MORPHODYNAMIC DEVELOPMENT OF A WAVE-DOMINATED SHELF DURING HOLOCENE (WESTERN SARDINIA, MEDITERRANEAN SEA)

The morphodynamic evolution, during Holocene, of a wave dominated, starved shelf is presented This shelf sector is characterized by the occurrence of wide bedrock outcrops, transgressive sedimentary bodies formed by submerged depositional terraces (SDT) associated to sorted bedforms and drowned barrier-lagoon systems (BLS). The formation of transgressive depositional bodies was first controlled by the inherited topography, which influenced the accommodation space with the subsequent formation of depositional terraces, barriers and back-barrier lagoonal-deltaic deposits. This wave-dominate shelf shows a rapid adaptation to sea-level rise, with the formation of coastal morphosedimentary features over a short time periods. The STD where formed in a time range of 2 ka and the BLS in a time range of 1 ka, with a sea level rise rate in the order of 10-15 mm y-1.