13th Plinius Conference on Mediterranean Storms

Landslides are geomorphological phenomena with potentially catastrophic consequences. In Italy, a country for which detailed information exists, landslide mortality can be higher than that of any other natural hazard. Rainfall is the most common trigger of slope instabilities. Shallow and deep landslides and debris flows can be triggered by rainfall, with different frequency and under the effects of different types of storms. Predicting landslides is a difficult task, of scientific interest and societal relevance that may help save lives and protect individual properties and collective resources. Landslides are also a relevant coastal slope process, which can be correlated to erosion by high winter waves and increased rainfall during major storms. The session focuses on:
• landslide forecasting, including conceptual, mathematical, physical, statistical, numerical and computational problems,
• hydrological aspects related to the initiation and development of slope failures,
• definition of rainfall thresholds for the possible initiation of single landslides or of population of landslides,
• landslide monitoring and local, to global warning systems,
• new or emerging technologies to improve our ability to predict landslides,
• identification of the conditions that favour the occurrence of coastal instabilities and associated erosion, and influence of the sea storms.
A partially distinct topic of this session regards tsunamis. Likely because they are relatively rare events in the Mediterranean, tsunamis are a quite underrated hazard. Tsunamis generated by submarine earthquakes and landslides, or volcanic collapses, among others, potentially threaten all Mediterranean coasts, for which a Tsunami Early Warning System (TEWS) is still not in place. We accept contributions on any aspect of tsunami research. Particularly welcome are those focusing on scientific gaps to be filled in view of a TEWS for the Mediterranean. They include, but are not limited to:
• tsunami hazard and risk assessment,
• tsunami source estimation,
• real time tsunami forecasting,
• real time geodetic and sea level monitoring.