Evaluating the improvements of the BOLAM model of the ISPRA Sistema Idro-Meteo-Mare on the December 2008 flood event in Rome

The Sistema Idro-Meteo-Mare is an integrated meteo-marine forecasting chain for the Mediterranean basin. The recent update of the meteorological segment, based on the hydrostatic BOlogna Limited Area Model (BOLAM), gives the opportunity for a comparative verification study on a Mediterranean cyclone. The 10–12 December 2008 flood event in Rome has been chosen as case study. This disastrous event was claimed to be an extreme one by mass-media; however, its return time is shown here to be about 5 years. The Mediterranean cyclone responsible for the flood offers a tough case study in order to verify the model's ability in reproducing the evolution of meso-synoptic features in the Mediterranean environment. A qualitative comparison, employing satellite data and derived products, is performed. Results suggest that the upgraded model provides a more realistic representation of the cyclone warm sector – where the main rainfall peak took place – whereas the error in the cyclone trajectory and shape evolution is less affected by the BOLAM improvement

A hierarchical multi-scale framework and indicators of hydromorphological processes and forms

Background and Introduction to Deliverable 2.1. Work Package 2 of REFORM focuses on hydromorphological and ecological processes and interactions within river systems with a particular emphasis on naturally functioning systems. It provides a context for research on the impacts of hydromorphological changes in Work Package 3 and for assessments of the effects of river restoration in Work Package 4. Deliverable 2.1 of Work Package 2 proposes a hierarchical framework to support river managers in exploring the causes of hydromorphological management problems and devising sustainable solutions. The deliverable has four parts. Part 1 (this volume) provides a full description of the hierarchical framework and describes ways in which each element of it can be applied to European rivers and their catchments. Part 2 includes thematic annexes which provide more detailed information on some specific aspects of the framework described in Part 1. Part 3 includes catchment case studies which present the application of the entire framework described in Part 1 to a set of European catchments located in different biogeographical zones. Part 4 includes catchment case studies which present a partial application of the framework described in Part 1 to a further set of European catchments.European Commission within the 7th Framework Programme (2007 – 2013

A multi-scale hierarchical framework for developing understanding of river behaviour to support river management

The work leading to this paper was funded through the European Union’s FP7 programme under Grant Agreement No. 282656 (REFORM). The framework methodology was developed within the context of Deliverable D2.1 of the REFORM programme, and all partners who contributed to the development of the four parts of this deliverable are included in the author list of this paper. More details on the REFORM framework can be obtained from part 1 of Deliverable D2.1 (Gurnell et al. 2014), which is downloadable from http://​www.​reformrivers.​eu/​results/​deliverables

Classification of river morphology and hydrology to support management and restoration

The work leading to this paper has received funding from the European Union’s FP7 programme under Grant Agreement No. 282656 (REFORM

Advancing river monitoring using image-based techniques: Challenges and opportunities

Enhanced and effective hydrological monitoring plays a crucial role in understanding water-related processes in a rapidly changing world. Within this context, image-based river monitoring has shown to significantly enhance data collection, improve analysis and accuracy, and support effective and timely decision-making. The integration of remote and proximal sensing technologies, with citizen science, and artificial intelligence may revolutionize monitoring practices. Therefore, it is crucial to quantify the quality of current research and ongoing initiatives to envision the potential trajectories for research activities within this specific field. The evolution of monitoring strategies is progressing in multiple directions that should converge to build critical mass around relevant challenges to meet the need for innovative solutions to overcome limitations of traditional approaches. The present study reviews showcases and good practices of enhanced hydrological monitoring in different applications, reflecting the strengths and limitations of new approaches

Guidance on Environmental Flows - Integrating E-flow Science with Fluvial Geomorphology to Maintain Ecosystem Services

Fluvial systems provide a wide range of necessary services for human society to thrive on. These are the so-called ecosystem services: food, drinking water, natural flood mitigation, energy and so forth. Such services are linked to an appropriate level of functionality of fluvial processes, which can be accounted for in terms of ecological objectives. These ecological objectives in watercourses can be reached only if appropriate flow and sediment regimes and related quality of channel morphology are guaranteed. The establishment and maintenance of such flow regimes, namely environmental flows (e-flows), is therefore an essential element in preserving riverine ecosystems and the services they provide, and should be included as a constraint in water resource assessment and in national legislative frameworks. It is well established that e-flows refer to the typical seasonal and interannual variability of the natural flow regime, and not only to the minimum amount of water (low flows) to be maintained in a river. In addition to this pure hydrological assessment of natural flow variability, there is also the necessity to link e-flow definition to the related hydromorphological processes and local ecological objectives of a river. This guidance therefore presents a methodology (based on knowledge and literature on river system processes) to consider hydrological and morphological aspects in defining e-flows for environmental river management. The report has been produced within the context of an agreement between the WMO Commission for Hydrology and the Italian National Institute for Environmental Protection and Research (ISPRA), to cooperate in the implementation of activities related to managing river flows and maintaining services offered to human society and ecosystems. The research can be contextualized inside the implementation of the WMO Hydrology and Water Resources programme