Coastal subsidence and sea-level rise in the northern Adriatic

Abstract G21D-07 The Department of Physics of the University of Bologna (UNIBO), the Consorzio Venezia Nuova, sole agent of the Magistrato alle Acque (MA) for the management of the Venice Lagoon environment and the Italian National Agency for Environmental Protection and Technical Services (APAT), have recently started joint projects to determine and study vertical crustal movements and sea-level fluctuations in the northern Adriatic area where the natural subsidence has been enhanced by anthropogenic components during last century. The combination of the permanent GPS stations belonging to UNIBO and of those of the MA and APAT constitutes a basic network for the study of land subsidence in the northern Adriatic. InSAR data are used to observe spatially continuous vertical deformation. Most of the stations are also monitored by means of absolute gravity measurements. Both long-term and short-term (seasonal) vertical crustal movements are observed and modeled. The GRACE mission data are used to estimate the regional hydrological contribution to the observed height seasonal variations. The sea-level time series of the Marina di Ravenna, Venice and Trieste tide gauge stations are compared to the Topex/Poseidon satellite altimetry sea-level elevation and to the GPS height long-term trends at the same stations.