Understanding where seismically induced landslides are most likely to occur is crucial in land use planning and civil protection actions aimed at reducing property damage and loss of life in future earthquakes. For this purpose an approach proposed by Del Gaudio et al. [1] has been applied to the whole Iranian territory to provide the basis to assess location and temporal recurrence of conditions of seismic activation of slope failures, according to the Newmark's model [2]. Following this approach, occurrence probabilities for different levels of seismic shaking in a time interval of interest (50 years) were first obtained through a standard hazard estimate procedure. Then, empirical formulae in the form proposed by Jibson et al. [3] and calibrated for the main seismogenic Iranian regions were used to evaluate the slope critical acceleration (Ac)x for which a prefixed probability exists that, under seismic shakings, Newmark's displacement DN exceeds a threshold×corresponding to landslide triggering conditions. The obtained (Ac)x values represent the minimum slope resistance required to limit the probability of landslide seismic triggering within the prefixed value. A map reporting the spatial distribution of these values gives comparative indications on regional different exposure of slopes to shaking capable of inducing failures and provides a reference for hazard estimate at local scale. The obtained results show that the exposure to landslide seismic induction is maximum in the Alborz Mountains region, where critical accelerations up to ∼0.1 g are required to limit the probability of seismic triggering of coherent type landslides within 10% in 50 years.

Deeply entrenched channels namely badland gullies occur on the gently sloping valley floors of any alluvial basins in the semi-arid environments of Fossa Bradanica, Basilicata, southern Italy. Valley fills in this region consist of predominantly Holocene alluvium; late Pleistocene deposits occur as terraces above the present flood plain or as eroded benches buried beneath younger alluvium. Historical fluvial deposition began before 7000 a cal. BPand ended at around 120 a cal. BP. In this study, we focus on the channel entrenchment (badland gullies incision) in the last 4500 years, based on a detailed study of chronostratigraphic alluvial sequences of Basento River. Four main phases of incision have been recorded at around 4500-4350, 1500, 900-800, and 120 a cal. BP. The formation of lateHolocene badland gullies can be related to changes in climate, vegetation and groundwater conditions. Environmental history mainly derived from the high-resolution pollen record of Lago Grande di Monticchio. Badland gullies formation appears to be linked to repeated dry-wet cycles. During dry periods, water tables significantly dropped and vegetation cover decreased with increase in runoff and water discharge from rainfall, leading to deepening and widening of stream channels.

This book is an overview of current state of the art about monitoring of inundation events through remote sensing. A complete approach to efficient and precise flood monitoring requires multiple fields of expertise, from image processing to hydrologic monitoring. This volume details the latest remote sensing techniques for flood monitoring and mapping, including use of optical data from geostationary sensors and LEO spacecraft, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data analysis, and data fusion. Detailed case studies from a variety of subject experts illustrate these tools and techniques. Accurate monitoring of flood events is increasingly necessary to gain insight about both causes and remedies. Floods are one of the most destructive hazards to the human populations, they can occur practically everywhere on the Earth surface, and each year cause considerable harm and damage to infrastructures. The recent Flood directive in European Countries is contributing to a more quantitative approach to flood hazard and risk evaluation.

The Fossa Bradanica in Basilicata (S Italy) is affected by almost 15% permanent Pleistocene and Holocene gullies. In the past decades climate versus land use management have dramatically increase both the soil loss rate and the muddy-flooding frequency. In this paper the impact of global change on soil production rates and erosion/deposition dynamics at medium-time scale (1949-2000) for two permanent gullies (Fosso Lavandaio and Fosso San Teodoro) has been studied. Pluviometric regime, land use changes and multi-temporal (1949, 1986 and 2000) subtraction method of digital elevation models have been conducted. From 1949 to 1986 the sediment production rate was estimated in 1,988.43 Mg ha -1 year -1 at Fosso Lavandaio and in 808.5 Mg ha -1 year -1 at Fosso San Teodoro, with deposition prevailing over erosion processes. From 1986 to 2000 the sediment production rate was estimated in 2,487.92 Mg ha -1 year -1 at Fosso Lavandaio and in 2,883.9 Mg ha -1 year -1 at Fosso San Teodoro, with higher values of net erosion. The data confirm that the increase in sedimentation would be due to human activities, in particular the levelling of gully heads for the production of cereals and orchards. Differently, the increase of the erosion processes depends on the recent changes of the pluviometric regime characterized by the extension of dry horizon and the concentration of high magnitude precipitation in macro-events of three to four consecutive days. © 2012 Springer-Verlag.

Gli specchi di acqua del Mar Piccolo e del Mar Grande sono situati nel vertice settentrionale del Golfo di Taranto, in un’area di transizione fra le estreme propaggini meridionali dell’altopiano delle Murge, la Piana di Taranto e Brindisi, la Valle di Taranto nell’omonimo golfo e la fascia terrazzata della costa ionica della Basilicata. Essi sono in diretta connessione fra loro e quindi con il Golfo di Taranto e definiscono un sistema ambientale complesso e di grande fascino paesaggistico che ha accolto la città di Taranto attraverso la presenza di abitati dell’Età del Bronzo (c.ca 3500 BP) distribuiti lungo le sue coste sino alla sua fondazione - per la storia nel 706 a.C. - da coloni Spartani.

Gully erosion is an important soil degradation process in a range of environments, causing considerable soil loss and producing large volumes of sediment and it has a very significant contribution to total soil loss in Mediterranean areas. Nothwistanding its importance in the soil erosion processes, gully erosion has been long neglected because it is difficult to study and to predict. Consequently, there is a need for monitoring, experimental and modelling studies of gully erosion as a basis for predicting the effects of environmental change (climatic and land use changes) on gully erosion rates. A key issue to be addressed, as the basis for predicting the effects of global changes such as land use and climate changes, is the mapping and quantification of gully erosion and sediment production rates. At present no standardized procedures are available for measuring gully erosion rates and controlling factors. At the medium-time scale (10-70 years) aerial photographs have been analysed to measure temporal changes in length, area or volume of various gully tipes. In this respect, contribution has been the use of multi-temporal DEMs to map active gully areas and compute sediment production and deposition within gullies. In Basilicata (Southern Italy), agricultural soils underwent continuous degradation during the last century due to the highly erodible nature of outcropping terrains and to the anthropic pressure favoured by the introduction of Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) measures, which, especially in the last 30 years, has led to the reclamation of scrub lands and badlands for durum wheat cultivation. All these practices have accelerated the natural soil erosion processes, leading to the depletion of soil organic matter (i.e. reduction of soil structure stability) and favouring crusting, runoff production, gully erosion and shallow mass movements. On the basis of these considerations, some research questions remain open, the most importance one in Basilicata is: what is the contribution of gully erosion to overall soil loss and sediment production at different temporal and spatial scales and under different climatic and land use conditions? In this paper we attempt to answer to this question adopting the consolidate procedure in GIS to determine medium-term sediment production and deposition rates in a large gullies of Fossa Bradanica, Basilicata, Southern Italy. This method, which is based on the subtraction of multi-date elevation values from digital elevation model, does not produce significant errors in the estimetes and has been considered as a valide technique in the estimating net erosion in gully areas. Infact, in comparison with other methods, it also includes sediment produced by processes other than only overland flow, i.e. downcutting, headcutting, and mass movements and bank erosion.

Terrestrial Laser Scanner surveys performed in coastal area have generated 3D cloud points used to obtain digital elevation model and standard deviation of the micro-topography of coastal surfaces. Starting from data collected, roughness. coefficients have been estimated for each surface typology characterizing the coastal area (sand calcarenite, vegetation, etc). Applying Machine Learning techniques on digital images, the extension and the surface typology of these areas have been obtained. All data collected have been elaborated by means of software implemented stalling from known hydrodynamic formula to evaluate the inland penetration of a hypothesized tsunami.

We have produced a morphostructural map to explore the tectonic geomorphology of the Lucania part of the southern Apennines mountain front to assess the relative role that tectonic and erosion processes played in shaping the topography of this part of the orogen. Data were collected mainly through field work and airphoto interpretation. The main morpho-tectonic elements seem to be affected by out-of-sequence thrusting and wide regional uplift which played an important role in the latest stage of orogenic wedge evolution. The geomorphic expression of the local tectonics of individual structures reflects the structural and stratigraphic heritage and were overprinted in the Middle Pleistocene when regional rock uplift lifted the entire mountain front and its foredeep above sea level, imparting a new tectonic slope that dictates erosion and landscape evolution to the present day. Distinct geomorphological features such as asymmetrical ridges, relict valleys and paleosurfaces, have developed on rocks of variable durability and are exposed by regional uplift and erosion along non-cylindrical structures, fault transfer zones, and lateral ramps. This map also identifies for the first time a relict strike valley at the mountain front and a set of geomorphic markers that highlight the particular relationship between drainage evolution and thrusting.

Several numerical landscape evolution models (LEMs) have been developed to date, and many are available as open source codes. Most are written in efficient programming languages such as Fortran or C, but often require additional code efforts to plug in to more user-friendly data analysis and/or visualization tools to ease interpretation and scientific insight. In this paper, we present an effort to port a common core of accepted physical principles governing landscape evolution directly into a high-level language and data analysis environment such as Matlab. SIGNUM (acronym for Simple Integrated Geomorphological Numerical Model) is an independent and self-contained Matlab, TIN-based landscape evolution model, built to simulate topography development at various space and time scales. SIGNUM is presently capable of simulating hillslope processes such as linear and nonlinear diffusion, fluvial incision into bedrock, spatially varying surface uplift which can be used to simulate changes in base level, thrust and faulting, as well as effects of climate changes. Although based on accepted and well-known processes and algorithms in its present version, it is built with a modular structure, which allows to easily modify and upgrade the simulated physical processes to suite virtually any user needs. The code is conceived as an open-source project, and is thus an ideal tool for both research and didactic purposes, thanks to the high-level nature of the Matlab environment and its popularity among the scientific community. In this paper the simulation code is presented together with some simple examples of surface evolution, and guidelines for development of new modules and algorithms are proposed. © 2011 Elsevier Ltd.

Il presente lavoro illustra alcune tecniche di rilievo in grotta e di analisi dati per la proiezione di mappe 2D georeferenziate e modelli 3D delle stesse. L’analisi dei dati e l’elaborazione dei rilievi è effettuata con l’ausilio di software specifici e open source. E’ presentato il rilievo di due cavità ipogee del Pulo di Altamura: Grotta del Pulo PU 1238 (Grotta Mario) e Grave del Pulo PU 860 (Inghiottitoio). La creazione di mappe 2D e modelli 3D risulta essere un utile strumento in campo speleologico, permettendo di acquisire una visione chiara della forma, dell’andamento, delle dimensioni e delle caratteristiche della cavità naturale senza dover necessariamente ricorre a tecniche complesse di rilievo (ad es. laserscanning o fotogrammetria digitale)

Recent developments in laser scanning techniques and digital modelling provide powerful tools for the knowledge, management and preservation of the underground. A Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) survey was performed to create a 3D virtual model of the Santa Croce cave (Apulia, Southern Italy); this is well known for its Palaeolithic and Neolithic finds (a Neanderthal thigh-bone among all) and used as a showcave both for its natural and historic heritage. The survey included chimneys, passages and also the surface over the cave to acquire a model of the entire system. Data were acquired by processing the resulting points cloud to pursue three main purposes: karst hazard management, education and geoheritage preservation. Thanks to the virtual model, the opportunity to visit the site through a virtual tour, also showing hardly accessible details, is an exciting way to discover the underground environment. Therefore, interactive virtual image can be utilised to promote the site as an important tool to disseminate knowledge and to increase interest in the Earth sciences in society at large.

The presence of mega-boulders scattered landward along gently sloping rocky coasts is attributed to the impact of tsunami or of exceptional storms. Considering the original position and the size of the largest boulder is possible to estimate the characteristics of the wave that moved them in the past, and then estimate the maximum inundation. The present roughness of the coastal area conditions the capacity of the tsunami inland penetration in case of a future event. The knowledge of the parameters of the possible tsunami together with the coastal topography and roughness make possible to estimate automatically scenarios of probable flooding