Recent erosion on the northern coast of Sardinia: a radiometric datum on the Fiume Santo Coast

Abstract

Thanks to sampling of vegetable remains offshore from the Fiume Santo beach, it has been possible to define the recent withdrawal of the coastline during the Holocene with greater precision. The age of 4420 ±70 years BP of a fossil tree allowed an shoreline retreat estimate of 250 m, consistent with a retreat rate of about 6 cm/y. Moreover the bottom morphology facing the beach confirms the model of coastal evolution in the area and affords a close correlation with the data on the movement of sandy masses known in the literature.