Theme: Geomorphology
Full cOveRage, Multi-scAle and multi-sensor geomorphological map: a practical tool for TerrItOrial plaNning
Italy is an extremely fragile territory, widely exposed to hydrogeological hazards affecting anthropic infrastructures and the natural environment. In this scenario, geomorphological maps, including the representation of the spatial distribution of landforms, have been used for a long time for the description of processes acting on the Earth’s surface. Geomorphological maps should represent the basic tool for the assessment of ...
URban GEodiversity for a Resilient Environment
Geodiversity refers to the variety of natural abiotic features, as the natural variety of geological (rocks, minerals), geomorphological (landforms, physical processes), hydrological and soil properties. The parameter “geomorphodiversity” is a measure of the dynamics of the Earth's surface and it has a key role in conservation of biodiversity and sustainability of ecosystems. Thus, it affects evolution of the biotic world and of human life. ...
Debris-flow monitoring in the Alps
Not all that flows in creeks is water. Debris flows i.e., surges in which solid particles move together with little water, may occur in steep mountain streams, mainly as a consequence of intense rainfall. Debris flows have a high kinetic energy, and may cause major damage if they encroach buildings, roads and bridges. They are also a primary cause of landslide casualties. The video below shows an example of debris flows.
The low ...
ARchivio TEMatico Immagini Aerofotografiche Di Eventi
The IRPI Aerialphotografical archive consists of about 170000 aerial photographs of Northern Italy (1954-2005) useful for a stereoscopic vision. It also includes military flights (Royal Air Force) carried out during the Second World War. For some areas there are also rare aerial shots of the years 20, 30 and 40, often in diachronic form (5-10 years). The documentation refers to geo-hydrological events occurring on large areas and characterized ...
RiST2, the research go on
The researches at high-elevation sites continues, thanks to the RiST2 project (co-financed by Fondazione CRT of Torino). The study area is the Bessanese glacial basin. The Alpine environment and in particular the cryosphere, is responding quickly and with great intensity to climate change. The air temperature increase observed in the Alps urge the scientific communities involved in natural instability studies to consider not only air ...
Deep seated Gravitational Slope Deformation (DsGSD) analysis and criticalities assessment of the regional monitoring network of the landslides
The Aosta Valley region presents a landscape almost totally occupied by mountain. In this context, a number of meaningful landslides is present, which vary from rock falls to deep-seated gravitational slope deformation (DsGSD), passing for the complex landslides. The study of these phenomena, finalized to guarantee suitable standard of safety and to facilitate a compatible development, results a fundamental necessity for this ...
RiST project: Scientific and Technological research in the Bessanese glacial basin (Balme, NW Italian Alps)
The Alpine environment, and in particular the high-altitude one, is responding quickly and with great intensity to climate change, through evidences of geomorphological, hydrological and ecological type. Mountain glacier shrinkage and related outcropping of rock walls and debris, changes of the precipitation and temperature patterns, are some of the main terrestrial indicators of climatic ...
Connecting European Connectivity Research
Water and sediment connectivity has emerged in recent years as a significant conceptual framework for understanding the transfer of surface water and sediment through landscapes. Connectivity can be seen both as a driver of hydrological and geomorphic processes within a catchment and as an emergent catchment property that is the result of processes acting at different ...
Spatial-temporal evolution of glacial resources in the Italian Alps over the last 100 years
Glaciers are widely recognized as the best terrestrial indicator of climate change. Nevertheless, occurred changes, even in recent times, are often poorly known. Italy has a unique, secular history of glaciological documentation that, jointly with a rich wealth of spatial, multitemporal data, allows an accurate reconstruction of recent glacier evolution. Unfortunately, these data are dispersed and/or difficult to ...
Sediment management in Alpine basins
The understanding of the changing equilibrium between sediment supply from upstream and sediment transport capability of a river is important for the success of integrated water resource management. In Alpine river basins, intensive sediment transport processes and sediment continuity have a notable impact on several water management issues posing multiple use conflicts related to hydropower, ecology, flood control ...
Register of the caves and artificial cavities of Apulia
Within the framework of the project “Register of the Caves and Artificial Cavities of Apulia Region” (PO FESR 2007-2016), committed by the Ecology Service to the Apulian Speleological Federation (FSP), this latter involved CNR-IRPI to guarantee high scientific value to the documents to be produced, and to work with the cavers in the different phases of the ...
DInSAR techniques for the assessment of sinkhole hazard
Sinkholes occur as sudden collapses of the ground, related to natural cavities produced by karst processes in soluble rocks, or to man-made cavities deriving from different types of human activities in different historical ages. Sinkholes are widespread all over the world, and the related hazard is extremely high, with very severe damage to built-up areas and human infrastructures, and heavy losses to the ...
GIS technologies for managing sinkhole hazard
The widespread sinkholes that involve large sectors of the Apulian territory are related to natural cavities produced by karst processes in soluble rocks, or to man-made cavities deriving from different types of human activities in different historical ages. The related hazard is extremely high, with very severe damage to built-up areas and human infrastructures, and heavy losses to the ...
Hazards in karst areas and mitigation strategies
The high fragility of karst terrains, and the deriving vulnerability to a number of possible events, together with the presence of significant natural (first and foremost, groundwater), landscape and historical resources, are at the origin of the project activities, aimed at the safeguard of karst environments and the mitigation of the related ...
Database of post-wildfire debris-flow activity in Mediterranean ecosystems
Wildfires can have profound effects on the hydrologic response of watersheds, and debris-flow activity is among the most destructive consequences of these effects. The continued high likelihood of catastrophic wildfires in Mediterranean climates has created the need to develop methods to identify and quantify potential debris flow hazards from burned ...
Mountain Risks: from prediction to management and governance
The observed increase in disastrous events over the last decades, associated with a low perception of risk by the communities involved, along with the lack of efficient, socially accepted and environmentally sound remedial measures are amongst the motivation behind this research project. The adaptation of a combined multi-risk-oriented analysis, in which the investigations focus more on the interdependence of events rather than on single event, ...
Karst sinkholes in urban areas in Florida
Sinkholes are among the main features of karst areas, and are extremely widespread in Florida, one of the sites most known for their occurrence and the likely interaction with the built-up environment. The Tampa area, in turn, shows an high frequency of events, which origin derives from different types of ...
Karst ecosystems in Albania
About 25% of Albania is interested by karst landscapes in both carbonates and evaporite rocks, with a variety of surface and subsurface landforms worth to be exploited. Despite their high value in terms of natural heritage, in the past years these areas suffered from degradation and pollution problems, that were further exacerbated by the difficult social and economical situation of the Balkans in the ...