Morphological response of a sandy shoreline to a natural obstacle at Sa Mesa Longa Beach, Italy

A case study is presented of a comprehensive analysis of the shoreline stability of a salient (primary response) in the lee of an emergent natural reef at Sa Mesa Longa Beach, Sardinia, Italy. The analysis combines sources of information at different levels of detail and accuracy: field surveys conducted with a GPS unit, remotely sensed imagery, geometrical and shape predictive formulas, and simulations with a 2D wave/current/sediment transport numerical model. The morphological simulation results for the primary response agree qualitatively with field observations and predictions from empirical formulas. The accuracy of a simplified wave energy model in defining the littoral sediment cell compared to the more detailed results of the morphological model is also investigated. Although the analysis has some limitations, as highlighted in the paper, the results appear to be promising in terms of applying the analysis to fragile morphologies in the lee of natural reefs in the Mediterranean Sea.