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A GIS-Based Model for the analysis of an urban flash flood and its hydro-geomorphic response. The Valencia event of 1957
2016
Summary Flash floods are recurrent events around the Mediterranean region. Extreme episodes activate hydro-geomorphic high-intensity processes with low frequency. In urban environments, the complexity becomes higher due to the existence of very quick-response runoff. However, immediate recovery works remove the urban marks. After a short time both the significance and magnitude of the hydro-geomorphic event become completely unrecognizable. Nevertheless, these episodes generate extensive documentation which is testimony of the processes in almost real time. It is necessary to exploit this source typology in order to draw flood sketches when events far in time may lack a sufficiently rich da…
Using post-flood surveys and geomorphologic mapping to evaluate hydrological and hydraulic models: The flash flood of the Girona River (Spain) in 2007
2016
This paper analyzes the Girona River (Spain) flash flood, occurred on the 12th of October 2007, combining hydrological and hydraulic modeling with geomorphologic mapping and post-flood survey information. This research aims to reproduce the flood event in order to understand and decipher the flood processes and dynamics on a system of prograding alluvial fans. The hydrological model TETIS was used to characterize the shape and dimension of the October 2007 Girona River hydrograph. Subsequently, the flood event was reproduced using the free surface flow module of the model RiverFlow2D. The combination of hydrological and hydraulic models was evaluated using post-flood surveys defining maximu…
Post-fire hydrological response and suspended sediment transport of a terraced Mediterranean catchment
2017
In July 2013, a wildfire severely affected the western part of the island of Mallorca (Spain). During the first three post-fire hydrological years, when the window of disturbance tends to be more open, the hydrological and sediment delivery processes and dynamics were assessed in a representative catchment intensively shaped by terracing that covered 37% of its surface area. A nested approach was applied with two gauging stations (covering 1.2 km2 and 4.8 km2) built in September 2013 that took continuous measurements of rainfall, water and sediment yield. Average Suspended Sediment Concentration (1,503 mg l-1) and the maximum peak (33,618 mg l-1) were two orders of magnitude higher than tho…
Spatial patterns of sediment connectivity in terraced lands: Anthropogenic controls of catchment sensitivity
2017
In recent decades the dynamics of global change in developed countries has led to significant alterations in the hydrological and sediment dynamics of terraced land. Agricultural terraces were built to control overland flow and prevent erosion, acting as buffers and barriers throughout the sediment cascading system. Their abandonment and degradation increase the sensitivity of the catchment, promoting the collapse of dry-stone walls and the reworking of stored sediment. In this study, a geomorphometric Index of Connectivity (IC) –derived from high-resolution LiDAR data (0.9 pt m-2, RMSE Q8). This spatial matching was related to feedback dynamics between structural and functional connectivit…
Changes in Latvian river discharge regime at the turn of the century
2012
The study deals with turn-of-the-century changes in the total annual river runoff distribution and high and low flows in Latvia, covering river basins within four hydrological districts which vary according to size and physiographical conditions. Mathematical statistical methods were applied in the analysis of river discharge data series for two study periods of 1951–2009 and 1881–2009. The present results confirm the basic statement concerning the Baltic countries that major significant changes in river runoff during the last two decades have occurred between spring (decrease) and winter (increase) seasons. Mostly insignificant changes in summer runoff and significant/insignificant changes…
Analysis of soil surface component patterns affecting runoff generation. An example of methods applied to Mediterranean hillslopes in Alicante (Spain)
2008
Spatial patterns of soil surface components (vegetation, rock fragments, crusts, bedrock outcrops, etc.) are a key factor determining hydrological functioning of hillslopes. A methodological approach to analyse the patterns of soil surface components at a detailed scale is proposed in this paper. The methods proposed are applied to two contrasting semi-arid Mediterranean hillslopes, and the influence of soil surface component patterns on the runoff response of the slopes was analysed. A soil surface components map was derived from a high resolution photo-mosaic obtained in the field by means of a digital camera. Rainfall simulation experimental data were used to characterise the hydrologica…
Trends in nutrient concentrations in Latvian rivers and the response to the dramatic change in agriculture
2003
In recent years, the use of fertilisers in the Baltic countries (Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania) has decreased at an unprecedented rate. The import of mineral fertilisers and feed stuff became almost non-existent, and extensive slaughtering of livestock reduced the amount of manure. In Latvia, the purchase of mineral fertilisers decreased by a factor of 15 between 1987 and 1996 and the number of livestock decreased with a factor of almost 4 during the same time period. Such abrupt and comprehensive changes in land use have never before occurred in the history of modern European agriculture. Here, the impact that this dramatic reduction has had on concentrations of nutrients in Latvian river…
The effect of patchy distribution ofStipa tenacissimaL. on runoff and erosion
1997
In south-east Spain, a semi-arid area,Stipa tenacissima(alphagrass) covers large natural and semi-natural areas with a mosaic of tussocks and bare zones. However, little knowledge exists about the influence of these patterns on runoff and erosion. In order to understand the hydrological and erosional behaviour of the vegetated (herbs andalphagrass) and bare zones, rainfall simulation experiments were carried out at three sites in south-east Spain. The experiments showed that surface runoff and erosion is negligible in the tussock and quite high in the bare areas. High infiltration rates and deep wetting fronts were measured in the vegetated patches, and lower infiltration rates and shallowe…
Human induced soil erosion and gully system development in the Late Holocene and future perspectives on landscape evolution: The Myjava Hill Land, Sl…
2013
In humid climate zones, like Central Europe, past soil erosion and gullying are strongly connected with agricultural expansion, and extreme soil erosion events often play an important role in land abandonment. This paper provides a case study to demonstrate the interaction between land use, soil erosion, floodplain development, and land use changes in a 0-order catchment in the Babikovce catchment, Myjava Hill Land, situated in western Slovakia. Sedimentological, pedological, geoarchaeological and historical data indicate two main periods of intensive hillslope erosion and gullying since the High Middle Ages. In particular, a few extreme precipitation events (or rapid snowmelts) caused inte…
Uncertainty analysis of the influence of rainfall time resolution in the modelling of urban drainage systems
2005
In urban drainage modelling, rainfall temporal variability can be considered as one of the most critical knowledge elements when dealing with rainfall–runoff models input data. The rainfall data temporal resolution usually available for practical applications is often lower than that requested for the rainfall–runoff simulation in urban areas, greatly compromising model accuracy. The present paper evaluates the influence of rainfall temporal resolution on the uncertainty of the response of rainfall–runoff modelling in urban environments. Analyses have been carried out using historical rainfall–discharge data collected for about 10 years in Parco d'Orleans experimental catchment (Palermo, It…