6 ECTS Padua Year 1 Semester 2 Compulsory Environmental sciences
Content
Basics of geomorphology
Hillslope processes
Fluvial processes
Cryosphere-related processes
Droughts
Soil erosion
Definition of hazards, vulnerability and risk
Risk mitigation strategies
Principles for water management
Sediment management at the watershed scale
Wood management in channels draining forested catchments
Learning outcomes
The course aims at giving students the understanding of how essential is to manage water resources and sediments at the watershed scale, under a multi-objective perspective.
These objectives include risk mitigation, nature conservation and restoration, energy and agricultural production, and often conflicts as well as synergies emerge in a variety of combinations depending on each specific catchment.
Students will first learn about the different natural hazards related to hydrological and geomorphological dynamics, including soil erosion, drought, mass movements, floods, snow avalanches, as well as glacial and periglacial processes. The concept of risk will be analysed in depth, and to this aim the comprehension of the different sources of physical and social vulnerability will be essential.
Risk mitigation strategies will be then discussed critically, also in the light of the ongoing climate change.
In the last part of the course the focus will move to general issues arising in the management of water and sediments, including the evaluation of ecological flows and countermeasures against reservoir sedimentation and consequent erosion problems downstream.
Teaching and learning methods
– Lectures by the teacher
– Flipped class following group work
– Field trips
– Discussions following on-line videos watched in class
Type of assessment
- Individual
- Written exam
Written exam: 3 open questions to be answered in 2 hours.
Assessment criteria: correctness, clarity and completeness of the answers.
Institution(s)
- Location: Padua
- ECTS granting: University of Padua
- Organisation: University of Padua
Webpage(s)
Coordinator(s)
Francesco Comiti
