River dynamics

Over the last decades, most of the local (Emilia-Romagna, Italy) beaches have been affected by marked erosion that is still progressing. This phenomenon is primarily due to the reduction of sediment supply by the local rivers.

In order to quantify the amount of sediments still provided by rivers to local beaches part of COSTUF staff is involved in a regional scale project (Sand-WAY: in collaboration with University of Bologna, Fondazione Flaminia and Consorzio Futuro in Ricerca) which includes hydrological investigations and bedload transport measurements along three Emilia Romagna rivers (Lamone, Fiumi Uniti and Savio).

During floods, hydraulic and sediment transport data are collected at fixed verticals, equally spaced along the active cross section of the river. A USGS AA type current meter is used to measure flow depth and velocity, whereas a standard Helley-Smith bedload sampler (US BL-84) is used for bedload transport sampling. A USGS A type wheel crane is used for lowering all the instruments from the bridges (see pictures below).

Recent papers dealing with this topic:

• Field data and regional modeling of sediment supply to Emilia-Romagna’s river mouths