A review of impact of subsidence induced by gas exploitation on costal erosion in Emilia-Romagna, Italy

During the last six decades, the Emilia-Romagna coastal plain underwent severe land lowering, as a consequence of groundwater pumping and gas production, that was pointed out as one of the main causes of beach erosion affecting extensively the coast. This paper aims to investigate the influence of gas fields exploitation on the beach erosion, through an analysis carried out in two critical sites: Reno River and Fiumi Uniti River deltas. The study is based on the comparison between the geomorphological evolution and the phases of the gas withdrawal. Main results highlight that, despite the gas exploitation cause subsidence, the strong coastal retreat has been much more dominated by morpho-dynamic processes associated with the decrease of river supply.