Ecohydrology in Mediterranean areas: a numerical model to describe growing seasons out of phase with precipitations

Annual flow duration curves assessment in ephemeral small basins

Flow duration curve (FDC) represents a comprehensive signature of temporal runoff variability often used to synthesize catchment rainfall-runoff responses. A new model, the ModABa (MODel for Annual flow duration curves assessment in ephemeral small BAsins), is here introduced. It can be thought as a wide mosaic whose tesserae are frameworks, models or conceptual schemes separately developed in different studies and harmoniously interconnected with the final aim of reproducing the annual FDC in intermittent small catchments. Two separated seasons within the hydrological year are distinguished: a dry season, characterized by absence of streamflow, and a non-zero season. Streamflow is disaggre…

Exploring single polarization X-band weather radar potentials for local meteorological and hydrological applications

Summary The aim of this study is to evaluate the potential use of a low-cost single polarization X-band weather radar, verified by a disdrometer and a dense rain gauge network, installed as a supporting tool for hydrological applications and for monitoring the urban area of Palermo (Italy). Moreover, this study focuses on studying the temporal variability of the Z–R relation for Mediterranean areas. The radar device is provided with an automatic operational ground-clutter filter developed by the producer. Attention has been paid to the development of blending procedures between radar measurements and other auxiliary instruments and to their suitability for both meteorological and hydrologic…

ECOHYDROLOGICAL MODELLING IN MEDITERRANEAN AREAS AND WETLANDS

La seguente dissertazione verte sul campo di ricerca noto come Ecoidrologia. Sebbene tale scienza, che studia le mutue interazioni fra ciclo idrologico e gli ecosistemi naturali, sia stata recentemente oggetto di svariati studi, alcuni dei suoi numerosi aspetti rimangono tuttavia ancora alquanto inesplorati. L’obiettivo principale della presente tesi è quello di rivisitare la letteratura scientifica esistente sull’argomento, cercando di adattare concetti e modelli sviluppati per certi ecosistemi anche alle peculiarità di altri ambienti meno studiati, come quelli aridi e semiaridi tipici della zona Mediterranea o le cosiddette “wetlands”, zone umide e paludose. In particolare, viene approfon…

EFFETTI DELLE VARIAZIONI CLIMATICHE SULLA VEGETAZIONE IN AMBIENTE MEDITERRANEO

A weather monitoring system for the study of precipitation fields, weather, and climate in an urban area

The possibility to study the precipitation dynamics with advanced and specific tools is an important task of the research activity addressing the understanding, the modeling, and the managing of rainfall events. Over the last years, the hydrology laboratory of the Department of Civil, Environmental, Aerospace Engineering, and Materials (DICAM) at the University of Palermo, has installed several instruments for the monitoring and the study of precipitation within the urban area of Palermo (Italy). The main instrument of this system is the X-band weather radar, which allows monitoring the precipitation fields with high resolution in space and time. This instrument is supported by a rain gauge…

Sviluppo di un sistema di monitoraggio per lo studio delle dinamiche meteorologiche nell'area urbana di Palermo.'

Development of innovative approaches for evaluating drought vulnerability and selecting innovative practices for managing water shortage (in Sicily)

The climate, especially with regard to the precipitation and the evapotranspiration processes, plays a fundamental role in the vegetational patterns formation and modifications. The pilot project here described tries to evaluate in a quantitative way the impact of different climatic regimes (current or future) on vegetation health status and its physiological processes. In particular, an ecohydrological approach has been adopted in order to carry out an analysis of the potential climate changes influence on the vegetation state in a typical Mediterranean environment, such as the Sicilian one.

Ecohydrological modelling of flow duration curve in Mediterranean river basins

Abstract Flow duration curve provides an important synthesis of the relevant hydrological processes occurring at the basin scale, and, although it is typically obtained from field observations, different theoretical approaches finalized to its indirect reconstruction have been developed in recent years. In this study a recent ecohydrological model for the probabilistic characterization of base flows is tested through its application to a study catchment located in southern Italy, where long historical series of daily streamflow are available. The model, coupling soil moisture balance with a simplified scheme of the hydrological response of the basin, provides the daily flow duration curve. …

Ecohydrology in Mediterranean areas: a numerical model to describe growing seasons out of phase with precipitations

The probabilistic description of soil moisture dynamics is a relatively new topic in hydrology. The most common ecohydrological models start from a stochastic differential equation describing the soil water balance, where the unknown quantity, the soil moisture, depends both on spaces and time. Most of the solutions existing in literature are obtained in a probabilistic framework and under steady-state condition; even if this last condition allows the analytical handling of the problem, it has considerably simplified the same problem by subtracting generalities from it. <br><br> The steady-state hypothesis, appears perfectly applicable in arid and semiarid climatic areas like th…

Monitoraggio di frane attivate da precipitazione a supporto di un Early Warning System: Progetto SESAMO

Multilayer blue-green roofs as nature-based solutions for water and thermal insulation management

Abstract Green roofs have been widely recognized as sustainable nature-based solutions to mitigate floods in urban areas, which, in the last decades, are increasing due to the combination of intense worldwide urbanization and climate change. Besides flood mitigation, green roofs provide additional benefits for the urban environment (e.g., reducing the urban heat island and ensuring energy saving for the underneath building). Moreover, green roofs facilitate the increase of urban biodiversity, attracting different species of small animals, and upgrade the city aesthetic value. Among the different types of green roofs, multilayer blue-green roofs present an additional layer to store water dur…

Analisi di storm tracking nell’area urbana di Palermo attraverso dati di pioggia ad alta risoluzione

La conoscenza della distribuzione spaziale e temporale delle piogge di breve durata, nonché la loro cinematica, sono alcuni tra i fattori più importanti che stanno alla base dell’approssimazione dei modelli di trasformazione afflussi-deflussi nei bacini urbani. L'incertezza dovuta alla variabilità spaziale della pioggia può influenzare, ad esempio, le performance dei modelli di drenaggio urbano. Un'adeguata conoscenza della variabilità spaziale e temporale delle precipitazioni può essere considerata un passo fondamentale per un'esatta interpretazione dei processi idrologici di base che avvengono nei sistemi di drenaggio urbano durante gli eventi di pioggia intensi. L'analisi di tali informa…

Climate change effects on the hydrological regime of small non-perennial river basins.

Recent years have been witnessing an increasing interest on global climate change and, although we are only at the first stage of the projected trends, some signals of climate alteration are already visible. Climate change encompasses modifications in the characteristics of several interrelated climate variables, and unavoidably produces relevant effects on almost all the natural processes related to the hydrological cycle. This study focuses on potential impacts of climate variations on the streamflow regime of small river basins in Mediterranean, seasonally dry, regions. The paper provides a quantitative evaluation of potential modifications in the flow duration curves (FDCs) and in the p…

Large-Eddy Simulation e tecnica LS-PIV: lo studio della turbolenza superficiale

Gli avanzamenti tecnologici degli ultimi decenni hanno fatto registrare la rapida diffusione di tecnologie innovative con cui condurre un monitoraggio ambientale più efficiente ed efficace. Nel campo del monitoraggio fluviale sono sempre più utilizzate le tecniche basate sull’elaborazione di immagini, fornendo una valida alternativa alle metodologie tradizionalmente adottate. Le tecniche ottiche restituiscono infatti misure non intrusive, assicurando migliori condizioni di sicurezza per gli operatori. I metodi ottici più utilizzati sono la Large-Scale Particle Image Velocimetry (LS-PIV) [1] e la Large-Scale Particle Tracking Velocimetry (LS-PTV) [2]. Le tecniche LS-PIV e LS-PTV si basano su…

Climate Change in the Mediterranean Basin (Part I): Induced Alterations on Climate Forcings and Hydrological Processes

In the last years, the Mediterranean basin has been widely recognized as one of the most vulnerable areas in the world to climate change; because of its high concentration of urban and industrial settlements, it is one of the most impacted areas of the world in terms of water scarcity. The present paper aims at reviewing the main observed and predicted effects of climate change on hydrological processes directly related to water availability in the Mediterranean Basin, mainly focusing on the last ten years of research. While an in-depth discussion about possible future water scarcity problem in the Mediterranean area and the sources of uncertainty affecting future climate projections and im…

Olive Yield and Future Climate Forcings

Abstract The rainfall reduction and the temperature increase forecasted for Mediterranean regions would likely increase the vegetation water stress and decrease productivity in rainfed agriculture. Olive trees, which have traditionally been grown under rainfed conditions, are one of the most characteristic tree crops from the Mediterranean not only for economical importance but also for minimizing erosion and desertification and for improving the carbon balance of these areas. In order to simulate how climatic change could alter soil moisture dynamics, biomass growth and fruit productivity, a water driven crop model is used in this study. The model quantitatively links olive yield to climat…

EHSM: a conceptual ecohydrological model for daily streamflow simulation

A parsimonious conceptual lumped model is here presented with the aim of simulating daily streamflow in semi-arid areas. The model, processing daily rainfall and reference evapotranspiration at basin scale, reproduces surface and subsurface runoff, soil moisture dynamics, and actual evapotranspiration fluxes. The key elements of this numerical model are the soil bucket, where rainfall, evapotranspiration, and leakage drive soil moisture dynamics, and two linear reservoirs working in parallel with different characteristic response times. The surface reservoir, able to simulate the fast response of the basin, is fed by rain falling on impervious area and by runoff generated with excess of sat…

EHSMu: a new conceptual model for hourly discharge simulation under ecohydrological framework in urban area

A parsimonious conceptual lumped model is presented here with the aim of simulating hourly discharge in urban areas. The EHSMu (EcoHydrological Streamflow Model for urban areas) is able to reproduce the discharge at the outlet of an urban drainage system and, at the same time, soil moisture dynamics and evapotranspirative fluxes over vegetated areas within an urban catchment. In urban areas, rain falling over impervious surfaces is directly transferred towards the drainage system in a time depending on the catchment characteristics, and drainage network geometry. If the rain falls over pervious and vegetated areas the runoff generation is driven by soil moisture content, which in turn is li…

Long term analysis of small desalination plant for potable water supply of tourist areas (in Sicily)

The main aim of this work is to gain information on the working conditions of a desalination plant in Sicily, on the costs of produced desalinated water and on the perspectives of new plants to be built in the island, in order to evaluate the long term performance of a desalination plant in a small island for potable water supply. At the same time, because the high operational costs, the work tries to provide green power alternatives for the plant as well. As a pilot we will consider the Lipari Island which has a MED-MVC (Multiple Effect Distillation- Mechanical Vapor Compression) plant. It is important to underline that even though the pilot refers to a Sicilian Island, the developed proce…

Generation of Natural Runoff Monthly Series at Ungauged Sites Using a Regional Regressive Model

Many hydrologic applications require reliable estimates of runoff in river basins to face the widespread lack of data, both in time and in space. A regional method for the reconstruction of monthly runoff series is here developed and applied to Sicily (Italy). A simple modeling structure is adopted, consisting of a regression-based rainfall–runoff model with four model parameters, calibrated through a two-step procedure. Monthly runoff estimates are based on precipitation, temperature, and exploiting the autocorrelation with runoff at the previous month. Model parameters are assessed by specific regional equations as a function of easily measurable physical and climate basin descriptors. Th…

The SESAMO early warning system for rainfall-triggered landslides

The development of Web-based information systems coupled with advanced monitoring systems could prove to be extremely useful in landslide risk management and mitigation. A new frontier in the field of rainfall-triggered landslides (RTLs) lies in the real-time modelling of the relationship between rainfall and slope stability; this requires an intensive monitoring of some key parameters that could be achieved through the use of modern and often low-cost technologies. This work describes an integrated information system for early warning of RTLs that has been deployed and tested, in a prototypal form, for an Italian pilot site. The core of the proposed system is a wireless sensor network coll…

Future Climate Forcings and Olive Yield in a Mediterranean Orchard

The olive tree is one of the most characteristic rainfed trees in the Mediterranean region. Observed and forecasted climate modifications in this region, such as the CO2 concentration and temperature increase and the net radiation, rainfall and wind speed decrease, will likely alter vegetation water stress and modify productivity. In order to simulate how climatic change could alter soil moisture dynamic, biomass growth and fruit productivity, a water-driven crop model has been used in this study. The numerical model, previously calibrated on an olive orchard located in Sicily (Italy) with a satisfactory reproduction of historical olive yield data, has been forced with future climate scenar…

Green roof effects on the rainwater response in the Mediterranean area: first results of a Sicilian case study

<p>Over the last decades, we have been witnessing an increasing frequency of urban floods often attributed to the interaction between intensification of rainfall extremes due to climate change and increasing urbanization. Consequently, many studies have been trying to propose different new alternatives to mitigate ground effects of ever more frequent and severe extreme rainfall events in a context of growing urbanization, such as rain gardens, green roofs, permeable parking lots, etc., which are commonly referred to as green infrastructures.</p><p>With this regard, one of the most promising mitigation solutions is represented by multilayer green roo…

EHSM: a new conceptual model for daily streamflow simulation under ecohydrological framework

A parsimonious conceptual lumped model is presented here with the aim of simulating daily streamflow in semi-arid areas. The model is able to reproduce surface and sub-surface runoff, soil moisture dynamics and evapotranspirative fluxes, averaged over a basin starting from daily time series of rainfall and temperature and from the initial value of soil. The rainfall is partioned in two components: the first, which interests a totally impermeable area, is routed directly on a superficial linear reservoir, while the second passes through permeable soil. If the rainfall input exceeds the soil storage capacity, which is a function of soil moisture at that specific time, this saturation excess i…

Soil moisture limiting olive orchard evapotranspiration

Two years of field data concerning soil moisture dynamics and water vapor fluxes over a rainfed olive orchard in Sicily are presented here in order to understand how climate, seasonality, water availability and farming practices drive evapotranspiration in such a peculiar Mediterranean vegetation. Soil moisture has been measured in two different points characterized by a uniformly sandy soil and at multiple depths up to 1.2 m. The observed dynamics are driven by rainfall inputs, which are frequent during the winter season and rare during the growing season, and by vegetation uptakes, which deplete the water stored in the soil. The top layers soil moisture status is much more time dependent …

Produttività dell’ulivo e dinamiche di umidità del suolo

A paradigm of extreme rainfall pluvial floods in complex urban areas: the flood event of 15 July 2020 in Palermo (Italy)

Abstract. In the last years, some regions of the Mediterranean area are witnessing a progressive increase in extreme events, such as urban and flash floods, as a response to the increasingly frequent and severe extreme rainfall events and their ground effects, which are often exacerbated by ever-growing urbanization. In such a context, the traditional defense of urban areas, which are usually based on urban drainage systems designed without regard to the impacts of urbanization and climate change on natural systems, may not be sufficient to deal with the risk deriving from the occurrence of such events. This study focuses on a very recent and particularly intense urban flood that occurred i…

Analisi della affidabilità dei database pluviometrici globali a scala locale. Applicazione al territorio siciliano

Negli ultimi anni i sistemi di misurazione e di stima delle precipitazioni, sono stati arricchiti dalla possibilità di ottenere stime attraverso dati acquisiti da sensori satellitari. I prodotti di stima così ottenuti risultano comunque spesso fortemente distorti. Per tale ragione le stime sulla base di soli dati satellitari, vengono ulteriormente elaborate attraverso l'utilizzo di dataset che raccolgono dati di precipitazione provenienti da reti pluviografiche al fine di ridurre la distorsione che caratterizza i dati satellitari. È auspicabile che questi dataset siano quanto più precisi al fine di fornire dati adatti alla correzione dei dati satellitari e in particolare alla riduzione dell…

Detecting hydrological changes through conceptual model

Natural changes and human modifications in hydrological systems coevolve and interact in a coupled and interlinked way. If, on one hand, climatic changes are stochastic, non-steady, and affect the hydrological systems, on the other hand, human-induced changes due to over-exploitation of soils and water resources modifies the natural landscape, water fluxes and its partitioning. Indeed, the traditional assumption of static systems in hydrological analysis, which has been adopted for long time, fails whenever transient climatic conditions and/or land use changes occur. Time series analysis is a way to explore environmental changes together with societal changes; unfortunately, the not disting…

UN SISTEMA DI EARLY WARNING RELATIVO AL RISCHIO IDRAULICO FLUVIALE IN AMBITO URBANO BASATO SULLA DEFINIZIONE DI SCENARI DI EVENTO: IL CASO STUDIO DI PALERMO

La progressiva espansione delle aree urbanizzate, osservata negli ultimi decenni a scala globale, ha profondamente modificato i processi di formazione e trasferimento del deflusso superficiale ed ha portato ad un considerevole aumento degli elementi esposti a rischio alluvioni. I cambiamenti climatici in atto hanno inoltre indotto un’intensificazione degli eventi meteorici, con un probabile incremento della frequenza e della severità di eventi estremi in ambito urbano come urban flood e fash flood. Secondo una recente stima da parte della Commissione Europea [1], nel periodo 1980-2017 i danni causati da disastri naturali hanno superato i 500 milioni di euro, di cui il 90% dovuti ad eventi i…

Relationship Between Extreme Rainfall and Surface Temperature in Sicily (Italy)

The study of the relationship between extreme rainfall events and surface temperature represents an important issue in hydrology and meteorology and it could be of capital importance for evaluating the effect of global warming on future precipitation. Various approaches have been tested across different parts of the world, and, in many cases, it has been observed an intensification of precipitation with increasing temperature consistently with the thermodynamic Clausius-Clapeyron relation (CC-rate of 6-7% °C-1), according to which a warmer atmosphere is capable of holding more moisture. Nevertheless, in different locations, the scaling rate between temperature and extreme precipitation has …

Hydrological drivers of wetland vegetational biodiversity patterns within Everglades National Park, Florida

The influence of hydrological dynamics on vegetational biodiversity and structuring of wetland environments is of growing interest as wetlands are modified by human alteration and the increasing threat from climate change. Hydrology has long been considered a driving force in shaping wetland communities as the frequency of inundation along with the duration and depth of flooding are key determinants of wetland structure. We attempt to link hydrological dynamics with vegetational distribution and species richness across Everglades National Park(ENP) using two publicly available datasets. The first, the Everglades Depth Estimation Network (EDEN),is a water-surface model which determines the m…

Modeling belowground water table fluctuations in the Everglades

[1] Humid lands, such as riparian zones, peatlands, and unsubmerged wetlands, are considered among the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, providing a bountiful habitat for a large number of plant and animal species. In such ecosystems, the water table dynamics play a key role in major ecohydrological processes. The aim of the present study is to test with field data a recent analytical model for the estimation of the long-term probability distribution of the belowground water table position in groundwater-dependent environments. This model accounts for stochastic rainfall and processes such as infiltration, root water uptake, water flow from/to an external water body, and capillar…

Sensitivity of extreme rainfall to temperature in semi-arid Mediterranean regions

Abstract Warmer air has the potential to hold more water vapour and, therefore, to provide more water to rainfall events. Studying the relationship between rainfall and temperature represents an emerging issue in hydrology and meteorology, since it can be considered fundamental for evaluating the effects of global warming on future precipitation. Various approaches have been tested across different parts of the world, in many cases observing an intensification of extreme precipitation at higher temperatures consistent with the well-known thermodynamic Clausius-Clapeyron relation (CC-scaling rate of 6–7%°C−1). However, at different locations for hourly time-scales, the temperature-extreme ra…

Assessing the hydrological changes due to land use alterations

The increase of urbanized areas and, consequently, of the impervious surfaces in land-use distributions may have important implications on the basin hydrological response. As a direct impact, the increase of cemented areas reduces the available storage volume for water in the watershed, which in turn exacerbates the runoff generation. Additionally, drainage pathways can be altered and the travel time to the watershed outlet considerably speeded up, with impacts on the hydrograph characteristics. The complex interactions among different hydrological processes make the estimations of the hydrological changes highly non linear. The aim of this work is using an advanced physically-based and dis…

Optical techniques for river flow monitoring: an automatic procedure for the identification of the best video sequence to process by LS-PIV technique

Technological advances over last decades gave an innovative impulse to the development of new streamflow measurements techniques, especially regarding remote flow monitoring methods that allow for non-intrusive measurements. The most widely used image-based techniques are the optical ones, such as Large-Scale Particle Image Velocimetry (LS-PIV) and Large-Scale Particle Tracking Velocimetry (LS-PTV). The dynamic movement of tracers floating on the water surface of a river is recorded, and the resulting videos are processed by applying a statistical cross-correlation analysis to detect the most probable frame-by-frame displacement, finally deriving the surface velocity field. To obtain river …

Co-evolution of hydrological components under climate change scenarios in the Mediterranean area

ABSTRACT The Mediterranean area is historically characterized by high human pressure on water resources. Today, while climate is projected to be modified in the future, through precipitation decrease and temperature increase, that jointly and non-linearly may affect runoff, concerns about water availability are increasing. For these reasons, quantitative assessment of future modifications in the mean annual water availability are important; likewise, the description of the future interannual variability of some hydrological components such as runoff and evapotranspiration are highly wished for water management and ecosystems dynamics analyses. This study investigates at basin spatial scale …

Evaluating the performances of an ecohydrological model in semi-arid river basins

The EHSM (EcoHydrological Streamflow Model) is a conceptual lumped model aimed to daily streamflow simulation. The model, processing daily rainfall and reference evapotranspiration at the basin scale, reproduces surface and subsurface runoff, soil moisture dynamics and actual evapotranspiration fluxes. The key elements of this numerical model are the soil bucket, where rainfall, evapotranspiration and leakage drive soil moisture dynamics, and two linear reservoirs working in parallel with different characteristic response times. The surface reservoir, able to simulate the fast response of the basin, is fed by rain falling on impervious area and by runoff generated with excess of saturation …

Potential implications of climate change and urbanization on watershed hydrology

Abstract This paper proposes a modeling framework able to analyze the alterations in watershed hydrology induced by two recurrent drivers for hydrological changes: climate change and urbanization. The procedure is based on the coupling of a stochastic weather generator with a land use change model for the generation of some hypothetical scenarios. The generated scenarios are successively used to force a physically-based and spatial distributed hydrological model to reconstruct the basin response under different conditions. Several potential climate alterations are simulated by imposing negative and positive variations in the mean annual precipitation and a simultaneous temperature increase.…

Ricostruzione delle curve di durata mediante un nuovo approccio ecoidrologico

Le curve di durata delle portate forniscono un importante sintesi dei processi idrologici più rilevanti occorrenti a scala di bacino. Sebbene vengano tipicamente ottenute a partire dalle osservazioni idrometriche, uno dei temi più rilevanti in idrologia è proprio la loro ricostruzione anche in bacini non strumentati. A tal proposito sono stati sviluppati negli ultimi anni svariati approcci teorici, alcuni dei quali meritano particolare attenzione per la loro semplicità di applicazione e accuratezza dei risultati mostrati. La curva di durata viene spesso disaggregata in due componenti: una componente veloce di deflusso superficiale ed una componente lenta di deflusso subsuperficiale. Un rece…

Modelling flows duration curves in Mediterranean river basins through an ecohydrological approach

The flow duration curve, representing the relationship between magnitude and frequency of streamflows in a basin, provides an important synthesis of the relevant hydrological processes occurring at the basin scale. It is typically obtained from field observations and, since most of the geographical areas of the world still lack suitable streamflow observations, its reconstruction in ungauged river basins is certainly an open and relevant issue in the hydrological literature. Different theoretical approaches have been developed in recent years, and in particular, a novel ecohydrological framework has provided considerable results. The aim of this study is to test with field data, a recent an…

An automatic tool for reconstructing monthly time-series of hydro-climatic variables at ungauged basins

Abstract Integrative information models for filling/reconstructing hydro-climatic time-series are required for a variety of practical applications. A GIS-based model for a rapid and reliable assessment of monthly time-series of several key hydro-climatic variables at the basin scale, is here developed as plug-in and applied to the entire region of Sicily (Italy). The plug-in, once the desired basin outlet section and time-window are selected, uses appropriate spatial techniques and algorithms to identify its drainage area and estimate the corresponding mean areal rainfall and temperatures time-series. A recent regional regressive rainfall-runoff model is successively applied for the assessm…

An Artificial Intelligence–Based Blending of Satellite products across Mediterranean Island of Sicily, Italy using GPM-IMERG V06 Final Run

Precipitation is the key input variable to hydrological models and its monitoring plays a significant role in water resources planning and improving flood and drought forecasting, also under climate change impacts. In recent years, many precipitation satellite products have been developed and released to the public; among these, the Integrated Multi-satellitE Retrievals from Global Precipitation Measurement (IMERG) is designed to address limitations and uncertainties related to traditional methods. The primary purpose of this study is to provide a comprehensive assessment of precipitation estimates retrieved from the IMERG v6 Final Run over the Mediterranean island of Sicily (Italy) at dail…

Exploring the use of multi-gene genetic programming in regional models for the simulation of monthly river runoff series

The use of new data-driven approaches based on the so-called expert systems to simulate runoff generation processes is a promising frontier that may allow for overcoming some modeling difficulties related to more complex traditional approaches. The present study highlights the potential of expert systems in creating regional hydrological models, for which they can benefit from the availability of large database. Different soft computing models for the reconstruction of the monthly natural runoff in river basins are explored, focusing on a new class of heuristic models, which is the Multi-Gene Genetic Programming (MGGP). The region under study is Sicily (Italy), where a regression based rain…

On the use of LSPIV-based free software programs for the monitoring of river: testing the PIVlab and the FUDAA-LSPIV with synthetic and real image sequences

<p>The development of new image-based techniques is allowing a radical change in the environmental monitoring field. The fundamental characteristics of these methods are related to the possibility of obtaining non-intrusive measurements even in adverse circumstances, such as high flow conditions, which may seriously threaten the operators’ safety conditions in traditional approaches.</p><p>Optical techniques, based on the acquisition, analysis and elaboration of sequences of images acquired by digital cameras, are aimed at a complete characterization of the river instantaneous surface velocity field, through the analysis of a floating…

Climate changes' effects on vegetation water stress in Mediterranean areas

Many recent studies have demonstrated that CO(2) increase is driving the climate in Mediterranean areas towards important changes, mainly represented by a temperature increase and a contemporaneous rainfall reduction. Starting from this premise, the primary aim of the present study is to investigate the effects of potential climatic changes on vegetational stress in Mediterranean ecosystems. Particular attention is here focussed only on the plants' water stress in water controlled ecosystems, mainly related to soil water balance. The interactions among climate, soil and vegetation are evaluated numerically by means of an ecohydrological model. In this work, different future climatic scenari…

Optical Methods for River Monitoring: A Simulation-Based Approach to Explore Optimal Experimental Setup for LSPIV

Recent advances in image-based methods for environmental monitoring are opening new frontiers for remote streamflow measurements in natural environments. Such techniques offer numerous advantages compared to traditional approaches. Despite the wide availability of cost-effective devices and software for image processing, these techniques are still rarely systematically implemented in practical applications, probably due to the lack of consistent operational protocols for both phases of images acquisition and processing. In this work, the optimal experimental setup for LSPIV based flow velocity measurements under different conditions is explored using the software PIVlab, investigating perfo…

The potential of multilayer green roofs for stormwater management in urban area under semi-arid Mediterranean climate conditions

Different low impact development measures have been proposed to make cities more flood-resilient, and recent literature is paying great attention to the evaluation of their direct benefits in terms of flood risk mitigation and the numerous co-benefits that they may offer. This study describes an experimental prototype of a technologically advanced multilayer green roof installed in a Mediterranean urban area (i.e., Palermo, Italy) and explores the results of an analysis of data collected over a one-year monitoring period by a complex sensors network. Multilayer green roofs, or "blue-green" roofs (BGRs), are characterized by a high water retention capacity compared to traditional green roofs…

Exploring the linkage between dew point temperature and precipitation extremes: A multi-time-scale analysis on a semi-arid Mediterranean region

Abstract Understanding warming climate implications on precipitation is of crucial importance, especially for areas particularly subjected to climate changes and land use/cover modifications, which could be extremely vulnerable to phenomena typically caused by rainfall extremes, such as floods and landslides. Past decade has been witnessing an increasing interest on simple modeling approaches based on the observation of commonly available meteorological variables and their physical linkages. In particular, based on the well-known thermodynamic Clausius-Clapeyron (CC) equation, it was widely investigated the scaling relation between rainfall extremes and variables representative of the near …

Hydrological regime modifications induced by climate change in Mediterranean area

The knowledge of river flow regimes has a capital importance for a variety of practical applications, in water resource management, including optimal and sustainable use. Hydrological regime is highly dependent on climatic factors, among which the most important is surely the precipitation, in terms of frequency, seasonal distribution and intensity of rainfall events. The streamflow frequency regime of river basins are often summarized by flow duration curves (FDCs), that offer a simple and comprehensive graphical view of the overall historical variability associated with streamflow, and characterize the ability of the basin to provide flows of various magnitudes. Climate change is likely t…

Tetti verdi multistrato per lo sviluppo sostenibile di città resilienti: quattro casi studio italiani

Negli ultimi anni le inondazioni in ambito urbano sono state sempre più frequenti, provocando notevoli danni sia livello sociale che a livello economico. Questo fenomeno è in parte determinato da un aumento di urbanizzazione causato dalla crescita della popolazione, che tende sempre più a spostarsi dalle zone rurali alle aree urbane, che si espandono molto velocemente, spesso con infrastrutture idrauliche inadeguate. Inoltre, a causa di cambiamenti climatici, soprattutto nelle aree mediterranee, si può osservare un aumento di lunghi periodi di siccità, intervallati da piogge di breve durata, ma di sempre più forte intensità e frequenza. La presenza di questi fenomeni di pioggia intensa, in …

TECNICA LS-PIV PER IL MONITORAGGIO DEI CORSI D’ACQUA NATURALI: UN APPROCCIO NUMERICO PER L’INDIVIDUAZIONE DI SETUP SPERIMENTALI OTTIMALI

Nuove tecniche per il monitoraggio ambientale, come le tecniche LS-PIV (Large-Scale Particle Image Velocimetry) e PTV (Particle Tracking Velocimetry), consentono una più speditiva e sicura acquisizione di misure di velocità nei corsi d’acqua. L’impiego di tecniche basate sull’elaborazione di immagini presenta infatti numerosi vantaggi che permettono di superare alcune criticità tipiche di approcci tradizionali (es. misure non invasive, low-cost, possibili anche in circostanze avverse e in real-time). Il recente sviluppo di tali tecniche è progredito di pari passo con la crescente disponibilità di sensori digitali sempre più performanti ed economici. Nonostante la grande disponibilità anche …

Regional models based on Multi-Gene Genetic Programming for the simulation of monthly runoff series

Accurate estimates of runoff in river basins are useful for several applications. The use of data-driven procedures for simulating the complex runoff generation process is a promising frontier that could allow for overcoming some typical problems related to more complex traditional approaches. This study explores soft computing based regional models for the reconstruction of monthly runoff in river basins. The region under analysis is the Sicily (Italy), where a regressive rainfall-runoff model, here used as benchmark model, was previously built using data from almost a hundred gauged watersheds across the region. This previous model predicts monthly river runoff based on a unique regional,…

TECNICHE OTTICHE PER IL MONITORAGGIO DEI CORSI D’ACQUA: UNA PROCEDURA AUTOMATICA PER L’INDIVIDUAZIONE DELLA MIGLORE SEQUENZA VIDEO DA PROCESSARE CON TECNICA LS-PIV

Misurare con accuratezza le portate di un corso d’acqua è uno dei principali obiettivi dell’idrometria tecnica (Eltner et al., 2020) e rappresenta da decenni una vera e propria sfida per la comunità scientifica. Le osservazioni di deflusso nei corsi d’acqua sono di fondamentale importanza per qualsiasi applicazione idrologica e idraulica (Pizarro et al., 2020) e consentono di comprendere al meglio le dinamiche di processi complessi, come ad esempio le piene lampo (Perks et al., 2016). La portata è una grandezza fisica la cui stima è caratterizzata da considerevole incertezza. Gli approcci tradizionali prevedono una stima indiretta della grandezza, attraverso un metodo velocità-area, che con…

EHSM: UN NUOVO MODELLO CONCETTUALE PER LA SIMULAZIONE DEL DEFLUSSO GIORNALIERO

Annual runoff assessment in arid Mediterranean watersheds under the Budyko framework

The solution of many practical water problems is strictly connected to the availability of reliable and widespread information about runoff. The estimation of mean annual runoff and its interannual variability for any basin over a wide region, even if ungauged, would be fundamental for both water resources assessment and planning and for water quality analysis. Starting from these premises, the main aim of this work is to show how using the Budyko framework is possible to map the mean annual surface runoff and derive the pdf of the same variable in arid watersheds. As a case study, the entire island of Sicily, Italy, is here proposed. First, time series data of annual rainfall, runoff and r…

Budyko’s Based Method for Annual Runoff Characterization across Different Climatic Areas: an Application to United States

Runoff data knowledge is of fundamental importance for a wide range of hydrological, ecological, and socioeconomic applications. The reconstruction of annual runoff is a fundamental task for several activities related to water resources management, especially for ungauged basins. At catchment scales, the Budyko's framework provides an extremely useful and, in some cases, accurate estimation of the long-term partitioning of precipitation into evapotranspiration and runoff as a function of the prevailing climatic conditions. Recently the same long-term partitioning rules have been successfully used to describe water partitioning also at the annual scale and calculate the annual runoff distrib…

Large-Eddy Simulation in LSPIV techniques: the study of surface turbolence

<p>In recent years, technological advances have been observed in environmental monitoring field, leading to a rapid spread of innovative technologies overcoming many historical challenges. In river monitoring field the use of image-based techniques provides non-intrusive measurements ensuring the best safety conditions for operators. The most used optical methods are the Large-Scale Particle Image Velocimetry (LSPIV) and the Large-Scale Particle Tracking Velocimetry (LSPTV).</p><p>In LSPIV and LSPTV techniques a floating tracer is introduced on the water surface and its motion is recorded by commercial devices (e.g. digital cameras). Resulting video…

ModABa MODEL: ANNUAL FLOW DURATION CURVES ASSESSMENT IN EPHEMERAL BASINS

A representation of the streamflow regime for a river basin is required for a variety of hydrological analyses and engineering applications, from the water resource allocation and utilization to the environmental flow management. The flow duration curve (FDC)represents a comprehensive signature of temporal runoff variability often used to synthesize catchment rainfall-runoff responses. Several models aimed to the theoretical reconstruction of the FDC have been recently developed under different approaches, and a relevant scientific knowledge specific to this topic has been already acquired. In this work, a new model for the probabilistic characterization of the daily streamflows in perennia…

Monthly Hydrological Indicators to Assess Possible Alterations on Rivers’ Flow Regime

Assessing potential deviations of the fundamental river basins’ hydrological processes and streamflow characteristics from the “natural trajectory” represents a high-priority objective to understand the biological impact of altered flow regime on river ecosystems. Existing approaches are mainly based on the analysis of daily-based indicators of hydrologic alteration, which requires wide database, including “pre-impact” and “post-impact” daily flow data frequently unavailable. The hydrological modeling is commonly used to face data missing problems or reconstruct natural conditions, even if models, especially at the daily scales, are often complex and computationally intensive. The use of si…

Annual runoff assessment in arid and semiarid Mediterranean watersheds under the Budyko's framework

The solution of many practical water problems is strictly connected to the availability of reliable and widespread information about runoff. The estimation of mean annual runoff and its interannual variability for any basin over a wide region, even if ungauged, would be fundamental for both water resources assessment and planning and for water quality analysis. Starting from these premises, the main aim of this work is to show a new approach, based on the Budyko's framework, for mapping the mean annual surface runoff and deriving the probability distribution of the annual runoff in arid and semiarid watersheds. As a case study, the entire island of Sicily, Italy, is here proposed. First, ti…

Parametric uncertainty or hydrological changes?

Abstract. The model calibration is the way of hydrologists for searching also a physical interpretation of complex interactions acting within a basin. Actually, it can be frequently noticed how model calibration performed on a given time-window may converge to a point in the parameter space that could be distant from another obtainable calibration of the model in the same basin but considering a different time window. Is that again parametric uncertainty or does the trajectory in the parametric space relate about to a slow hydrological basin change? This paper depicts a possible path for detecting changes' signatures in a streamflow time series. In particular, the paper seeks to draw a way …

Rainfall statistics changes in Sicily

Abstract. Changes in rainfall characteristics are one of the most relevant signs of current climate alterations. Many studies have demonstrated an increase in rainfall intensity and a reduction of frequency in several areas of the world, including Mediterranean areas. Rainfall characteristics may be crucial for vegetation patterns formation and evolution in Mediterranean ecosystems, with important implications, for example, in vegetation water stress or coexistence and competition dynamics. At the same time, characteristics of extreme rainfall events are fundamental for the estimation of flood peaks and quantiles which can be used in many hydrological applications, such as design of the mos…

The role of urban growth, climate change, and their interplay in altering runoff extremes

Changes in climate and urban growth are the most influential factors affecting hydrological characteristics in urban and extra-urban contexts. The assessment of the impacts of these changes on the extreme rainfall–runoff events may have important implications on urban and extra-urban management policies against severe events, such as floods, and on the design of hydraulic infrastructures. Understanding the effects of the interaction between climate change and urban growth on the generation of runoff extremes is the main aim of this paper. We carried out a synthetic experiment on a river catchment of 64 km2to generate hourly runoff time series under different hypothetical scenarios. We impos…

Hydrological drivers of wetland vegetation community distribution within Everglades National Park, Florida

The influence of hydrological dynamics on vegetation distribution and the structuring of wetland environments is of growing interest as wetlands are modified by human action and the increasing threat from climate change. Hydrological properties have long been considered a driving force in structuring wetland communities. We link hydrological dynamics with vegetation distribution across Everglades National Park (ENP) using two publicly available datasets to study the probability structure of the frequency, duration, and depth of inundation events along with their relationship to vegetation distribution. This study is among the first to show hydrologic structuring of vegetation communities at…

Optical techniques: non-intrusive river monitoring approach

<p>Technological advances over last decades gave an innovative impulse to development of new streamflow measurements techniques, making possible to implement remote flow monitoring methods that allow for non-intrusive measurements. Here, we focus on image-based techniques that involve the use of digital camera, either installed on a bridge or equipped by a drone (UAVs – Unmanned Aerial Vehicles). The most widely known and used optical techniques are the Large-Scale Particle Image Velocimetry and the Large-Scale Particle Tracking Velocimetry. Optical techniques are based on four main steps: (i) seeding and recording, (ii) images pre-processing, (iii) images proces…

Effetti di urbanizzazione e cambiamenti climatici sui deflussi a scala di bacino

Fra le pressioni di natura antropica agenti sui bacini idrografici, particolare rilevanza hanno sia la progressiva perdita di suoli naturali in favore di suoli poco, o per nulla, permeabili (es. strade, edifici, parcheggi, etc.) che la regimazione e regolazione dei deflussi sulla rete di drenaggio naturale mediante interventi idraulici. In particolare, l’ultima relazione sullo stato dell’ambiente europeo a cura dell’Agenzia Europea dell’Ambiente (AEA, 2010) considera l’impermeabilizzazione dei bacini naturali come uno dei maggiori processi di degrado del suolo. L’aumento del grado di urbanizzazione dei bacini naturali, inteso come aumento della frazione impermeabile del suolo derivante dell…

A paradigm of extreme rainfall pluvial floods in complex urban areas: the flood event of 15 July 2020 in Palermo (Italy)

Abstract. In the last few years, some regions of the Mediterranean area have witnessed a progressive increase in extreme events, such as urban and flash floods, as a response to the increasingly frequent and severe extreme rainfall events, which are often exacerbated by the ever-growing urbanization. In such a context, the urban drainage systems may not be sufficient to convey the rainwater, thus increasing the risk deriving from the occurrence of such events. This study focuses on a particularly intense urban flood that occurred in Palermo (Italy) on 15 July 2020; it represents a typical pluvial flood due to extreme rainfall on a complex urban area that many cities have experienced in rece…

Modeling belowground water table fluctuations in the Everglades

Humid lands, such as riparian zones, peatlands, and unsubmerged wetlands, are considered among the most biologically diverse of all ecosystems, providing a bountiful habitat for a large number of plant and animal species. In such ecosystems, the water table dynamics play a key role in major ecohydrological processes. The aim of the present study is to test with field data a recent analytical model for the estimation of the long‐term probability distribution of the belowground water table position in groundwater‐dependent environments. This model accounts for stochastic rainfall and processes such as infiltration, root water uptake, water flow from/to an external water body, and capillary fl…

Daily rainfall statistics in Sicily (1920-2000)

Rainfall characteristics are crucial for vegetation patterns formation and evolution in Mediterranean ecosystems. Changes in rainfall frequency and intensity could cause vegetation water stress for some plant species and benefit, at the same time, other species, driving coexistence and competition dynamics. The changes in the precipitation characteristics are sometimes more important than the changes in the total amount of precipitation in determining the partitioning between green and blue water with several implications for both the vegetation communities health and water resource management. Decreasing rainfall is a clear signature of climate change in Mediterranean countries. Annual and…

Climate changes effects on vegetation in Mediterranean areas

The Mediterranean ecosystems evolved under climatic conditions characterized by precipitations markedly out of phase with the growing period for the vegetation there established. In such environments, deep and shallow rooted species cohabit and compete each other. The formers, being characterized by deeper root, are able to utilize the water stored during the dormant season, while the conditions of shallow rooted plant are closely related to the intermittence of the precipitations. A numerical model has been here used in order to carry out an analysis of the potential climate changes influence on the vegetation state in a typical Mediterranean environment, such as Sicilian one. The most imp…