An updated bathy-morphological setting of the Aeolian Islands is presented, based on new detailed bathymetric maps of the western, central and eastern sectors of the archipelago. In recent years, the acquisition of multibeam swath bathymetry has greatly expanded knowledge of the submarine portions of the Aeolian volcanic edifices, revealing that their submarine extension is much wider than that of the islands. Indications given by the submarine setting are fundamental for better understanding of the evolution of volcanism and the control exerted by main structural lineaments, as well as to locate large-scale flank instability events and recent submarine eruptive activity. DVD: Bathymetric maps of the eastern, central and western sectors are included on the DVD in the printed book and can also be accessed online at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/Memoir37-electronic

Lipari is the largest and most populated island in the Aeolian Archipelago, a UNESCO site, and a highly frequented touristic destination. As in many other insular settings, the low-lying coastal stretches in the E and NE sectors of Lipari are locally exposed to coastal erosion and flooding, enhanced by subsidence effects leading to local sea level rise. Most of these coastal sectors appear critical, being narrow and increasingly threatened by the risk of permanent inundation and beach disappearance. In this study, this setting is placed in the wider context of the decadal evolution of the main beaches, analysed through a multidisciplinary approach, which includes remote sensing techniques (aero-photogrammetry, unmanned aerial vehicle survey, and satellite data), offshore geophysical surveys (high-resolution multibeam bathymetry), and field observations. The results show a variable interaction in space and time between natural and anthropogenic factors in the long- and mid-term evolution of the studied coastal areas. Considering that part of the local economy at Lipari depends on beach tourism, proper future management is required in the view of natural risk reduction and in the light of future climate changes and related impacts.

The Sciara del Fuoco (SdF) collapse scar at Stromboli is an active volcanic area affected by rapid morphological changes due to explosive/effusive eruptions and mass-wasting processes. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of an integrated analysis of multi-temporal remote sensing (photogrammetry, COSMO-SkyMed Synthetic Aperture Radar amplitude image) and marine geophysical data (multibeam and side scan sonar data) to characterize the main morphological, textural, and volumetric changes that occurred along the SdF slope in the 2020–2021 period. The analysis showed the marked erosive potential of the 19 May 2021 pyroclastic density current generated by a crater rim collapse, which mobilized a minimum volume of 44,000 m³ in the upper Sciara del Fuoco slope and eroded 350,000–400,000 m³ of material just considering the shallow-water setting. The analysis allowed us also to constrain the main factors controlling the emplacement of different lava flows and overflows during the monitored period. Despite the morphological continuity between the subaerial and submarine slope, textural variations in the SdF primarily depend on different processes and characteristics of the subaerial slope, the coastal area, the nearshore, and “deeper” marine areas.

The seven Aeolian Islands exist in much greater volumes below sea level than above sea level; study of the submarine portions is therefore fundamental for a better understanding of the development of volcanism in the area, tectonic control from the regional structural setting and the morphological evolution of volcanic edifices. The interplay between destructive processes (marine erosion, mass-wasting and flank instability) and constructive processes in the growth and evolution of the Aeolian volcanoes is discussed based on a study of their present-day morphology. In particular, the distribution and characteristics of insular shelves in the shallow-water sectors of volcanic edifices are compared and discussed, considering that variable geological/local factors combined with sea-level fluctuations controlled the development and morphology of these features. It is proposed that submerged shelves may furnish relative chronological constraints for the development of the Aeolian volcanoes, enhancing present knowledge which is mostly based on subaerial portions.