Search results for "soil"
showing 10 items of 3493 documents
Measurements of rill and gully erosion in Sicily
2011
This article reports the results of a field investigation aimed to characterize the morphology of both rills monitored at Sparacia experimental area and two ephemeral gullies (EGs) located in the Tremamargi basin, Sicily, Italy. At first, the available literature data together with the measurements carried out in this investigation were used to show that the EG length is a key parameter for the estimation of the eroded volume. Then, the comparison among the pairs length and volume corresponding to measured rills, EGs and gullies showed that the exponent of the power relationship is independent of the channelized erosion type (rill, EG and gully), while a different scale factor has to be use…
Total (fumarolic + diffuse soil) CO2 output from Furnas volcano
2015
Furnas volcano, in São Miguel island (Azores), being the surface expression of rising hydrothermal steam, is the site of intense carbon dioxide (CO2) release by diffuse degassing and fumaroles. While the diffusive CO2 output has long (since the early 1990s) been characterized by soil CO2 surveys, no information is presently available on the fumarolic CO2 output. Here, we performed (in August 2014) a study in which soil CO2 degassing survey was combined for the first time with the measurement of the fumarolic CO2 flux. The results were achieved by using a GasFinder 2.0 tunable diode laser. Our measurements were performed in two degassing sites at Furnas volcano (Furnas Lake and Furnas Villag…
From Slope Morphometry to Morphogenetic Processes: An Integrated Approach of Field Survey, Geographic Information System Morphometric Analysis and St…
2015
Calanchi (singular: calanco) represent a typical example of badlands in the Italian peninsula, which rapidly evolve on clayey terrains such as the widespread Pliocene–Pleistocene marine clays. The present study aimed at investigating the role of the slope morphometry on the typology and distribution of morphogenetic processes in a calanchi area located in southern Italy. The research included detailed geomorphological surveying as well as morphometric and statistical analyses. The study area was first subdivided into individual hydrographic units (HUs), for which field survey allowed to identify the dominant denudation processes, their intensity and the distribution of the associated landfo…
Field investigation of rill and ephemeral gully erosion in the Sparacia experimental area, South Italy
2013
Abstract This paper reports the results of a field investigation aiming at characterizing the morphology and hydraulics of both rills and ephemeral gullies (EGs) monitored at Sparacia experimental area, Sicily, Italy. The comparison between rill and interrill erosion measurements showed that sediment delivery processes occurred in some erosive events and that the rill erosion rate was dominant in many cases. The measurements were used for testing both the empirical relationships between the channel (rill, EGs and gully) length and its eroded volume and among the morphological variables (length, width, depth and volume) describing the channelized process. Finally, the rill and EGs hydraulic …
Similarity between morphological characteristics of rills and ephemeral gullies in Sicily, Italy
2009
This paper reports the results of a field investigation aimed to establish morphological similarity between rills and ephemeral gullies. Rill measurements were made on 14 plots having a surface area of 22–352 m2 located on a 14·9% slope and on a plot 6·0 m wide and 22·0 m long having a uniform 22·0% slope. The plots are located on the experimental station for soil erosion measurements, ‘Sparacia’, of the Agricultural Faculty of Palermo University, in Sicily, Italy. All plots are subjected to natural rainfall. The measurements were made immediately following five events between November 2004 and December 2005. The ephemeral gully measurements were made on a cultivated area of about 120 ha, l…
Exploring calibration strategies of the SEDD model in two olive orchard catchments
2017
To optimize soil conservation strategies in catchments, it is required an accurate diagnosis of the areas contributing to soil erosion by using models such as SEDD (Sediment Delivery Distributed model). In this study, different calibration strategies of the SEDD model were explored to adapt its use in two olive catchments with different environmental features and managements. A data series of rainfall–runoff–sediment load, collected in the catchments for 6 years was used: i) to evaluate calibration strategies for different management and flow conditions through the analysis of the C and R factors, and ii) to describe the temporal patterns of sediment delivery ratio (SDR) at the event and an…
Measuring rill erosion at plot scale by a drone-based technology
2015
The traditional direct method (i.e. metric ruler and rillmeter) of monitoring rill erosion at plot scale is time consuming and invasive because it modifies the surface of the rilled area. Measuring rill features using a drone-based technology is considered a non-invasive method allowing a fast field relief. In the experimental Sparacia area a survey by a quadricopter Microdrones md4-200 was carried out, and this relief allowed the generation of a Digital Elevation Model (DEM), with a mesh size of 1 cm and a resolution elevation equal to 2 mm, for three plots (L, G and C) affected by rill erosion. At first for the experimental L plot, which is 44 m long, the rill features were surveyed by a …
Monitoring and predicting sediment yield in a small Sicilian basin
2001
Identifying areas of a basin that are most sensitive to erosion have stimulated the study of within–basin variability of the sediment–delivery processes and the use of spatially distributed models. To verify the reliability of a sediment–delivery distributed model applicable at the morphological unit scale (i.e., the area of clearly defined aspect, length, and steepness), experiments were carried out at mean annual and event scales in a small Sicilian basin. A Geographical Information System is briefly presented into which the measurements carried out at the basin outlet (runoff, sediment yield, etc.) and other point and areal information (soil erodibility, digital terrain model, etc.) were…
Assessing soil erosion in a small Sicilian basin by caesium-137 measurements and a simplified mass balance model
2000
Abstract The caesium-137 technique affords both an alternative to conventional measurement methods and an effective quantitative estimate of soil redistribution at the basin scale. Among the available calibration relationships which link the degree of increase or depletion of the 137Cs activity relative to the baseline 137Cs input and sediment yield, the mass balance approach has received increased application for its physical basis. First, the applicability of the refined simplified point-based mass balance (RSPMB) model of Zhang et al. (1999) at the scale of the morphological unit is proposed herein. The 137Cs spatial distribution measured in a small Sicilian basin and the spatial distrib…
The impact of road and railway embankments on runoff and soil erosion in eastern Spain
2015
Abstract. Road and railway infrastructure increased in the Mediterranean region during the last three decades. This included the building of embankments, which are assumed to be a~large source of sediments and runoff. However, little is known about soil erosion rates, the factors that control them, and the processes that contribute to detachment, transport and deposition of sediments from road and railway embankments. The objective of this study was therefore to assess the impacts of road and railway embankments as a source of sediment and water, and compare them to other land use types (citrus plantations and shrublands) representative of the Cànyoles watershed to evaluate the importance o…