The Influence of Sea Level and Wave Storms on Beach Erosion Along Apulian Coastline

The coastline of Apulia extends for approximately 1000 km, of which about 29% consists of sandy beaches. It represents one of the main factors of socio-economic development in the region, but, at the same time, it has been subject over the years to progressive coastal erosion. Studies conducted, indeed, show a clear retreat of the coast, with non-negligible consequences on economically relevant sectors, such as tourism and land use planning. In this study, the evolution of the coastline in the medium and short term has been analyzed, revealing a significant exacerbation of the phenomenon in the last decade. In an attempt to shed light on the intensification of these phenomena, an analysis of meteomarine events that occurred in those years and the variation of mean sea level has been carried out using data collected in situ or sourced from datasets made available by the Copernicus portal. The analysis of sea levels and sea storms has highlighted the occurrence of particularly stormy years and a significant sea level rise.