A database on flash flood events in Campania, southern Italy, with an evaluation of their spatial and temporal distribution

Abstract. This study presents an historical database of flash flood events in the Campania region of southern Italy. The study focuses on small catchments characterized by intermittent flow, generally occurring during and after heavy rainstorms, which can be hydrologically defined as small Mediterranean catchments. As the outlet zones of these catchments (consisting mainly of alluvial fans or fan deltas) are highly urbanized in Campania, the population living in the delivery areas is exposed to high risk. Detailed scrutiny and critical analysis of the existing literature, and of the data inventory available, allowed us to build a robust database consisting of about 500 events from 1540 to 2015, which is continuously updated. Since this study is the first step of a longer project to perform a hazard analysis, information about time and site of occurrence is known for all events. As for the hazard analysis envisaged, collecting information about past events could provide information on future events, in terms of damage and also spatial and temporal occurrence. After introducing the issue of flash floods in Italy we then describe the geological and geomorphological settings of the study area. The database is then presented, illustrating the methodology used in collecting information and its general structure. The collected data are then discussed and the statistical data analysis presented

Flash Flood Susceptibility Evaluation in Human-Affected Areas Using Geomorphological Methods—The Case of 9 August 2020, Euboea, Greece. A GIS-Based Approach.

Flash floods occur almost exclusively in small basins, and they are common in small Mediterranean catchments. They pose one of the most common natural disasters, as well as one of the most devastating. Such was the case of the recent flood in Euboea island, in Greece, in August 2020. A field survey was accomplished after the 2020 flash floods in order to record the main impacts of the event and identify the geomorphological and man-made causes. The flash flood susceptibility in the urbanized alluvial fans was further assessed using a Geographic Information System (GIS)-based approach. Our findings suggest that a large portion of the alluvial fans of Politika, Poros and Mantania streams are mainly characterized by high and very high hazard. In fact, ~27% of the alluvial fans of Politika and Poros streams are characterized with very high susceptibility, and ~54% of Psachna area. GIS results have been confirmed by field observations after the 2020 flash flood, with significant damages noted, such as debris flows and infrastructure damages, in buildings, bridges and the road networks. In addition, even though the adopted approach may be more time-consuming in comparison to purely computational methods, it has the potential of being more accurate as it combines field observations and the effect of past flooding events

Synergistic Effects of Active Sites' Nature and Hydrophilicity on Oxygen Reduction Reaction Activity of Pt-Free Catalysts

This work highlights the importance of the hydrophilicity of a catalyst’s active sites on an oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) through an electrochemical and physico-chemical study on catalysts based on nitrogen-modified carbon doped with different metals (Fe, Cu, and a mixture of them). BET, X-ray Powder Diffraction (XRPD), micro-Raman, X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM), and hydrophilicity measurements were performed. All synthesized catalysts are characterized not only by a porous structure, with the porosity distribution centered in the mesoporosity range, but also by the presence of carbon nanostructures. In iron-doped materials, these nanostructures are bamboo-like structures typical of nitrogen carbon nanotubes, which are better organized, in a larger amount, and longer than those in the copper-doped material. Electrochemical ORR results highlight that the presence of iron and nitrogen carbon nanotubes is beneficial to the electroactivity of these materials, but also that the hydrophilicity of the active site is an important parameter affecting electrocatalytic properties. The most active material contains a mixture of Fe and Cu

Geomorphology of Naples and the Campi Flegrei: human and natural landscapes in a restless land

Naples and its surroundings are a very young landscape, originated from 40 ka in response to strong and explosive volcanic processes, which created the Campi Flegrei, one of the largest volcanic fields of the world. Despite the repeated and continuous volcanic activity, this territory was selected for human settlements since Neolithic times and hosted some of the most important Greek and Roman towns in the Mediterranean area (e.g., Cuma, Parthenope, Neapolis, Baia and Puteoli). Geoarcheological data and historical chronicles testify to human coexistence with eruptions, bradyseismic ground motions, coastline changes, floods and landslides. With the aim of describing the geomorphological evolution of this area to a wide audience, including also non-experts, we constructed a synthetic geomorphological map of the area and sketches that synthesise the main stages of the geomorphological evolution of the historical centre of Naples and the coastal belt of the Gulf of Pozzuoli during the last millennia

Genesi, evoluzione e paleografia delle grotte costiere di marina di Camerota (parco nazionale del Cilento Vallo Di Diano, Italia Meridionale)

ItLa costa tra Marina di Camerota e P.to Infreschi (SA) presenta numerose grotte, già note per il loro valore preistorico. E’ stato condotto uno studio geomorfologico e stratigrafico, per delucidare la loro genesi ed evoluzione. Sono stati individuati 4 tipi di cavità: grotte sviluppate in depositi marini o continentali, grotte in substrato calcareo impostate su faglia o frattura, grotte associate all’emergenza di una falda in rete e relitti di cavità crollate. All’interno delle cavità sono stati riconosciuti diversi stazionamenti del livello del mare. Le grotte studiate contengono il registro delle oscillazioni eustatiche e climatiche tardo pleistoceniche, oltre che importanti tracce preistoriche. Esse possono dunque essere considerate geositi di rilevanza nazionale e come tali devono essere preservate e valorizzate in maniera adeguata.EnThe coastline between Marina di Camerota and the bay of Porto Infreschi (Province of Salerno) is characterized by several caves, known above all for their prehistoric records. We carried out a detailed study of these caves in order to better understand their genesis and evolution in function of the main middle and late Pleistocene eustatic sea level fluctuations.Along the coastal sector four different kind of cave have been identified. The first one includes caves developed into Pleistocene marine conglomerates or into slope breccias, located at altitude higher than the present see level and which are associated with ancient see level. The second one contains fault-guided or joint-guided caves developed into carbonate bedrock; some are active and some other are fossil. The third kind includes phreatic caves cut into carbonate bedrock. Generally, they are present in group and developed along front line(for example, the case of the bay of Porto Infreschi). The last one is represented by the remains of collapsed caves; which are visible for the presence of marine deposits, speleothems and remains of alluvial fan along the sea cliff (i. e. the case of the Riparo degli Infreschi cave). Into the caves the traces of at least three different high stands located at altitude of 8.5-8, 4.5, 3.5 m a.s.l. which can be referred to the Last Interglacial period have been observed (ESPOSITO et al., 2002). Moreover in the Porto Infreschi caves are clearly recorded moments of speleothems formations between the different phases of marine ingression.During the low stands of the isotopic stages 4 and 3 the most of the caves were abandoned by the sea and they became a safe refuge for the prehistoric man. The richness of their stratigraphical record, from a paleoclimatical and archaeological point of view, in addition to their prehistoric importance, allow many of these caves to be considered as important "geosites"

Red Listing plants under full national responsibility: Extinction risk and threats in the vascular flora endemic to Italy

Taxa endemic to a country are key elements for setting national conservation priorities and for driving conservation strategies, since their persistence is entirely dependent on national policy. We applied the IUCN Red List categories to all Italian endemic vascular plants (1340 taxa) to assess their current risk of extinction and to highlight their major threats. Our results revealed that six taxa are already extinct and that 22.4% (300 taxa) are threatened with extinction, while 18.4% (247; especially belonging to apomictic groups) have been categorized as Data Deficient. Italian endemic vascular plants are primarily threatened by natural habitat modification due to agriculture, residential and tourism development. Taxa occurring in coastal areas and lowlands, where anthropogenic impacts and habitat destruction are concentrated, display the greatest population decline and extinction. The national network of protected areas could be considered effective in protecting endemic-rich areas (ERAs) and endemic taxa, but ineffective in protecting narrow endemic-rich areas (NERAs), accordingly changes to the existing network may increase the effectiveness of protection. For the first time in the Mediterranean Basin biodiversity hotspot, we present a comprehensive extinction assessment for endemic plants under the full responsibility of a single country. This would provide an important step towards the prioritization and conservation of threatened endemic flora at Italian, European, and Mediterranean level. A successful conservation strategy of the Italian endemic vascular flora should implement the protected area system, solve some taxonomical criticism in poorly known genera, and should rely on monitoring threatened species, and on developing species-specific action plans

Practice patterns and 90-day treatment-related morbidity in early-stage cervical cancer

To evaluate the impact of the Laparoscopic Approach to Cervical Cancer (LACC) Trial on patterns of care and surgery-related morbidity in early-stage cervical cancer