New morpho-bathymetric data on marine hazard in the offshore of Gulf of Naples (Southern Italy)

Morpho-bathymetric data have been analyzed in order to provide new geological evidence on the Gulf of Naples, i.e., on the southern Ischia slope, on the Naples canyons and on the Capri–Sorrento slope, representing main morphological and depositional domains of the Gulf of Naples through shaded relief and slope maps constructed through multibeam bathymetric data resulting in a newly constructed digital elevation model of the bay. A slope gradient map has allowed for the identification of the main slope classes on the offshore of Naples town and their correlation with regional morpho-structural lineaments in both the offshore of Naples and Ischia. A high slope map is herein shown in order to individuate the areas potentially prone to slide. The cluster of the slope gradients distribution and the consequent re-classification process have allowed us to define six slope classes, resulting in a thematic map of the seabed morphological structures and in further detail, in a map of the structure classes of the Naples canyons. Three districts have been distinguished from high gradients on the slope map, suggesting a high geologic hazard of submarine features (southern Ischia slope, Naples canyons, southern Capri–Sorrento slope). Detailed geomorphological maps of these districts have been assembled based on the geological interpretation of morpho-bathymetry and the structure classes defined by the Bathymetric Position Index. These maps could provide a useful tool for planning and management of coastal zones in the submarine portions of the Naples Bay.