Shoreline rotation analysis of embayed beaches in the Central Thyrrenian Sea

Coastal geomorphology requires increasingly accurate topographic information of the beach systems to perform reliable simulation of coastal erosion and flooding phenomena, in order to ensure beach erosion management. In the case of the natural beaches of Serapo and S. Agostino, located in the municipality of Gaeta, on the Tyrrhenian Sea, beach rotation was found to be a response to natural forcing from waves of various incident directions. In this paper we analyzed the shoreline variability of these beaches in order to investigate if shoreline oscillations are mostly due to cross-shore sediment exchange or shoreline rotations due to alongshore exchange between the beaches extremities. The final aim was to give some quantitative coastal indicators which can be used to support future coastal management interventions.