Physiography of the Sicilian region (1:250,000 scale)

Abstract

Physiographic maps summarize and group the landforms of a territory into homogeneous areas in terms of kind and intensity of the main geomorphological process. These maps are often produced at semi-detailed scales, while examples at the regional scale are much less common. However, because the region is the main administrative level in Europe, physiographic maps can be very useful for land planning in many fields, such as ecological studies, risk maps, and soil mapping. This work presents a methodological example of a regional physiographic map, compiled at a 1:250,000 scale, representing the whole Sicilian region, the largest of the Mediterranean islands. The physiographic units were classified according to the geomorphological processes that were identified by stereo-interpretation of aerial photographs. In addition, information from other published maps, representing geomorphological landforms, eolian deposits, anthropic terraced slopes, and landslide were used to improve the accuracy and reliability of the map.

Modeling Rain Isotopic Composition under Orographic Control: A Landscape Approach for Hydrogeological Applications

“…The study area was located in the eastern sector of the Sicilian northern mountain chain, namely the Peloritani and Nebrodi mounts (Figure 1). Their physiography is characterized by mountains and hills formed from massive rocks, such as arenites and alpine metamorphic rocks [9]. In this area, the slopes are very steep and have accentuated V-shaped valleys and landslides are common, particularly along the coastal slopes [9].…”

“…The climate is typically Mediterranean to subtropical, characterized by warm-dry summers and cool-wet winters [9]. The mean annual temperature ranges between 19-20 • C in the coastal area, 14-16 • C inland and 8-10 • C on the highest mountains.…”

“…The annual precipitation is usually lower than 700 mm, concentrated in the late autumn and early spring. The northern (Tyrrhenian Sea) and western coasts (Ionian Sea) are slightly wetter, with an annual precipitation that can reach 800-900 mm near the mountains [9].…”

Avaliação da ameaça de erosão hídrica na ilha da Madeira - Portugal

“…Na Figura 1 apresenta-se a localização dos postos e estações meteorológicas existentes na Madeira com a delimitação das bacias hidrográficas correspondentes à 1ª fase do estudo. Devido à escassez de registos de precipitação subdiária e subhorária (discretização de pelo menos 5 ou 10 minutos), em séries longas de registos (≈30 anos), necessários para efectuar estimativas rigorosas da erosividade da precipitação, foi necessário efectuar uma análise pormenorizada e estabelecer equações de regressão entre o Índice Modificado de Fournier e o parâmetro de Wischmeier (R), com base, principalmente, no posto do Funchal e em postos do sul de Portugal (postos em que estes valores estivessem determinados) e, ainda, através de relações disponíveis na literatura [9][10][11].…”

“…Devido à escassez de dados de precipitação subdiária e subhorária, necessários para obter estimativas rigorosas da erosividade da precipitação, considerou-se indispensável efectuar um estudo rigoroso e estabelecer equações de regressão entre o Índice Modificado de Fournier e o factor de Wischmeier (R), com base, principalmente, no posto de Funchal-Observatório e em postos do sul de Portugal e através de relações disponíveis na literatura [9][10][11].…”