Debris-Flow Monitoring in Italy

Monitoring of debris flows, aimed at assessing their physical parameters, is important both for theoretical and practical purposes, such as the determination of their rheological behaviour and the calibration of mathematical models, as well as for planning countermeasures and designing warning systems. Automated monitoring systems are needed to collect data on debris flows; different types of sensor systems, designed both for debris flow detection and warning, and for research have been installed in several countries. This paper presents Italian research experiences in two instrumented sites of the eastern Italian Alps: Moscardo Torrent and Acquabona, where debris flow monitoring systems were set up since 1990 and 1997 respectively.