Digital Geomorphologic Cartography of the Top Area of the Gran Sasso D’Italia Mountain Group (Central Apennine, Italy)

Abstract

The top area of the Gran Sasso d’Italia and of the whole Apennines Chain, including the Corno Grande peak, the Corno Piccolo peak and the Calderone glacier, is particularly important from the geomorphologie point of view, due to the activity of many processes and to the related presence of interesting landforms. Furthermore the whole top area is included in the integrally protected zone of the National Park of the Gran Sasso and Laga Mountains. In the last five years many studies have been carried out on the geomorphologie features of the top area, particularly regarding the Calderone glacier (monitoring and evolution). The preliminary synthesis of the study and of the results obtained after the management of territorial data on a dedicated GIS (Geographic Information System) is represented by the elaboration and the availability of the following thematic maps: Shaded Relief of the surface from the DEM (Digital Elevation Model), based on topographic data ranging from 1:750 to 1:10.000 scale; Slope Aspect Map (automatic output in GIS environment), Slope Angle Map (automatic output in GIS environment), Geomorphologie Map (including hydrography and basic lithology) surveyed at a scale 1:5.000. The landforms surveyed and mapped are related to the main following processes: morphotectonics, gravitational, hydrology — fluvialglacial and watershed, karst, glacial, periglacial and anthropic. Mainly the problems related to the applied methodology in GIS environment are presented, furthermore the results of such a kind of activity have been drawn in preliminary scheme, waiting for the publication of the final cartography on the Italian Geological Survey Bullettin, as an example of geomorphologic cartography in high mountain environment.Key wordsGeomorphologic MappingGeographic Information Systems in geomorphologyGran Sasso d’Italiacentral Apennine