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Accurate estimations of actual crop evapotranspiration are of utmost importance to evaluate crop water requirements and to optimize water use efficiency. At this aim, coupling simple agro-hydrological models, such as the well-known FAO-56 model, with remote observations of the land surface could represent an easy-to-use tool to identify biophysical parameters of vegetation, such as the crop coefficient Kc under the actual field conditions and to estimate actual crop evapotranspiration. This paper intends, therefore, to propose an operational procedure to evaluate the spatio-temporal variability of Kc in a citrus orchard characterized by the sporadic presence of ground weeds, based on micro-meteorological measurements collected on-ground and vegetation indices (VIs) retrieved by the Sentinel-2 sensors. A non-linear Kc(VIs) relationship was identified after assuming that the sum of two VIs, such as the normalized difference vegetation index, NDVI, and the normalized difference water index, NDWI, is suitable to represent the spatio-temporal dynamics of the investigated environment, characterized by sparse vegetation and the sporadic presence of spontaneous but transpiring soil weeds, typical of winter seasons and/or periods following events wetting the soil surface. The Kc values obtained in each cell of the Sentinel-2 grid (10 m) were then used as input of the spatially distributed FAO-56 model to estimate the variability of actual evapotranspiration (ETa) and the other terms of water balance. The performance of the proposed procedure was finally evaluated by comparing the estimated average soil water content and actual crop evapotranspiration with the corresponding ones measured on-ground. The application of the FAO-56 model indicated that the estimated ETa were characterized by root-mean-square-error, RMSE, and mean bias-error, MBE, of 0.48 and -0.13 mm d−1 respectively, while the estimated soil water contents, SWC, were characterized by RMSE equal to 0.01 cm3 cm−3 and the absence of bias, then confirming that the suggested procedure can produce highly accurate results in terms of dynamics of soil water content and actual crop evapotranspiration under the investigated field conditions. more...

The opportunity of using wave energy converter arrays in a hot spot area of the Mediterranean sea was investigated. For this purpose, numerical simulations of wave energy converters together with a simple cost-effective analysis were carried out. The selected study area is one of the most energetic inside the Sicilian channel (Italy). The numerical simulations were performed using the SNL-SWAN (“Sandia National Laboratories – Simulating WAves Nearshore”) spectral model with an unstructured mesh. The power absorbed from thirteen Wave Energy Converter (WEC) devices was computed. In particular, Pelamis, Wave Dragon, Oyster 2, Wavestar, B-HBA, B-OF, Bref-HB, Bref-SHB, F–2HB, F–3OF, F-HBA and F-OWC were investigated. Hydrodynamic stationary simulations of a WEC array parallel to the coastline were carried out in order to choose the best devices for a non-stationary simulation. The devices selected for this simulation are Pelamis, Wave Dragon, Oyster 2, F–2HB, and Bref-HB. The non-stationary simulation was forced with thirty-nine years wave parameters reanalysis from ERA5 by ECMWF (European Centre for Medium-range Weather Forecasts). This simulation has allowed to obtain the capacity factor (CF) and the dissipative effects in the period from 1979 to 2018. Moreover, a preliminary cost-to-benefit analysis was carried out for the best performance WEC array only. Costs, revenues, LCoE (Levelized Cost of Energy), and payback period were therefore computed by means of economic assumptions. The high energy concentration near the coast produces hydrodynamic effects which have as a consequence potential erosion phenomena. A shoreline change analysis of three beaches of the studied coast was carried out. Such an analysis was focused on shoreline retreatment during the last thirty years. On the basis of the presented results, there is a slight economic advantage in installing a Wave Dragon scaled array with the added value of potentially giving beneficial effects on coastal erosion. Nevertheless, from a strictly economic point of view, other renewable resources could give better results (e.g. wind energy). The adopted methodology gives encouraging results that confirm the opportunity to deploy WEC devices in the Sicilian Channel together with devices exploiting other renewable resources. more...

In recent decades, coastal erosion phenomena have increased due to climate change. The increased frequency and intensity of extreme events and the poor sediment supply by anthropized river basins (dams, river weirs, culverts, etc.) have a crucial role in coastal erosion. Therefore, an integrated analysis of coastal erosion is crucial to produce detailed and accurate coastal erosion vulnerability information to support mitigation strategies. This research aimed to assess the erosion vulnerability of the Sicilian coast, also including a validation procedure of the obtained scenario. The coastal vulnerability was computed by means of the CeVI (Coastal Erosion Vulnerability Index) approach, which considers physical indicators such as geomorphology and geology, coastal slope, sea storms, wave maxima energy flux and sediment supply to river mouths. Each indicator was quantified using indexes which were assessed considering transects orthogonal to the coastline in 2020. These transects were clustered inside natural compartments called littoral cells. Each cell was assumed to contain a complete cycle of sedimentation and not to have sediment exchange with the near cells. Physical parameters were identified to define a new erosion vulnerability index for the Sicilian coast. By using physical indexes (geological/geomorphological, erosion/sediment supply, sea storms, etc.), the CeVI was calculated both for each littoral cell and for the transects that fall into retreating/advancing coastal areas. The vulnerability index was then validated by comparing CeVI values and the coastline change over time. The validation study showed a direct link between the coastline retreat and high values of CeVI. The proposed method allowed for a detailed mapping of the Sicilian coastal vulnerability, and it will be useful for coastal erosion risk management purposes. more...

Monitoring the state of the sea is a fundamental task for economic activities in the coastal zone, such as transport, tourism and infrastructure design. In recent years, regular wave height monitoring for marine risk assessment and mitigation has become unavoidable as global warming impacts in more intense and frequent swells.In particular, the Mediterranean Sea has been considered as one of the most responsive regions to global warming, which may promote the intensification of hazardous natural phenomena as strong winds, heavy precipitation and high sea waves. Because of the high density population along the Mediterranean coastlines, heavy swells could have major socio-economic consequences. To reduce the impacts of such scenarios, the development of more advanced monitoring systems of the sea state becomes necessary.In the last decade, it has been demonstrated how seismometers can be used to measure sea conditions by exploiting the characteristics of a part of the seismic signal called microseism. Microseism is the continuous seismic signal recorded in the frequency band of 0.05 and 0.4 Hz that is likely generated by interactions of sea waves together and with seafloor or shorelines.In this work, in the framework of i-WaveNET INTERREG project, we performed a regression analysis to develop a model capable of predicting the sea state in the Sicily Channel (Italy) using microseism, acquired by onshore instruments installed in Sicily and Malta. Considering the complexity of the relationship between spatial sea wave height data and seismic data measured at individual stations, we used supervised machine learning (ML) techniques to develop the prediction model. As input data we used the hourly Root Mean Squared (RMS) amplitude of the seismic signal recorded by 14 broadband stations, along the three components, and in different frequency bands, during 2018 - 2021. These stations, belonging to the permanent seismic networks managed by the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology INGV and the Department of Geosciences of the University of Malta, consist of three-component broadband seismometers that record at a sampling frequency of 100 Hz.As for the target, the significant sea wave height data from Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) for the same period were used. Such data is the hindcast product of the Mediterranean Sea Waves forecasting system, with hourly temporal resolution and 1/24° spatial resolution. After a feature selection step, we compared three different kinds of ML algorithms for regression: K-Nearest-Neighbors (KNN), Random Forest (RF) and Light Gradient Boosting (LGB). The hyperparameters were tuned by using a grid-search algorithm, and the best models were selected by cross-validation. Different metrics, such as MAE, R2 and RMSE, were considered to evaluate the generalization capabilities of the models and special attention was paid to evaluate the predictive ability of the models for extreme wave height values.Results show model predictive capabilities good enough to develop a sea monitoring system to complement the systems currently in use. more...

Technological advances over last decades gave an innovative impulse to the development of new streamflow measurements techniques, especially regarding remote flow monitoring methods that allow for non-intrusive measurements. The most widely used image-based techniques are the optical ones, such as Large-Scale Particle Image Velocimetry (LS-PIV) and Large-Scale Particle Tracking Velocimetry (LS-PTV). The dynamic movement of tracers floating on the water surface of a river is recorded, and the resulting videos are processed by applying a statistical cross-correlation analysis to detect the most probable frame-by-frame displacement, finally deriving the surface velocity field. To obtain river discharge, it is necessary to couple the geometry of a river cross-section with the assessed surface velocity field, adopting simplified assumptions on the vertical velocity profiles. The accuracy of these techniques depends on several factors, such as the processing models set-up, the tracer density and distribution, the video-length, and many other aspects related to environmental and hydraulic conditions. The aim of this work is the identification of an automatic methodology aimed to select an optimal video sub-sequence over the entire recorded video in order to optimize the performance of software based on LS-PIV technique. For this purpose, the results of multiple field campaigns on two Sicilian rivers (Italy), i.e., Oreto and Platani rivers, are exploited. Results are shown in terms of error in the estimation of the surface velocity profile along a specific transect, comparing velocity values assessed by the LS-PIV technique and by an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP). more...

Technological advances over last decades gave an innovative impulse to development of new streamflow measurements techniques, making possible to implement remote flow monitoring methods that allow for non-intrusive measurements. Here, we focus on image-based techniques that involve the use of digital camera, either installed on a bridge or equipped by a drone (UAVs – Unmanned Aerial Vehicles). The most widely known and used optical techniques are the Large-Scale Particle Image Velocimetry and the Large-Scale Particle Tracking Velocimetry. Optical techniques are based on four main steps: (i) seeding and recording, (ii) images pre-processing, (iii) images processing, and (iv) images post-processing. Tracer, naturally present on the water surface or artificially introduced, is assumed to move jointly with the surface liquid particles. Tracer dynamic is recorded and the resulting videos are processed by specific software, applying a statistical cross-correlation analysis to detect the most probable frame-by-frame tracer displacements. To obtain river discharge, it is then necessary to combine the geometry of the river cross-section with the assessed surface velocity field, often adopting simplified assumptions about the vertical velocity profiles.The accuracy of these techniques depends on several factors, such as the size of the interrogation area, the seeding density, the video length, and many other aspects related to environmental and hydraulic conditions, that are less investigated in the scientific literature. The aim of this work is to exploit the results of an extensive field measurement campaign on several Sicilian rivers (Italy) to infer useful insights for the parametric setting of the two most popular open-source processing LS-PIV software (i.e, PIVlab and FUDAA-LSPIV). The field campaign includes discharge measures carried out at different sites, taking into account different roughness conditions and cross-sections, and, for each site, in different seasons, accounting then for different environmental and hydraulic conditions. Topographical surveys were preliminary performed on each site to obtain detailed DEMs, which are used in the pre-processing phase for image stabilization and orthorectification. Video sequences were acquired from both bridge and drone, using wood chips as tracer. Benchmark measures were also retrieved by ADCP. more...

Valorisation and sustainable exploitation of woody biomass from cultivation interventions might be an important opportunity to track alternative development trails for rural communities in natural protected areas. The governance of Mediterranean protected areas is characterized by overlapping, sometimes conflicting institutions, stakeholders and regulations, causing negative impacts on decision-making processes. We present an open source GIS-based decision support system tool for mapping forest accessibility and optimizing woody biomass extraction. Two models were implemented to support forest managers during the decision-making process in designing and managing wood-energy supply chains. The optimal grid resolution to run the models was determined via a Least Cost Path analysis. The models were executed at different scales, performing satisfactorily when distances between recorded and modelled paths were lower than the grid unit. The higher the scale, the more the percentile of distances lower than the grid unit. The models were validated in Madonie mountains, Sicily, Italy. more...

Tsunamis are among the most dangerous natural disasters for coastal areas experiencing tsunami hazard. One of the major concerns in the assessment of strategies for the risk mitigation is to estimate vulnerability of structures and infrastructures. However, reliable approaches for the evaluation of the structural capacity under tsunami loads are nowadays not always available for all the types of structures, especially masonry. On this aim, the paper deals with the modeling issues of 3D masonry structures subjected to tsunami loads and the effect on the structural behavior of different modeling approaches. First, a brief state of the art on the available studies is presented regarding the evaluation of tsunami forces on buildings and the studies carried out on the determination of structural capacity. Then, an advanced structural analysis software based on the Finite Element Method (FEM) is used to analyze the influence of parameters such as load type, masonry type and interaction properties type. Finally, an application on a typical two-storey masonry structure subjected to tsunami load according to the actual codes is presented and discussed, providing recommendations on the assumptions to be made for the definition of a reliable numerical model. The findings of the numerical simulations revealed that the structural response is strongly influenced by the modeling approach defined for the masonry walls in terms of interaction properties and the type of connection between orthogonal walls. Moreover, it was observed that, as for the case of seismic analysis, when local behavior governs the failure, lower structural capacity is obtained, while in the case of global behavior governing the failure, higher structural performances are provided. more...

Soil moisture (SM) is an essential element in the hydrological cycle influencing land-atmosphere interactions and rainfall-runoff processes. Quantification of the spatial and temporal behaviour of SM at field scale is vital for understanding water availability in agriculture, ecosystems research, river basin hydrology and water resources management. Uncrewed Arial Systems (UAS) offer an extraordinary opportunity to bridge the existing gap between point-scale field observations and satellite remote sensing providing high spatial details at relatively low costs. Moreover, UAS data can help the construction of downscaling models which can link the land surface features and SM to identify the importance level of each predictor. To optimize the usage of data from UAS surveys for generating high-resolution SM at field scale, a comparative study of various SM retrieval or downscaling methods can be beneficial.In this study, four methods, which include the apparent thermal inertia method, Kubelka–Munk method (KM), simplified temperature-vegetation triangle method, and random forest model (RF), were compared by theory background, data requirements, operation procedures and SM estimation results. The above-mentioned models have been tested using UAS data and point measurements collected on the Monteforte Cilento site (MFC2) in the Alento river basin (Campania, Italy) which is an 8 hectares cropland area (covered by walnuts, cherry, and olive trees). A number of long-term studies on the vadose zone have been conducted across a range of spatial scales. The thermal inertia model is built upon the dependence of the thermal diffusion on SM, which were inferred from diachronic thermal infrared data. The Kubelka–Munk Model is a spectral model to retrieve surface SM using optical data. The simplified temperature–vegetation triangle model, was used to map surface SM based on simultaneous information of the vegetation coverage and surface temperature. In addition, we also introduce an SM downscaling method using the RF model and SENTINEL-1 CSAR 1km SM product.The study is concluded with the inter-comparison of methods. The results from KM have the highest resolution which is the same as the input multispectral data. The results of RF and KM provides information only for bare soil pixels according to the principle of the model. Results show good performances for all methods, but the simplified triangle and thermal inertia model provides better performances in terms of correlation coefficient and RMSE measured with respect to in-situ measurements. In addition, it is worthy to say that the RF downscaling method reveals the features controlling the spatial distributions of SM at a different scale.This research is a part of EU COST-Action “HARMONIOUS” and waterJPI project “iAqueduct”. more...

To study on a regional basis, the relation between fluvial sediment delivery and coastal erosion, the historical record of coastline migration of Sicily was analyzed with respect to the estimated sediment delivery to the coast obtained from the spatially distributed sediment delivery WaTEM/SEDEM model. The latter was directly acquired from the ESDAC database as a 25 m pixel layers, being based on the combination between the RUSLE model and a transport capacity routing algorithm.At the same time, the coastline-evolution (accretion/retreatment) data for 1960/1994 and 1994/2012 intervals were processed. This dataset, provided by ISPRA (Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research), is made by vectorial polygons, corresponding to erosion or accretion areas obtained by the intersection between two coastlines. The dataset contains polygons related to the 1960-1994 and 1994-2012 periods.Once a common baseline was extracted from 2019 satellite images, 22 Physiographic Units (PU) were identified. The PU was defined based on geomorphologic criteria and by assuming a null net sediment budget (null sediment transport between two PU neighboring). Each coastal PU was connected to its contributing fluvial basins, also assigning the expected sediment delivery at the coastline.To perform the analysis, cross profiles along the coastline were generated and intersected with the polygons, calculating a response value, in terms of retreatment or accretion, to each of the cross-profile centroids. Finally, for each PU, the cumulated variations were computed.PUs with significant cumulative variations (more than 2 km) in at least one of the two epochs were identified and three different patterns were detected: accretion/retreatment, retreatment/accretion, and retreatment/retreatment. The response observed for the different PUs was then analyzed considering estimated sediment delivery, recognizing coherent (large sediment delivery = accretion) and incoherent (large sediment delivery = retreatment) behaviors, which have been interpreted as controlled by the history of soil/coastal erosion management practices.In particular, in spite of a very high expected sediment delivery, more than three-quarters of the Tyrrhenian coast resulted as affected by a marked retreat in 60-94 (same tens of meters) and a moderate accretion in 94-12, as the result of extensive coastal works which have been realized to mitigate coastal erosion. more...

The Ionian sea is prone to tsunamis due to its proximity to the Calabrian subduction zone, which is one of the major tsunamigenic areas of the Mediterranean. The tsunami disaster risk is, nowadays, significantly higher due to the increased exposure of buildings as a result of the economic and touristic growth of the Mediterranean coastal areas. This study focuses on Marzamemi, a small village in the western coast of Sicily, since its morphology and human presence amplify the need to assess its buildings’ vulnerability. The main objective of this research is to quantify the building vulnerability to tsunami hazards using a physical and realistic tsunami scenario. For this purpose, the relative vulnerability index of the buildings in Marzamemi was calculated by means of an improved Papathoma Tsunami Vulnerability Assessment (PTVA) model. The presented approach has three main improvements: (a) a probabilistic tsunami scenario was used; (b) a realistic signal of water surface linked with a specific focal mechanism was adopted; (c) a tsunami wave was propagated from offshore to nearshore using a nonlinear numerical model. The good results of the proposed methodology make it very useful for coastal risk planning conducted by decision makers and stakeholders. more...

The Mediterranean Sea is a prominent climate-change hot spot, with many socioeconomically vital coastal areas being the most vulnerable targets for maritime safety, diverse met-ocean hazards and marine pollution. Providing an unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution at wide coastal areas, high-frequency radars (HFRs) have been steadily gaining recognition as an effective land-based remote sensing technology for continuous monitoring of the surface circulation, increasingly waves and occasionally winds. HFR measurements have boosted the thorough scientific knowledge of coastal processes, also fostering a broad range of applications, which has promoted their integration in coastal ocean observing systems worldwide, with more than half of the European sites located in the Mediterranean coastal areas. In this work, we present a review of existing HFR data multidisciplinary science-based applications in the Mediterranean Sea, primarily focused on meeting end-user and science-driven requirements, addressing regional challenges in three main topics: (i) maritime safety, (ii) extreme hazards and (iii) environmental transport process. Additionally, the HFR observing and monitoring regional capabilities in the Mediterranean coastal areas required to underpin the underlying science and the further development of applications are also analyzed. The outcome of this assessment has allowed us to provide a set of recommendations for future improvement prospects to maximize the contribution to extending science-based HFR products into societally relevant downstream services to support blue growth in the Mediterranean coastal areas, helping to meet the UN's Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and the EU's Green Deal goals., peer-reviewed more...

Due to the semi-enclosed nature of the Mediterranean Sea, natural disasters and anthropogenic activities impose stronger pressures on its coastal ecosystems than in any other sea of the world. With the aim of responding adequately to science priorities and societal challenges, littoral waters must be effectively monitored with high-frequency radar (HFR) systems. This land-based remote sensing technology can provide, in near-real time, fine-resolution maps of the surface circulation over broad coastal areas, along with reliable directional wave and wind information. The main goal of this work is to showcase the current status of the Mediterranean HFR network and the future roadmap for orchestrated actions. Ongoing collaborative efforts and recent progress of this regional alliance are not only described but also connected with other European initiatives and global frameworks, highlighting the advantages of this cost-effective instrument for the multi-parameter monitoring of the sea state. Coordinated endeavors between HFR operators from different multi-disciplinary institutions are mandatory to reach a mature stage at both national and regional levels, striving to do the following: (i) harmonize deployment and maintenance practices; (ii) standardize data, metadata, and quality control procedures; (iii) centralize data management, visualization, and access platforms; and (iv) develop practical applications of societal benefit that can be used for strategic planning and informed decision-making in the Mediterranean marine environment. Such fit-for-purpose applications can serve for search and rescue operations, safe vessel navigation, tracking of marine pollutants, the monitoring of extreme events, the investigation of transport processes, and the connectivity between offshore waters and coastal ecosystems. Finally, future prospects within the Mediterranean framework are discussed along with a wealth of socioeconomic, technical, and scientific challenges to be faced during the implementation of this integrated HFR regional network., This study has been partially developed in the framework of the Interreg MED Strategic Project SHAREMED, co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund under the funding program Interreg MED 2014–2020. Website: https://sharemed.interreg-med.eu/ (last access: 31 March 2022). We are also grateful for the partial support of the (i) the project PO FEAMP 2014/2020 (Misura 2.51) funded by Regione Campania (Italy), (ii) the 2017 PRIN project EMME (Exploring the fate of Mediterranean microplastic: from distribution pathways to biological effects) funded by the Italian Ministry for Research (grant agreement no. 2017WERYZP), and (iii) the CMEMS-INSTAC phase II, which provides the context of the activities for HFR data harmonization, standardization, and distribution. Collaborative discussion on data management harmonization at the European level has also been carried out thanks to the contribution of the projects INCREASE (CMEMS Service Evolution Call for Tenders 21-SE-CALL1) and SeaDataCloud (EU-H2020 GA no. 730960). more...

Shoreline evolution studies are fundamental to assess the rate of beach accretion or retreatment. In the last years, researchers developed many methods with several techniques belonging to different disciplines and backgrounds. Nowadays, the Shoreline Change Analysis (SCA) is the most widespread method to assess shoreline evolution. In fact, the SCA is needed to perform management strategies able to respond to current erosion or potential future erosion problems. This paper presents a new approach using an automatic method for SCA with accuracy and speed improvements. Indeed, in the framework of the management of coastal erosion and to develop an adaptation plan to coastal hazards it is necessary to study the links existing between coastal and marine morphological transformations. A new tool was written in Matlab, the input files were built using a GIS environment and the results were arranged in a GIS project. The present tool adopts two approaches: the Transect Based Analysis (TBA) and the Area Based Analysis (ABA). New roughness and irregularity indexes were defined to calculate the transects’ spacing. Moreover, a piecewise polynomial baseline was defined to improve accuracy in shoreline position assessment. The approaches TBA and ABA were validated both by synthetic benchmarks and by a study case. The adopted synthetic benchmarks represent very common types of beaches: with one or more salients, with cusps and groynes. The case study was a logarithmic spiral Mediterranean beach on the southwestern coast of Sicily. All the studied test cases provided good results in terms of accuracy and easiness of use. The new tool and methodology, with TBA and ABA coupling, encloses many practical aspects. Indeed, ABA allows the general assessment of advancing/retreating beach areas, whereas TBA is needed to study very short stretches of beach. The proposed SCA analysis is useful for the requirements of a complete coastal management plan and to evaluate erosion management options. Moreover, the SCA gives a sound technical understanding of the physical coastal processes and should engage the community, the stakeholders and the agencies responsible for development application decisions. The new approach gives high-quality results achieved with significant speediness making it suitable for regional studies and directly providing parameters needed for erosion managing strategies more...

The Mediterranean Sea is a prominent climate change hot spot, being their socio-economically vital coastal areas the most vulnerable targets for maritime safety, diverse met-ocean hazards and marine pollution. Providing an unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution at wide coastal areas, High-frequency radars (HFRs) have been steadily gaining recognition as an effective land-based remote sensing technology for a continuous monitoring of the surface circulation, increasingly waves and occasionally winds. HFR measurements have boosted the thorough scientific knowledge of coastal processes, also fostering a broad range of applications, which has promoted their integration in the Coastal Ocean Observing Systems worldwide, with more than half of the European sites located in the Mediterranean coastal areas. In this work, we present a review of existing HFR data multidisciplinary science-based applications in the Mediterranean Sea, primarily focused on meeting end-users and science-driven requirements, addressing regional challenges in three main topics: i) maritime safety; ii) extreme hazards; iii) environmental transport process. Additionally, the HFR observing and monitoring regional capabilities in the Mediterranean region required to underpin the underlying science and the further development of applications are also analyzed. The outcome of this assessment has allowed us to finally provide a set of recommendations for the future improvement prospects to maximize the contribution in extending the science-based HFR products into societal relevant downstream services to support the blue growth in the Mediterranean coastal areas, helping to meet the UN’s Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and the EU’s Green Deal goals. more...

Due to the semi-enclosed nature of the Mediterranean Sea, natural disasters and anthropogenic activities impose stronger pressures on its coastal ecosystems than in any other sea of the world. With the aim of responding adequately to science priorities and societal challenges, littoral waters must be effectively monitored with High-Frequency radar (HFR) systems. This land-based remote sensing technology can provide, in near real-time, fine-resolution maps of the surface circulation over broad coastal areas, along with reliable directional wave and wind information. The main goal of this work is to showcase the current status of the Mediterranean HFR network and the future roadmap for orchestrated actions. Ongoing collaborative efforts and recent progress of this regional alliance are not only described but also connected with other European initiatives and global frameworks, highlighting the advantages of this cost-effective instrument for the multi-parameter monitoring of the sea state. Coordinated endeavours between HFR operators from different multi-disciplinary institutions are mandatory to reach a mature stage at both national and regional levels, striving to: i) harmonize deployment and maintenance practices; ii) standardize data, metadata and quality control procedures; iii) centralize data management, visualization and access platforms; iv) develop practical applications of societal benefit, that can be used for strategic planning and informed decision-making in the Mediterranean marine environment. Such fit-for-purpose applications can serve for search and rescue operations, safe vessel navigation, tracking of marine pollutants, the monitoring of extreme events or the investigation of transport processes and the connectivity between offshore waters and coastal ecosystems. Finally, future prospects within the Mediterranean framework are discussed along with a wealth of socio-economic, technical and scientific challenges to be faced during the implementation of this integrated HFR regional network. more...

Spatial resolution is a key parameter in energy–water surface flux modelling. In this research, scale effects are analyzed on fluxes modelled with the FEST-EWB model, by upscaling both its inputs and outputs separately. The main questions are: (a) if high-resolution remote sensing images are necessary to accurately model a heterogeneous area; and (b) whether and to what extent low-resolution modelling provides worse/better results than the upscaled results of high-resolution modelling. The study area is an experimental vineyard field where proximal sensing images were obtained by an airborne platform and verification fluxes were measured via a flux tower. Modelled fluxes are in line with those from alternative energy-balance models, and quite accurate (NSE = 0.78) with respect to those measured in situ. Field-scale evapotranspiration has resulted in both the tested upscaling approaches (with relative error within ±30%), although fewer pixels available for low-resolution calibration may produce some differences. When working at low resolutions, the model has produced higher relative errors (20% on average), but is still within acceptable bounds. This means that the model can produce high-quality results, partially compensating for the loss in spatial heterogeneity associated with low-resolution images. more...

In the original article [...]

A network of High-Frequency radar (HFR) stations runs operationally in the Malta-Sicily Channel (MSC), Central Mediterranean Sea, providing sea surface current maps with high temporal (1 h) and spatial (3 × 3 km) resolutions since August 2012. Comparisons with surface drifter data and near-surface Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) observations, as well as radar site-to-site baseline analyses, provide quantitative assessments of HFR velocities accuracy. Twenty-two drifters were deployed within the HFR domain of coverage between December 2012 and October 2013. Additionally, six ADCP vertical current profiles were collected at selected positions during a dedicated field survey. External radio-frequency interferences lead to significant gaps in the HFR coverage, which were minimized by an interpolation technique applied to the surface current fields. The validation of HFR velocities was first performed for each individual station in the network, using data generated with both the ideal and the measured antenna patterns. The validation was then repeated with pairs of HFR stations using the site-to-site baseline error analysis. The analysis confirms that the baseline error estimations and the full validation metrics for this HFR frequency band are consistent, and in some aspects superior, when compared to results from similar studies in other regions. The validation with drifter tracks suggests that the adopted interpolation procedure does not in general impact on the comparison metrics, but may introduce biases when used to extrapolate currents in regions where radar geometrical constraints are suboptimal. The analysis of the percentage of contribution of individual HFR stations shown that the quality of HFR data is influenced by the network geometry. more...

Water infiltration rate (WIR) into the soil profile was investigated through a comprehensive study harnessing spectral information of the soil surface. As soil spectroscopy provides invaluable information on soil attributes, and as WIR is a soil surface-dependent property, field spectroscopy may model WIR better than traditional laboratory spectral measurements. This is because sampling for the latter disrupts the soil-surface status. A field soil spectral library (FSSL), consisting of 114 samples with different textures from six different sites over the Mediterranean basin, combined with traditional laboratory spectral measurements, was created. Next, partial least squares regression analysis was conducted on the spectral and WIR data in different soil texture groups, showing better performance of the field spectral observations compared to traditional laboratory spectroscopy. Moreover, several quantitative spectral properties were lost due to the sampling procedure, and separating the samples according to texture gave higher accuracies. Although the visible near-infrared–shortwave infrared (VNIR–SWIR) spectral region provided better accuracy, we resampled the spectral data to the resolution of a Cubert hyperspectral sensor (VNIR). This hyperspectral sensor was then assembled on an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to apply one selected spectral-based model to the UAV data and map the WIR in a semi-vegetated area within the Alento catchment, Italy. Comprehensive spectral and WIR ground-truth measurements were carried out simultaneously with the UAV–Cubert sensor flight. The results were satisfactorily validated on the ground using field samples, followed by a spatial uncertainty analysis, concluding that the UAV with hyperspectral remote sensing can be used to map soil surface-related soil properties. more...

The development of new image-based techniques is allowing a radical change in the environmental monitoring field. The fundamental characteristics of these methods are related to the possibility of obtaining non-intrusive measurements even in adverse circumstances, such as high flow conditions, which may seriously threaten the operators’ safety conditions in traditional approaches.Optical techniques, based on the acquisition, analysis and elaboration of sequences of images acquired by digital cameras, are aimed at a complete characterization of the river instantaneous surface velocity field, through the analysis of a floating tracer, which may be naturally present or artificially introduced. The growing availability of a new generation of both low-cost optical sensors and high-performing free software programs for image processing, is a key aspect explaining the rapid development of such techniques in recent years. The best known optical techniques are the large scale particle velocimetry (LSPIV) and the large scale particle tracking velocimetry (LSPTV).This work is aimed to analyze and compare the performance of the two most common free software packages based on LSPIV (i.e. the PIVlab and the FUDAA-LSPIV), which use different cross-correlation algorithms. The test is carried out by analyzing several sequences of both synthetic images and real frames acquired on natural rivers under different environmental conditions (with tracers artificially introduced). An image sequences generator has been implemented ad-hoc with the aim to create, under fixed configurations, synthetic sequences of images, simulating uniformly distributed tracers moving under controlled conditions. The various configurations are characterized by different parameterization in terms of: (i) flow velocity (S=slow or F=fast flow conditions, according to a logarithmic transverse flow profile); (ii) tracer particles size (CON= disks of constant diameter; VAR=disks of variable size with given mean diameter); (iii) seeding density per frame (density: low -LD, medium -MD, high -HD).The synthetic sequences are processed by the two software packages together with the real sequences, analyzing the errors in terms of mean value of the surface velocity field and velocity along a transverse transect, with respect to a benchmark velocity (i.e. that imposed in the image sequence generator for the synthetic sequences and that deriving from the use of traditional sensors, i.e. ADCP, for the real sequences). more...

In recent years, technological advances have been observed in environmental monitoring field, leading to a rapid spread of innovative technologies overcoming many historical challenges. In river monitoring field the use of image-based techniques provides non-intrusive measurements ensuring the best safety conditions for operators. The most used optical methods are the Large-Scale Particle Image Velocimetry (LSPIV) and the Large-Scale Particle Tracking Velocimetry (LSPTV).In LSPIV and LSPTV techniques a floating tracer is introduced on the water surface and its motion is recorded by commercial devices (e.g. digital cameras). Resulting videos are then processed by free and open source software which applies a statistical cross-correlation analysis to provide the instantaneous surface velocity field.The aim of this work is to investigate the performance of the most widely used LSPIV software in estimating the surface velocity field taking into account the presence of turbulent structures. Indeed a typical feature of natural river is the presence of turbulent eddies which makes the tracer patterns above the water surface difficult to predict. The evaluation of tracer particle displacement is further complicated by the negative phenomenon of aggregation; it influences cross-correlation causing an incorrect estimation of the velocity vectors.The study of the hydraulic turbulence of a natural river has been tackled from a numerical point of view. PANORMUS (Parallel Numerical Open-Source Model for Unsteady Flow Simulations) package (Napoli, 2011) has been used by adopting a LES (Large Eddy Simulation) scheme. PANORMUS is a numerical tool coded to solve the 3D momentum equations for incompressible flows (Navier-Stokes and Reynolds equations) using the Finite-Volume Method (FVM). The analyses were carried out on real cases modelled with PANORMUS-LES package. The hydraulic reconstructed domains are characterised by regular cross sections, accurately derived from real topographic survey campaigns, and low river-bed roughness (smooth concrete surface).Synthetic sequences of tracer motion were derived from the hydraulic model and then processed by using LSPIV software.The results of such numerical analyses have allowed an evaluation of LSPIV performance assessing the errors in terms of mean value of the surface velocity field and velocity along transverse transects. more...

Soil moisture (SM) is an essential element in the hydrological cycle influencing land-atmosphere interactions and rainfall-runoff processes. High-resolution mapping of SM at field scale is vital for understanding spatial and temporal behavior of water availability in agriculture. Unmanned Arial Systems (UAS) offer an extraordinary opportunity to bridge the existing gap between point-scale field observations and satellite remote sensing providing high spatial details at relatively low costs. Moreover, this data can help the construction of downscaling models to generate high-resolution SM maps. For instance, random Forest (RF) regression model can link the land surface features and SM to identify the importance level of each predictor.The RF regression model has been tested using a combination of satellite imageries, UAS data and point measurements collected on the experimental area Monteforte Cilento site (MFC2) in the Alento river basin (Campania, Italy) which is an 8 hectares cropland area (covered by walnuts, cherry, and olive trees). This area has been selected given the number of long-term studies on the vadose zone that have been conducted across a range of spatial scales.The coarse resolution data cover from Jan 2015 to Dec 2019 and include SENTINEL-1 CSAR 1km SM product, 1km Land surface temperature and NDVI products from MODIS and 30m thermal band (brightness temperature), red and green band data (atmospherically corrected surface reflectance) from LANDSAT-8, and SRTM DEM from NASA. High-resolution land-surface features data from UAS-mounted optical, thermal, multispectral, and hyperspectral sensors were used to generate high-resolution SM and related soil attributes.It is to note that the available satellite-based soil moisture data has a coarse resolution of 1km while the UAS-based land surface features of the extremely high resolution of 16cm. We deployed a two-step downscaling approach to address the smooth effect of spatial averaging of soil moisture, which depends on different elements at small and large scale. Specifically, different combinations of predictors were adopted for different scales of gridded soil moisture data. For example, in the downscaling procedure from 1km resolution to 30m resolution, precipitation, land-surface temperature (LST), vegetation indices (VIs), and elevation were used while LST, VIs, slope, and topographic index were selected for the downscaling from 30m to 16cm resolution. Indeed, features controlling the spatial distributions of soil moisture at different scale reflect the characteristics of the physical process: i) the surface elevation and rainfall patterns control the first downscaling model; ii) the topographic convergence and local slope become more relevant to reach a more detailed resolution. In conclusion, the study highlighted that RF regression model is able to interpret fairly well the spatial patterns of soil moisture at the scale of 30m starting from a resolution of 1km, while it is highlighted that the second downscaling step (up to few centimeters) is much more complex and requires further studies.This research is a part of EU COST-Action “HARMONIOUS: Harmonization of UAS techniques for agricultural and natural ecosystems monitoring”.Keywords: soil moisture, downscaling, Unmanned Aerial Systems, random forest, HARMONIOUS more...

Remote Sensing (RS) information has progressively found, in recent years, more and more applications in hydrological modelling as a valuable tool for easy and frequent collection of geophysical data. However, this kind of data should be handled carefully, minding its characteristics, spatial resolution and the heterogeneity of the target area.In this work, a scale analysis on evapotranspiration estimates over heterogeneous crops is performed combining a distributed energy-water balance model (FEST-EWB) and high-resolution remotely-sensed Land Surface Temperature (LST) and vegetation data.The FEST-EWB model is calibrated on measured LST, based on a procedure where every single pixel is modified independently one from the other; hence in each pixel of the analysed domain the minimum of the pixel difference between modelled RET and satellite observed LST is searched over the period of calibration.The case study is a Sicilian vineyard, with test dates in the summer of 2008. Meteorological and energy fluxes data are available from an eddy-covariance station, while LST and vegetation data are obtained from low-altitude flights at the high resolution of 1.7 metres.After a preliminary calibration on LST data and validation on energy fluxes, the scale analysis is performed in two ways: model input aggregation and model output aggregation. Four coarser scales are selected in reference to some common satellite products resolution: 10.2 m (in reference to Sentinel’s 10 m), 30.6 m (Landsat, 30 m), 244.8 m (MODIS visible, 250 m) and 734.4 m (MODIS, 1000 m). First, modelled surface temperature and evapotranspiration are aggregated to each scale by progressive averaging. Then, model inputs are upscaled to the same spatial resolutions and the model is calibrated anew, obtaining independent results directly at the target scale.The results of the two procedures are found to be quite similar, testifying to the capacity of the model to provide accurate products for a heterogeneous area even at low resolutions. The robustness of the analysis is strengthened by a further comparison with two well-established energy-balance algorithms: the one source Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) and the Two-Source Energy Balance (TSEB) model. more...

Estimation of evapotranspiration using the crop coefficient method is one of the most common approaches for irrigation water management. The crop coefficient, Kc, can be estimated as the ratio between maximum crop evapotranspiration, ETmax, and reference evapotranspiration, ET0. However, in the last few decades, many correction factors have been proposed to split Kc into separate coefficients to account for water stress conditions, as well as to estimate separately crop transpiration and soil evaporation. Furthermore, the remote sensing data collected from various satellite platforms have shown their full potential in mapping various vegetation indices (VI), which can be directly related to the spatio-temporal variability of Kc values. Despite various VI-Kc relationships have been proposed in the past years, only recently, thanks to the availability of new sensors with higher temporal and spatial resolutions, it is possible to retrieve new relationships able to follow the variability of the crop coefficient during the different crop phenological stages.This study aimed at identifying a VI-Kc relationship suitable to map actual evapotranspiration of a citrus orchard based on an extended time-series of NDVI images retrieved by Sentinel-2 platform and combined with a set of field micro-meteorological measurements.The experiments were carried out during 2019 and 2020 in a commercial citrus orchard (C. reticulata cv. Tardivo di Ciaculli) with tree spacing of 5 x 5 m, located near the city of Palermo, Italy, in which different irrigation systems and management strategies were applied in three different portions of the orchard. In particular, the first portion was irrigated with a traditional micro-sprinkler system (TI) whereas the other two with a subsurface drip system maintained under full irrigation (FI) and deficit irrigation (DI) applied during the phase II of fruit growth (from 1-July to 20-August). The orchard was equipped with a standard weather station (WS) and an Eddy Covariance (EC) tower to acquire, every half-an-hour, precipitation, air temperature and relative humidity, wind speed and direction, global and net solar radiation and, finally, sensible and latent heat fluxes. During the entire period, a weekly dataset of Sentinel-2 images characterized by a spatial resolution of 10 m was acquired and processed in a GIS environment to obtain the spatial and temporal distribution of NDVI. Using the data acquired in 2019, a functional relationship between Kc and NDVI was calibrated accounting only for those periods in which the crop was maintained in the absence of water stress. The values ​​of Kc were determined as the ratio between actual daily ET measured by the EC tower and reference Penman-Monteith ET0 obtained as indicated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The procedure was then validated with the data recorded in 2020, by comparing estimated crop ET ​and the corresponding measured by the EC tower. The comparative analysis indicated root-mean-square-error and mean-bias-error associated with estimated ET of about 0.5 mm/d and 0.2 mm/d, respectively. Finally, based on the NDVI maps it was possible to derive the spatial variability of Kc and actual ET, under the different irrigation systems and management strategies. more...

Recent advances in image-based methods for environmental monitoring are opening new frontiers for remote streamflow measurements in natural environments. Such techniques offer numerous advantages compared to traditional approaches. Despite the wide availability of cost-effective devices and software for image processing, these techniques are still rarely systematically implemented in practical applications, probably due to the lack of consistent operational protocols for both phases of images acquisition and processing. In this work, the optimal experimental setup for LSPIV based flow velocity measurements under different conditions is explored using the software PIVlab, investigating performance and sensitivity to some key factors. Different synthetic image sequences, reproducing a river flow with a realistic velocity profile and uniformly distributed floating tracers, are generated under controlled conditions. Different parametric scenarios are created considering diverse combinations of flow velocity, tracer size, seeding density, and environmental conditions. Multiple replications per scenario are processed, using descriptive statistics to characterize errors in PIVlab estimates. Simulations highlight the crucial role of some parameters (e.g., seeding density) and demonstrate how appropriate video duration, frame-rate and parameters setting in relation to the hydraulic conditions can efficiently counterbalance many of the typical operative issues (i.e., scarce tracer concentration) and improve algorithms performance. more...

Thermal inertia has been applied to map soil water content exploiting remote sensing data in the short and long wave regions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Over the last years, optical and thermal cameras were sufficiently miniaturized to be loaded onboard of unmanned aerial systems (UASs), which provide unprecedented potentials to derive hyperspatial resolution thermal inertia for soil water content mapping. In this study, we apply a simplification of thermal inertia, the apparent thermal inertia (ATI), over pixels where underlying thermal inertia hypotheses are fulfilled (unshaded bare soil). Then, a kriging algorithm is used to spatialize the ATI to get a soil water content map. The proposed method was applied to an experimental area of the Alento River catchment, in southern Italy. Daytime radiometric optical multispectral and day and nighttime radiometric thermal images were acquired via a UAS, while $in \,\,situ$ soil water content was measured through the thermo-gravimetric and time domain reflectometry (TDR) methods. The determination coefficient between ATI and soil water content measured over unshaded bare soil was 0.67 for the gravimetric method and 0.73 for the TDR. After interpolation, the correlation slightly decreased due to the introduction of measurements on vegetated or shadowed positions ( $r^{2} = 0.59$ for gravimetric method; $r^{2} = 0.65$ for TDR). The proposed method shows promising results to map the soil water content even over vegetated or shadowed areas by exploiting hyperspatial resolution data and geostatistical analysis. more...

Around 350 million tonnes of plastics are annually produced worldwide. A remarkable percentage of these products is dispersed in the environment, finally reaching and dispersed in the marine environment. Recent field surveys detected microplastics’ concentrations in the Mediterranean Sea. The most commonly polymers found were polyethylene, polypropylene and viscose, ethylene vinyl acetate and polystyrene. In general, the in-situ monitoring of microplastic pollution is difficult and time consuming. The main goals of this work were to spectrally characterize the most commonly polymers and to quantify their spectral separability that may allow to determine optimal band combinations for imaging techniques monitoring. The spectral signatures of microplastics have been analysed in laboratory, both in dry condition and on water surface, using a full spectrum spectroradiometer. The theoretical use of operational satellite images for remote sensing monitoring was investigated by quantifying the spectral separability achievable by their sensors. The WorldView-3 sensor appears the most suitable for the monitoring but better average spectral separability are expected using the recently released PRISMA images. This research was preparatory to further outdoor experiments needed to better simulate the real acquisition condition. more...

The CALYPSO HF radar network is a permanent and fully operational observing system currently composed of four CODAR SeaSonde stations. The system is providing real-time hourly maps of sea surface currents and waves data in the Malta-Sicily Channel. The present work aims to compare significant wave height measurements by HF Radar to wave data from numerical models and satellite altimeter. This is the first time that this set of wave data are analysed since the four HF radars were installed between 2012 and 2015. Results suggest that CODAR HF Radar wave data are a reliable source of wave information even in the case of extreme events, providing an avenue to improve and complete the offer of services deriving from the CALYPSO system. Comparisons of HF radar data with both numerical sea wave model and satellite altimeter data confirm agreement, in particular for radar measurements in the annular sectors within the central range-cells which are also characterized by a more reliable and homogeneous temporal behaviour. more...

This paper presents a preliminary analysis on efficiency of wave energy converters off the Sicilian Channel (Italy) carried out using the SNL-SWAN spectral model (”Sandia National Laboratories – Simulating WAves Nearshore”). This open source numerical code makes possible to calculate the power extracted from wave energy converter (WEC) devices, arranged in arrays. The WEC arrays were located parallel to the coastline, near the 20 m bathymetric isoline. Three devices were tested: Pelamis, Wave Dragon and Oyster 2; one of the input data of the numerical model is the WEC power matrix, expressed as a function of the wave height and period. This matrix was determined experimentally by the prototype manufacturers and it allows to compute the energy flux that can be extracted, depending on the significant wave height and on the peak period. Wave climate has been obtained from the Mazara del Vallo wave buoy dataset, covering the years from 1995 to 2005. The numerical model analysis results include the comparison between the energy flux distribution both in the case of presence of WECs and in their absence. The results obtained through the nearshore analysis allowed to assess the devices efficiency. Among the simulated devices only the Oyster 2 had a high value efficiency whereas for the other two devices lower power values were obtained. This results because the prototypes were designed considering the ocean wave conditions, which are of an order of magnitude higher than the conditions that occur in a closed sea basin, as is the Mediterranean Sea. more...

ISI Document Delivery No.: FV7JXTimes Cited: 4Cited Reference Count: 249Tauro, Flavia Selker, John van de Giesen, Nick Abrate, Tommaso Uijlenhoet, Remko Porfiri, Maurizio Manfreda, Salvatore Caylor, Kelly Moramarco, Tommaso Benveniste, Jerome Ciraolo, Giuseppe Estes, Lyndon Domeneghetti, Alessio Perks, Matthew T. Corbari, Chiara Rabiei, Ehsan Ravazzani, Giovanni Bogena, Heye Harfouche, Antoine Brocca, Luca Maltese, Antonino Wickert, Andy Tarpanelli, Angelica Good, Stephen Alcala, Jose Manuel Lopez Petroselli, Andrea Cudennec, Christophe Blume, Theresa Hut, Rolf Grimaldi, SalvatoreTaylor & francis ltdAbingdon; To promote the advancement of novel observation techniques that may lead to new sources of information to help better understand the hydrological cycle, the International Association of Hydrological Sciences (IAHS) established the Measurements and Observations in the XXI century (MOXXI) Working Group in July 2013. The group comprises a growing community of tech-enthusiastic hydrologists that design and develop their own sensing systems, adopt a multi-disciplinary perspective in tackling complex observations, often use low-cost equipment intended for other applications to build innovative sensors, or perform opportunistic measurements. This paper states the objectives of the group and reviews major advances carried out by MOXXI members toward the advancement of hydrological sciences. Challenges and opportunities are outlined to provide strategic guidance for advancement of measurement, and thus discovery. more...

Quantification of the spatial and temporal behavior of soil moisture is vital for understanding water availability in agriculture, ecosystems research, river basin hydrology and water resources management. Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) offer a great potential in monitoring this parameter at sub-meter level and at relatively low cost. The standardization of operational procedures for soil moisture monitoring with UAS can be beneficial to understanding and quantify the quality of retrieved soil moisture (e.g., from different platforms and sensors).In this study, soil moisture retrieved from UAS using different retrieval algorithms was compared to collocated ground measurements. The thermal inertia model builds upon the dependence of the thermal diffusion on soil moisture. The soil thermal inertia is quantified by processing visible and near-infrared (VIS-NIR) and thermal infrared (TIR) images, acquired at two different times of a day. The temperature–vegetation trapezoidal model is also used to map soil moisture over vegetated pixels. This trapezoidal model depicts the soil moisture dependence of the surface energy balance. The comparison of the two algorithms helps define a preliminary standard procedure for retrieving soil moisture with UAS.As a case study, a typical cropland area with olive orchard, cherry and walnut trees in the region of Monteforte Cilento (Italy, Salerno) is used, where optical and thermal images and in situ data were simultaneously acquired. In the Alento observatory, long-term studies on vadose zone hydrology have been conducting across a range of spatial scales. Our findings provide an important contribution towards improving our knowledge on evaluating the ability of UAS to map soil moisture, in support of sustainable natural resources management and climate change studies.This research is a part of EU COST-Action “HARMONIOUS: Harmonization of UAS techniques for agricultural and natural ecosystems monitoring”.Keywords: soil moisture, Unmanned Aerial Systems, thermal inertia, HARMONIOUS more...

Since the turn of the century, rubber plantations have been expanding their footprint across Southeast Asia in response to an increasing global demand for rubber products. Between 2000 and 2014, the area cultivated with rubber more than doubled. It is not clear how this major change in the agricultural landscape of Southeast Asia, the main area of rubber production in the world, is affecting land‐use patterns and water resources in the region. Here we use maps of rubber plantations and other croplands in conjunction with a hydrological model and remote sensing analyses to assess land‐use patterns and water resources affected by natural rubber plantations. Results show water requirements of rubber trees are comparable to those of forests but by far exceed those of the other predominant crops and shrubland vegetation with the effect of potentially increasing water scarcity when rubber plantations replace these crops. The expansion of rubber plantations accounts for a 38 km³/yr increase in green water consumption, thereby exacerbating the monthly water scarcity, with an additional 2.4 million people and more than 0.6 Mha facing water scarcity in the driest months as a result of the increase in rubber production. Monthly runoff substantially decreases (by up to 25%) in 14% of the basins where rubber was planted. These results highlight the existence of major land use and hydrological impacts of agricultural development in Southeast Asia that affect the local environment and rural communities, calling for a more sustainable management of the limited land and water resources. more...

The ongoing unrest at the Campi Flegrei caldera (CFc) in southern Italy is prompting exploration of its poorly studied offshore sector. We report on a multidisciplinary investigation of the Secca delle Fumose (SdF), a submarine relief known since antiquity as the largest degassing structure of the offshore sector of CFc. We combined high-resolution morpho-bathymetric and seismo-stratigraphic data with onshore geological information to propose that the present-day SdF morphology and structure developed during the initial stages of the last CFc eruption at Monte Nuovo in AD 1538. We suggest that the SdF relief stands on the eastern uplifted border of a N-S-trending graben-like structure formed during the shallow emplacement of the Monte Nuovo feeding dike. We also infer that the high-angle bordering faults that generated the SdF relief now preferentially allow the ascent of hot brines (with an equilibrium temperature of 179°C), thereby sustaining hydrothermal degassing on the seafloor. Systematic vertical seawater profiling shows that hydrothermal seafloor venting generates a sizeable CO2, pH, and temperature anomaly in the overlying seawater column. Data for the seawater vertical profile can be used to estimate the CO2 and energy (heat) outputs from the SdF area at ∼50 tons/day (∼0.53 kg/s) and ∼80MW, respectively. In view of the cause-effect relationship with the Monte Nuovo eruption, and the substantial gas and energy outputs, we consider that the SdF hydrothermal system needs to be included in monitoring programs of the ongoing CFc unrest. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. more...

Equations based on surface renewal (SR) analysis to estimate the sensible heat flux (H) require as input the mean ramp amplitude and period observed in the ramp-like pattern of the air temperature measured at high frequency. A SR-based method to estimate sensible heat flux (HSR-LST) requiring only low-frequency measurements of the air temperature, horizontal mean wind speed, and land-surface temperature as input was derived and tested under unstable conditions over a heterogeneous canopy (olive grove). HSR-LST assumes that the mean ramp amplitude can be inferred from the difference between land-surface temperature and mean air temperature through a linear relationship and that the ramp frequency is related to a wind shear scale characteristic of the canopy flow. The land-surface temperature was retrieved by integrating in situ sensing measures of thermal infrared energy emitted by the surface. The performance of HSR-LST was analyzed against flux tower measurements collected at two heights (close to and well above the canopy top). Crucial parameters involved in HSR-LST, which define the above mentioned linear relationship, were explained using the canopy height and the land surface temperature observed at sunrise and sunset. Although the olive grove can behave as either an isothermal or anisothermal surface, HSR-LST performed close to H measured using the eddy covariance and the Bowen ratio energy balance methods. Root mean square differences between HSR-LST and measured H were of about 55 W m−2. Thus, by using multitemporal thermal acquisitions, HSR-LST appears to bypass inconsistency between land surface temperature and the mean aerodynamic temperature. The one-source bulk transfer formulation for estimating H performed reliable after calibration against the eddy covariance method. After calibration, the latter performed similar to the proposed SR-LST method. more...

This paper addresses the tsunami propagation and subsequent coastal areas flooding by means of a depth-integrated numerical model. Such an approach is fundamental in order to assess the inundation hazard in coastal areas generated by seismogenic tsunami. In this study we adopted, an interdisciplinary approach, in order to consider the tsunami propagation, relates both to geomorphological characteristics of the coast and the bathymetry. In order to validate the numerical model, comparisons with results of other studies were performed. This manuscript presents first applicative results achieved using the weakly dispersive Boussinesq model in the field of tsunami propagation and coastal inundation. Ionic coast of Sicily (Italy) was chosen as a case study due to its high level of exposure to tsunamis. Indeed, the tsunami could be generated by an earthquake in the external Calabrian arc or in the Hellenic arc, both active seismic zones. Finally, in order to demonstrate the possibility to give indications to local authorities, an inundation map, over a small area, was produced by means of the numerical model. more...

This paper presents the estimation of the wave energy potential around the Aegadian islands (Italy), carried out on the basis of high resolution wave hindcast. This reanalysis was developed employing Weather Research and Forecast (WRF) and WAVEWATCH III ® models for the modelling of the atmosphere and the waves, respectively. Wave climate has been determined using the above-mentioned 32-year dataset covering the years from 1979 to 2010. To improve the information about wave characteristics regarding spatial details, i.e., increasing wave model resolution, especially in the nearshore region around the islands, a SWAN (Simulating WAves Nearshore) wave propagation model was used. Results obtained through the development of the nearshore analysis detected four energetic hotspots close to the coast of the islands. Near Marettimo island, only one hotspot was detected with a maximum wave energy flux of 9 kW/m, whereas, around Favignana, three hotspots were identified with a maximum wave energy flux of 6.5 kW/m. Such values of available wave energy resource are promising to develop different projects for wave energy converters in specific areas along the coast, in order to improve the energetic independence of Aegadian islands. more...

This paper investigates wave climate and storm characteristics along the Mediterranean coast of Andalusia, for the period 1979&ndash, 2014, by means of the analysis of wave data on four prediction points obtained from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). Normally, to characterize storms, researchers use the so-called &ldquo, power index&rdquo, In this paper, a different approach was adopted based on the assessment of the wave energy flux of each storm, using a robust definition of sea storm. During the investigated period, a total of 2961 storm events were recorded. They were classified by means of their associated energy flux into five classes, from low- (Class I) to high-energetic (Class V). Each point showed a different behavior in terms of energy, number, and duration of storms. Nine stormy years, i.e., years with a high cumulative energy, were recorded in 1980, 1983, 1990, 1992, 1995, 2001, 2008, 2010, and 2013. more...

Remote sensing techniques allow monitoring the Earth surface and acquiring worthwhile information that can be used efficiently in agro-hydrological systems. Satellite images associated to computational models represent reliable resources to estimate actual evapotranspiration fluxes, ETa, based on surface energy balance. The knowledge of ETa and its spatial distribution is crucial for a broad range of applications at different scales, from fields to large irrigation districts. In single plots and/or in irrigation districts, linking water volumes delivered to the plots with the estimations of remote sensed ETa can have a great potential to develop new cost-effective indicators of irrigation performance, as well as to increase water use efficiency. With the aim to assess the irrigation system performance and the opportunities to save irrigation water resources at the “SAT Llano Verde” district in Albacete, Castilla-La Mancha (Spain), the Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land (SEBAL) was applied on cloud-free Landsat 5 Thematic Mapper (TM) images, processed by cubic convolution resampling method, for three irrigation seasons (May to September 2006, 2007 and 2008). The model allowed quantifying instantaneous, daily, monthly and seasonal ETa over the irrigation district. The comparison between monthly irrigation volumes distributed by each hydrant and the corresponding spatially averaged ETa, obtained by assuming an overall efficiency of irrigation network equal to 85%, allowed the assessment of the irrigation system performance for the area served by each hydrant, as well as for the whole irrigation district. It was observed that in all the investigated years, irrigation volumes applied monthly by farmers resulted generally higher than the corresponding evapotranspiration fluxes retrieved by SEBAL, with the exception of May, in which abundant rainfall occurred. When considering the entire irrigation seasons, it was demonstrated that a considerable amount of water could have been saved in the district, respectively equal to 26.2, 28.0 and 16.4% of the total water consumption evaluated in the three years. more...

The CALYPSO HF radar network is a permanent and fully operational observing system currently composed of four CODAR HF stations. The system is providing realtime hourly maps of sea surface currents and wave data in the Malta-Sicily Channel since 2012. Significant wave height derived from the HF radar wave measurements are confirmed to be a reliable source of wave information even in case of extreme events. However, it is noticed that the HF radar wave data are subject to differing interfering noise in the signal from unknown sources that may be competing with transmissions in the same frequency band. These interferences lead to frequent gaps and/or outliers that affect the continuity and reliability of the data set. The aim of this work is to estimate missing values and to detect possible outliers building and fitting a Markov chain mixture model on the significant wave height data collected at the four stations. It is verified that the proposed procedure is sufficiently robust since the model estimates succeed to classify radar observations with a high percentage of missing data and to equally highlight spikes and outliers., peer-reviewed more...

[EN] Environmental monitoring plays a central role in diagnosing climate and management impacts on natural and agricultural systems; enhancing the understanding of hydrological processes; optimizing the allocation and distribution of water resources; and assessing, forecasting, and even preventing natural disasters. Nowadays, most monitoring and data collection systems are based upon a combination of ground-based measurements, manned airborne sensors, and satellite observations. These data are utilized in describing both small-and large-scale processes, but have spatiotemporal constraints inherent to each respective collection system. Bridging the unique spatial and temporal divides that limit current monitoring platforms is key to improving our understanding of environmental systems. In this context, Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) have considerable potential to radically improve environmental monitoring. UAS-mounted sensors offer an extraordinary opportunity to bridge the existing gap between field observations and traditional air-and space-borne remote sensing, by providing high spatial detail over relatively large areas in a cost-effective way and an entirely new capacity for enhanced temporal retrieval. As well as showcasing recent advances in the field, there is also a need to identify and understand the potential limitations of UAS technology. For these platforms to reach their monitoring potential, a wide spectrum of unresolved issues and application-specific challenges require focused community attention. Indeed, to leverage the full potential of UAS-based approaches, sensing technologies, measurement protocols, postprocessing techniques, retrieval algorithms, and evaluation techniques need to be harmonized. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the existing research and applications of UAS in natural and agricultural ecosystem monitoring in order to identify future directions, applications, developments, and challenges., The present work has been funded by the COST Action CA16219 "HARMONIOUS-Harmonization of UAS techniques for agricultural and natural ecosystems monitoring". B. Toth acknowledges financial support by the Hungarian National Research, Development and Innovation Office (NRDI) under grant KH124765. J. Millerovd was supported by projects GA17-13998S and RVO67985939. Isabel and Jodo de Lima were supported by project HIRT (PTDC/ECM-HID/4259/2014-POCI-0145-FEDER016668). more...

Il canale tra le isole di Sicilia e Malta si trova in una delle principali rotte marittime del Mediterraneo e in una regione strategica per le piattaforme di estrazione petrolifera, quindi seriamente esposta al rischio di eventi di sversamento di idrocarburi in mare. Ciò può costituire una grave minaccia agli ecosistemi locali e alle attività economiche, tra le quali il turismo e la pesca. I danni derivanti da un eventuale sversamento sarebbero incalcolabili per l'arcipelago maltese, dove le risorse marine ed il turismo rappresentano i principali proventi economici e, in maniera analoga, per la Sicilia. Le misure di prevenzione e di mitigazione, insieme a un rapido intervento e a un processo decisionale stabile e solido in caso di situazioni di emergenza, aiutano a minimizzare i rischi e a ridurre gli impatti. Grazie alla tecnologia radar ad alta frequenza (HF), la rete CALYPSO rappresenta lo strumento essenziale per il monitoraggio delle correnti superficiali del mare in tempo reale. La tecnologia radar HF fornisce uno strumento unico per determinare le correnti superficiali in tempo 'quasi' reale, consentendo l’applicazione efficace di modelli numerici di dispersione d’inquinanti in mare. Tale metodologia permette di prevedere origine e destinazione dell’inquinante attraverso l'assimilazione dei dati nei modelli di circolazione oceanica, o tramite previsioni statistiche delle correnti marine a breve termine. La rete CALYPSO, operativa da agosto 2012, è attualmente costituita da quattro sistemi SeaSonde (CODAR) che funzionano nella banda di frequenza dei 13.5 MHz. Le misure ottenute sono state ampiamente validate utilizzando sia correntometri che drifters che hanno ripetutamente fornito prove evidenti dell'affidabilità dei dati acquisiti. Le osservazioni a lungo termine hanno consentito una nuova descrizione oceanografica dell'area, documentando la presenza di una quantità di caratteristiche finora mai segnalate con un simile dettaglio spaziale e temporale. The Malta-Sicily Channel is located within one of the busiest commercial routes in the Mediterranean Sea. Due to the presence of oil tankers and oil rigs, this stretch of sea is prone to oil spill events (both deliberate or accidental) with potentially significant impacts on the local ecosystems and economic activities, such as fishing and tourism activities. Prevention and mitigation measures are needed to reduce risks and impacts. Within this framework the high-frequency (HF) radar technology is able to monitor in near-real time surface currents and waves, thus representing an extraordinary tool to reduce the impact of marine pollution events. Assimilation of near real-time surface current data into numerical models greatly improves the short-term forecast of sea state conditions and, consequently, the forecast of oil spill movements and fate. This paper describes the characteristics and potential of the CALYPSO HF radar observing system. The network, in operation since August 2012, currently includes 4 SeaSonde (CODAR) HF radars working at 13.5 MHz. The system is able to provide 2D surface current maps of the Malta-Sicily Channel with high resolution over a 3x3 km grid, every hour. Surface currents derived by the CALYPSO system were validated using independent measurements (acoustic current meter and drifters), and their accuracy extensively proven. The long term datasets show unprecedented descriptions of surface currents patterns within the studied area. more...

The electron temperature and density pedestals tend to vary in their relative radial positions, as observed in DIII-D (Beurskens et al 2011 Phys. Plasmas 18 056120) and ASDEX Upgrade (Dunne et al 2017 Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 59 14017). This so-called relative shift has an impact on the pedestal magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) stability and hence on the pedestal height (Osborne et al 2015 Nucl. Fusion 55 063018). The present work studies the effect of the relative shift on pedestal stability of JET ITER-like wall (JET-ILW) baseline low triangularity (δ) unseeded plasmas, and similar JET-C discharges. As shown in this paper, the increase of the pedestal relative shift is correlated with the reduction of the normalized pressure gradient, therefore playing a strong role in pedestal stability. Furthermore, JET-ILW tends to have a larger relative shift compared to JET carbon wall (JET-C), suggesting a possible role of the plasma facing materials in affecting the density profile location. Experimental results are then compared with stability analysis performed in terms of the peeling-ballooning model and with pedestal predictive model EUROPED (Saarelma et al 2017 Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion). Stability analysis is consistent with the experimental findings, showing an improvement of the pedestal stability, when the relative shift is reduced. This has been ascribed mainly to the increase of the edge bootstrap current, and to minor effects related to the increase of the pedestal pressure gradient and narrowing of the pedestal pressure width. Pedestal predictive model EUROPED shows a qualitative agreement with experiment, especially for low values of the relative shift. EURATOM 633053 Swedish Energy Agency 40146-1 more...

Chlorophyll- a ( CHL-a ) and sea surface temperature ( SST ) are generally accepted as proxies for water quality. They can be easily retrieved in a quasi-near real time mode through satellite remote sensing and, as such, they provide an overview of the water quality on a synoptic scale in open waters. Their distributions evolve in space and time in response to local and remote forcing, such as winds and currents, which however have much finer temporal and spatial scales than those resolvable by satellites in spite of recent advances in satellite remote-sensing techniques. Satellite data are often characterized by a moderate temporal resolution to adequately catch the actual sub-grid physical processes. Conventional pointwise measurements can resolve high-frequency motions such as tides or high-frequency wind-driven currents, however they are inadequate to resolve their spatial variability over wide areas. We show in this paper that a combined use of near-surface currents, available through High-Frequency (HF) radars, and satellite data ( e.g. , TERRA and AQUA/MODIS), can properly resolve the main oceanographic features in both coastal and open-sea regions, particularly at the coastal boundaries where satellite imageries fail, and are complementary tools to interpret ocean productivity and resource management in the Sicily Channel. more...

Actual evapotranspiration is assessed via surface energy balance at an hourly rate. However, a robust estimation of daily evapotranspiration from hourly values is required. Outcomes of surface energy balance are frequently determined via measures of eddy covariance latent heat flux. Surface energy balance can be applied on images acquired at different times and spatial resolutions. In addition, hourly actual evapotranspiration needs to be integrated at a daily rate for operational uses. Questions arise whether the validation of surface energy balance models can benefit from complementary in situ measures of latent heat flux and sap flow transpiration. Here, validation was driven by image acquisition time, spatial resolution, and temporal integration. Thermal and optical images were collected with a proximity-sensing platform on an olive orchard at different acquisition times. Actual latent heat fluxes from canopy and sap flux at tree trunks were measured with a flux tower and heat dissipation probes. The latent heat fluxes were then further analyzed. A surface energy balance was applied over proximity sensing images re-sampled at different spatial resolutions with resulting latent heat fluxes compared to in situ ones. A time lag was observed and quantified between actual latent heat fluxes from canopy and sap flux at the tree trunk. Results also indicate that a pixel resolution comparable to the average canopy size was suitable for estimating the actual evapotranspiration via a single source surface energy balance model. Images should not be acquired at the beginning or the end of the diurnal period. Findings imply that sap flow transpiration can be used to measure surface energy balance at a daily rate or when images are found at an hourly rate near noon, and the existing time lag between the latent heat flux at the canopy and the sap flow at the trunk does not need to be taken into account. more...

Erosion of plasma-facing materials and successive transport and redeposition of eroded material are crucial processes determining the lifetime of plasma-facing components and the trapped tritium inventory in redeposited material layers. Erosion and deposition in the JET divertor were studied during the second JET ITER-like wall campaign ILW-2 in 2013-2014 by using a poloidal row of specially prepared divertor marker tiles including the tungsten bulk tile 5. The marker tiles were analyzed using elastic backscattering with 3-4.5 MeV incident protons and nuclear reaction analysis using 0.8-4.5 MeV 3He ions before and after the campaign. The erosion/deposition pattern observed during ILW-2 is qualitatively comparable to the first campaign ILW-1 in 2011-2012: deposits consist mainly of beryllium with 5-20 at.% of carbon and oxygen and small amounts of Ni and W. The highest deposition with deposited layer thicknesses up to 30 μm per campaign is still observed on the upper and horizontal parts of the inner divertor. Outer divertor tiles 5, 6, 7 and 8 are net W erosion areas. The observed D inventory is roughly comparable to the inventory observed during ILW-1. The results obtained during ILW-2 therefore confirm the positive results observed in ILW-1 with respect to reduced material deposition and hydrogen isotopes retention in the divertor. more...

The knowledge of soil water content (SWC) dynamics in the upper soil layer is important for several hydrological processes. Due to the difficulty of assessing the spatial and temporal SWC dynamics in the field, some model-based approaches have been proposed during the last decade. The main objective of this work was to assess the performance of two approaches to estimate SWC in the upper soil layer under field conditions: the physically-based thermal inertia and the Hydrus model. Their validity was firstly assessed under controlled laboratory conditions. Thermal inertia was firstly validated in laboratory conditions using the transient line heat source (TLHS) method. Then, it was applied in situ to analyze the dynamics of soil thermal properties under two extreme conditions of soil-water status (well-watered and air-dry), using proximity remote-sensed data. The model performance was assessed using sensor-based measurements of soil water content acquired through frequency (FDR) and time domain reflectometry (TDR). During the laboratory experiment, the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) was 0.02 m3 m−3 for the Hydrus model and 0.05 m3 m−3 for the TLHS model approach. On the other hand, during the in situ experiment, the temporal variability of SWCs simulated by the Hydrus model and the corresponding values measured by the TDR method evidenced good agreement (RMSE ranging between 0.01 and 0.005 m3 m−3). Similarly, the average of the SWCs derived from the thermal diffusion model was fairly close to those estimated by Hydrus (spatially averaged RMSE ranging between 0.03 and 0.02 m3 m−3). more...