L'ecosistema litorale di Marinello (Messina): Dinamica geomorfologica e sedimentaria degli ultimi cinquant'anni

The "Marinello Ponds" system (38,13° N - 15,05° E) is a transitional area located on the Tyrrhenian coast of Sicily, behind the Tindari Cliff (Italy). It is characterised by a rapid morphological dynamism that has determined in the last century marked changes in the shape and dimension of the area, as well as in the number of the ponds. The sandy bank evolution develops through the formation of hook-shaped littoral bars, whose progressive warp determines the formation of temporary or semi-permanent coastal ponds. The studies we carried out during different investigations (1967; 1978; 1999; 2008) have let us to record a decrease of the sandy-bank surface of more than 20 %, as well as its gradual slide towards south. This dynamic has gradually led to the covering-up of the northernmost ponds, as well as to a thinning of the sandbar. The textural analysis has pointed out, from the 80s to date, a progressive depletion of the medium-fine sands that has transformed the original mainly sandy substratum into ever more coarse and better sorted sediments.