Geomorphological characterization of the Po river bed and floodplains, from the confluence of the Dora Riparia (Turin) to Pontelagoscuro (Ferrara)
Country, Location(s)
Italy, Po Valley, across the regions of Piedmont, Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto
Client(s)
Po River Basin Authority, Parma / SGI – Studio Galli Ingegneria, Padua
Aims of the Project
Analysis of the modifications of the Po river bed, over approximately 480 km of course, with particular reference to the variations of natural thresholds and banks, to the effects of the floods of 1994 and 2000 and to the interactions between dead hydrography and main levees
Contract Holder(s)
Geomap Srl
Staff
2 geologists photointerpreters, 1 GIS expert
Project Activities
The morphological analysis of the segment between the confluence of the Tanaro and Pontelagoscuro was carried out between 1979 and 2002, since the previous morphological changes had already been studied by a former project, carried out by Geomap for another Client in 1982.
For the upstream segment of the Tanaro, the study was based on all the historical documentation available, either cartographic or air-photographic.
Morphological elements were identified by means of aerial photos taken in 1995, 2000 and 2002, which, respectively, allowed the recognition of the effects of the flood of November 1994, the extension of the waters during the October 2000 flood and, in the latter case, the consequences of the above event and the situation of the bed during the exceptional low water level of 2002.
The evolution of the river bed was reconstructed by comparing the situations recognized by photointerpretation with thematic and topographic maps of 1979 and 1988, respectively.
The morphological elements necessary for the characterization of the flood zones were obtained partly from aerial photos, but mostly from AIMA orthophotos and topo maps of various origins and scales (IGMI and Regional Technical Map – CTR), which were also used as the basis for the presentation of the results.
A GIS environment was employed to manage all the acquired data as well as for the production of layouts and hardcopy maps.
