Multistadial physiographic evolution of the Bradano River catchment in Southern Italy

Abstract

The Bradano River catchment, an about 3000 km2 wide hydrographic basin located at the border between Basilicata and Apulia, in southern Italy, has been studied with the specific target to delineate its physiographic evolution, in terms of modification of its watershed perimeter and change in the fluvial network. To achieve this scope, land surfaces and other landforms have been mapped. The progressive enlargement of the catchment basin occurred in four evolutionary steps mainly due to fluvial processes triggered by base-level changes. The age of terraces and palaeosurfaces and the chronology and position of the ancient coastlines permitted a reliable reconstruction of the basin history, started in mid-Pleistocene times, with a major stage of basin  development between that age and the late Pleistocene. Landslides scattered within the basin contributed as one of the main morphogenetic factor to shape the whole area in recent times (fourth Holocene stage) and are often genetically related to the fluvial processes. Mass movement data from multiple archives have been mapped in a novel inventory map. Based on these data, contour maps of landslide density have been designed in a GIS environment to define the zones of highest hazard in the study area.