WATER SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING
The research group deals with scientific and educational activities on: monitoring and modelling of hydrological phenomena, satellite remote sensing of hydrological fluxes, flood and hydrogeological risk analysis and mitigation, planning and design of urban water infrastructures, hydraulic structures, sustainable water systems, water resources assessment and management, ocean and coastal engineering.
Results of the research activities are transferred to engineering applications as: real time soil moisture monitoring for flood and irrigation managements, snow melt and relative water equivalent, water supply systems, sewers and drainage systems, dams and reservoirs, flood detention ponds, hydroelectric plants, river structures, harbour dams and breakwaters.
Hydrogeological hazard and risk mitigation under climate change.
Analysis, prediction and prevention of hydrogeological hazard and risk mitigation actions. Rainfall and runoff monitoring and modelling also under climate change, statistical and probabilistic analysis of extremes for stationary and non stationary data, impact of land use change, flood mapping, flood real-time forecasting system, flash floods, debris flows, firefloods, soil slips, woody debris and bulk flood transport.
Snow, ice and glacier dynamics
Monitoring snow and glacier dynamics using ground and satellite data, and modelling under historical and future climate change scenarios, assessment and development of downscaling schemes for climatic Global Circulation Models, determination of snow water equivalent for water resources management.
Soil Moisture and evapotranspiration
Hydrological modelling and monitoring of water and energy fluxes in the soil-vegetation-atmosphere system through micro-meteorological stations and satellite remote sensing.
Soil moisture dynamic, infiltration profiles, evapotranspiration and carbon fluxes, irrigation water needs, runoff assessment, atmospheric boundary layer processes, surface water-groundwater interaction, are analysed at irrigation district and at basin scale.
Hydraulic structures and infrastructures
Advance design and modelling of hydraulic structures as river dams, retention pools, hydroelectric plants, water supply systems, urban drainage and river works also with biotechnical engineering. Field analyses and laboratory physical models.
Sustainable urban water management in smart cities framework, modelling of sewerage impacts on rivers, real-time control of urban drainage systems, planning and management of urban water supply, safety and resilience of hydraulic structures and their environmental impact on the water bodies. Field experiments and simulation of pollutants transport and diffusion dynamics in artificial and natural streams.
Water resources management under climate change
Modelling of water resources systems for planning and optimal management for historical and future climatic scenarios, water footprint, water trade and security, analysis of minimum stream flows, drought analysis and indices.
Ocean and coastal engineering
Modelling and monitoring of sea waves and their effects on coastal morphology and structures, wave energy, offshore and nearshore structures, breakwaters for harbour protection, coastal sediment transport, water quality.