Abstract
Torrential processes are among the main actors responsible for sediment production and mobility in mountain catchments. For this reason, the understanding of preferential pathways for sediment routing has become a priority in hazard assessment and mitigation. In this context, the sediment Connectivity Index (IC) enables to analyse the existing linkage between sediment sources and the selected target (channel network or catchment outlet). The IC is a grid-based index that allows fast computation of sediment connectivity based on landscape information derived from a single Digital Terrain Model (DTM). The index computation is based on the log-ratio between an upslope and a downslope component, including information about drainage area, slope, terrain roughness, and distance to the analysis target (e.g. outlet). The output is a map that highlights the degree of structural connectivity of sediment pathways over analysed catchments. Until now, these maps are however rarely used to help defining debris-flow hazard maps, notably due to a lack of guidelines to interpret the IC spatial distribution. This paper proposes an exploitation procedure along profiles to extract more information from the analysis of mapped IC values. The methodology relies on the analysis of the IC and its component variables along the main channel profile, integrated with information about sediment budgeting derived from Difference of DEMs (DoD). The study of connectivity was applied in the unmanaged sub-catchment (without torrent control works) of the Rio Soial (Autonomous Province of Trento – NE Italy) to understanding the geomorphic evolution of the area after five debris flows (in ten years) and the related changes of sediment connectivity. Using a recent DTM as validation, we demonstrated how an IC analysis over the older DTM can help predicting geomorphic changes and associated hazards. The results show an IC aptitude to capture geomorphic trajectories, anticipate debris flow deposits in a specific channel location, and depict preferential routing pathways..
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Acknowledgments
The authors would like to thank the “Ufficio Sistemi Informativi - Servizio autorizzazioni e valutazioni ambientali” of the Autonomous Province of Trento for providing the LIDAR derived DTM from the flights performed in 2006/2007/2008 (http://www.territorio.provincia.tn.it/portal/server.pt/community/lidar/847/lidar/23954). A special thanks also to the Authority for mountain basins of the Autonomous Province of Trento (Servizio Bacini Montani), mainly to Ruggero Valentinotti and Dr Gabriele Bertoldi, for the support in choosing the Gardeccia study area and for the logistic support on the first phases of the study. A special thanks also to the local police unit of Sèn Jan di Fassa municipality and its Major (Giulio Florian) for issuing the pass to access the study area. This paper was improved by the numerous comments of five reviewer on the previous versions.
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Torresani, L., Piton, G. & D’Agostino, V. Morphodynamics and sediment connectivity index in an unmanaged, debris-flow prone catchment: a through time perspective. J. Mt. Sci. 20, 891–910 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-022-7746-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11629-022-7746-2