Integration of earth observation and census data for mapping a multi-temporal flood vulnerability index: a case study on Northeast Italy

Climate sciences foresee a future where extreme weather events could happen with increased frequency and strength, which would in turn increase risks of floods (i.e. the main source of losses in the world). The Mediterranean basin is considered a hot spot in terms of climate vulnerability and risk. The expected impacts of those events are exacerbated by land-use change and, in particular, by urban growth which increases soil sealing and, hence, water runoff. The ultimate consequence would be an increase of fatalities and injuries, but also of economic losses in urban areas, commercial and productive sites, infrastructures and agriculture. Flood damages have different magnitudes depending on the economic value of the exposed assets and on level of physical contact with the hazard. This work aims at proposing a methodology, easily customizable by experts’ elicitation, able to quantify and map the social component of vulnerability through the integration of earth observation (EO) and census data with the aim of allowing for a multi-temporal spatial assessment. Firstly, data on employment, properties and education are used for assessing the adaptive capacity of the society to increase resilience to adverse events, whereas, secondly, coping capacity, i.e. the capacities to deal with events during their manifestation, is mapped by aggregating demographic and socio-economic data, urban growth analysis and memory on past events. Thirdly, the physical dimension of exposed assets (susceptibility) is assessed by combining building properties acquired by census data and land-surface characteristics derived from EO data. Finally, the three components (i.e. adaptive and coping capacity and susceptibility) are aggregated for calculating the dynamic flood vulnerability index (FVI). The approach has been applied to Northeast Italy, a region frequently hit by floods, which has experienced a significant urban and economic development in the past decades, thus making the dynamic study of FVI particularly relevant. The analysis has been carried out from 1991 to 2016 at a 5-year steps, showing how the integration of different data sources allows to produce a dynamic assessment of vulnerability, which can be very relevant for planning in support of climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.

     

Access routes to high mountain huts facing climate-induced environmental changes and adaptive strategies in the Western Alps since the 1990s

ABSTRACT

In the European Alps, high mountain environments are subject to major impacts resulting from climate change, which strongly affect human activities such as mountaineering. The purpose of the study was to examine changes in access routes to 30 high mountain huts in the Western Alps since the 1990s. Data were derived from the use of two different methods, geo-historical studies and a questionnaire, and were used to identify both the climate-related processes affecting the climbing routes and the strategies implemented by public entities, Alpine clubs, guide companies, and hut keepers to maintain acceptable safety and technical conditions. The case studies revealed issues affecting three access routes and the results from the questionnaire showed that the main processes affecting access routes were loss of ice thickness and retreat from the front of the glaciated areas. Commonly, in situ equipment was installed to facilitate access for mountaineers and/or a part of a route was relocated to a safer area. The authors conclude that in most cases, the measures were effective but they were limited by financial, ethical and legal issues, especially in protected or classified areas that could jeopardise their durability and effectiveness.     

An overview of the Gulf of Batabanó (Cuba): Environmental features as revealed by surface sediment characterisation

The main environmental features of the Gulf of Batabanó, Cuba, Caribbean, were investigated through the analyses of surface sediments collected at 23 sites. In order to highlight the potential threats affecting the sedimentary compartment of this area, samples were analysed for: granulometry, mineralogy, heavy metals concentration (As, Cd, Cu, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn), organic carbon, total nitrogen and radionuclides. Findings were compared with published data and “grey” literature.Results showed: granulometric homogeneity and a widespread carbonatic condition all over the gulf, probably due to stable bathymetry and lack of terrigenous input (except for the La Coloma basin); a rather pristine environment for what concerns heavy metals pollution, except for La Coloma where a large arsenic input was recorded; very low levels of natural and artificial radioactivity; a relevant quantity of sedimentary organic matter, providing biota with useful substrate for feeding and enhancing the food-web development while indirectly supplying lobster fisheries. Combined data highlighted the impact of the Dique Sur in reducing terrigenous input in the coastal area.Future studies should focus on dating of sediment cores for identifying and quantifying the changes acting in the gulf and on investigating the origins of the large arsenic input to La Coloma.     

Geochemical surveillance of active volcanoes: data on the fumaroles of Vulcano (Aeolian Islands,Italy)

Temperature and chemical composition of condensates of higher temperature fumaroles, located on the rim of the crater of Vulcano, were studied over a period of one year. Maximum temperature changed from 216°C (June 1977) to 291°C (May 1978). HCl is the main constituent of condensates which, in comparison with data from fumaroles of other volcanoes, contain also noteworthy quantities of boron and bromine. Since these chemical characteristics suggested the possible inflow of water of marine origin into the volcanic conduit, experimental data on seawater-rock reactions at high temperatures and pressures were taken into account. A model is drafted for the volcanic system, in which the occurrence of an aquifer interposed between the magma chamber and the surface is considered. The vaporization of this aquifer would feed the fumaroles giving rise, through different mixing processes with surface waters, to the observed differences in temperature and chemical composition. However, data available at present are not sufficient to support the proposed model, which must be mainly considered as a working hypothesis.     

Basement lithostratigraphy of the Adula nappe: implications for Palaeozoic evolution and Alpine kinematics

The Adula nappe belongs to the Lower Penninic domain of the Central Swiss Alps. It consists mostly of pre-Triassic basement lithologies occurring as strongly folded and sheared gneisses of various types with mafic boudins. We propose a new lithostratigraphy for the northern Adula nappe basement that is supported by detailed field investigations, U–Pb zircon geochronology, and whole-rock geochemistry. The following units have been identified: Cambrian clastic metasediments with abundant carbonate lenses and minor bimodal magmatism (Salahorn Formation); Ordovician metapelites associated with amphibolite boudins with abundant eclogite relicts representing oceanic metabasalts (Trescolmen Formation); Ordovician peraluminous metagranites of calc-alkaline affinity ascribed to subduction-related magmatism (Garenstock Augengneiss); Ordovician metamorphic volcanic–sedimentary deposits (Heinisch Stafel Formation); Early Permian post-collisional granites recording only Alpine orogenic events (Zervreila orthogneiss). All basement lithologies except the Permian granites record a Variscan + Alpine polyorogenic metamorphic history. They document a complex Paleozoic geotectonic evolution consistent with the broader picture given by the pre-Mesozoic basement framework in the Alps. The internal consistency of the Adula basement lithologies and the stratigraphic coherence of the overlying Triassic sediments suggest that most tectonic contacts within the Adula nappe are pre-Alpine in age. Consequently, mélange models for the Tertiary emplacement of the Adula nappe are not consistent and must be rejected. The present-day structural complexity of the Adula nappe is the result of the intense Alpine ductile deformation of a pre-structured entity.     

Surface Rupture of the 1857 Southern Italian Earthquake?

In October 1862, Robert Mallet published an extensive study of a large earthquake that occurred on 16 December 1857, 150 km south-east of Naples. This event is one of the most destructive ever recorded in Italy. Although continental earthquakes of similar size are almost invariably associated with surface faulting, Mallet did not identify any surface rupture and subsequent workers have also failed to find surface traces. Using satellite images and aerial photographs as a guide, we examined two prominent Quaternary normal fault systems in the field. Flanking the Val d'Agri and the Val di Diano, both trend NW–SE and dip to the SW. The distribution of damage suggests that one or both moved in 1857. On one fault segment in Val d'Agri, we found a 2.5-m high scarp whose youthfulness and height suggest it is due to the 1857 earthquake. Comparison of the observed slip with rates derived from geomorphic evidence suggests a recurrence time for 1857 type events of about 3000 years. While the new data we provide are consistent with the event having a magnitude of M _s≈ 7.0, there are also grounds for supposing it might have been bigger.