Theme: Rainfall

Prediction of Rainfall-INduced landslides – Improving multi-scale TerritoriAL Early warning through aRTificial intelligence

Predicting the occurrence of rainfall-induced landslides is a crucial task for civil protection purposes. Several landslide early warning systems are currently operating worldwide at different spatial scales. In Italy, landslide alerts are issued for territorial units named Alert Zones, covering a few thousand km². Usually, regional-scale warning models rely on rainfall thresholds, which require a few parameters and provide clear results in ...

Effects of climate change on landslides

Worldwide, landslides pose a serious threat to the population, causing fatalities, widespread damages, and significant economic losses. Different phenomena influence the stability of slopes and can cause landslides, among which the main factor is rainfall. Rainfall is strongly controlled and influenced by climate and its variations. Therefore, it is to be expected that climate changes influence slope stability at different temporal and ...

Forecasting rainfall-induced landslides

We developed GASAKe, Genetic Algorithm-based Self-Adaptive Kernel, a new model to predict the time of occurrence of rainfall induced landslides. GASAKe predicts the time of occurrence of single landslides or groups of similar landslides, both shallow and deep-seated, using a threshold than when exceeded determines the initiation of the landslides. The triggering threshold is defined using historical information on rainfall and ...

Joint modeling of landslides and erosion processes

Different approaches have been proposed to model landslide and erosion processes separately. Only a few attempts have been made to model landslide and erosion jointly. Some models consider the effects of landslides on sediment yield and transport. In other cases, landslides and erosion processes are components of a landscape evolution model. However, existing models do not describe jointly the triggering mechanisms of landslide and erosion ...

Droughts, desertification and climate change in Calabria, Southern Italy

Using long-term rainfall records obtained by the rain gauge network of the former Italian Hydrographic Service, in cooperation with colleagues in other CNR Institutes (ISAC and ISAFOM), we have studied the changes in the rainfall regimes in Calabria, Southern Italy. Applying appropriate statistical methods, we checked the completeness of the historical records, verifying consistency and missing values in the records. We used the obtained ...

How to define rainfall thresholds automatically

The empirical rainfall thresholds while representing a useful approach used to forecast landslide occurrence in wide areas, are affected by several uncertainties related to the rainfall and the landslide information accuracy, the reconstruction of the rainfall events responsible for the failure, and the method to calculate the thresholds. Definition of the rainfall conditions responsible for landslides is a crucial issue and may contribute to ...

Detecting rainfall from the bottom up

SM2RAIN is an innovative system for the estimation of the rainfall, based on measurements of the soil water content. SM2RAIN considers the soil as a natural rain gauge, and by measuring temporal variations of the soil water content, it estimates the rainfall falling on the soil, adopting a “bottom up” approach. Technically, SM2RAIN relies on the inversion of the soil water balance equation that computes the repartition of rainfall in ...

Rainfall estimate from space

We have developed a new satellite rainfall product in near real-time. The product, called H64, is based on the integration of rainfall estimates obtained through two satellite sources. The developed algorithm combines estimates obtained by applying the SM2RAIN algorithm to satellite soil moisture data and those provided by a state-of-the-art product already operating on the full-disk area of the Meteosat satellites (60° West - 60° East, 60° ...

SaTellite based Runoff Evaluation And Mapping

Water is at the centre of economic and social development; it is vital to maintain health, grow food, manage the environment, and create jobs. As well over half of the world’s potable water supply is extracted from rivers, either directly or from reservoirs, understanding the variability of the stored water on and below landmasses, i.e., total runoff, is of primary importance. In situ observations or land surface/hydrological models are ...

Studio e monitoraggio dei processi idrologici

L'IRPI è da molti anni impegnato nel monitoraggio di variabili idrologiche (umidità del suolo, pioggia, portata e velocità dei corsi d'acqua) che è risultato fondamentale per la rappresentazione del processo di formazione del deflusso e quindi per lo studio delle piene e delle ...

Sistema di Allertamento Nazionale per la previsione del possibile innesco di fenomeni Franosi indotti da piogge lungo l’infrastruttura ferroviaria di RFI

SANF-RFI is a landslide early warning system along the RFI national railway Infrastructure. The system forecasts the possible occurrence of landslides by comparing rainfall measurements and forecasts with empirical rainfall thresholds for the possible occurrence of landslides. Specifically, the system consists of three components: (i) for rainfall and other data input and storage, (ii) for data processing and analysis, and (iii) for the ...

Agreement with the Ligurian Regional Agency for Environmental Protection (ARPAL)

Since 2013, CNR IRPI went in with the collection of information on rainfall events that have resulted in landslides in the Liguria region. Rainfall thresholds can be used in early warning systems for the prediction of the occurrence of rainfall-induced landslides. To respond to a request of the Italian national Department for Civil Protection (DPC), CNR IRPI designed and developed SANF, an Italian acronym for National Early Warning System for ...

Hydrological monitoring and prediction of shallow landslides through remote sensing observations

Rainfall-induced shallow landslides and floods are the most common and dangerous natural hazards, mainly due to their high temporal frequency, which causes fatalities and high economic damage worldwide. Climate changes will exacerbate this critical framework since an increase in extreme weather events is ...

A new independent GLOBAL rainfall product from ASCAT soil moisture observations through SM2RAIN

Accurate rainfall estimates are of paramount importance as rainfall plays a key-role in many fields as, to cite a few, natural hazard assessment (floods and landslides), drought management, weather forecasting, agriculture and diseases prevention. State-of-the-art rainfall products obtained by satellites are often the only way for measuring rainfall in remote areas of the ...

SMOS+RAINFALL II

Quantitative information about precipitation is one vital input to meteorologists, hydrologic scientists, water resources managers, and environmental legislators. The past SMOS+Rainfall project addressed the improvement on a global scale of the current state-of-the-art satellite rainfall products through satellite soil moisture observations derived from the Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity mission (SMOS) by means of three different techniques. ...

Cooperative Internet-of-Data Rural/Alpine Community Environment

Environmental sensor monitoring is continuously developing, both in terms of quantity (i.e. measurement sites), and quality (i.e. technological innovation). Environmental monitoring is carried out by either public or private entities for their own specific purposes, such as scientific research, civil protection, support to industrial and agricultural activities, services for citizens, security, education and information. The left Cenischia ...

Safe Landscapes: prevention and adaptation strategies

The project aims at defining the type of expected natural hazards, the modeling approaches relevant for their evaluation, and possible monitoring tools in specific areas prone to landslide risk within the "UNESCO site Portovenere, Cinque Terre and the Islands (Palmaria, Tino and Tinetto)" along the "Blue Trail" from Monterosso through ...

Agreement with the Autonomous Region of Sardinia

In Italy, landslides are triggered by intense and/or prolonged rainfall. The spatial and temporal forecast of multiple landslides triggered by rainfall in wide areas relies primarily on empirical rainfall thresholds. It is widely believed that the thresholds are influenced by the local topographic (morphological), lithological, soil, and climatic settings. For this reason, it is necessary to define local rainfall thresholds. Reliable local ...

Landslide Multi-Hazard Risk Assessment, Preparedness and Early Warning in South Asia Integrating Meteorology, Landscape and Society

In India, as in many other areas in Asia and in the world, landslides are abundant and frequent, and they represent a serious hazard to the local population. The aim of LANDSLIP is to develop tools, including operational systems, to contribute to reducing impacts of hydrologically related landslide multi-hazards and to building resilience to landslides in vulnerable and hazard-prone areas of ...

Threedimensional Displacement Analysis

The 3DA software is a new procedure that allows retrieving in near-real-time 3D surface deformation models starting from data acquired via robotized total stations or others system that acquire the surface displacements. The measurements are first pre-processed and then implemented on 3D maps that include vector arrows representative of the intensities and of the real directions of motion in a given system of coordinates. The 3D surface ...

STSE Water Cycle Multi-mission Observation Strategy for the Mediterranean

Monitoring the water cycle from satellite observations is one of the major goals of the EO community and closing the water budget has been a long-standing objective of international programs. After years of hard work, calibrating satellite data, improving inversion techniques, and facilitating the coherency of retrievals, it is admitted that the water cycle budget can now be ...

SMOS+RAINFALL

Quantitative information about precipitation is one vital input to meteorologists, hydrologic scientists, water resources managers, and environmental legislators. Yet, accurate measurement of precipitation over the relevant space and time scales remains a challenge. Soil moisture can be seen as the trace of the precipitation and, consequently, can be useful for providing a way to estimate rainfall accumulation or at least a new constrain to ...

H-SAF AS: Integration of PR-OBS-5 and SM-OBS-1 products through SM2RAIN algorithm for improving rainfall estimate

State-of-the-art satellite rainfall products are often the only way for measuring rainfall in remote areas of the world. However, these products may fail in properly reproducing the amount of precipitation reaching the ground, which is needed for hydrological applications. The integration of satellite soil moisture products is expected to significantly improve rainfall ...

Data on maximum annual rainfall in north-eastern Italy

The database includes annual maximum rainfall corresponding to durations of 1, 3, 6, 12, 24 hours and 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 days for approximately 800 raingauges in north-eastern Italy (Trentino, Alto Adige, Veneto and Friuli Venezia Giulia). The database contains data until 1997 for the Autonomous Province of Bozen-Bolzano, 1990 for the Autonomous Province of Trento, and 1996 for Veneto and Friuli Venezia ...

37 YEARS OF SOIL MOISUTRE DERIVED RAINFALL: application of SM2RAIN to the CCI soil moisture product, algorithm improvement and product validation

Recently, IRPI-CNR has developed an innovative approach for estimating rainfall from satellite soil moisture data, named SM2RAIN. The ESA funded project “Climate Change Initiative - Soil Moisture“ (CCI-SM) offers a valuable opportunity for testing SM2RAIN algorithm to a continuous, homogenous, long-term (>30 years) soil moisture time series. Indeed, SM2RAIN has the chance to be tested not only for rainfall estimation but also as a ...

Hydro-meteorological Monitoring

The hydro-meteorological monitoring is the operational tool for the measures of atmospheric, hydrologic ad hydraulic variables characterizing the hydrological cycle and it represents the grounds of IRPI’s research activities finalized to forecast, prevention and mitigation of natural hazards. Indeed, an accurate knowledge of processes at basis of natural phenomenon cannot disregard the direct measure of hydrological quantities, considering ...

Control and validation of hydro-meteorological data

The analysis of hydro-meteorological data is required to verify the correct sensors functioning and possible presence of non-operational periods with missing data. When non-operational periods or malfunction occur, it could be possible  to apply procedures for missing data reconstructions and wrong data ...

SM2RAIN dataset

The rainfall dataset provides rainfall estimates obtained through the application of an inversion algorithm to soil moisture data. The algorithm has been applied to ground and satellite data, obtained through various satellite ...

EUMETSAT Satellite Application Facility on Support to Operational Hydrology and Water Management

The H-SAF generates and archives high-quality data sets and products for operational hydrological applications starting from the acquisition and processing of data from Earth observation satellites in geostationary and polar orbits operated both by EUMETSAT and other satellite organization. The retrieval of products uses data from microwave and infrared instruments and aims at reaching the best possible accuracy compatible with satellite ...

SANF – Sistema di Allerta Nazionale per la previsione di Frane indotte dalla pioggia in Italia

SANF_Prodotto_Figura3_20150123 SANF is a landslide early warning system based on the comparison between rainfall measurements and forecasts and empirical rainfall thresholds. Specifically, the system consists of three components: (i) for rainfall and other data input and storage, (ii) for data processing and analysis, and (iii) for the production and delivery of the ...

H-SAF and GPM: precipitation algorithm development and validation activity

The proposal intends to contribute towards the establishment of a long-term partnership between the EUMETSAT Satellite Application Facility on support to Operational Hydrology and Water Management (H-SAF, or Hydrology SAF) and the NASA/JAXA Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) ...

Rainfall thresholds for the possible initiation of rainfall-induced landslides in Apulia

DPCPuglia_soil_slips- In Italy rainfall are among the main causes of trigger of shallow landslides, that yearly cause fatalities, damage, and severe economic losses. Identification of the amount of rainfall needed to trigger landslides, and the forecasting of rainfall-induced landslides, are of interest for the scientific community, as well as for the whole ...

SANF Liguria

SANFLiguria_Figure2_20150112 In Italy, landslides are triggered by intense and/or prolonged rainfall. The spatial and temporal forecast of multiple landslides triggered by rainfall in wide areas relies primarily on empirical rainfall thresholds. It is widely believed that the thresholds are influenced by the local topographic (morphological), lithological, soil, and climatic settings. For this reason, it is necessary to define local rainfall thresholds. Reliable local ...

Rainfall, seismicity, landslides and sediment discharge in mountain belts

Taiwan, an active orogenic belt with subtropical climate is characterized by a high uplift rate and several major typhoons each year. Italy is on one of the most seismically active regions in Europe because of the thrust of African plate on Eurasian continental one. Both experience numerous landslides along with earthquakes and intense rainfalls, causing heavy damages and casualties. The purpose of this project was to share scientific knowledge ...

Prediction of rainfall-induced landslides and associated risk in Italy

SogliePluviometriche_Figura1_20150109- In Italy, slope failures occur every year, claiming lives, causing economic disruption, and producing different environmental problems. In Italy, intense or prolonged rainfall is the primary trigger of landslides. Predicting rainfall-induced slope failures is a challenging task of both scientific and societal interest. The forecast of single or multiple landslides triggered by rainfall in wide areas relies primarily on empirical rainfall ...

Hydrometeorological data resources and technologies for effective flash flood forecasting

Flash-floods develop at space and time scales that conventional observation systems for rainfall and river discharge are not able to monitor. Consequently, the atmospheric and hydrological generating mechanisms of flash-floods are poorly understood, leading to highly uncertain forecasts of these ...