Search results for "SocArXiv|Social and Behavioral Sciences|Anthropology"
showing 10 items of 1971 documents
Monitoring and prediction in early warning systems for rapid mass movements
2015
Rapid mass movements (RMM) pose a substantial risk to people and infrastructure. Reliable and cost-efficient measures have to be taken to reduce this risk. One of these measures includes establishing and advancing the state of practice in the application of early warning systems (EWSs). EWSs have been developed during the past decades and are rapidly increasing. In this paper, we focus on the technical part of EWSs, i.e., the prediction and timely recognition of imminent hazards, as well as on monitoring slopes at risk and released mass movements. Recent innovations in assessing spatial precipitation, monitoring and precursors of the triggering and deformation of RMM offer new opportunities…
Towards automatic calibration of 2-D flood propagation models
2010
Abstract. Hydraulic models for flood propagation description are an essential tool in many fields and are used, for example, for flood hazard and risk assessments, evaluation of flood control measures, etc. Nowadays there are many models of different complexity regarding the mathematical foundation and spatial dimensions available, and most of them are comparatively easy to operate due to sophisticated tools for model setup and control. However, the calibration of these models is still underdeveloped in contrast to other models like e.g. hydrological models or models used in ecosystem analysis. This has two primary reasons: first, lack of relevant data against which the models can be calibr…
Ground instability in the old town of Agrigento (Italy) depicted by on-site investigations and Persistent Scatterers data
2012
We combine on-site investigations with the interpretation of satellite Persistent Scatterers (PS) to analyse ground instability in the historic town of Agrigento, Italy. Geological and geomorphologic surveys, together with geostructural and kinematic analyses, depict the deformational patterns of the northwestern sector of the town, previously documented by extensive literature available for the neighbouring Valley of the Temples. The geological and geomorphologic maps are reconstructed by combining bibliographic studies, field surveys and aerial stereo-interpretation. ERS-1/2 PS data reveal deformation velocities up to 18–20 mm yr<sup>−1</sup> in 1992–2000 over the Addolorata l…
First record of Hemidiaptomus (Gigantodiaptomus) superbus (Schmeil, 1895) in Italy, with notes on distribution and conservation status (Copepoda, Cal…
2011
Hemidiaptomus (Gigantodiaptomus) superbus (Schmeil, 1895) was found in a temporary pool in the Pineta di Classe coastal pine-wood (Ravenna, northern Italy). This is the first official record of a species belonging to the subgenus Gigantodiaptomus of Italian fauna, and it widens the known distribution of this rare diaptomid to the Mediterranean basin. In order to supply data on this rare and poorly known species, original drawings for the Italian population have been provided, and some overlooked morphological features have been highlighted. In light of the growing evidence of the existence of a number of cryptic species in the Diaptomidae family, and considering the variability observed in …
Human activity and damaging landslides and floods on Madeira Island
2011
Abstract. Over the last few decades, the island of Madeira has become an important offshore tourism and business center, with rapid economic and demographic development that has caused changes to the landscape due to human activity. In Madeira's recent history, there has been an increase over time in the frequency of occurrence of damaging landslide and flood events. As a result, the costs of restoration work due to damage caused by landslide and flood events have become a larger and larger component of Madeira's annual budget. Landslides and floods in Madeira deserve particular attention because they represent the most serious hazard to human life, to property, and to the natural environme…
Discharges of past flood events based on historical river profiles
2008
Abstract. This paper presents a case study on the estimation of peak discharges of extreme flood events during the 19th century of the Neckar River located in south-western Germany. It was carried out as part of the BMBF (German Federal Ministry of Education and Research) research project RIMAX (Risk Management of Extreme Flood Events). The discharge estimations were made for the 1824 and 1882 flood events, and are based on historical cross profiles. The 1-D model Hydrologic Engineering Centers River Analysis System (HEC-RAS) was applied with different roughness coefficients to determine these estimations. The results are compared (i) with contemporary historical calculations for the 1824 a…
Sequential and joint hydrogeophysical inversion using a field-scale groundwater model with ERT and TDEM data
2013
Abstract. Increasingly, ground-based and airborne geophysical datasets are used to inform groundwater models. Recent research focuses on establishing coupling relationships between geophysical and groundwater parameters. To fully exploit such information, this paper presents and compares a joint hydrogeophysical inversion (JHI) approach and sequential hydrogeophysical inversion (SHI) approach to inform a field-scale groundwater model with Time Domain Electromagnetic (TDEM) and Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) data. The implemented SHI coupled inverted geophysical models with groundwater parameters, where the strength of the coupling was based on geophysical parameter resolution. To t…
Sensitivity of a mesoscale model to different convective parameterization schemes in a heavy rain event
2011
Abstract. The Valencia region, on the Mediterranean coast of the Iberian Peninsula, is propitious to heavy precipitation, especially the area encompassing the South of Valencia province and the North of the Alicante province. In October 2007 a torrential rain affected the aforementioned area, producing accumulated rainfall values greater than 400 mm in less than 24 h and flash-floods that caused extensive economic losses and human casualties. This rain event has been studied in numerical experiments using the Regional Atmospheric Modeling System. The present paper deals with the effect of using the different convective parameterizations (CP) currently implemented in the Regional Atmospheric…
Numerical study of the October 2007 flash flood in the Valencia region (Eastern Spain): the role of orography
2010
Abstract. A torrential rain event took place in the Valencia region in October 2007, mainly affecting coastal areas and nearby mountains in the center-south of the region, in northern Alicante province. More than 400 mm in 24 h were recorded at some stations in these areas, with lower accumulations in the rest of the region where rainfall was less intense. In the first part of this work a description of the meteorological situation is given. The synoptic frame of the event is characterised by an advection of easterly maritime winds across the Western Mediterranean, lasting for at least 48 h, driving moist air towards the Iberian Peninsula eastern coast and the presence of an upper level iso…
Predicting storm-triggered debris flow events: application to the 2009 Ionian Peloritan disaster (Sicily, Italy)
2015
Abstract. The main assumption on which landslide susceptibility assessment by means of stochastic modelling lies is that the past is the key to the future. As a consequence, a stochastic model able to classify past known landslide events should be able to predict a future unknown scenario as well. However, storm-triggered multiple debris flow events in the Mediterranean region could pose some limits on the operative validity of such an expectation, as they are typically resultant of a randomness in time recurrence and magnitude and a great spatial variability, even at the scale of small catchments. This is the case for the 2007 and 2009 storm events, which recently hit north-eastern Sicily …