Refer to the photograph of the Po Delta, Italy (Fig. 9.4). During Etruscan times around 600 BC, the city of Adria was a
busy seaport on the coastline at the mouth of the Po River. Adria was so important that the Adriatic Sea was named
after it. The Po River has continued to deposit sediment at its mouth and has extended its delta far beyond Adria,
which is no longer located on the coastline.
1. What has been the average annual rate (in cm/yr.) at which the Po Delta has extended toward the Adriatic Sea
since Adria was a thriving seaport on the coast? Show your work.
2. Based on the average annual rate that you just calculated, how many centimeters does the leading edge of the
Po Delta move seaward during the lifetime of someone who lives to be 60 years old? Show your work.
3. REFLECT & DISCUSS Sea level is rising and submerging coastlines adjacent to the Po Delta, and yet the
delta is still extending out into the Adriatic Sea. Why?