To study the regional scale interaction between slope instability
and erosion inducing factors, such as climate and hydrology on
the one hand, and geomorphology and land use parameters on the
other hand. To test and use remote sensing (RS) techniques, to
establish the "intrinsic" slope hazard state, and to determine
slope hazard threshold. A side objective is also to create a
data bank in GIS, to automatize parameter mapping with the aid of
RS and IET (Image Enhancement Techniques), to test the
feasibility of a large scale monitoring method with the use of
interferometry in satellite imagery.


An integrated research approach to study slope instability and
erosion of natural slopes will be carried out. Special emphasis
will be given to the effect of hydrometeorological factors.

Two areas of the Mediterranean basin are selected. One in
North-West Italy, one in Northern Peloponnesus (Greece). The two
areas show rather similar geological setting but different
climatic characters.

Apart from the quite multidisciplinary approach, the study
includes the analysis of the multi- factorial relationships
between different types of slope instability and erosion related
parameters at different scales. It is believed that such an
approach will be successful in revealing the relationships
between different parameters and inducing factors. The study
will be based largely on existing data. The new data will come
from field survey and monitoring, accompanied by satellite
imagery. The latter will allow automatic parameter mapping and
ensure the link between local and regional scale understanding by
means of interferometry. The comparison of interferometry
results with field survey will enable not only a better
understanding of the relationship between local and regional
effects, but will also enable the development of a new RS
application in this sector.

Relationships will be studied between: rainfall records and the
occurrence of failure and erosional events; land use, vegetation
cover and the occurrence of erosional and tensile features;
geomorphology and the occurrence of mass movement bodies; land
use, geomorphology and small scale displacements; hydrological
factors, small scale displacements and erosion. The
relationships will be analyzed with uni- and multi-variate
statistics, while ranges of influence will be studied with
geostatistics.

The results will allow to use the most representative parameters
for hazard mapping and determine operational planning.