## 1 Introduction
Implementation of WebGISs applied on pocket beaches (PBs) of Sicily, Malta, Gozo, and Comino represents one of the outputs of the Pocket Beach Management and Remote Surveillance System project (BESS), co-financed by the European Union (European Regional Development Fund, within the Operative Program Italy--Malta 2014-2020), coordinated by the Department of Mathematical and Computer Sciences, Physical Sciences, and Earth Sciences (MIFT) of the University of Messina (UNIME). The Maltese partners included the Ministry for Gozo and University of Malta (represented by the Euro-Mediterranean Center on Insular Coastal Dynamics (ICoD)); the Sicilian partners included the Department ofEarth Sciences (DiSTeM) of the University of Palermo (UNIPA) and the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV).The aim of the BESS project was to achieve, following a large number of studies, a coastal monitoring platform that contained geological and morphological data, biological and sedimentological analysis, bathymetric information, and aerial photogrammetric and anemometric data. This platform was developed to allow the management of these input data within a WebGIS to study the evolution of 134 PBs in Sicily and Malta. PBs represent coastal features characterized by their evolving shape, their geomorphological influence on sedimentary input, and their ecological value. These enclosed beaches are small beaches set between headlands that diffract or refract incoming waves [30; 31; 32]. The term \"pocket beach\" describes a beach controlled by a geological structure or a human structure, such as a groin or jetty [33; 34; 35] and they are common along rocky coasts throughout the world [36; 37]. Detailed studies of PBs have previously been conducted [35; 37; 38; 39; 40; 41; 42], PBs are widespread throughout the entire coastline [42; 43; 44] and the characteristics of their exceptional natural landscape make them very attractive to tourists. Natural and man-made PBs are frequent elements of the Sicilian and Maltese coast and are often the most attractive segments of rocky coasts, forming a hub for tourist activity. The main contributions of this paper are to provide:  
* A methodological approach for the implementation of a WebGIS necessary for a very detailed dynamic mapping and visualization of geospatial coastal data. * The description of the dataset necessary for the monitoring of coastal areas, especially the PBs. * A demonstration of a case study for the PBs of Sicily and Malta by using the methodology and the dataset used during the BESS project. In this paper, the process followed during the implementation of the BESS WebGIS is presented. The WebGIS contains the dataset obtained from a series of monitoring procedures carried out with a holistic approach during the BESS project. The project was adopted in the aim of reaching a turning point in terms of management of the geological and naturalistic heritage represented by the PBs, by considering, above all, implications of the well-being of society that arise from the protection of highly valued tourist sites. This paper describes how WebGIS technology was employed for geospatial data representation and dynamic mapping of the PBs. It further demonstrates the process of the implementation of a WebGIS, which is considered to be useful in terms of mapping, monitoring, and sensitization of coastal geomorphological peculiarities, namely the PBs.