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Marine Geological Mapping
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Marine Geological Mapping

A special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312). This special issue belongs to the section "Geological Oceanography".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 February 2023) | Viewed by 14540

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Agate Mauro

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Earth and Marine Sciences, University of Palermo, 90123 Palermo, Italy
Interests: marine geology; marine geomorphology; sedimentology; seismostratigraphy; sea level changes
Dr. Attilio Sulli

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e del Mare, Università di Palermo, Via Archirafi 22, 90123 Palermo, Italy
Interests: marine geology; structural geology; seismostratigraphy; marine geohazard; central Mediterranean geology
Prof. Dr. Francesco Latino Chiocci

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Faculty of Sciences, Department of Earth Sciences, Rome University, Rome, Italy
Interests: marine geology; marine geohazard; sequence stratigraphy; seabed sedimentary structures; quaternary geology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Claudio Lo Iacono

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Institut de Ciències del Mar, CSIC, 08003 Barcelona, Spain
Interests: geology; oceanography; remote sensing; ecology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

To better understand and forecast the evolution of our planet, geological mapping of the seafloor represents a fundamental goal to achieve in the coming decades.

Marine geological maps are fundamental for planning offshore activities in commercial exploration, geohazard assessment, and the sustainable use of marine resources.

Recent technological advances in marine surveys, and the sharing of data uploaded to large databases, both support the achievement of a complete mapping of the seafloor.

This Special Issue encourages the submission of papers concerning both examples of mapping of the seafloor and results from innovative methodologies for seabed surveying:

  • Examples of surveys from different geological settings (e.g., slope gravitational instability, sedimentary structures fields, etc.);
  • Integrated marine geological maps that are useful in seabed characterization for the installation of infrastructures, in the prevention of geohazards, and in the preservation of habitats;
  • Outcomes of national or international geological mapping projects;
  • Results from surveys performed using innovative techniques or returned through interpretative techniques of image analysis, spatial prediction and machine learning.

Dr. Agate Mauro
Dr. Attilio Sulli
Prof. Dr. Francesco Latino Chiocci
Dr. Claudio Lo Iacono
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Marine geology
  • Geological-geophysical marine survey
  • Seafloor cartography
  • Acoustic backscatter
  • Marine geohazard
  • Seabed sedimentary structures
  • Marine natural resources
  • Habitat mapping
  • Marine geographical data base
  • International seafloor mapping programme
  • Big data analysis

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

28 pages, 39250 KiB  
Article
Submarine Geomorphology and Sedimentary Features around the Egadi Islands (Western Mediterranean Sea)
by Mauro Agate, Christina Lombardo, Claudio Lo Iacono, Attilio Sulli, Sabrina Polizzi, Renato Chemello and Paolo Emanuele Orrù
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2023, 11(6), 1246; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse11061246 - 19 Jun 2023
Viewed by 1243
Abstract
In this paper, the physiography, geomorphological features, and sedimentary bedforms of the offshore Egadi Islands (Italy) have been illustrated and mapped through an integrated analysis of high-resolution bathymetric, seismo-acoustic, and sedimentological data. The study area is characterized by a wide, up to 25 [...] Read more.
In this paper, the physiography, geomorphological features, and sedimentary bedforms of the offshore Egadi Islands (Italy) have been illustrated and mapped through an integrated analysis of high-resolution bathymetric, seismo-acoustic, and sedimentological data. The study area is characterized by a wide, up to 25 km, continental shelf which is separated by a NNW-trending linear incision, the Marettimo Channel, along which several erosional and depositional features have been detected and mapped. Sedimentary prograding wedges were detected at water depths between 100–125 m along the shelf margin, which accumulated during the sea-level fall and lowstand stages of the last glacio-eustatic cycle (post- MIS 5.5). This study detected several slope breaks defining scarps across the continental shelf, which were interpreted as coastal cliffs that originated during the post-LGM eustatic sea-level rise. Several fields of different types of sedimentary bedforms, including 2-D and 3-D hydraulic dunes and sorted bedforms, were found across the continental shelf, providing evidence of a high hydrodynamic regime affecting the seafloor. Further on, this study recognized erosive and depositional features related to bottom currents (contourites) in the Marettimo Channel. These findings provide a better understanding of the morpho-sedimentary evolution of the Egadi Islands offshore in the latest Quaternary. Moreover, they offer essential scientific support for effectively managing the most valuable priority habitats for conservation, such as the Posidonia oceanica meadow and coralline algae bioconstructions (Coralligenous habitat). Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Geological Mapping)
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17 pages, 7685 KiB  
Article
3D Flooding Maps as Response to Tsunami Events: Applications in the Central Sicilian Channel (Southern Italy)
by Salvatore Distefano, Niccolò Baldassini, Viviana Barbagallo, Laura Borzì, Natale Maria D’Andrea, Salvatore Urso and Agata Di Stefano
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(12), 1953; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10121953 - 8 Dec 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2945
Abstract
The assessment of the vulnerability of a site to tsunami events should take into consideration the geomorphological setting, which is strongly determined by the stratigraphic framework of the area. Lampedusa island is located in the central portion of the Sicilian Channel (Mediterranean Sea, [...] Read more.
The assessment of the vulnerability of a site to tsunami events should take into consideration the geomorphological setting, which is strongly determined by the stratigraphic framework of the area. Lampedusa island is located in the central portion of the Sicilian Channel (Mediterranean Sea, Italy), where a significant incidence of tsunamis (with wave runup above 15 m) caused by earthquakes and submarine landslides has been historically documented. This work shows the geomorphological and stratigraphic differences between the western and south-eastern sectors of Lampedusa island. This update to the geological characterization of the island was used to create 3D flooding maps according to runup steps of 5 m, 10 m, and 15 m, thus showing a homogeneous involvement of the south-eastern sector of Lampedusa. Furthermore, our study aims to provide a geomorphological-stratigraphic base for a mathematical-statistical model to create coastal flooding maps due to tsunami waves. As such, this tool is useful for evaluation of strategic infrastructure for the security of the island and the improvement of risk management in civil protection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Geological Mapping)
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18 pages, 3511 KiB  
Article
The Anthropogenic Footprint of Physical Harm on the Seabed of Augusta Bay (Western Ionian Sea); A Geophysical Investigation
by Francesca Budillon, Marco Firetto Carlino, Sara Innangi, Salvatore Passaro, Renato Tonielli, Fabio Trincardi and Mario Sprovieri
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(11), 1737; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10111737 - 12 Nov 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1872
Abstract
Augusta Bay is an embayment of the Hyblean sector in south-eastern Sicily (Southern Italy) that faces the Ionian Sea and includes the Rada di Augusta, a wide littoral sector sheltered by breakwaters, which hosts intense harbor activities. Rada di Augusta and the adjacent [...] Read more.
Augusta Bay is an embayment of the Hyblean sector in south-eastern Sicily (Southern Italy) that faces the Ionian Sea and includes the Rada di Augusta, a wide littoral sector sheltered by breakwaters, which hosts intense harbor activities. Rada di Augusta and the adjacent Priolo embayment were listed in the National Remediation Plan (NRP) by the Italian Ministry of Environment, as they have suffered major anthropic impacts over the last seventy years. Indeed, extensive petrochemical and industrial activities, military and commercial maritime traffic, as well as agriculture and fishery activities, have resulted in a highly complex combination of impacts on the marine environment and seafloor. In this paper, we investigate the extent of human-driven physical impacts on the continental shelf, offshore of Rada di Augusta, by means of Multibeam echosounder, Side-Scan Sonar and Chirp Sonar profilers, as well as direct seabed samplings. At least seven categories of anthropogenic footprints, i.e., anchor grooves and scars, excavations, trawl marks, targets, dumping trails, isolated dumping and dumping cumuli, mark the recent human activities at the seafloor. The practice of dredge spoil disposal, possibly protracted for decades during the last century, has altered the seafloor morphology of the central continental shelf, by forming an up-to-9 m-thick hummocky deposit, with acoustic features noticeably different from those of any other shelf lithosome originated by natural processes. All available data were reported in an original thematic map of the seafloor features, offering an unprecedented opportunity to unravel sediment facies distribution and localization of anthropogenic disturbance. Finally, the shelf area was ranked, based on the coexistence of multiple stressors from human-driven physical harm, thus providing a semi-quantitative analysis of environmental damage classification in the area. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Geological Mapping)
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24 pages, 12264 KiB  
Article
Morpho-Structural Setting of the Ligurian Sea: The Role of Structural Heritage and Neotectonic Inversion
by Danilo Morelli, Michele Locatelli, Nicola Corradi, Paola Cianfarra, Laura Crispini, Laura Federico and Sébastien Migeon
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(9), 1176; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10091176 - 24 Aug 2022
Cited by 12 | Viewed by 3167
Abstract
The review of recent bathymetric and geophysical data collected in the framework of several research and cartographic projects have allowed a detailed reconstruction of the morpho-structural setting and the (neo)tectonic evolution for both the Alpine and Apennine margins of the Ligurian Sea (Italy). [...] Read more.
The review of recent bathymetric and geophysical data collected in the framework of several research and cartographic projects have allowed a detailed reconstruction of the morpho-structural setting and the (neo)tectonic evolution for both the Alpine and Apennine margins of the Ligurian Sea (Italy). The widespread occurrence of erosional processes and sediment mass movements along the steep continental slope and within the system of submarine canyons reflect the close correlation between the active tectonics and the recent morpho-dynamic evolution of the Ligurian Margin. This relation is better constrained in the western sector (Alpine) of the Ligurian Sea, where the recent uplift of the continental margin is associated to a well-developed system of inherited structures reactivated under a compressive/transpressive regime and widespread seismicity. In the eastern sector, where the seismicity is lower or absent, the mass movements are limited to few areas (e.g., the Portofino slope) coinciding with seismic clusters. Additionally, this sector is characterized by moderate and episodic fault reactivations under a compressive regime. The evidence of compressive deformation along the inherited fault systems has been revealed in some areas of the Ligurian Sea where the post-drifting extensional tectonics is interrupted by episodic tectonic inversion (at least) during the Middle–Upper Miocene and the Plio–Pleistocene until present. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Geological Mapping)
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18 pages, 10541 KiB  
Article
Preservation of Transgressive System Tract Geomorphic Elements during the Holocene Sea Level Rise in the South-Eastern Sicilian Tyrrhenian Margin
by Salvatore Distefano and Fabiano Gamberi
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(8), 1013; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10081013 - 25 Jul 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1379
Abstract
Understanding of complex sedimentary records formed by transgressive systems is critical because they provide information on sea level changes which control the evolution of the coastal environment. This paper discusses the preservation of the Transgressive System Tracts (TST) in the south-eastern Sicilian Tyrrhenian [...] Read more.
Understanding of complex sedimentary records formed by transgressive systems is critical because they provide information on sea level changes which control the evolution of the coastal environment. This paper discusses the preservation of the Transgressive System Tracts (TST) in the south-eastern Sicilian Tyrrhenian margin during the last Holocene eustatic cycle. The available dataset consists of high-resolution bathymetry (multibeam), whose description and interpretation through a Digital Elevation Model (DEM) has been integrated with six seismic profiles (CHIRP). Within the whole study area, four bathymetric contours (−120 m, −100 m, −80 m and −70 m) were identified and assumed as the markers of the main locations of the paleo-coastlines, corresponding with the steps of the main changes in the sea level. The transgressive deposits are preferentially preserved in the 70–100 m bathymetric range, bounded at the top by the maximum flooding surface and consisting of the relict geomorphic elements that represent past landscapes (coastal barrier lagoons, transgressive sheet areas, cuspate beaches, transgressive dune-field systems). Furthermore, with the support of 3D bathymetric maps, a reconstruction of the geomorphological evolution of the past coastal systems during the last transgressive stage is also provided. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Geological Mapping)
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21 pages, 4154 KiB  
Article
Discovering the Fine-Scale Morphology of the Gulf of Cádiz: An Underwater Imaging Analysis
by Raúl Jiménez-Romero, Luis Miguel Fernández-Salas, Desirée Palomino, Ricardo Félix Sánchez-Leal and Yolanda Vila
J. Mar. Sci. Eng. 2022, 10(5), 651; https://doi.org/10.3390/jmse10050651 - 10 May 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2458
Abstract
The dense and deep water flow that leaves the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic flows through the upper and middle slope of the Gulf of Cádiz as a powerful bottom stream that models and interacts with bathymetry. The detailed analysis of underwater images, [...] Read more.
The dense and deep water flow that leaves the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic flows through the upper and middle slope of the Gulf of Cádiz as a powerful bottom stream that models and interacts with bathymetry. The detailed analysis of underwater images, obtained with a photogrammetric sled in the central area of the upper and middle slope of the Gulf of Cádiz, together with multibeam bathymetry and oceanographic and sediment types data, has allowed conducting a detailed study of the seafloor microtopography and the predominant oceanographic dynamics in the study area. Different fine-scale spatial bedforms were identified, such as ripples, dunes, burrows, mounds, obstacle marks, rock bottoms, and low-roughness bottoms using underwater images. Besides, a geostatistical study of the different video transects studied was carried out and allowed us to differentiate three types of bottoms depending on the processes that affect their microtopography. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Marine Geological Mapping)
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