Alessio Domeneghetti

Measurements and Observations in the XXI century (MOXXI): innovation and multi-disciplinarity to sense the hydrological cycle

ABSTRACT To promote the advancement of novel observation techniques that may lead to new sources of information to help better understand the hydrological cycle, the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) established the Measurements and Observations in the XXI century (MOXXI) Working Group in July 2013. The group comprises a growing community of tech-enthusiastic hydrologists that design and develop their own sensing systems, adopt a multi-disciplinary perspective in tackling complex observations, often use low-cost equipment intended for other applications to build innovative sensors, or perform opportunistic measurements. This paper states the objectives of the group and reviews major advances carried out by MOXXI members toward the advancement of hydrological sciences. Challenges and opportunities are outlined to provide strategic guidance for advancement of measurement, and thus discovery.

On the use of SRTM and altimetry data for flood modeling in data‐sparse regions

The growing availability of remotely sensed data has fostered the implementation of hydraulic modeling in poorly gauged regions. However, these applications suffer the lack of knowledge of river bathymetry, which cannot be directly inferred from satellite instruments. This study explores the possibility to set up, calibrate, and validate a hydrodynamic model which geometry is based on global and freely available satellite data. First, the study tests two different procedures for inferring the river bathymetry under the water surface level. Second, focusing on a Po River stretch of ∼140 km (Northern Italy), the study further assesses the suitability of spaceborne topographic and remotely sensed altimetry data (i.e., ERS-2 and ENVISAT) for implementing and calibrating hydrodynamic models. Referring to 90 m SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) digital elevation model for the representation of the riverbed morphology, the work analyzes the performances of different 1-D numerical models which cross sections are modified according to two approaches: (1) Channel Bankfull depth (CB) and (2) Slope-Break (SB) approach. The calibration and validation processes are performed by referring to extended altimetry time series (∼16 years of data), while the accuracy and trustworthiness of 1-D models are tested with reference to a quasi-2-D model based on detailed geometry data. Results show that both CB and SB approaches enhance the performance of SRTM-based models. In particular, the SB approach is completely based on satelliteborne data and shows Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency, MAE, and RMSE values similar to those obtained with the benchmark model.

Adaptation of water resources systems to changing society and environment: a statement by the International Association of Hydrological Sciences

ABSTRACT We explore how to address the challenges of adaptation of water resources systems under changing conditions by supporting flexible, resilient and low-regret solutions, coupled with on-going monitoring and evaluation. This will require improved understanding of the linkages between biophysical and social aspects in order to better anticipate the possible future co-evolution of water systems and society. We also present a call to enhance the dialogue and foster the actions of governments, the international scientific community, research funding agencies and additional stakeholders in order to develop effective solutions to support water resources systems adaptation. Finally, we call the scientific community to a renewed and unified effort to deliver an innovative message to stakeholders. Water science is essential to resolve the water crisis, but the effectiveness of solutions depends, inter alia, on the capability of scientists to deliver a new, coherent and technical vision for the future development of water systems. EDITOR D. Koutsoyiannis; ASSOCIATE EDITOR not assigned

Automated River Reach Definition Strategies: Applications for the Surface Water and Ocean Topography Mission

The upcoming Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission will measure water surface heights and widths for rivers wider than 100 m. At its native resolution, SWOT height errors are expected to be on the order of meters, which prevent the calculation of water surface slopes and the use of slope-dependent discharge equations. To mitigate height and width errors, the high-resolution measurements will be grouped into reaches (∼5 to 15 km), where slope and discharge are estimated. We describe three automated river segmentation strategies for defining optimum reaches for discharge estimation: (1) arbitrary lengths, (2) identification of hydraulic controls, and (3) sinuosity. We test our methodologies on 9 and 14 simulated SWOT overpasses over the Sacramento and the Po Rivers, respectively, which we compare against hydraulic models of each river. Our results show that generally, height, width, and slope errors decrease with increasing reach length. However, the hydraulic controls and the sinuosity methods led to better slopes and often height errors that were either smaller or comparable to those of arbitrary reaches of compatible sizes. Estimated discharge errors caused by the propagation of height, width, and slope errors through the discharge equation were often smaller for sinuosity (on average 8.5% for the Sacramento and 6.9% for the Po) and hydraulic control (Sacramento: 7.3% and Po: 5.9%) reaches than for arbitrary reaches of comparable lengths (Sacramento: 8.6% and Po: 7.8%). This analysis suggests that reach definition methods that preserve the hydraulic properties of the river network may lead to better discharge estimates.

Is anthropogenic land subsidence a possible driver of riverine flood-hazard dynamics? A case study in Ravenna, Italy

ABSTRACT We investigate possible changes in flood hazard over a 77-km2 area around the city of Ravenna. The subsidence rate in the area, naturally a few mm year−1, increased dramatically after World War II because of groundwater and natural gas extraction, exceeding 110 mm year−1 and resulting in cumulative drops larger than 1.5 m. The Montone–Ronco river system flows in the southern portion of the area, which is protected against frequent flooding by levees. We performed two-dimensional simulations of inundation events associated with levee breaching by considering four different terrain configurations: current topography and a reconstruction of ground elevations before anthropogenic land subsidence, both neglecting and representing the main linear infrastructures (e.g. roads, artificial channels). Results show that flood-hazard changes due to anthropogenic land subsidence (e.g. significant changes in computed water depth and velocity) are observed over less than 10% of the study area and are definitely less important than those resulting from construction of the linear infrastructures.

Po River Morphodynamics Modelled with the Open-source Code iRIC

The paper presents the numerical modelling of the hydro-morphological evolution of a 10 km reach of the Po River in Italy. The simulation is performed with the freeware code iRIC, recently developed by an international community of scientists and practitioners. Starting from a non-detailed description of the studied area and using synthetic data, the reach has been modelled adopting a 2-D solver. Based on a Digital Elevation Model of the area, the domain is discretized by an unstructured grid with triangular meshes. First results show a promising capability of the model in reproducing the behaviour of the reach, both in terms of liquid flow and morphodynamics, if compared with historical data measured along the watercourse and reported in literature. In the future, additional simulations will be performed, enlarging the studied area and using detailed input data measured with traditional and innovative techniques.

Flow Duration Curve from Satellite: Potential of a Lifetime SWOT Mission

A flow duration curve (FDC) provides a comprehensive description of the hydrological regime of a catchment and its knowledge is fundamental for many water-related applications (e.g., water management and supply, human and irrigation purposes, etc.). However, relying on historical streamflow records, FDCs are constrained to gauged stations and, thus, typically available for a small portion of the world’s rivers. The upcoming Surface Water and Ocean Topography satellite (SWOT; in orbit from 2021) will monitor, worldwide, all rivers larger than 100 m in width (with a goal to observe rivers as small as 50 m) for a period of at least three years, representing a potential groundbreaking source of hydrological data, especially in remote areas. This study refers to the 130 km stretch of the Po River (Northern Italy) to investigate SWOT potential in providing discharge estimation for the construction of FDCs. In particular, this work considers the mission lifetime (three years) and the three satellite orbits (i.e., 211, 489, 560) that will monitor the Po River. The aim is to test the ability to observe the river hydrological regime, which is, for this test case, synthetically reproduced by means of a quasi-2D hydraulic model. We consider different river segmentation lengths for discharge estimation and we build the FDCs at four gauging stations placed along the study area referring to available satellite overpasses (nearly 52 revisits within the mission lifetime). Discharge assessment is performed using the Manning equation, under the assumption of a trapezoidal section, known bathymetry, and roughness coefficient. SWOT observables (i.e., water level, water extent, etc.) are estimated by corrupting the values simulated with the quasi-2D model according to the mission requirements. Remotely-sensed FDCs are compared with those obtained with extended (e.g., 20–70 years) gauge datasets. Results highlight the potential of the mission to provide a realistic reconstruction of the flow regimes at different locations. Higher errors are obtained at the FDC tails, where very low or high flows have lower likelihood of being observed, or might not occur during the mission lifetime period. Among the tested discretizations, 20 km stretches provided the best performances, with root mean absolute errors, on average, lower than 13.3%.

Atti del XXXV Convegno Nazionale di Idraulica e Costruzioni Idrauliche

PIETRO; Passadore, Giulia; Garbin, Silvia; B., Matticchio; F., Visentin; I., Brunet; R., Lago; F., Facco; Botter, Gianluca; Carniello, Luca. ELETTRONICO. (2016), pp. 1119-1122. ((Intervento presentato al convegno Convegno Nazionale di Idraulica e Costruzioni Idrauliche tenutosi a Bologna nel Settembre 2016. Original Citation: Un sistema modellistico integrato per la previsione in tempo reale delle piene del Muson dei Sassi (Pd)La XXXV edizione del Convegno Nazionale di Idraulica e Costruzioni Idrauliche (IDRA16), co-organizzata dal Gruppo Italiano di Idraulica (GII) e dal Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile, Chimica, Ambientale, e dei Materiali (DICAM) dell’Alma Mater Studiorum - Universita di Bologna, si e svolta a Bologna dal 14 al 16 settembre 2016. Il Convegno Nazionale e tornato pertanto ad affacciarsi all’ombra del “Nettuno”, dopo l’edizione del 1982 (XVIII edizione). Il titolo della XXXV edizione, “Ambiente, Risorse, Energia: le sfide dell’Ingegneria delle acque in un mondo che cambia”, sottolinea l’importanza e la complessita delle tematiche che rivestono la sfera dello studio e del governo delle risorse idriche. Le sempre piu profonde interconnessioni tra risorse idriche, sviluppo economico e benessere sociale, infatti, spronano sia l’Accademia che l’intera comunita tecnico-scientifica nazionale ed internazionale all’identificazione ed alla messa in atto di strategie di gestione innovative ed ottimali: sfide percepite quanto mai necessarie in un contesto ambientale in continua evoluzione, come quello in cui viviamo. La XXXV edizione del Convegno di Idraulica e Costruzioni Idrauliche, pertanto, si e posta come punto d’incontro della comunita tecnico-scientifica italiana per la discussione a tutto tondo di tali problematiche, offrendo un programma scientifico particolarmente ricco e articolato, che ha coperto tutti gli ambiti riconducibili all’Ingegneria delle Acque. L’apertura dei lavori del Convegno si e svolta nella storica cornice della Chiesa di Santa Cristina, uno dei luoghi piu caratteristici e belli della citta ed oggi luogo privilegiato per l’ascolto della musica classica, mentre le attivita di presentazione e discussione scientifica si sono svolte principalmente presso la sede della Scuola di Ingegneria e Architettura dell’Universita di Bologna sita in Via Terracini. Il presente volume digitale ad accesso libero (licenza Creative Commons 4.0) raccoglie le memorie brevi pervenute al Comitato Scientifico di IDRA16 ed accettate per la presentazione al convegno a valle di un processo di revisione tra pari. Il volume articola dette memorie in sette macro-tematiche, che costituiscono i capitoli del volume stesso: I. meccanica dei fluidi; II. ambiente marittimo e costiero; III. criteri, metodi e modelli per l’analisi dei processi idrologici e la gestione delle acque; IV. gestione e tutela dei corpi idrici e degli ecosistemi; V. valutazione e mitigazione del rischio idrologico e idraulico; VI. dinamiche acqua-societa: sviluppo sostenibile e gestione del territorio; VII. monitoraggio, open-data e software libero. Ciascuna macro-tematica raggruppa piu sessioni specialistiche autonome sviluppatesi in parallelo durante le giornate del Convegno, i cui titoli vengono richiamati all’interno del presente volume. La vastita e la diversita delle tematiche affrontate, che ben rappresentano la complessita delle numerose sfide dell’Ingegneria delle Acque, appaiono evidenti dalla consultazione dell’insieme di memorie brevi presentate. La convinta partecipazione della Comunita Scientifica Italiana e dimostrata dalle oltre 350 memorie brevi, distribuite in maniera pressoche uniforme tra le sette macro-tematiche di riferimento. Dette memorie sono sommari estesi di lunghezza variabile redatti in lingua italiana, o inglese. In particolare, la possibilita di stesura in inglese e stata concessa con l’auspicio di portare la visibilita del lavoro presentato ad un livello sovranazionale, grazie alla pubblicazione open access del volume degli Atti del Convegno. Il volume si divide in tre parti: la parte iniziale e dedicata alla presentazione del volume ed all’indice generale dei contributi divisi per macro-tematiche; la parte centrale raccoglie le memorie brevi; la terza parte riporta l’indice analitico degli Autori, che chiude il volume.

Final Scientific Report: 'Processing and Hydrogeological Analysis of the Data of the November 2003 Flood Event in the Reno River Closed at Pracchia'

An interesting case study for the implementation of the model was identified by the DISTART research group in the Northern Apennine Mountains, as requested by the LAMPIT research group. The identified watershed is the most upstream part of Reno river basin, at the closure section of Pracchia, located in the Tuscan part of the Reno watershed, close to the border with the Regione Emilia Romagna. Following an analysis of the rainfall and stream flow data collected from 2002 and 2007, the flood event that took place at the beginning of November 2003 (days 7-9) was identified as one of the most severe meteorological events in the whole observation period. The rainfall event was characterized by high rainfall intensities for several hours over the entire northern Apennine area and it corresponded to a significant flood hydrograph at the Pracchia cross-section. As required by the LAMPIT and CIRA, the following data, needed for the implementation of both hydrological/hydraulic and meteorological modelling, were collected, processed and delivered to either the CIRA or the LAMPIT research groups by the end of July 2009. In addition to the collection and processing of the above data, the DISTART group performed the research activities needed for issuing the following products (delivered to the LAMPIT research group on the 30th September 2009): the spatially distributed hourly rainfall fields on the basis of the ground raingauge data, for each hour from 0.00, 7 November 2003 to 23.00, 9 November 2003, that is the total (or gross) hourly rainfall fields (in a matrix form, following the standards required by the LAMPIT research group, that is for cells of 20 m x 20 m) over the watershed area; an estimate of the spatio-temporal distribution of the net rainfall, that is of the part of the gross rainfall that actually becomes surface runoff (or overland flow). Net rainfall is obtained is subtracting from the gross rainfall the water losses ascribed to: interception by the vegetation, depression storage (or surface retention) and infiltration. A net rainfall map, over the watershed (plus buffer) area, was computed for each hour from 0.00, 7 November 2003 to 23.00, 9 November 2003.