Multiple processes causing sea-level rise in the Central Mediterranean

Abstract

Our analysis of a series of sea-level records along the Italian coast of the Adriatic sea indicates a sea-level rise not attributable to a global eustatic signal, but rather to the combined effects of active tectonics and Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (henceforth GIA). The highest predicted sea-level rise, of the order of 0.9-1.0 mm/yr, occurs in proximity of the city of Ravenna, in the northern sector of the Adriatic sea, decreasing to 0.4-0.5 mm/yr in the northernmost and southern parts of the Adriatic sea. While GIA is the dominant mechanism of sea-level rise in the southern sector of the Adriatic sea, active tectonics and GIA contribute a comparable amount in the north. Our results are of importance for quantitative estimates of trends of sea-level changes in a part of the Mediterranean, the northern Adriatic sea, where the historical cities of Venice and Ravenna are severely exposed to sea-level rise. Copyright 1999 by the American Geophysical Union.