Fast retreat of a barrier system due to reduced sediment supply (Bellocchio, Northern Adriatic Sea, Italy)

The erosion issue is a constant threat along most of the littoral areas around the Mediterranean Sea. The Northern Adriatic Sea makes no exception, in particular the Emilia-Romagna region is subject to erosion processes that jeopardize human activities and natural ecosystems along large stretches of the coast. The factors responsible for the erosion processes are multiple and often depend on the characteristics of the site: the Bellocchio area can be considered as a case study for the landward retreat of a barrier system, caused by the decrease of sediment supply from the River Reno. A series of aerial ortho-photographs was analyzed to define the evolution of the sector of coast comprised between the village of Porto Garibaldi to the north and the River Reno’s mouth to the south. The photographs, spanning from 1942 to 2010, showed a severe landward migration of the whole system, in particular the area north of the river’s mouth, where a large spit was progressively eroded and eventually disappeared. The recent evolution of the Bellocchio site is a further confirmation that a successful management of the littoral areas does not involve only coastal processes, but also the evolution of the sediment source feeding the beaches