Monday, November 4th, 2019
Speaker: Dr. Donatella Termini, Professor, Department of Engineering, University of Palermo, Italy
Title: "River's evolution processes and Flow-vegetation interactions"
Time: 1:00 – 2:00 PM
Location: Rm. 212, Ellis Hall, Queen’s University
Bio
Donatella Termini received her Ph.D. in Hydraulics and Fluvial Hydraulics in 1996. She continued her work as a research fellow at Queen's University and a post-doc at DIIAA of Palermo's University. In 2001, she accepted the position of Assistant Professor in Hydraulic Engineering - Palmero's University. Present research efforts include the investigation in fluvial hydraulics and sco-hydraulics (flow resistance, effect of vegetation, sediment transport, effects of bed roughness), prediction of river morphological evolution (meandering and braiding) both through experimental investigations and by the development of numerical simulation codes. She has published more than 180 papers in proceedings of national and international congresses and in international scientific journals, is a reviewer for many international journals and current guest editor for the Journal of Advances in Water Resources. She has also received a number of awards including the 2019 Best Researcher in Hydrodynamics and Fluvial Processes (RULA Awards) and the 2018 Sapio Award for Research and Innovation.
Abstract
Alteration of hydrological conditions in fluvial systems inevitably leads to changes in river morphology, riparian or riverbed vegetation and ecosystems. As literature shows, climate is one of controlling factor of the distribution of plant species. Rapid climate change leads to remarkable changes in the distribution and behavior of plants, contributing to modify the ecosystem equilibrium. Thus, riparian vegetation distribution could change in time and in space depending on the combination of factors affecting the settling and growth of vegetated elements. On one hand, the presence of vegetation in rivers exerts an important ecological function and contributes to maintain suitable habitat; on the other hand, vegetation and derived materials can be used for erosion control and slope protection to reduce risk events. Thus, the analysis of flow-vegetation interaction is important both to evaluating processes such as sediment transport and mixing of transported quantities and to defining the role of vegetation in channel's morphodynamics.
