Abstract
In 2015 an intense rainfall event hit the Valleys of the Trebbia, Nure, and Aveto watercourses in the Northern Apennines. In about 6 h a mesoscale convective system deployed a stunning amount of precipitation of 340 mm, with an extreme hourly rainfall intensity of >100 mm/h. It triggered debris flows along slopes and stream channels, landslides and floods, which caused serious damages. Through the optimal combination of rainfall data and radar volumes, in this work we present a detailed rainfall analysis, which will serve as a basis to create a quantitative correlation with debris flows over elementary hydrological units. We aim at providing an objective basis for future predictions, starting from the recognition of the forcing meteorological events, and then arriving at the prediction of triggering phenomena and to the debris-flow type. We further provide seven observations/case studies on the effects of extreme-precipitation events on freshwater environments in small mountain catchments. Extreme-precipitation events are becoming more frequent and widespread globally but their ecological effects are still insufficiently understood. In general, the effects of extreme events on inland-waters’ ecosystems are highly context-dependent, ranging from deleterious to beneficial. We therefore highlight the necessity of further studies to characterize these effects in more depth to be able to include appropriate mitigation measures in environmental planning and stewardship.
Highlights
Under the pressure of the worsening consequences of climate change, several studies have tried to address the ecological effects of extreme events on running waters [13]
The territory investigated was subdivided in 286 hydrogeomorphologic elementary unit (HEU) affected characterized by stream networks that, generally, do not exceed the 3rd Strahler stream order with
Extreme Rainfall Intensity and Spatial Distribution of the Main Ground Effects extent less than 3 Km2
Summary
Meteorological events characterized by extreme rainfall intensity have recently struck the hilly and mountainous territory of the northern Apennines (Italy) [1,2] and the Emilia-Romagna region in particular [3,4,5], as well as many other geographic areas of the world [6,7,8,9,10,11,12].Water 2020, 12, 79; doi:10.3390/w12010079 www.mdpi.com/journal/waterThese extreme rainfall events trigger fast flows of debris along the slopes, stream channels, landslides, and floods, which damage many man-made structures such as roads, houses, water-pipes, etc.There is a strong practical interest in predicting the frequency and intensity of these effects for emergency management and to reduce the vulnerability of the territory.On the contrary, the ecological effects of these intense precipitation effects seem to have been neglected so far. These extreme rainfall events trigger fast flows of debris along the slopes, stream channels, landslides, and floods, which damage many man-made structures such as roads, houses, water-pipes, etc. Under the pressure of the worsening consequences of climate change, several studies have tried to address the ecological effects of extreme events on running waters [13]. The ecological effects considered are almost always those on running waters, with some freshwater-ecosystem types, such as mires, mountain tarns, and, in particular, groundwater systems, being almost completely neglected
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