Mauro Soldati** is Full Professor of Physical Geography and Geomorphology at the Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italy), where he teaches courses of 'Geomorphology', 'Georisks and Civil Protection' and 'Ecology and Global Changes'. His research is focused on landslide hazards in mountain and coastal environments with special emphasis on the effects of climate change. He is also active in the field of geoheritage and geoconservation. His research has mainly been carried out in the Italian Dolomites, Northern Apennines and Maltese Islands, and secondarily in Greece, Spain and Svalbard. He is currently a member of several editorial boards of international journals, including Water. He is author or co-author of about 200 papers. Currently, he is President of the International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG) and Council Member of 'Deep-time Digital Earth' (DDE)—IUGS Big Science Program.

**Federica Foglini** is a senior marine data scientist at the Institute of Marine science (CNR-ISMAR) in Bologna with a primary interest in seafloor mapping and geomorphology, marine cartography, habitat mapping technologies, multi beam swath bathymetry acquisition and processing, marine spatial data management, Geodatabase design and implementation. She has participated in more than 20 oceanographic cruises as supervisor of geophysical data acquisition and processing and as chief scientist. She is co-author of several ISI papers and technical reports on implementation and design of Marine Geodatabase and GIS mapping and multi beam bathymetry processing. She teaches GIS for Habitat mapping at Bologna University. She is involved in the GEBCO (General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans) as member of the TSCOM (Technical Sub-Committee on Ocean Mapping) and Chair of the Metadata working group. She has been member of the Ocean BIG Data Working group since 2018 for the European Marine board.

**Mariacristina Prampolini** is a post-doc researcher at the National Research Council - Institute of Marine Sciences (CNR-ISMAR) of Bologna (Italy). She is a geomorphologist and works on marine habitat mapping topics in the framework of European and National projects. Her work consists of acquisition and analysis of multibeam data, geomorphological and sediment characterization of seafloor for habitat mapping purposes, and geomorphological carthography. She is member of the Italian Association on Physical Geography and Geomorphology (AIGeo) and one of the coordinators of the section for Italian Young Geomorphologists.

**Alessandra Savini** is Associate Professor at the University of Milano-Bicocca, where she teaches introductory courses in Submarine Geomorphology. She is a marine geoscientist with expertise in seafloor imaging and mapping using geophysical data (bathymetry, backscattering and seismic) and RGB still images and videos. She investigates the interaction between submarine geomorphic processes and benthic organisms, over long- and short-time scales. Emphasis is given to marine bioconstructions (from cold-water to tropical corals) and cold seep systems, to decipher the response of submarine landscapes and landforms to Pleistocene and Holocene climate changes. She is a member of the IAG Submarine Geomorphology Working Group that contributes to the establishment of submarine geomorphology as a scientific discipline. She is a member of the Scientific Committee of the MaRHE center (www.marhe.unimib.it), coordinating the annual training course on mapping technologies in coral-reef environments.

## **Preface to "Landscapes and Landforms of Terrestrial and Marine Areas"**

In the last decade, the interest in integrated studies of terrestrial and marine landscapes and landforms has been expanding, thanks to technological improvements and also to the development of innovative methods for the collection and analysis of geospatial data in the so-called "white ribbon." Onshore geomorphological data have been increasingly integrated with submerged datasets for paleo-environmental reconstructions and land management purposes. Modern advances in geo-acoustic and optical full-coverage mapping of both seafloor and near-shore areas allow geoscientists to acquire a large amount of remote data that can be combined with onshore data and direct ground-truthing information, with promising outputs. Hence, the production of detailed and accurate maps imaging both the seabed and the coastal morphology can foster integrated studies of emerged and submerged landscapes and landforms.

Investigating emerged and submerged landscapes as a continuum began to be applied mostly in geomorphological research concerning volcanic islands or in marine geohazard assessment (e.g., large coastal landslides). Recently, studies on coastal geohazards induced by global and climate changes lato sensu took advantage of coupling terrestrial and marine spatial datasets to model and quantify impacts in terms of vulnerability and risk scenarios. Additionally, both reconstruction of Late Quaternary geomorphological evolution and geoarchaeological research in coastal areas have been highly favored by the combination of onshore and offshore datasets. Merging data from coastal and nearshore areas has also supported the recognition of geodiversity and geosites, and the study of those ecological aspects that disclose the system connectivity across the coastline. This makes coordinated plans for the management of terrestrial and marine areas more effective and capable of addressing complex problems, preserving and managing coastal environmental resources and ecosystems.

The aim of this Special Issue of Water on "Landscapes and Landforms of Terrestrial and Marine Areas" was to collect contributions showing how the integration of emerged and submerged datasets is unquestionably beneficial in scientific research and environmental management. The volume includes a review paper showing the reasons why the integration of terrestrial and marine datasets would be desirable in geoenvironmental research and outlining the fields of geosciences that have mostly benefitted from land-and-sea dataset integration. The core of the Special Issue consists of 13 articles dealing with landscapes and landforms of the Mediterranean region. However, a case study from coastal areas of the Indian Ocean is included, too. The articles focus on Late Quaternary landscape evolution, geohazards, geomorphological mapping, geoarchaeology, geoheritage, and geodiversity and marine benthic habitat mapping. Vulnerability of coastal areas was also examined, taking into account the consequences of extreme events enhanced by climate change. The majority of the research carried out took advantage of surveying, modeling, mapping, and analyzing different types of datasets.

The editors would like to thank the authors of the articles for having enthusiastically contributed to this volume, and for their kind cooperation during the whole editorial process. In particular, the involvement of members of the Italian Association of Physical Geography and Geomorphology (AIGeo) is acknowledged. We are grateful to May Zheng, section managing editor, for having so professionally and kindly supported us throughout each step of the Special Issue planning and management.

The publication of this Special Issue is part of the activities of the 'Submarine Geomorphology' Working Group of the International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG).

> **Mauro Soldati , Federica Foglini , Mariacristina Prampolini, Alessandra Savini** *Editors*

## *Editorial* **Landscapes and Landforms of Terrestrial and Marine Areas: A Way Forward**

**Mauro Soldati 1, Mariacristina Prampolini 2,\*, Federica Foglini <sup>2</sup> and Alessandra Savini <sup>3</sup>**


#### **1. Introduction**

In the last decade, the interest to jointly analyze landscapes and landforms of emerged and submerged areas has been expanding [1]. A major contribution in this direction has been provided by technological improvements and the development of innovative methods for collecting and analyzing geospatial data in the so-called "white ribbon." A key advance has undoubtedly been the innovation in robotics, remote sensing, and computer vision technologies that have fostered the ability to easily construct high-resolution and even photorealistic terrain models as a base surface for 3D mapping in the underwater environment [2].

Different fields of geosciences have recently benefited from integrating land-and-sea spatial datasets (cf. [1]), mainly as a result of the following:


The aim of this Special Issue is to collect contributions that demonstrate how the integration of emerged and submerged datasets is unquestionably beneficial, in a wider perspective, for geoenvironmental research.

#### **2. Investigating Terrestrial and Marine Landscapes**

Investigating terrestrial and marine landscapes as a *continuum* began to be applied mostly in geomorphological research concerning ocean volcanic islands—in order to investigate the effects of volcanic eruptions on volcanic apparatus (i.e., landslides and collapses; e.g., [3])—or in marine geohazard assessment referring to large coastal landslides (e.g., Nice landslide; [4]).

Recently, studies on coastal geohazards induced by global and climate changes *lato sensu* took advantage of coupling terrestrial and marine spatial datasets (e.g., elevation data) in order to model and quantify impacts due to, for example, coastal subsidence, sea-level rise, and extreme weather events (i.e., storms), in terms of vulnerability and risk scenarios [5–10].

Curiosity and attention on this approach spread also toward other scopes. Both the reconstruction of Late Quaternary geomorphological evolution and the geoarchaeological research in coastal area have highly been favored by the combination of onshore and offshore datasets [11,12]. Indeed, the continental shelves have undergone several sea-level

**Citation:** Soldati, M.; Prampolini, M.; Foglini, F.; Savini, A. Landscapes and Landforms of Terrestrial and Marine Areas: A Way Forward. *Water* **2021**, *13*, 1201. https://doi.org/10.3390/ w13091201

Received: 8 April 2021 Accepted: 21 April 2021 Published: 26 April 2021

**Publisher's Note:** MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

**Copyright:** © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ 4.0/).

oscillations, and recorded a sea-level fall at ca. 130 m below the present msl during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Thus, large portions of the present continental shelves were exposed to subaerial processes that shaped landforms lying on the seafloor nowadays. These areas possibly hosted prehistoric and historic human settlements—as witnessed by archaeological remains, pollens, bones, or other remains in the sediments, caves, and so forth—which can be discovered and investigated in support of paleo-environmental reconstructions.

Furthermore, merging data from coastal and nearshore areas helped the identification of geodiversity and geosites and the study of marine and landscape ecology considering their connectivity across the coastline. This makes coastal environmental management practices more effective and capable of addressing complex problems, especially in the present context of climate change and sea-level rise. A coordinated plan for the management of terrestrial and marine areas, such as the Protocol on Integrated Coastal Zone Management, is indeed fundamental to preserve and manage coastal environmental resources and ecosystems [13,14].

All these themes can be faced in different ways, and the combined knowledge of terrestrial and submerged landscapes can shed light on cases of geomorphological equifinality between land and sea features.

Finally, the ever-growing scientific and industrial interest in integrating land-andsea datasets is strongly promoting technological advances and new approaches to picture/depict/represent land- and seascapes in a single view (cf. [15]). Prampolini et al. [1] draw the state of the art of the methods and remote sensing technologies that underpin the current ability to produce seamless digital elevation models (DEMs) and/or digital terrain models (DTMs) for coastal areas, with a comparison of their convenience, limitations, and costs, including some new promising techniques (e.g., structure from motion (SfM) and satellite-derived bathymetry (SDB)).

#### **3. The Special Issue**

The papers of this volume deal with two main themes, which fully reflect the initial aim and purposes of the Special Issue:


The articles focus on Late Quaternary landscape evolution, geohazards, geomorphological mapping, geoarchaeology, geoheritage, and geodiversity and marine benthic habitat mapping (cf. Table 1). Furthermore, a review paper [1] is included, showing the reasons why the integration of terrestrial and marine datasets would be desirable in geoenvironmental research. Prampolini et al. [1] outline the fields of geosciences that have mostly benefitted from land-and-sea dataset integration, showing the topic breakdown of the large number of scientific papers analyzed. The most explored topic is geohazards (34.5% of the papers), followed by geoarchaeology (16.2%), coastal planning and management (15.5%), Late Quaternary changes of coastal landscapes (9.9%), geomorphological mapping (8.45%), marine and landscape ecology (8.45%), and geoheritage and geodiversity (7.0%).


**Table 1.** Papers published in the Special Issue grouped according to their theme and content.

<sup>1</sup> rsl: relative sea level; <sup>2</sup> MPA: marine protected area.

Most of the papers included in this volume deal with landscapes and landforms of the Mediterranean region. However, a case study from coastal areas of the Indian Ocean is also included [16]. Special Issue contributions took into consideration both the present sea level, its past oscillations, and possible future variations in terms of sea-level rise.

Vulnerability of coastal areas was also faced under different points of view, taking into account climate change extreme events, such as storms causing boulder displacement. The majority of the research carried out took advantage of surveying, modeling, mapping, and analyzing different types of data (e.g., acoustic data and seabed samples for analyzing sediments and deposits) (Figure 1).

**Figure 1.** Word cloud of the Special Issue "Landscapes and Landforms of Terrestrial and Marine Areas" providing a visual representation of the most recurrent words in the full texts of the 14 articles published in the volume. Keywords and focal issues for further investigations on the land-and-sea interface appear to be sea level, submerged features, data, mapping, modeling, waves, changes, systems, and so forth.

#### *3.1. Topic 1: Terrestrial and Marine Landforms in Nearshore Areas*

The papers concerning the analysis of terrestrial and marine landforms in coastal and shallow water specifically deal with geomorphological mapping and landscape evolution [22,23], geoheritage and geodiversity [18,19], geohazards [16,20,21], and marine and landscape ecology [28].

Guida and Valente [22] studied the geomorphological aspects of onshore and offshore areas of the Cilento coast (Campania, Italy), correlating land and sea landforms in order to outline their evolution. They produced a digital geomorphological map that supported a physical-based modeling of geomorphological evolution.

Hasan et al. [23] mapped and analyzed the morphological features of the river canyons linking the Karin, Novigrad, and Velebit channels (NE Adriatic Sea). The latter are characterized by tufa barriers that had a role in the Holocene flooding dynamics of the canyons and karst basins. The authors outlined the evolution of the karst estuarine seafloor and reported about the flooding of semi-isolated basins due to sea-level rise.

Perotti et al. [18] proposed a GIS qualitative–quantitative methodology (defined as hydro-geodiversity assessment) to assess and evaluate the geodiversity of both superficial and underground water resources in the Sesia Val Grande UNESCO Global Geopark (Italy). They produced a hydro-geodiversity map of the study area, reporting a weighted evaluation of zones distinguished by a remarkable relationship between surface and underground hydrodynamics.

Coratza et al. [19] identified and evaluated geosites located both onshore and offshore the Portofino Natural Park and MPA (Liguria, Italy). Their analysis was meant to recognize the most suitable sites for tourist improvement and fruition, outlining connections between the land and sea systems. Scientific, ecological, cultural, and aesthetic values were considered, as well as site accessibility, services, and economic potential of the geosites identified.

Biolchi et al. [20] monitored the recent displacement of boulders located on the southernmost coast of the Premantura Promontory (Croatia), possibly due to the storm Vaia that occurred in October 2018. The authors carried out aerial and underwater photogrammetric surveys to identify boulders' movement onshore and submarine landforms associated with boulder detachment from nearshore seafloor. Furthermore, they modeled a wave height that could have been responsible for boulders' displacement.

Rizzo et al. [21] assessed the coastal vulnerability of the NE coast of the Island of Gozo (Malta), which is characterized by a high economic value due to tourism activity and the presence of natural protected areas (i.e., Natura 2000 sites). The authors propose an overall vulnerability index combining physical exposure and social aspects, and a cost-effective method that can be reliably applied in areas affected by climate- and marine-related processes (namely, coastal erosion, landslides, and sea-level rise).

Meilianda et al. [16] performed a spatial analysis on multisource datasets to investigate barrier islands' morphological changes along Sumatra Island coasts (Indonesia), as a result of the secondary effects of the seismic activity related to the Sumatra–Andaman subduction and the Great Sumatran Fault system. In particular, the authors documented that the 2004 megatsunami irreversibly changed barrier islands on the investigated stretches of the coast.

Marchese et al. [28] analyzed biogenic landforms (i.e., coralligenous builds-up) and mapped their distribution in coastal waters along the Apulian continental shelf (Italy) through a semiautomated GIS-based methodology relying on geomorphometric techniques. They calculated the area and volume of these mapped bioconstructions, which represent a hotspot of biodiversity for the Mediterranean Sea and a key carbonate producer in temperate water (cf. [29]).

#### *3.2. Topic 2: Landscapes and Landforms of Recently Submerged Areas*

The outputs of research on Late Quaternary landscape changes are presented, with different approaches, in a number of papers of this Special Issue. Mattei et al. [17] supported their research by means of archaeological markers; De Gioiosa et al. [24], Deiana et al. [27], and Savini et al. [26] analyzed terrestrial and marine landforms to reconstruct past sea-level oscillations and paleolandscapes; and Novack et al. [25] took advantage of the acoustic characterization of stratigraphic records.

Mattei et al. [17] performed a multidisciplinary investigation of the submerged Roman harbor at Nisida Island (Campi Flegrei, Italy) and set up a multiscale dataset with the goal of reconstructing the coastal and marine geomorphological evolution of the area. They were also able to outline relative sea-level changes in the last 2000 years through a new type of archaeological sea-level marker.

De Gioiosa et al. [24] analyzed LiDAR data, spectral images, and data from onshore surveys and scuba dives, with the aim of depicting land and sea morphologies and reconstructing Late Quaternary environmental changes of the Torre Guaceto Marine Protected Area (Apulia, Italy). The authors inferred climatic phases and related morphogenetic processes, identifying evidence of past sea-level oscillations.

Novack et al. [25] acoustically characterized the Quaternary sedimentary sequence of an alluvial plain of the NE Adriatic Sea that was submerged after the LGM. The paper shows that the sediment grain size is the main factor influencing sound velocity in shallow areas, the overload effect being negligible.

Deiana et al. [27] analyzed a large amount of multisensor data (seismic data, MBES and SSS data, dives, and UAV data) from the continental shelf off San Pietro Island (Sardinia, Italy) to reconstruct the geomorphological evolution of the area during the LGM. The authors outlined the complexity of a variety of coastal paleolandscapes, which also hosted Mesolithic population.

Savini et al. [26] spatially analyzed data on marine terraces both on land and at sea. Geomorphometric analysis on submerged terraces helped to figure out the depth range distribution of submarine terraces and associate their origin and evolution to the geological and structural setting of the Cilento Promontory (Campania, Italy). The work focused on highlighting the importance of submerged terraces formed on an outcropping bedrock (wave-cut or abrasion platforms) to decipher the signal of sea-level changes along the promontory and offshore, and to reconstruct the tectono-geomorphological evolution of the area.

#### **4. Future Perspectives**

Significant contributions have been collected in this volume, showing a variety of approaches and techniques used to integrate terrestrial and marine spatial datasets. The listed outcomes not only show how innovative and advanced geomorphological mapping techniques can support a more informed sustainable management of coastal environments, but also pave the way for other studies that rely on an improved efficiency in providing 3D landscape visualization from remote multisource and multiscale data.

The newly available geomorphological mapping tools and techniques are strongly impacting research on remote landscapes and those environments that are challenging to visualize, model, and analyze by means of traditional techniques. High spatial, temporal, and spectral resolution data from planet, moon, asteroid, and comet surfaces in our solar system collected by means of satellites, landers, and rovers are significant examples. Data visualization and processing in planetary geomorphology are indeed similar to those employed for terrestrial and marine data, and the procedure for recognizing landforms and processes that model planet surfaces can be compared with those acting on the Earth. An improved 3D visualization is also the basis for a more efficient modeling of those physical and abiotic processes that feature environmental changes and consequently can critically improve the associated simulation of future scenarios.

Hence, a strong collaboration among scientific communities working in the field of subaerial, submarine and planetary geomorphology is strongly needed to improve our understanding of geomorphic processes and the links between process and form on earth, seafloor, and even planetary surfaces.

**Author Contributions:** All authors participated equally in the preparation and writing of this editorial. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

**Funding:** The study was carried out in the frame of the project "Coastal risk assessment and mapping" funded by the EUR-OPA Major Hazards Agreement of the Council of Europe (2020–2021), Grant Number GA/2021/08 n\_689165 (Resp. Unimore Unit: Mauro Soldati).

**Institutional Review Board Statement:** Not applicable.

**Informed Consent Statement:** Not applicable.

**Data Availability Statement:** Data sharing not applicable.

**Acknowledgments:** This volume is part of the activities of the Working Group on "Submarine Geomorphology" of the International Association of Geomorphologists (IAG) chaired by Aaron Micallef (Malta) and Sebastian Krastel (Germany). We would like to thank the authors of the articles included in the Special Issue for having enthusiastically accepted to submit their manuscripts to this volume and for their kind cooperation during the whole editorial process. We are grateful to May Zheng, section managing editor, for having so professionally and kindly supported us throughout each step of the Special Issue planning and management.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The authors declare no conflict of interest.

#### **References**


#### *Review*
