Università Roma Tre

Brief course outline:

i. Dynamic Earth and the Anthropocene - The Bigger Picture
ii. Elements of Hydrology
iii. Analysis and modeling of the processes of hydrogeological instability
iv. Integration of the different aspects in order to create a holistic picture - Individual/group project

Course content and milestones:

Dynamic Earth and the Anthropocene - Systems and scientific method. How humankind reshapes Earth's landscapes. The impact of humankind on the environment. Sustainability horizons. The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Definition of hazard risk and vulnerability.

Elements of Hydrology - Hydrological cycle, water, hydrometeorological parameters, infiltration, evapotranspiration and surface runoff, hydrological properties of rocks, surface-water and ground-water watersheds, aquifers, springs, basic hydrogeological data.

Analysis and modeling of the processes of hydrogeological instability - Concept of hydrogeological risk, the cycle of the disaster, forecasting and prevention of hydrogeological risk, the natural factors of instability, the anthropogenic factors of instability, instability data and the Italian regulatory framework. Insights into the topics: (i) surface erosion (ii) landslides, (iii) floods and (iv) coastal erosion and avalanches.
Geothematic mapping, GIS and numerical tools. Open geodata for landscape analysis and hydrogeological instability (EU Compernicus, ESA, NASA, USGS, Geoportale Nazionale, Regione Lazio, etc.). Semi-automated identification and extraction of topographic features, watersheds, drainage network, and other landforms related to hydrogeological instability. Geomorphometry for the quantitative assessments of Earth surface processes: Hillslope processes and hydrogeological instability. Land-soil-water nexus. Soil loss modelling using GIS and remote sensing. The hydrogeological assessment plan (PAI) and hydrogeological instability of Rome. Hints of spatial data analysis with R and mapping risk susceptibility using basic concepts machine learning. 3D data analysis and production of maps.

Integration of the different aspects in order to create a holistic picture - Individual/group project - Introduction to technical-scientific writing, workflow planning for an educational / research project, supervised planning of the individual/group projects.

Students will be provided with lecture materials and slides before class. The relevant parts of the books that need to be studied will be communicated during the lectures. The reference books are: