Interaction between physical and biological process of a carbonate pocket beach – Le Dune (Ionian Sea, Southern Italy)

This study focuses on the analysis of a carbonate pocket beach located along a coastal sector of the Apulia Ionian-Sea (Le Dune beach). The beach develops for about 800 m and it is exposed to the south-westerly and southerly seas. Coastal sediments range from very coarse to medium-fine and they are mainly composed of bioclasts (more than 90%). The study area is part of a marine protected reserve characterised by 15 different habitats of the typical Mediterranean submerged populations and the presence of Posidonia Oceanica meadows. The absence of sediment-delivering rivers coupled with the significant anthropic pressure in the last decades, have led the Ionian littorals to be affected by erosional processes. Therefore, the aim of our research is to highlight the correlation between physical and biological processes by analysing the textural and compositional characteristics of beach sands, fundamental for pocket beach conservation. This research is part of a multidisciplinary project devoted to the analysis of beaches by integrating sedimentological, geomorphological and geophysical investigations to obtain reliable models for their evolution in space and time.