River Bed Dynamic Evolution Following Landslide Dam: a Case Study

River bed morphology and sediment transport processes can suffer modifications at different time and spatial scale because of landslides interaction with river networks during hydrological events, increasing the hydraulic risk for anthropic works and infrastructures. The landslide phenomenon interfering with river processes is a complex topic because it involves composite geomorphic phenomena and their interpretation, through model approaches, is still under development and testing. In this work, the Authors describe the investigations carried out on a single thread gravel-bed reach in the middle valley of the Noce River in Basilicata (Italy), characterized by a narrow and confined bed, which was interested by a progressive morpho-hydrodynamic change caused by a landslide, mobilized from the right side slope of the basin, in July 2007. River bed dynamics and morphological alterations were analysed by field observations and topographic surveys and were referred to particular rainfall events occurred during the monitoring period. These methodologies allowed providing useful information about the morphological variations of the river reach and the protection of vulnerable works and civil infrastructures.