Search results for " Calanchi"
showing 3 items of 13 documents
Testing GIS-morphometric analysis of some Sicilian badlands
2014
Abstract Calanchi badlands are erosion landforms characterized by areas with scarce or absent vegetation, steep slopes, knife-edge divides and high erosion rates. They are originated by a combination of morphogenetic processes, partly similar to those shaping bigger fluvial landforms, and therefore can be considered as field “laboratories.” This paper presents the results of an investigation carried out in two badland sites located in Sicily, where the geometry of 25 calanchi has been characterized using Digital Elevation Models having a mesh size equal to 2 m. For each landform, a power length–volume relationship is established. This relationship demonstrates that length of calanchi channe…
A new empirical model for estimating calanchi Erosion in Sicily, Italy
2015
Abstract Calanchi (plural of calanco) are typical badland landforms of the Italian landscape. They consist of dense networks of V-shaped valleys, with a sparse or absent vegetation cover, which frequently develop on unconsolidated or poorly consolidated clayey deposits. In this paper, the dimensional analysis and the incomplete self-similarity theory were used to deduce a model relating the volume of sediments eroded from the calanchi area to a set of geometric attributes of their tributary areas. The morphometric characteristics of 209 calanchi basins were used to calibrate and validate the model. The predictive skill of the model was assessed by calculating the mean square error and the N…
Monitoring of erosion on two calanchi fronts – Northern Sicily (Italy)
2011
In the present research, two neighbouring calanchi fronts have been monitored by means of repeated readings on erosion pins, that were carried out between November 2006 and October 2008. During the monitoring period, a gauge station has been recording rainfalls, allowing us to compute the Rainfall-Runoff Erosivity Factor of the USLE model. The research highlighted: i) a general correspondence between rainfalls temporal trends and surface variation rhythms; ii) alternating erosion and deposition phases result in a retreat of the “calanchi” fronts.