Tools for Semi-automated Landform Classification: A Comparison in the Basilicata Region (Southern Italy)

Recent advances in spatial methods of digital elevation model (DEMs) analysis have addressed many research topics on the assessment of morphometric parameters of the landscape. Development of computer algorithms for calculating the geomorphometric properties of the Earth’s surface has allowed for expanding of some methods in the semi-automatic recognition and classification of landscape features. In such a way, several papers have been produced, documenting the applicability of the landform classification based on map algebra. The Topographic Position Index (TPI) is one of the most widely used parameters for semi-automated landform classification using GIS software. The aim was to apply the TPI classes for landform classification in the Basilicata Region (Southern Italy). The Basilicata Region is characterized by an extremely heterogeneous landscape and geological features. The automated landform extraction, starting from two different resolution DEMs at 20 and 5 m-grids, has been carried out by using three different GIS software: Arcview, Arcmap, and SAGA. Comparison of the landform maps resulting from each software at a different scale has been realized, furnishing at the end the best landform map and consequently a discussion over which is the best software implementation of the TPI method

Comparison of Different Methods of Automated Landform Classification at the Drainage Basin Scale: Examples from the Southern Italy

In this work, we tested the reliability of two different methods of automated landform classification (ACL) in three geological domains of the southern Italian chain with contrasting morphological features. ACL maps deriving from the TPI-based (topographic position index) algorithm are strictly dependent to the search input parameters and they are not able to fully capture landforms of different size. Geomorphons-based classification has shown a higher potential and can represent a powerful method of ACL, although it should be improved with the introduction of additional DEM-based parameters for the extraction of landform classe

A Geological Itinerary Through the Southern Apennine Thrust-Belt (Basilicata—Southern Italy)

Open access via Springer Compact AgreementPeer reviewedPublisher PD

Deep-Seated Gravitational Slope Deformation in Urban Areas Matching Field and in-SAR Interferometry Surveys: The Case Study of the Episcopia Village, Southern Italy

A limited sector of the left side Sinni River, including Episcopia village, has been investigated matching geological and geomorphological data to In-SAR Interferometry analysis. A large Deep-Seated Gravitational Slopes (DSGSD), affecting the Episcopia slope, has been documented for the first time. The DSGSD largely develops within phyllites belonging to the Liguride Units and, in the upper portion of the slope, within the sandy and conglomerate deposits of the Sant’Arcangelo Basin. Field survey has shown typical DSGSD features as well as trenches at the top and an evident bulge at the base corresponding to the Sinni River. These data allow us to hypothesize a listric geometry of the DSGSD plane reaching a depth of about 700 m