Effects of climate and land use changes on runoff extremes

The analysis of the hydrological changes and their interacting triggering factors are objectives defined within the Panta Rhei decade 2013-2022. Climate change and urbanization are among the most recurrent causes for hydrological changes at the global level. This work proposes a modeling framework for the analysis of the alterations in the watershed hydrological response and, more specifically, in runoff extremes, induced by such perturbations. A weather generator and a cellular automata land-use change model are used to generate hypothetical scenarios accounting for relevant trends at the global level. Such scenarios are successively considered to force a physically-based and spatial-distr…

Estimating additional root cohesion by exploiting a root topological model based on Leonardo’s Rule

Root topological models are schematic representations of the root structure based on a defined topology graph theory. In the context of hillslope stabilization modeling against rainfall-induced shallow landslides, the root topological models may be used in combination with root strength models assessment, such as the Root Bundle Model (RBM), to estimate the ultimate root reinforcement. The effect of plant roots on slope stabilization is determined by the interaction between soil and the hydrological processes (within the root zone) and the biotechnical characteristics of the root system, such as root length, root density, root tensile strength, root area, root diameter profile and the total…

DEM-resolution control on rainfall-triggered landslide modeling within a triangulated network-based model

Catchment slope distribution significantly controls rainfall-triggered landslide modeling, in both direct and indirect ways. Slope directly determines the soil volume associated with instability. Indirectly, it affects the subsurface lateral redistribution of soil moisture across the basin, which in turn determines the water pore pressure conditions that impact slope stability. It is thus clear that the accuracy in reproducing slope distribution may be crucial in slope stability analysis. The resolution of the Digital Elevation Model (DEM) regulates the description of the topography. The correlation between raster resolution and landslide model outputs has been investigated in the literatur…

Utilizzo di tecniche di machine learning e previsioni stagionali per la stima dei volumi di invaso

Influenza del cambiamento climatico e dell’urbanizzazione sull’idrologia dei bacini idrografici

I cambiamenti climatici e il fenomeno del consumo del suolo sono senz’altro i fattori che più influenzano la risposta idrologica di un bacino sia in contesti urbani che extraurbani. L’aumento del grado di urbanizzazione dei bacini naturali, inteso come aumento della frazione impermeabile del suolo derivante della costante copertura di aree del bacino con materiali impermeabili artificiali come asfalto e cemento, è un fenomeno in costante crescita a livello globale. A tali cambiamenti si sovrappongono i cambiamenti climatici in atto che, fra gli effetti principali, tendono a modificare la quantità e la modalità con cui le piogge arrivano al suolo e, al contempo, inducono alterazioni al regim…