Submerged coastal systems along the western Sardinian shelf (Mediterranean Sea)

This paper presents the geophysical mapping of the western Sardinia continental shelf (Mediterranean Sea, Italy). The focus is to highlight the various submerged coastal systems associated with the last eustatic cycle, consisting of beach barriers, submerged depositional terraces, submerged dunes and the current infralittoral prograding wedges. The study was carried out by interpreting MBES data, SSS photomosaics, reflection seismic data and aerial orthophotos, validated by sediment sampling. All data were processed to produce a 1:100,000 scale map showing a wide sector of the western Sardinian shelf and summarising the morphological and sedimentological features. The formation and evolution of the submerged coastal systems have been related to the available models of the last sea-level rise from the LGM to the present day, denoting a pulse pattern at sea-level change mainly triggered by northern hemisphere meltwater pulses. Furthermore, the map shows the general distribution of sediments, marine phanerogam meadows and rocky outcrops.