Advancing the frontiers of hydrogeomorphological research through interdisciplinary approaches to debris-flow hazards, sediment connectivity, environmental seismology, and geomorphometry. Combining field monitoring, statistical modeling, and open-source tools to enhance resilience, inform territorial planning, and promote international collaboration. Passionate about bridging theory and application, fostering knowledge transfer from science to society.
Sediment dynamics & connectivity – innovative geomorphometric indicators; SedInConnect tool widely adopted in science and practice.
Monitoring and experimental hydrology – leadership in innovative monitoring of debris flow and high-altitude hydrological basins, and environmental seismology.
Floods & post-event surveys (IPEC) – coordination of intensive field campaigns in Alpine catchments.
Geomorphometry & software tools – open-source developments used by scientific communities and agencies (ISPRA IDRAIM, River Basin Authorities).
Satellite data analysis & change detection – leveraging remote sensing for geo-hydrological risk reduction.
Professional Experience
Jan 2023 – Present
Senior Researcher
National Research Council (CNR-IRPI), Padova Office
2019
Permanent Researcher
National Research Council (CNR-IRPI), Padova Office
2014 – 2019
Post-Doctoral Researcher
National Research Council (CNR-IRPI), Padova Office
2011 – 2013
Doctoral Student
University of Padova, Italy
Education
2014
PhD in Environmental Hydronomy
University of Padova, Italy
Thesis: ‘Hydrologic control on triggering and magnitude of debris flows in alpine catchments.’
2010
Master’s Degree in Forestry and Environmental Sciences
University of Padova, Italy
Thesis: ‘Scale invariant Depth Duration Frequency curves estimation for an alpine region.’
Selected Publications
Refer to Scopus, WoS, or ORCID for the complete list.
SedInConnect: a stand-alone, free and open source tool for the assessment of sediment connectivity. Computers and Geosciences (145 citations)
Can inpainting improve digital terrain analysis? Comparing techniques for void filling, surface reconstruction and geomorphometric analyses. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms (20 citations)
Toward the development of a stand-alone application for the assessment of sediment connectivity. Rendiconti Online Società Geologica Italiana (33 citations)
Impact of uncertainty in rainfall estimation on the identification of rainfall thresholds for debris flow occurrence. Geomorphology (157 citations)
Basin-scale analysis of the geomorphic effectiveness of flash floods: A study in the northern Apennines (Italy). Science of the Total Environment (63 citations)
An integrated study to evaluate debris flow hazard in alpine environment. Frontiers in Earth Science (41 citations)
Exploiting LSPIV to assess debris-flow velocities in the field. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (40 citations)
GIS tools for preliminary debris-flow assessment at regional scale. Journal of Mountain Science (20 citations)
Upper limits of flash flood stream power in Europe. Geomorphology (34 citations)
Debris flows recorded in the Moscardo catchment (Italian Alps) between 1990 and 2019. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences (26 citations)
Selected Projects
PI – MORPHEUS (PRIN 2022, MUR): Multi-temporal regional LiDAR for geomorphological dynamics.
Scientific lead – Monised (2023–2026): Environmental seismology of sediment transport in Alpine catchments.
Interreg ITA-AUT SedInOut: Sediment management and hazard prioritization in Alpine basins.
SedAlp, GEOforSED, KINOFLOW, COST Action ES1306: European collaborations on sediment connectivity.
Editorial & Scientific Service
Editorial Board, Remote Sensing.
Reviewer for >20 international journals.
Evaluator, VQR ANVUR (2015–2019).
Teaching & Supervision
Lecturer at UniBo, UniPd, UniBz (hydrogeomorphology, geomorphometry).
Supervisor of PhD, post-docs, and research fellows.
Short courses & invited lectures (EGU, Copernicus Academy).
Software Development
Main developer of HydrogeomorphologyTools: SedInConnect, Debris flow simulation, and High-resolution terrain analysis.
Awards & Recognitions
“Ivo Ricchetti” award for best scientific contribution.
