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Abstract

Our study aims at evaluating the sediment dynamics of a geomorphologically highly active area in the Northern Apennines, Italy. The study area is located in the upper Val d’Arda, which is a highly anthropized catchment. The widespread presence of weak clayey sedimentary formations makes this area quite susceptible to land degradation, soil erosion and mass movements. In particular, the study area coincides with the catchment upstream of the Mignano reservoir. The reservoir is highly affected by siltation due to the presence of various active sediment sources and related sediment transfers. We extensively mapped the geomorphic processes to produce an inventory map of sediment-related processes and landforms and to properly characterize complex and polygenic geomorphic systems. Moreover, we assessed the potential sediment pathways with a morphometric connectivity approach to investigate the potential contribution of different sediment sources. In this contribution we show the preliminary results regarding the integrated catchment response estimating the volumes of sediments deposited within the reservoir by means of bathymetry-time-series analysis. The results allow for a preliminary evaluation of sediment dynamics in the upper Val d’Arda catchment in terms of triggering climatic and/or seismic events.