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Process-Form Relationship in Fan-Piedmont and River Areas Prone to Flooding
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Process-Form Relationship in Fan-Piedmont and River Areas Prone to Flooding

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Hydrology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 August 2025 | Viewed by 1288

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Salvatore Ivo Giano

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Basic and Applied Sciences, University of Basilicata, 85100 Potenza, Italy
Interests: geomorphology; fluvial geomorphology; geomorphometry; field geomorphology; remote sensing; geodiversity; geoheritage; geoconservation
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Debris/alluvial fans and piedmont areas such as rivers occur in several tectonic and climatic settings and are relevant sites of sediment routing in the outlet of drainage basins, which can quickly damage the landscape and impact human activities. The distribution of flood-prone areas in fans, piedmont, and river geomorphological systems is strongly controlled by fan head trenches, sheet floods, and channel incisions that dissect the surface. Furthermore, channel hydrology and sheetwash processes strongly control the water flows and the discharge in those areas, which are important parameters in the assessment of flooding hazards. Debris/alluvial fans and piedmont areas do not exhibit predictable behavior and well-defined boundary conditions, as are normally found in fluvial channels. Any single water flooding event proceeding from the apex to the toe is not replicable due to the lateral migration of floods. Large portions of many fan, piedmont, and river areas are inactive because they were isolated due to flooding activity dating from the Holocene times or earlier. The morphological mapping of inactive vs. active areas can be used to identify which sites are more susceptible to flooding. In addition, hydrological studies of channels and piedmont sectors can provide valuable information on the hydraulic regimes dominating the sites, as well as on the potential flooding that will occur. Useful information is also provided by the morphometric parameters of the fan–piedmont and river areas, allowing for further research to improve knowledge of the flooding process. The aims of this Special Issue are to promote papers dealing with the causes of fan-head trenching and channel incision, which are the main processes controlling the location of flood-prone areas, as well as hydrological and morphological studies focusing on improving areas prone to flooding. Moreover, we try to answer the question of how a community should manage the development of fan–piedmont and river areas and to determine the most appropriate zoning of flooding areas, aiming to mitigate flooding. Multidisciplinary approaches to the study of fans, piedmont, and river areas prone to flooding are welcomed.

Prof. Dr. Salvatore Ivo Giano
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • fan, piedmont, and river alluvial systems
  • flooding hazards
  • geomorphometry
  • channel discharges
  • engineering geology

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

31 pages, 12180 KiB  
Article
Harnessing AHP and Fuzzy Scenarios for Resilient Flood Management in Arid Environments: Challenges and Pathways Toward Sustainability
by Mortaza Tavakoli, Zeynab Karimzadeh Motlagh, Dominika Dąbrowska, Youssef M. Youssef, Bojan Đurin and Ahmed M. Saqr
Water 2025, 17(9), 1276; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17091276 - 25 Apr 2025
Viewed by 264
Abstract
Flash floods rank among the most devastating natural hazards, causing widespread socio-economic, environmental, and infrastructural damage globally. Hence, innovative management approaches are required to mitigate their increasing frequency and intensity, driven by factors such as climate change and urbanization. Accordingly, this study introduced [...] Read more.
Flash floods rank among the most devastating natural hazards, causing widespread socio-economic, environmental, and infrastructural damage globally. Hence, innovative management approaches are required to mitigate their increasing frequency and intensity, driven by factors such as climate change and urbanization. Accordingly, this study introduced an integrated flood assessment approach (IFAA) for sustainable management of flood risks by integrating the analytical hierarchy process-weighted linear combination (AHP-WLC) and fuzzy-ordered weighted averaging (FOWA) methods. The IFAA was applied in South Khorasan Province, Iran, an arid and flood-prone region. Fifteen controlling factors, including rainfall (RF), slope (SL), land use/land cover (LU/LC), and distance to rivers (DTR), were processed using the collected data. The AHP-WLC method classified the region into flood susceptibility zones: very low (10.23%), low (23.14%), moderate (29.61%), high (17.54%), and very high (19.48%). The FOWA technique ensured these findings by introducing optimistic and pessimistic fuzzy scenarios of flood risk. The most extreme scenario indicated that 98.79% of the area was highly sensitive to flooding, while less than 5% was deemed low-risk under conservative scenarios. Validation of the IFAA approach demonstrated its reliability, with the AHP-WLC method achieving an area under curve (AUC) of 0.83 and an average accuracy of ~75% across all fuzzy scenarios. Findings revealed elevated flood dangers in densely populated and industrialized areas, particularly in the northern and southern regions, which were influenced by proximity to rivers. Therefore, the study also addressed challenges linked to sustainable development goals (SDGs), particularly SDG 13 (climate action), proposing adaptive strategies to meet 60% of its targets. This research can offer a scalable framework for flood risk management, providing actionable insights for hydrologically vulnerable regions worldwide. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Process-Form Relationship in Fan-Piedmont and River Areas Prone to Flooding)
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27 pages, 25471 KiB  
Article
Semi-Automated Extraction and Geomorphic Analysis of Flat Surface Landforms in Large Areas
by Salvatore Ivo Giano, Eva Pescatore and Vincenzo Siervo
Water 2025, 17(7), 1022; https://doi.org/10.3390/w17071022 - 31 Mar 2025
Viewed by 186
Abstract
The semi-automated extraction of flat surface landforms was carried out, merging a GIS tools application and a geomorphic analysis. The study focuses on seven areas in southern Italy, characterized by different physical landscapes, using a 5 m resolution digital elevation model (DEM). The [...] Read more.
The semi-automated extraction of flat surface landforms was carried out, merging a GIS tools application and a geomorphic analysis. The study focuses on seven areas in southern Italy, characterized by different physical landscapes, using a 5 m resolution digital elevation model (DEM). The GIS application allowed the selection of polygonal areas of flat surfaces from diverse arrays of landforms and was implemented using a filtering process to minimize noises. Subsequently, the mean elevation and mean slope of the detected surfaces were extracted and visualized using scatter plots, which helped in determining the elevation ranges and average slope angles for various flat-floored and terraced surfaces. To enhance the reliability of the results, a detailed geomorphic analysis and field survey were conducted to differentiate between fluvial and marine flat surfaces across different physical landscapes. This comprehensive approach included statistical analyses and comparisons with the existing literature to validate the identified flat surfaces, ensuring the accuracy and reliability of the semi-automated extraction procedure. The integration of GIS technology with field investigations not only streamlines the detection of flat landforms but also contributes to a deeper understanding of their geomorphic characteristics, ultimately enhancing geomorphic analysis efficiency. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Process-Form Relationship in Fan-Piedmont and River Areas Prone to Flooding)
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29 pages, 18221 KiB  
Article
Redesigning the Fuse Plug, Emergency Spillway, and Flood Warning System: An Application of Flood Management
by Seyed Mohsen Sajjadi, Samireh Barihi, Javad Ahadiyan, Hossein Azizi Nadian, Mohammad Valipour, Farhad Bahmanpouri and Poria Khedri
Water 2024, 16(24), 3694; https://doi.org/10.3390/w16243694 - 21 Dec 2024
Viewed by 738
Abstract
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), floods are one of the most important natural disasters in the world, resulting in the severe loss of human lives and intense destruction of infrastructure. The frequent floods in recent decades have caused most parts of [...] Read more.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), floods are one of the most important natural disasters in the world, resulting in the severe loss of human lives and intense destruction of infrastructure. The frequent floods in recent decades have caused most parts of Iran to be affected by periodic and destructive floods. Consequently, the casualties and financial losses of floods have increased significantly. The present study aims to investigate redesigning the fuse plug, emergency overflow, and flood system at Ramshir Dam, Iran. In this regard, using a two-dimensional mathematical model, floods with a return period of 10 and 100 years with different scenarios have been investigated. Four scenarios were analyzed, including the current situation, flood channel dredging scenario, flood channel overhaul scenario, and flood channel overhaul scenario with reservoir dredging. The results show the following: (1) The flood channel in its current state cannot even discharge flows lower than the design, i.e., 1400 m3/s, and the flow overflows from the embankments on its sides. (2) Also, the reservoir dredging prevents the failure of the second fuse plug in the 100-year return period (flow rate 4370 m3/s). (3) Discharge more than 2400 m3/s cubic meters led to the activation of the first fuse plug. (4) The present research findings are of particular and essential importance in flood management. (5) The results of this research were based on the rehabilitation and simulation of the diversion dam facilities in the control and conveyance of flood and on three factors of spillway, flood channel, and flood plain, and the correct function of the fuse plug was reviewed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Process-Form Relationship in Fan-Piedmont and River Areas Prone to Flooding)
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