M.G. Molfetta

Coastal Observation through Cosmo-SkyMed High-Resolution SAR Images

ABSTRACT Bruno, M.F.; Molfetta M.G.; Mossa, M., Nutricato, R., Morea, A., and Chiaradia, M.T., 2016. Coastal observation through Cosmo-SkyMed high-resolution SAR images. In: Vila-Concejo, A.; Bruce, E.; Kennedy, D.M., and McCarroll, R.J. (eds.), Proceedings of the 14th International Coastal Symposium (Sydney, Australia). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue, No. 75, pp. 795–799. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. The study deals with the application and further improvement of an advanced Earth Observation system, named COSMO-Beach, developed for semi-automatic shoreline extraction and coastal morphology identification. The system exploits SAR Single-Look-Complex data acquired by the COSMO-SkyMed constellation, which is able to provide X-band images with a short revisiting time. The implemented procedures have been tested over a very popular beach in Apulia Region (Italy), affected by erosion problems induced by human activities. The outcomes of the COSMO-Beach system are presented and discussed.

Integration of multitemporal SAR/InSAR techniques and NWM for coastal structures monitoring: Outline of the software system and of an operational service with COSMO-SkyMed data

Continuous monitoring of coastal areas is a necessary condition for proper coastal activities regulation. Coastal area alterations, even in the short term, in fact, may lead to a significant social change in the development of economic activities and lifestyle in populations living in coastal regions. This paper deals with the development of an integrated operational Earth Observation system aimed to provide a complete monitoring system for both natural and built coastal environments. Three different software engines have been coupled to fully exploit the COSMO-SkyMed images using SAR and InSAR techniques (SPINUA and COSMO-Beach modules) providing also APD corrections computed using numerical weather simulations (NWM module). This allows to automate the entire radar image process chain to obtain a complete picture of the most important phenomena for large and small scale. The implemented system has been widely tested on COSMO-SkyMed images taken within the Map Italy program over two different Italian sites and results are presented and discussed.

The influence of interannual variability of mean sea level in the Adriatic Sea on extreme values

ABSTRACT Bruno, M.F., Molfetta, M.G., Petrillo, A.F., 2014. The influence of interannual variability of mean sea level in the Adriatic Sea on extreme values. In: Green, A.N. and Cooper, J.A.G. (eds.), Proceedings 13th International Coastal Symposium (Durban, South Africa), Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 70, pp. 241–246, ISSN 0749-0208. The analysis of sea level data, in the low and middle Adriatic (south of Italy),collected by 6 stations belonging to the National Tide Gauge Network and to Apulia Region Meteomarine Network, shows a generalized increase in the mean sea level from 2008. The change between 2007 and 2009 is in the order of about 10 cm. A GPD distribution has been fitted to extreme series (5 extremes per year from 1999 to 2012) of sea level observed values, observed levels corrected with current annual mean sea level and tidal residuals. The analysis shows a significant increase in extremes of sea level values, while the extremes of corrected observed values and tidal residuals are quite similar respect to those found using observed data updated to 2006. Due to the sea level increase, the extremes, in observed sea level, rise drastically when updating time series to 2012, but, removing the effect of Mean Sea Level (MSL), these differences significantly decrease in the return levels.