3D Flooding Maps as Response to Tsunami Events: Applications in the Central Sicilian Channel (Southern Italy)

The Mediterranean Sea is a tectonically very active area. Tsunami dynamics and effects on human life are well-documented within the Mediterranean countries. Particularly, within the Sicily Channel lies the Pelagian Archipelago, which comprises the islands of Lampedusa, Linosa, and Lampione. Lampedusa island is located in the central portion of the Sicilian Channel where a significant incidence of tsunamis (with wave run-up above 15 m) caused by earthquakes and submarine landslides has been historically documented. The assessment of the vulnerability of a site to tsunami events should take into consideration the geomorphological setting, which is strongly determined by the stratigraphic framework of the area. This work shows the geomorphological and stratigraphic differences between the western and south-eastern sectors of Lampedusa island. Its geomorphological setting is characterized by the Neogene-Quaternary depositional arrangement, which was determined by the new Lampedusa island stratigraphic analysis mainly performed on the eastern side outcrops. In fact, the significant differences between the western and eastern coastlines can be attributed to the presence of clear lithological variations between the two sectors of the island. This update to the geological characterization of the island was used to create 3D flooding maps according to run-up steps of 5 m, 10 m, and 15 m, thus showing a homogeneous involvement of the south-eastern sector of Lampedusa (Distefano et al., 2022). Furthermore, our study aims to provide a geomorphological-stratigraphic base for a mathematical-statistical model to create coastal flooding maps due to tsunami waves. As such, this tool is useful for evaluation of strategic infrastructure for the security of the island and the improvement of risk management in civil protection.