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Dr. LAURA TURCONI
Italian National Research Council - Institute for Geo-Hydrological Protection, Institute of Turin, Strada delle Cacce 73, 10135 Turin, Italy

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0 GIS
0 Sediment Transport
0 debris flow
0 applied geomorphology
0 Geo-hydrological risks

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Journal article
Published: 09 June 2021 in Land
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Flash floods represent one of the natural hazards that causes the greatest number of victims in the Mediterranean area. These processes occur by short and intense rainfall affecting limited areas of a few square kilometers, with rapid hydrological responses. Among the causes of the flood frequency increase in the last decades are the effects of the urban expansion in areas of fluvial pertinence and climatic change, namely the interaction between anthropogenic landforms and hydro-geomorphological dynamics. In this paper the authors show a comparison between flood events with very similar weather-hydrological characteristics and the ground effects occurred in coastal areas of three regions located at the top of a triangle in the Ligurian Sea, namely Liguria, Tuscany and Sardinia. With respect to the meteorological-hydrological hazard, it should be noted that the events analyzed occurred during autumn, in the conditions of a storm system triggered by cyclogenesis on the Genoa Gulf or by the extra-tropical cyclone Cleopatra. The “flash floods” damage recorded in the inhabited areas is due to the vulnerability of the elements at risk in the fluvio-coastal plains examined. There are numerous anthropogenic forcings that have influenced the hydro-geomorphological dynamics and that have led to an increase in risk conditions.

ACS Style

Francesco Faccini; Fabio Luino; Guido Paliaga; Anna Roccati; Laura Turconi. Flash Flood Events along the West Mediterranean Coasts: Inundations of Urbanized Areas Conditioned by Anthropic Impacts. Land 2021, 10, 620 .

AMA Style

Francesco Faccini, Fabio Luino, Guido Paliaga, Anna Roccati, Laura Turconi. Flash Flood Events along the West Mediterranean Coasts: Inundations of Urbanized Areas Conditioned by Anthropic Impacts. Land. 2021; 10 (6):620.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesco Faccini; Fabio Luino; Guido Paliaga; Anna Roccati; Laura Turconi. 2021. "Flash Flood Events along the West Mediterranean Coasts: Inundations of Urbanized Areas Conditioned by Anthropic Impacts." Land 10, no. 6: 620.

Journal article
Published: 10 March 2021 in Water
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The current climate change could lead to an intensification of extreme weather events, such as sudden floods and fast flowing debris flows. Accordingly, the availability of an early-warning device system, based on hydrological data and on both accurate and very fast running mathematical-numerical models, would be not only desirable, but also necessary in areas of particular hazard. To this purpose, the 2D Riemann–Godunov shallow-water approach, solved in parallel on a Graphical-Processing-Unit (GPU) (able to drastically reduce calculation time) and implemented with the RiverFlow2D code (version 2017), was selected as a possible tool to be applied within the Alpine contexts. Moreover, it was also necessary to identify a prototype of an actual rainfall monitoring network and an actual debris-flow event, beside the acquisition of an accurate numerical description of the topography. The Marderello’s basin (Alps, Turin, Italy), described by a 5 × 5 m Digital Terrain Model (DTM), equipped with five rain-gauges and one hydrometer and the muddy debris flow event that was monitored on 22 July 2016, were identified as a typical test case, well representative of mountain contexts and the phenomena under study. Several parametric analyses, also including selected infiltration modelling, were carried out in order to individuate the best numerical values fitting the measured data. Different rheological options, such as Coulomb-Turbulent-Yield and others, were tested. Moreover, some useful general suggestions, regarding the improvement of the adopted mathematical modelling, were acquired. The rapidity of the computational time due to the application of the GPU and the comparison between experimental data and numerical results, regarding both the arrival time and the height of the debris wave, clearly show that the selected approaches and methodology can be considered suitable and accurate tools to be included in an early-warning system, based at least on simple acoustic and/or light alarms that can allow rapid evacuation, for fast flowing debris flows.

ACS Style

Antonio Pasculli; Jacopo Cinosi; Laura Turconi; Nicola Sciarra. Learning Case Study of a Shallow-Water Model to Assess an Early-Warning System for Fast Alpine Muddy-Debris-Flow. Water 2021, 13, 750 .

AMA Style

Antonio Pasculli, Jacopo Cinosi, Laura Turconi, Nicola Sciarra. Learning Case Study of a Shallow-Water Model to Assess an Early-Warning System for Fast Alpine Muddy-Debris-Flow. Water. 2021; 13 (6):750.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Antonio Pasculli; Jacopo Cinosi; Laura Turconi; Nicola Sciarra. 2021. "Learning Case Study of a Shallow-Water Model to Assess an Early-Warning System for Fast Alpine Muddy-Debris-Flow." Water 13, no. 6: 750.

Journal article
Published: 05 February 2021 in Land
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Landslide susceptibility mapping is essential for a suitable land use managing and risk assessment. In this work a GIS-based approach has been proposed to map landslide susceptibility in the Portofino promontory, a Mediterranean area that is periodically hit by intense rain events that induce often shallow landslides. Based on over 110 years landslides inventory and experts’ judgements, a semi-quantitative analytical hierarchy process (AHP) method has been applied to assess the role of nine landslide conditioning factors, which include both natural and anthropogenic elements. A separated subset of landslide data has been used to validate the map. Our findings reveal that areas where possible future landslides may occur are larger than those identified in the actual official map adopted in land use and risk management. The way the new map has been compiled seems more oriented towards the possible future landslide scenario, rather than weighting with higher importance the existing landslides as in the current model. The paper provides a useful decision support tool to implement risk mitigation strategies and to better apply land use planning. Allowing to modify factors in order to local features, the proposed methodology may be adopted in different conditions or geographical context featured by rainfall induced landslide risk.

ACS Style

Anna Roccati; Guido Paliaga; Fabio Luino; Francesco Faccini; Laura Turconi. GIS-Based Landslide Susceptibility Mapping for Land Use Planning and Risk Assessment. Land 2021, 10, 162 .

AMA Style

Anna Roccati, Guido Paliaga, Fabio Luino, Francesco Faccini, Laura Turconi. GIS-Based Landslide Susceptibility Mapping for Land Use Planning and Risk Assessment. Land. 2021; 10 (2):162.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Anna Roccati; Guido Paliaga; Fabio Luino; Francesco Faccini; Laura Turconi. 2021. "GIS-Based Landslide Susceptibility Mapping for Land Use Planning and Risk Assessment." Land 10, no. 2: 162.

Journal article
Published: 17 December 2020 in Atmosphere
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The effects of climate change on landslide activity may have important environmental, socio-economic, and political consequences. In the last decades, several short-term extreme rainfall events affected Mediterranean regions, resulted in damaging geo-hydrological processes and casualties. It is unequivocal that the impact of landslides in several Mediterranean countries is increasing with time, but until now, there has been little or no quantitative data to support these increases. In this paper, both rainfall conditions for the occurrence of shallow landslides and rainfall trends were investigated in the Portofino promontory, which extends in the Ligurian Sea, where heavy rainfall and related ground effects often occur. Adopting a frequentist approach, the empirical intensity-duration threshold was estimated. Our findings highlight that the rainfall intensity required to trigger landslides is lower for the same duration than those expected in other similar environments, suggesting a high susceptibility to rainfall-induced landslides in the Portofino territory. Further, the Mann-Kendall test and Hurst exponent were used for detecting potential trends. Analysis of long-term rainfall time series showed statistically significant increasing trends in short duration precipitation occurrence and rainfall rates, suggesting a possible future scenario with a more frequent exceedance of the threshold triggering value and an increase of landslide risk.

ACS Style

Anna Roccati; Guido Paliaga; Fabio Luino; Francesco Faccini; Laura Turconi. Rainfall Threshold for Shallow Landslides Initiation and Analysis of Long-Term Rainfall Trends in a Mediterranean Area. Atmosphere 2020, 11, 1367 .

AMA Style

Anna Roccati, Guido Paliaga, Fabio Luino, Francesco Faccini, Laura Turconi. Rainfall Threshold for Shallow Landslides Initiation and Analysis of Long-Term Rainfall Trends in a Mediterranean Area. Atmosphere. 2020; 11 (12):1367.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Anna Roccati; Guido Paliaga; Fabio Luino; Francesco Faccini; Laura Turconi. 2020. "Rainfall Threshold for Shallow Landslides Initiation and Analysis of Long-Term Rainfall Trends in a Mediterranean Area." Atmosphere 11, no. 12: 1367.

Journal article
Published: 06 June 2020 in Science of The Total Environment
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Anthropogenic modifications at catchments scale may be reconducted primarily at soil sealing and streams culverting, even if important consequences result from roads density and, more in general, infrastructures as they cause landscape fragmentation, and agricultural areas extension. Their most important outcomes in terms of hydrologic balance are the decreasing time of concentration and the increasing flood risk at catchment scale. The research introduces a methodological approach to classify the degree of anthropogenic modifications at catchment scale: clustering techniques have been applied to 508 catchments in a high-risk flooding sector of the Mediterranean region. Then, flood data recorded in the study area in the 1900–2018 period have been compared to clustering classification, pointing out the relationships with soil sealing and hydrographical network culverting in the catchment. The analysis has been performed considering fourteen subsets of 8 descriptive parameters each that differ in the evaluation of culverting in the terminal part of the hydrographical network; the analysis has been conducted identifying the optimal number of descriptive parameters and the corresponding best number of clusters on quantitative basis. The results show that three classes clustering is the more appropriate from a computational point of view. That division looks coherent with the features of the studied basins and is well correlated with floods occurrence in the last 100 years. Finally, the proposed methodology of anthropogenic disturbance classification at catchment scale may be applied to other areas even adapting and implementing other descriptive parameters. Then, it may be used to support the planning of mitigation strategies in term of flood risk.

ACS Style

Guido Paliaga; Francesco Faccini; Fabio Luino; Anna Roccati; Laura Turconi. A clustering classification of catchment anthropogenic modification and relationships with floods. Science of The Total Environment 2020, 740, 139915 .

AMA Style

Guido Paliaga, Francesco Faccini, Fabio Luino, Anna Roccati, Laura Turconi. A clustering classification of catchment anthropogenic modification and relationships with floods. Science of The Total Environment. 2020; 740 ():139915.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Guido Paliaga; Francesco Faccini; Fabio Luino; Anna Roccati; Laura Turconi. 2020. "A clustering classification of catchment anthropogenic modification and relationships with floods." Science of The Total Environment 740, no. : 139915.

Preprint content
Published: 23 March 2020
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The European Horizon RECONECT Project (Regenerating ECOsystems with Nature-based solutions for hydro-meteorological risk rEduCTion) aims to contribute to a European reference framework on NBS by demonstrating, upscaling and spreading large-scale NBS in rural and natural areas.

The Italian RECONECT demonstrator is set in the Portofino Natural Park, which represents a unique natural landscape element with high ecologic, social, and economic (touristic) value and severely endangered by hydro-meteorological hazards.

The Portofino Promontory is historically affected by geo-hydrological events. They can produce natural instability processes related to the interaction between meteorological phenomena and the geological environment, which can potentially cause loss of the exposed elements at risk, as happened in the past. The more frequent processes are: shallow landslides and flash floods, sea-storm surges, rockfalls and mud-debris flows. Often, different processes can occur simultaneously during an intense meteorological event, interacting each other and causing an avalanche effect.

This research introduces the NBS interventions proposed in the RECONECT case study of Portofino over two pilot catchments (San Fruttuoso and Paraggi basins), visited by thousands of tourists all over the year. The project envisages the setting up of meteorological-hydrological stations for studying and monitoring geomorphological processes.

In particular, RECONECT project foresees the selection, installation and operation of hydro-meteorological instruments that include three weather stations, two hydrometers and two cameras to monitor small and very steep catchments.

Monitoring activity include the use of remote sensing survey LIDAR data, orthophotography and infrared aerial photography, whose acquisition has been carried out in January 2020.

Remote sensing and monitoring data are used to quantitatively assess the morphological features and processes, allowing to: a) evaluate the critical-instability areas along the slope and channels and to support the reconstruction of dry stone walls of the widespread terraced areas; b) evaluate the potentially more susceptible source areas of mud-debris flows and the identification of thresholds in meteorological conditions.

In relation to future projections of natural, social and economic impacts of climate change, NBS represent a relevant mitigation and adaptation strategy for the Portofino case study, which may be upscaled at national and international level.

ACS Style

Francesco Faccini; Fabio Luino; Alessandra Marchese; Guido Paliaga; Laura Turconi. Hydro-meteorological monitoring activities in Portofino Natural Park (Italy) as demonstrator of the H2020 RECONECT project: preliminary results. 2020, 1 .

AMA Style

Francesco Faccini, Fabio Luino, Alessandra Marchese, Guido Paliaga, Laura Turconi. Hydro-meteorological monitoring activities in Portofino Natural Park (Italy) as demonstrator of the H2020 RECONECT project: preliminary results. . 2020; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Francesco Faccini; Fabio Luino; Alessandra Marchese; Guido Paliaga; Laura Turconi. 2020. "Hydro-meteorological monitoring activities in Portofino Natural Park (Italy) as demonstrator of the H2020 RECONECT project: preliminary results." , no. : 1.

Journal article
Published: 08 February 2020 in Sustainability
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Nature-based solutions (NBS) are usually defined as complementary or alternative solutions to “grey infrastructures” (traditionally made with cement) aimed at conserving and regenerating the functionality of natural and semi-natural ecosystems. The research to date shows a considerable potential of NBS to address the current challenges related to climate change and geo-hydrological risks. Despite significant interest in NBS by researchers and practitioners, knowledge concerning their practical implementation, monitoring, and evaluation is still lacking. This is particularly true for large-scale NBS. The present paper discusses how such solutions can be implemented in the context of hydro-meteorological risk reduction in small Mediterranean catchments with a strong tourist vocation. The work presented here is situated within the RECONECT Project (Regenerating ECOsystems with Nature-based solutions for hydro-meteorological risk rEduCTion), which aims to contribute to a European reference framework on NBS by demonstrating, upscaling, and replicating large-scale NBS in rural and natural areas. The Italian case study of RECONECT is the Portofino Natural Regional Park, which represents a unique natural landscape element with high ecologic, social, and economic (touristic) value, which is threatened by a range of geo-hydrological hazards, such as flash floods, hyper-concentrated floods, shallow landslides, rockfalls, and storm surges. This paper also presents details of NBS interventions in two pilot catchments (San Fruttuoso and Paraggi) visited by thousands of tourists throughout the year. It addresses some of the key aspects related to monitoring meteorological and hydrological processes, as well as remote sensing activities (i.e., LiDAR surveys), which are necessary for the identification of critical-instability areas along waterways and the reconstruction of dry stone walls. Lastly, a discussion of relevant mitigation and adaptation strategies that are potentially replicable at national and international levels is also provided.

ACS Style

Laura Turconi; Francesco Faccini; Alessandra Marchese; Guido Paliaga; Marco Casazza; Zoran Vojinovic; Fabio Luino. Implementation of Nature-Based Solutions for Hydro-Meteorological Risk Reduction in Small Mediterranean Catchments: The Case of Portofino Natural Regional Park, Italy. Sustainability 2020, 12, 1240 .

AMA Style

Laura Turconi, Francesco Faccini, Alessandra Marchese, Guido Paliaga, Marco Casazza, Zoran Vojinovic, Fabio Luino. Implementation of Nature-Based Solutions for Hydro-Meteorological Risk Reduction in Small Mediterranean Catchments: The Case of Portofino Natural Regional Park, Italy. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (3):1240.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Laura Turconi; Francesco Faccini; Alessandra Marchese; Guido Paliaga; Marco Casazza; Zoran Vojinovic; Fabio Luino. 2020. "Implementation of Nature-Based Solutions for Hydro-Meteorological Risk Reduction in Small Mediterranean Catchments: The Case of Portofino Natural Regional Park, Italy." Sustainability 12, no. 3: 1240.

Journal article
Published: 06 February 2020 in Water
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Stone wall terraces are a largely investigated topic in research for both their landscape and cultural/historical value. Terraces are anthropogenic landforms that interact with natural processes and need permanent maintenance to preserve their functionality. In the Mediterranean region, ground effects related to intense rain events often involve terraced slopes that, in some situations, are directly sourced areas of debris/mud flow. Starting from the 1950s, the changing socio-economic conditions caused the abandonment of large portions of rural areas. Nowadays, at the catchment scale, it is frequently difficult recognizing stone wall terraces because of their abandonment and the uncontrolled re-vegetation. This research faces the issue of identifying terraces in the Monte di Portofino promontory, which is internationally famous for its high-value natural and landscape involving broad anthropogenic modifications dating back to the Middle Ages. A remote sensing application, with LIDAR data and orthophotography, identified terraces on the Portofino promontory, enabling investigating even barely accessible areas and increasing knowledge on the territory. The aim of this paper is first of all to point out the presence of such anthropogenic morphologies in the promontory of Monte di Portofino and then to asses and highlight the related hazard. In fact, terraces can be a source of debris/hyper-concentrated flow with highly damaging power, as occurred in the recent years in neighboring areas during particularly intense hydrological events. Then, terraced area mapping, including in use and in abandonment information, is crucial to perform a spatial relationship analysis that includes hazard-exposed elements and to evaluate the possible connectivity factor of buildings, infrastructures, tourism facilities and Cultural Heritage within the hydrographical network.

ACS Style

Guido Paliaga; Fabio Luino; Laura Turconi; Jerome V. De Graff; Francesco Faccini. Terraced Landscapes on Portofino Promontory (Italy): Identification, Geo-Hydrological Hazard and Management. Water 2020, 12, 435 .

AMA Style

Guido Paliaga, Fabio Luino, Laura Turconi, Jerome V. De Graff, Francesco Faccini. Terraced Landscapes on Portofino Promontory (Italy): Identification, Geo-Hydrological Hazard and Management. Water. 2020; 12 (2):435.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Guido Paliaga; Fabio Luino; Laura Turconi; Jerome V. De Graff; Francesco Faccini. 2020. "Terraced Landscapes on Portofino Promontory (Italy): Identification, Geo-Hydrological Hazard and Management." Water 12, no. 2: 435.

Journal article
Published: 04 February 2020 in Sustainability
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Geo-hydrological risk reduction policies are becoming a critical challenge for environmental sustainability, both at the national and international levels. The reason is twofold: On the one hand, climate change has increase rainfall frequency and intensity, while on the other, reckless urban expansion has increased exposure to such hazards over time. Italy is a country that is very vulnerable to flood and landslide hazard; the city of Genoa, which, in recent decades, has been frequently hit by severe floods, has risen to symbolize Italian geo-hydrological risk. Recent studies on Genoa’s geo-hydrological hazard have focused on the analysis of hydro-geomorphological features of the Bisagno stream basin, yet their main focus was on hazard control. Very little research has been done to enhance the understanding of the source of risk in such catchments. This paper presents a study on the increased urban exposure and vulnerability to geo-hydrological hazard along the Bisagno stream catchment area over the last 200 years. Morphometric analyses were coupled with historical documents showing the evolution of the urban layout in this area. The results show that the “Bisagno Master Plan”, a territorial planning strategy aimed at reducing geo-hydrological hazard and risk, has not produced the expected benefits. In spite of the plan, critical changes in land use and the hydrographic network, along with uncontrolled anthropization of the Genoa metropolitan area, has continued over the last two decades.

ACS Style

Guido Paliaga; Fabio Luino; Laura Turconi; Fausto Marincioni; Francesco Faccini. Exposure to Geo-Hydrological Hazards of the Metropolitan Area of Genoa, Italy: A Multi-Temporal Analysis of the Bisagno Stream. Sustainability 2020, 12, 1114 .

AMA Style

Guido Paliaga, Fabio Luino, Laura Turconi, Fausto Marincioni, Francesco Faccini. Exposure to Geo-Hydrological Hazards of the Metropolitan Area of Genoa, Italy: A Multi-Temporal Analysis of the Bisagno Stream. Sustainability. 2020; 12 (3):1114.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Guido Paliaga; Fabio Luino; Laura Turconi; Fausto Marincioni; Francesco Faccini. 2020. "Exposure to Geo-Hydrological Hazards of the Metropolitan Area of Genoa, Italy: A Multi-Temporal Analysis of the Bisagno Stream." Sustainability 12, no. 3: 1114.

Journal article
Published: 31 December 2019 in Water
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Identifying the minimum rainfall thresholds necessary for landslides triggering is essential to landslide risk assessment. The Italian Alps have always been affected by shallow landslides and mud-debris flows, which caused considerable damage to property and, sometimes, casualties. We analysed information provided from different sources carrying on the most thorough research conducted for this alpine area. Thousands of documents and reports of rainfall values recorded over 80 years by rain gauges distributed in Sondrio and Brescia Provinces define the mean annual precipitation (MAP)-normalized intensity–duration thresholds for the initiation of shallow landslides and mud-debris flows. The established curves are generally lower compared to those proposed in literature for similar mountain areas in Italy and worldwide. Furthermore, we found that landslides occurred primarily at the same time or within 3 h from the maximum peak of rainfall intensity in summer events and in a period from 0 to 5 h or later in spring-autumn events. The paper provides a further contribution to the knowledge framework on the rainfall conditions required for the initiation of surficial landslides and mud-debris flows and their expected timing of occurrence. This knowledge is crucial to develop better warning strategies to mitigate geo-hydrological risk and reduce the socio-economic damage.

ACS Style

Fabio Luino; Jerome De Graff; Anna Roccati; Marcella Biddoccu; Chiara Giorgia Cirio; Francesco Faccini; Laura Turconi. Eighty Years of Data Collected for the Determination of Rainfall Threshold Triggering Shallow Landslides and Mud-Debris Flows in the Alps. Water 2019, 12, 133 .

AMA Style

Fabio Luino, Jerome De Graff, Anna Roccati, Marcella Biddoccu, Chiara Giorgia Cirio, Francesco Faccini, Laura Turconi. Eighty Years of Data Collected for the Determination of Rainfall Threshold Triggering Shallow Landslides and Mud-Debris Flows in the Alps. Water. 2019; 12 (1):133.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Fabio Luino; Jerome De Graff; Anna Roccati; Marcella Biddoccu; Chiara Giorgia Cirio; Francesco Faccini; Laura Turconi. 2019. "Eighty Years of Data Collected for the Determination of Rainfall Threshold Triggering Shallow Landslides and Mud-Debris Flows in the Alps." Water 12, no. 1: 133.

Journal article
Published: 08 November 2019 in Sustainability
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This work investigated the susceptibility factors that trigger shallow landslides. In particular, the objective of the research was the implementation of a method to determine the relevant factors that can trigger shallow landslide events. However, with respect to the existing methods, the integration with historical datasets and the inclusion of spatial factors displaying dynamics in the same characteristic timescales were specific features of the developed tool. The study area included the watersheds of the Sessera and Strona rivers in the alpine area of the Province of Biella (Piedmont, NW Italy). The method was developed and tested from two sub-datasets derived from an integrated dataset that referred to an intense event, involving the same area, that occurred in 1968 (2–3 November). This allowed the implementation of an integrated representation of landslides’ predisposing factors and the identification and classification in different groups of the areas susceptible to geo-hydrological instability processes. The previously existing databases were verified and integrated into a geographic information system (GIS) environment, giving a potentially sharable source of information for planning purposes. The obtained maps represent a metric of one of the possible intrinsic environmental vulnerability factors for the area under study. Consequently, this method can represent a future instrument for determining the intrinsic environmental vulnerability dependent on landslides within an environmental impact assessment (EIA), as required by the most recent European regulation on EIA. Moreover, the shared information can be used to implement informed policy and planning processes, based on a bottom-up approach. In particular, the availability online of landslide susceptibility maps could support the generation of augmented information—useful for both local administrators and planners as well as for stakeholders willing to implement specific projects or infrastructure in vulnerable areas, such as mountains.

ACS Style

Laura Turconi; Fabio Luino; Mattia Gussoni; Francesco Faccini; Marco Giardino; Marco Casazza. Intrinsic Environmental Vulnerability as Shallow Landslide Susceptibility in Environmental Impact Assessment. Sustainability 2019, 11, 6285 .

AMA Style

Laura Turconi, Fabio Luino, Mattia Gussoni, Francesco Faccini, Marco Giardino, Marco Casazza. Intrinsic Environmental Vulnerability as Shallow Landslide Susceptibility in Environmental Impact Assessment. Sustainability. 2019; 11 (22):6285.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Laura Turconi; Fabio Luino; Mattia Gussoni; Francesco Faccini; Marco Giardino; Marco Casazza. 2019. "Intrinsic Environmental Vulnerability as Shallow Landslide Susceptibility in Environmental Impact Assessment." Sustainability 11, no. 22: 6285.

Journal article
Published: 17 June 2019 in CATENA
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In this article the morphological changes undergone by the Entella River (Northern Italy) over the last four centuries has been investigated. The historical analysis has allowed reconstruction of fluvial evolution and shoreline dynamics and demonstrated their relationship to human disturbance over a very long period compared to most previous studies in Italy and Europe. A set of 12 historical and current maps and aerial photos, ranging from the 17th century to the present, were entered into a Geographic Information System (GIS) in order to calculate four morphological parameters (i.e., channel length, width, sinuosity and centreline shifting) and the distance of the shoreline. Modification of the Entella River over the 360-years period 1656–2016 include: i) a reduction in channel length by 128 m (3%); ii) a mean narrowing of 56 m (46%); iii) a decrease in total sinuosity from 1.10 to 1.05, with a variation in river pattern, from sinuous to straight; iv) a total shifting of the centreline of 30 m. This evolutionary trend is consistent with most of the previous studies on Italian and European rivers. Conversely, the total channel shortening and the recent phase of substantial morphological stability, with a slight increase in channel width and length, seems to be in contrast with the results of other studies. We correlated the channel planform changes and the regression of the shoreline, at least until the latter 20th century, to the reduction in sediment supply produced by the morphological modifications due to human intervention. At the beginning of the 19th century and, later, from the 1950s to the end of the 20th century, channelization, channel diversion, land-use changes and coastal defences accounted for this supply change to the Entella River and its floodplain. Furthermore, our findings reveal that human disturbance has contributed to increased flood risk in the plain, through the progressive reduction in width of the riverbed and the increasing urbanization along its riverbanks. At the same time, channelization seems to have a negative effect not only on the morphological evolution of the river, but also in terms of prevention and flood risk reduction within the floodplain.

ACS Style

Anna Roccati; Francesco Faccini; Fabio Luino; Jerome V. De Graff; Laura Turconi. Morphological changes and human impact in the Entella River floodplain (Northern Italy) from the 17th century. CATENA 2019, 182, 104122 .

AMA Style

Anna Roccati, Francesco Faccini, Fabio Luino, Jerome V. De Graff, Laura Turconi. Morphological changes and human impact in the Entella River floodplain (Northern Italy) from the 17th century. CATENA. 2019; 182 ():104122.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Anna Roccati; Francesco Faccini; Fabio Luino; Jerome V. De Graff; Laura Turconi. 2019. "Morphological changes and human impact in the Entella River floodplain (Northern Italy) from the 17th century." CATENA 182, no. : 104122.

Journal article
Published: 23 March 2019 in Water
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In recent decades, the Entella River basin (eastern Liguria) has been affected by several rainfall events that induced widespread shallow landslides and earth flows on the slopes; roads, buildings, structures and infrastructure suffered extensive damage due to the instability processes. In this paper, a GIS-based approach for analyzing and assessing a simplified landslide susceptibility in the Entella River catchment is presented. Starting from landslide information mainly provided from newspaper articles and unpublished reports from municipal archives, we performed a series of comparative analyses using a set of thematic maps to assess the influence of predisposing natural and anthropic factors. By evaluating the statistical distribution of landslides in different categories, we assigned weighted values to each parameter, according to their influence on the instability processes. A simplified, reproducible, but effective approach to assess landslide susceptibility in the study area was performed by combining all predisposing factors. The resulting scores in proneness to slope instability classes may be used to generate a simplified landslides susceptibility map of the catchment area which would be easy to regularly update every time a rainfall event that is able to trigger shallow landslides occurs; this would provide a useful tool for local authorities and decision makers for identifying areas which could potentially be affected by instability processes, and would help in determining the most suitable measures in land-planning and landslide risk management.

ACS Style

Anna Roccati; Francesco Faccini; Fabio Luino; Andrea Ciampalini; Laura Turconi. Heavy Rainfall Triggering Shallow Landslides: A Susceptibility Assessment by a GIS-Approach in a Ligurian Apennine Catchment (Italy). Water 2019, 11, 605 .

AMA Style

Anna Roccati, Francesco Faccini, Fabio Luino, Andrea Ciampalini, Laura Turconi. Heavy Rainfall Triggering Shallow Landslides: A Susceptibility Assessment by a GIS-Approach in a Ligurian Apennine Catchment (Italy). Water. 2019; 11 (3):605.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Anna Roccati; Francesco Faccini; Fabio Luino; Andrea Ciampalini; Laura Turconi. 2019. "Heavy Rainfall Triggering Shallow Landslides: A Susceptibility Assessment by a GIS-Approach in a Ligurian Apennine Catchment (Italy)." Water 11, no. 3: 605.

Conference paper
Published: 01 March 2019 in IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science
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The Marderello torrent, located at an altitude ranging from 3538m to 900 m above sea level (Novalesa, Cenischia Valley, in Province of Turin) is known for its peculiar capability to generate, with relative frequency, important mud flows and debris (muddy debris flow). Accordingly, the CNR-IRPI (National Research Council) of Turin, since more than twenty years ago, selected this site in order to carry out field observations and measurements campaign. In this paper the muddy-debris flow event, occurred and monitored on July 22, 2016, was considered. The simulation of debris flow phenomena was performed by a 2D Finite Volume Method, solving PDE (Partial Differential Equation) based on the shallow-water approach, through a commercial numerical software. The mathematical-numerical model, beside hydrodynamic model, may also include solid transport and movable river bottom, not explored yet at this stage of the research. First of all, a morphological vectorial model of the basin under study was created and implemented as inputs. The inflow boundary conditions, deriving from the hydrogram consisting of values measured at the monitoring gauge were considered. Several parametric analyses were performed in order to individuate the best values fitting the experimental data concerning the estimated height of the front over time. To this purpose, different available rheological options such as Turbulent-Coulomb, Turbulent-Yield, Turbulent-Coloumb-Yield, and Full Bingham were selected and tested. The comparison with the values collected by the monitored event allowed to define the best values of the parameters to be used. The selected approach and the related model construction can be considered useful and suitable tools in order to study and to simulate this kind of phenomena.

ACS Style

Antonio Pasculli; Jacopo Cinosi; Laura Turconi; Nicola Sciarra. Parametric Study of an Alpine Wet Debris Flow Event (Novalesa, Torino, Italy) Applying The Finite Volume Method (FVM). Comparison with Available Experimental Data. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 2019, 221, 012160 .

AMA Style

Antonio Pasculli, Jacopo Cinosi, Laura Turconi, Nicola Sciarra. Parametric Study of an Alpine Wet Debris Flow Event (Novalesa, Torino, Italy) Applying The Finite Volume Method (FVM). Comparison with Available Experimental Data. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science. 2019; 221 (1):012160.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Antonio Pasculli; Jacopo Cinosi; Laura Turconi; Nicola Sciarra. 2019. "Parametric Study of an Alpine Wet Debris Flow Event (Novalesa, Torino, Italy) Applying The Finite Volume Method (FVM). Comparison with Available Experimental Data." IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science 221, no. 1: 012160.

Preprint content
Published: 11 January 2019
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Man-made terraces for agricultural purposes are a quite diffuse and ancient anthropogenic landscape modification in mountainous areas. The original slope alteration, obtained through a sequence of sub-vertical and sub-planar surfaces, represents a human interference with the geomorphic system, altering the original balance of geomorphological and geo-hydrological factors. Stone walls and soil formed by human activity have been artificially immobilized on the slopes and are available again to gravitative processes once in abandonment and may be subject to deep degradation in case of intense rain events. However, socio-economic conditions play often a crucial role in the abandonment of terraces, indirectly contributing to increase gully erosion and walls failure. The modification of the original slope profile, due to its regular geometry in respect to the typical more complex natural surface, is rather suitable to be detected through remote sensing, particularly LIDAR, as many authors have recently demonstrated. In the present research the attention has been focused on the assessment of terraces and of the volume of stones and soil that have been involved by human activity. The research area is among the most deeply modified by terraces in the Mediterranean area and internationally famous for this landscape anthropogenic alteration: The Cinque Terre in Italy is a National Park intensively visited by tourists all over the year. Then terraces represent an important economic asset that need to be preserved from degradation and collapse as partially occurred in 2011 after the intense rain event that caused flood, hundreds of landslides and consequently damage. During the 2011 event many terraced slopes have collapsed with significant loss of soil and stone walls: the research allowed to evaluate the lost volumes and to estimate the remaining ones in the Vernazza catchment.

ACS Style

Guido Paliaga; Fabio Luino; Francesco Faccini; Laura Turconi; Paolo Tarolli. Man-made Terraces: From Ancient Anthropic Landscape Modification to Value at Risk. The Example of 5 Terre and Portofino, Italy. 2019, 1 .

AMA Style

Guido Paliaga, Fabio Luino, Francesco Faccini, Laura Turconi, Paolo Tarolli. Man-made Terraces: From Ancient Anthropic Landscape Modification to Value at Risk. The Example of 5 Terre and Portofino, Italy. . 2019; ():1.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Guido Paliaga; Fabio Luino; Francesco Faccini; Laura Turconi; Paolo Tarolli. 2019. "Man-made Terraces: From Ancient Anthropic Landscape Modification to Value at Risk. The Example of 5 Terre and Portofino, Italy." , no. : 1.

Journal article
Published: 11 January 2019 in Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences
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Landslides and floods, particularly flash floods, occurred recently in many Mediterranean catchments as a consequence of heavy rainfall events, causing damage and sometimes casualties. The high hazard is often associated with high vulnerability deriving from intense urbanization, in particular along the coastline where streams are habitually culverted. The necessary risk mitigation strategies should be applied at the catchment scale with a holistic approach, avoiding spot interventions. In the present work, a high-risk area, hit in the past by several floods and concurrent superficial landslides due to extremely localized and intense rain events, has been studied. A total of 21 small catchments have been identified: only some of them have been hit by extremely damaging past events, but all lie in the intense-rain high-hazard area and are strongly urbanized in the lower coastal zone. The question is what would happen if an intense rain event should strike one of the not previously hit catchments; some situations could be worse or not, so attention has been focused on the comparison among catchments. The aim of the research has been identifying a priority scale among catchments, pointing out the more critical ones and giving a quantitative comparison tool for decision makers to support strong scheduling of long-time planning interventions at the catchment scale. The past events' effects and the geomorphic process analysis together with the field survey allowed us to select three sets of parameters: one describing the morphometric–morphological features related to flood and landslide hazard, another describing the degree of urbanization and of anthropogenic modifications at the catchment scale and the last related to the elements that are exposed to risk. The realized geodatabase allowed us to apply the spatial multicriteria analysis technique (S-MCA) to the descriptive parameters and to obtain a priority scale among the analyzed catchments. The scale can be used to plan risk mitigation interventions starting from the more critical catchments, then focusing economic resources primarily on them and obtaining an effective prevention strategy. The methodology could be useful even to check how the priority scale is modified during the progress of the mitigation work realization. In addition, this approach could be applied in a similar context, even among sub-catchments, after identifying a suitable set of descriptive parameters depending on the active geomorphological processes and the kind of anthropogenic modification. The prioritization would allow to invest economic resources in risk mitigation interventions priory in the more critical catchments.

ACS Style

Guido Paliaga; Francesco Faccini; Fabio Luino; Laura Turconi. A spatial multicriteria prioritizing approach for geo-hydrological risk mitigation planning in small and densely urbanized Mediterranean basins. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 2019, 19, 53 -69.

AMA Style

Guido Paliaga, Francesco Faccini, Fabio Luino, Laura Turconi. A spatial multicriteria prioritizing approach for geo-hydrological risk mitigation planning in small and densely urbanized Mediterranean basins. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences. 2019; 19 (1):53-69.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Guido Paliaga; Francesco Faccini; Fabio Luino; Laura Turconi. 2019. "A spatial multicriteria prioritizing approach for geo-hydrological risk mitigation planning in small and densely urbanized Mediterranean basins." Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 19, no. 1: 53-69.

Science
Published: 19 November 2018 in Journal of Maps
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In Italy geo-hydrological phenomena are the most common hazards: every year landslides and floods cause damage and fatalities; Genova city is one of the most affected areas. Since 2000 scientific studies have demonstrated an increase in events, due to the rainfall regime variation and to the urbanization. Thematic maps are an essential tool for evaluating the interaction between geomorphological processes and the elements at risk. In the present work, we have prepared an original geo-hydrological phenomena inventory map of Genova at 1:45,000 scale (the ‘A1’ size). The map shows the floodable areas, landslides and deep-seated gravitational slope deformation, the urban fabric and the cultural heritage sites. The map gives an overview of the geo-hydrological phenomena through the integration of the different hazard sources, of the exposed elements and of their spatial distribution, allowing for a first analysis of the risk: in a 240 km2 area, more than 3600 residential buildings are located on the 4 km2 high hazard floodable areas and more than 360 on the about 500 active landslides.

ACS Style

Guido Paliaga; Fabio Luino; Laura Turconi; Francesco Faccini. Inventory of geo-hydrological phenomena in Genova municipality (NW Italy). Journal of Maps 2018, 15, 28 -37.

AMA Style

Guido Paliaga, Fabio Luino, Laura Turconi, Francesco Faccini. Inventory of geo-hydrological phenomena in Genova municipality (NW Italy). Journal of Maps. 2018; 15 (2):28-37.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Guido Paliaga; Fabio Luino; Laura Turconi; Francesco Faccini. 2018. "Inventory of geo-hydrological phenomena in Genova municipality (NW Italy)." Journal of Maps 15, no. 2: 28-37.

Original paper
Published: 13 November 2018 in Theoretical and Applied Climatology
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Climate change is now unequivocal; however, the type and extent of terrestrial impacts are still widely debated. Among these, the effects on slope stability are receiving a growing attention in recent years, both as terrestrial indicators of climate change and implications for hazard assessment. High-elevation areas are particularly suitable for these studies, because of the presence of the cryosphere, which is particularly sensitive to climate. In this paper, we analyze 358 slope failures which occurred in the Italian Alps in the period 2000–2016, at an elevation above 1500 m a.s.l. We use a statistical-based method to detect climate anomalies associated with the occurrence of slope failures, with the aim to catch an eventual climate signal in the preparation and/or triggering of the considered case studies. We first analyze the probability values assumed by 25 climate variables on the occasion of a slope-failure occurrence. We then perform a dimensionality reduction procedure and come out with a set of four most significant and representative climate variables, in particular heavy precipitation and short-term high temperature. Our study highlights that slope failures occur in association with one or more climate anomalies in almost 92% of our case studies. One or more temperature anomalies are detected in association with most case studies, in combination or not with precipitation (47% and 38%, respectively). Summer events prevail, and an increasing role of positive temperature anomalies from spring to winter, and with elevation and failure size, emerges. While not providing a final evidence of the role of climate warming on slope instability increase at high elevation in recent years, the results of our study strengthen this hypothesis, calling for more extensive and in-depth studies on the subject.

ACS Style

Roberta Paranunzio; Marta Chiarle; Francesco Laio; Guido Nigrelli; Laura Turconi; Fabio Luino. New insights in the relation between climate and slope failures at high-elevation sites. Theoretical and Applied Climatology 2018, 137, 1765 -1784.

AMA Style

Roberta Paranunzio, Marta Chiarle, Francesco Laio, Guido Nigrelli, Laura Turconi, Fabio Luino. New insights in the relation between climate and slope failures at high-elevation sites. Theoretical and Applied Climatology. 2018; 137 (3-4):1765-1784.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Roberta Paranunzio; Marta Chiarle; Francesco Laio; Guido Nigrelli; Laura Turconi; Fabio Luino. 2018. "New insights in the relation between climate and slope failures at high-elevation sites." Theoretical and Applied Climatology 137, no. 3-4: 1765-1784.

Journal article
Published: 26 October 2018 in Geomorphology
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We present our research on the Prato Casarile landslide dam in Genoa city to illustrate the interactions between slope instability processes and structural stabilization interventions aimed to reduce the hazard in a densely-populated area. Analysis of the degradation of structural interventions constructed after flood events in 1953, 1970 and 2014 contributed to an improved mitigation strategy.. At the same time the slope instability processes intensively advanced, and regressive erosion quickly proceeded to the landslide dam threshold. The discontinuity in human interactions in a geomorphic system, after the initial hazard reduction, resulted in an increased threat that combined with a rise in vulnerability due to urbanization expansion. The research findings underline the necessity of constantly assessing the geomorphic evolution and active processes involved in order to determine the specific actions and interventions required to ensure the stability of the landslide dam. Finally, and more generally, we illustrated that anthropogenic interaction in the geomorphic system, specifically when finalized for hazard mitigation, needs to be continuously performed through both the monitoring and maintenance operation phases of the artificial structures.

ACS Style

G. Paliaga; F. Faccini; Fabio Luino; Laura Turconi; P. Bobrowsky. Geomorphic processes and risk related to a large landslide dam in a highly urbanized Mediterranean catchment (Genova, Italy). Geomorphology 2018, 327, 48 -61.

AMA Style

G. Paliaga, F. Faccini, Fabio Luino, Laura Turconi, P. Bobrowsky. Geomorphic processes and risk related to a large landslide dam in a highly urbanized Mediterranean catchment (Genova, Italy). Geomorphology. 2018; 327 ():48-61.

Chicago/Turabian Style

G. Paliaga; F. Faccini; Fabio Luino; Laura Turconi; P. Bobrowsky. 2018. "Geomorphic processes and risk related to a large landslide dam in a highly urbanized Mediterranean catchment (Genova, Italy)." Geomorphology 327, no. : 48-61.

Journal article
Published: 16 October 2018 in Sustainability
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The alluvial plain of the Entella River (Eastern Liguria), historically affected by damaging flood events, has been heavily modified over the past 250 years by human activity and natural processes. A qualitative and quantitative analysis of the morphological and land use evolution of the Entella floodplain since the 18th century was carried out using base maps and aerial photos ranging from 1758 to 2016. These diverse sources were Geographical Information System (GIS) georeferenced. Additional information on land-use change was gathered from historical documents and recent research reports. The main transformations to the floodplain include morphological changes, e.g., narrowing, channelization, displacement of the river channel and the advance of the coastal line due to fills and embankments. In addition, there has been very significant urbanization with loss of vegetated and agricultural areas. Our results indicate the primary role of human disturbance on morphological changes and landscape modifications of the coastal floodplain, particularly over the last 200 years. Furthermore, the historical geomorphological and cartographical analysis we adopted to reconstruct the floodplain transformation represents an essential tool in flood risk mitigation and environmental sustainability management, particularly in an urbanized coastal plain historically affected by floods.

ACS Style

Anna Roccati; Fabio Luino; Laura Turconi; Pietro Piana; Charles Watkins; Francesco Faccini. Historical Geomorphological Research of a Ligurian Coastal Floodplain (Italy) and Its Value for Management of Flood Risk and Environmental Sustainability. Sustainability 2018, 10, 3727 .

AMA Style

Anna Roccati, Fabio Luino, Laura Turconi, Pietro Piana, Charles Watkins, Francesco Faccini. Historical Geomorphological Research of a Ligurian Coastal Floodplain (Italy) and Its Value for Management of Flood Risk and Environmental Sustainability. Sustainability. 2018; 10 (10):3727.

Chicago/Turabian Style

Anna Roccati; Fabio Luino; Laura Turconi; Pietro Piana; Charles Watkins; Francesco Faccini. 2018. "Historical Geomorphological Research of a Ligurian Coastal Floodplain (Italy) and Its Value for Management of Flood Risk and Environmental Sustainability." Sustainability 10, no. 10: 3727.