Papers by Francesco Zucca
EGUGA, Apr 1, 2015
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Proceedings of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences, 2015
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International audienceEarthquake-triggered landslides have an increasing disastrous impact in sei... more International audienceEarthquake-triggered landslides have an increasing disastrous impact in seismic regions due to the fast growing urbanization and infrastructures. Just considering disasters from the last fifteen years, among which the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake, the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake, and the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, these events generated tens of thousands of coseismic landslides. Those resulted in amazing death toll and considerable damages, affecting the regional landscape including its hydrological main features. Despite a strong impetus in research during past decades, knowledge on those geohazards is still fragmentary, while databases of high quality observational data are lacking. These phenomena call for further collaborative researches aiming eventually to enhance preparedness and crisis management. As one of the three SUPERSITE concept FP7 projects dealing with long term high level monitoring of major natural hazards at the European level, the MARSITE project gathers research groups in a comprehensive monitoring activity developed in the Sea of Marmara Region, one of the most densely populated parts of Europe and rated at high seismic risk level since the 1999 Izmit and Duzce devastating earthquakes. Besides the seismic threat, landslides in Turkey and in this region constitute an important source of loss. The 1999 Earthquake caused extensive landslides while tsunami effects were observed during the post-event surveys in several places along the coasts of the Izmit bay. The 6th Work Package of MARSITE project gathers 9 research groups to study earthquake-induced landslides focusing on two sub-regional areas of high interest. First, the Cekmece-Avcilar peninsula, located westwards of Istanbul, is a highly urbanized concentrated landslide prone area, showing high susceptibility to both rainfalls while affected by very significant seismic site effects. Second, the off-shore entrance of the Izmit Gulf, close to the termination of the surface rupture of the 1999 earthquake, that shows an important slump mass facing the Istanbul coastline. A multidisciplinary research program based on pre-existing studies has been designed with objectives and tasks linked to constrain and tackle progressively some challenging issues related to data integration, modeling, monitoring and mapping technologies. Concerning the on-shore area, this program includes the refined analysis of the seismic site response, the permanent multi-parameter ground monitoring of a representative unstable slope as well as the in-depth slope stability analysis based on the stress-strain dynamic numerical modelling approach. Hyperspectral and Dinsar imagery technologies are also deployed to complete inventory and observational information. The development of a dynamic GIS tool featuring capabilities to integrate and process very different types of data, and up-date susceptibility maps based on near to real-time rainfall-seismic shaking input, is currently undertaken. Moreover, the research is gaining high profit of a vast drilling program undertaken by the Istanbul Metropolitan Area, aiming to yield a detailed geological and geotechnical characterization of the slopes. Also included in the objectives is to test a landslide early warning system. As regards the selected off-shore area, high resolution geophysical marine surveys are being conducted to complete its geomorphological description to help in mapping possible incipient mass movements. This is especially expected to provide better-constrained input for both laboratory testing and numerical modeling of tsunami scenarios thank to a unique lab-scale tsunami channel
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Natural Hazards
Deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DsGSDs) are widespread phenomena in the Alpine envi... more Deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DsGSDs) are widespread phenomena in the Alpine environment. Their dynamics, although very slow, endanger human settlements and connecting infrastructures. Monitoring such phenomena is mandatory to evaluate the impact on infrastructure networks and inhabited areas. Nowadays, the implementation of a tool useful to define and manage the interactions of DsGSDs evolution and the anthropic element remains a challenge, particularly in land use planning. Apart from on-site monitoring, which is commonly poorly used for DsGSDs observation, satellite-based interferometry represents the most comprehensive instrument for an effective spatial and temporal characterization of these phenomena. This paper provides a dedicated procedure to assess the usability of Advanced Differential Interferometric SAR (A-DInSAR) techniques to explore the DsGSDs behaviour and investigate their local interaction along anthropic elements. Combining multi-temporal A-DInSAR...
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Remote Sensing, 2022
The growing need for sustainable management approaches of crops and bare soils requires measureme... more The growing need for sustainable management approaches of crops and bare soils requires measurements at a multiple scale (space and time) field system level, which have become increasingly accurate. In this context, proximal and satellite remote sensing data cooperation seems good practice for the present and future. The primary purpose of this work is the development of a sound protocol based on a statistical comparison between Copernicus Sentinel-2 MIS satellite data and a multispectral sensor mounted on an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), featuring spectral deployment identical to Sentinel-2. The experimental dataset, based on simultaneously acquired proximal and Sentinel-2 data, concerns an agricultural field in Pisa (Tuscany), cultivated with corn. To understand how the two systems, comparable but quite different in terms of spatial resolution and atmosphere impacts, can effectively cooperate to create a value-added product, statistical tests were applied on bands and the derived...
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e Dolomiti sono state incluse nel-la lista del patrimonio mondiale dell'UNESCO nel luglio 200... more e Dolomiti sono state incluse nel-la lista del patrimonio mondiale dell'UNESCO nel luglio 2009 per la loro bellezza ed unicità paesaggistica ca-ratterizzata dalla combinazione di colori, pareti verticali, dirupi, crepacci, diffuse vallate lunghe e profonde e per la loro importanza geologica e geomorfologi-ca. In particolare, questa combinazione si realizza nell'area delle Tre Cime di La-varedo, tra le province di Belluno e Bol-zano, in cui la prevalenza della dimen-sione verticale in combinazione con una varietà morfo-geometrica delle pareti viene espressa ai massimi livelli (Figura 1). Proprio le caratteristiche geometriche di tali complessi montuosi portano a rap-presentazioni cartografiche solo parziali o di bassa risoluzione, anche dovute ai classici rilievi di tipo nadirale. L'obiettivo del progetto Peaks-3D è proprio lo studio, l'identificazione, l'im-plementazione e la valutazione di pos-sibili soluzioni tecniche di rilievo 3D che possano superare i suddet...
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IGARSS 2003. 2003 IEEE International Geoscience and Remote Sensing Symposium. Proceedings (IEEE Cat. No.03CH37477), 2003
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Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering, 2009
The aim of this paper is to give an overview of WESNEP, an environmental wireless sensor network ... more The aim of this paper is to give an overview of WESNEP, an environmental wireless sensor network which is currently being developed at the University of Pavia in order to study alpine permafrost. After a brief introduction on environmental sensor networks and the definition of permafrost, the motivation of WESNEP project and the architecture of the network are described, finally the main benefits expected from the project are presented.
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Landslides, 2020
In this paper, a systematic procedure to assess the feasibility of Advanced Differential Interfer... more In this paper, a systematic procedure to assess the feasibility of Advanced Differential Interferometric SAR (A-DInSAR) technique for landslide monitoring using SAR images acquired by Sentinel-1 sensors is presented. The methodology is named “Assessment of the advanced differentiaL interferometric synthetic aperture radar technique Feasibility for large scale lAndslide monitoring – ALFA” and it is structured in two main phases, which includes pre-processing and post-processing elaborations. The methodology was developed and tested in the Alpine sector of the Piedmont region in Italy, which represents a landslide prone area. In particular, ALFA represents a methodology based on previous algorithms available in the literature to assess the a-prior feasibility assessment and post-processing analysis of A-DInSAR data for landslide, which introduces three novel aspects such as (1) a systematic scheme suitable within regional practices; (2) the use of Sentinel-1 data and the development of (3) an index to take into account of the kind of distribution of the measuring points along the landslide. The approach was applied over an area extended about 5300 km 2 affected by 5703 landslides mapped in the database of the Piedmont Region (Landslides information system in Piedmont—SIFRAP). Sentinel-1 images covering the period 2014–2018 were analysed. The results show the potential of the Sentinel-1 data for large-scale landslide monitoring. The developed methodology presents reliable tools that could be useful as feasibility for the use of Sentinel-1 data for landslide monitoring at regional and national scale.
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Proceedings of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences, 2020
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Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition, 2020
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Landslides, 2021
In November 2016, an extreme rainfall event affected the Ligurian Alps (NW Italy). Consequently, ... more In November 2016, an extreme rainfall event affected the Ligurian Alps (NW Italy). Consequently, several landslides and debris flows occurred in the upper Tanarello stream basin. In particular, the village of Monesi di Mendatica was severely damaged by two landslide phenomena: the activation of a rotational landslide, which caused the total collapse of two buildings and part of the main road, and the reactivation of a deep-seated planar massive and a complex landslide, which widely fractured most of the buildings in the village. The latter phenomenon was mostly unknown and had never been monitored prior to the 2016 event. Due to the extensive damage, the village of Monesi was completely evacuated, and the road connecting a ski resort area in the upper part of the valley was closed. Furthermore, a potentially dangerous situation related to the eventual progressive evolution of this landslide that could cause a temporary occlusion of the Tanarello stream still remains. For this reason...
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Science of The Total Environment, 2020
Deep-seated Gravitational Slope Deformations (DsGSDs) are huge ground-deformation slow evolving p... more Deep-seated Gravitational Slope Deformations (DsGSDs) are huge ground-deformation slow evolving phenomena, highly widespread in alpine territory. Their long-lasting evolution, with continuous deformation rate, may represents a natural hazard, able to endanger various anthropic structures and infrastructures. Until today, the development of technical and regulatory tools, aimed to effectively manage the interactions between DsGSDs and anthropic elements, has been generally lightly considered in risk management and land use planning. The definition of the type and severity of impacts on the anthropic elements, becomes increasingly important in terms of urban planning and risk management, and deserve an update in the current adopted procedures. Focusing on the Western Italian Alps, we implemented an interdisciplinary analysis, based on multi-source data, by means of geoinformatics, remote sensing and archive consultation approaches. Intersecting DsGSDs available information with the urbanized territory in a Geographic Information System environment, we obtained, despite the high data heterogeneity, an overall framework of the existing interactions. Specifically, we defined the interactions between these large phenomena and buildings, roads and rail networks, and linear infrastructures, as penstocks, waterworks or dams, also highlighing the state of activity of the inventoried phenomena. Moreover, we analysed the degree of the DsGSD impacts on the anthropic elements, detecting and classifying all the documented damages within the Italian Western Alps territory. The obtained results highlight the need for an innovative approach in DsGSDs risk assessment, both in terms of the definition of their behavior over time and of their impacts on the anthropic elements, for a more effective land use planning and a proper handling of these phenomena in the legislation framework.
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Color polymorphism is genetically controlled and the process generating and maintaining morphs ca... more Color polymorphism is genetically controlled and the process generating and maintaining morphs can affect speciation and/or extinction rates. Competition and aggression among morphs can contribute to polymorphism maintenance and color badges are useful signals in intraspecific communication, because they convey information about alternative strategies and avoid unnecessary conflicts. This could lead to an uneven spatial distribution of morphs in a population, because the local frequency of each morph establishes the intensity of the competition in that neighborhood, and then the fitness of each male. We used a polymorphic lizard, Podarcis muralis, to assess if aggression varies among morphs under two contrasting hypotheses: a heteromorphic vs. a homomorphic aggression. We used laboratory mirror tests after lizard color manipulation and we verified the results consistency with the analysis of the spatial distribution of morphs in a wild population. Both the experiments confirmed that...
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Proceedings of the International Association of Hydrological Sciences, Apr 22, 2020
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ISPRS Journal of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, 2018
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Papers by Francesco Zucca