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A new methodology to map Italian coastal areas at risk of flooding is presented. This approach relies on detailed projections of the future sea level from a high-resolution, three-dimensional model of the Mediterranean Sea circulation, on the best available digital terrain model of the Italian coasts, and on the most advanced satellite-derived data of ground motion, provided by the European Ground Motion Service of Copernicus. To obtain a reliable understanding of coastal evolution, future sea level projections and estimates of the future vertical ground motion based on the currently available data were combined and spread over the digital terrain model, using a GIS-based approach specifically developed for this work. The coastal plains of Piombino-Follonica and Marina di Campo (Tuscany Region), Alghero-Fertilia (Sardinia), and Rome and Latina-Sabaudia (Lazio Region) were selected as test cases for the new approach. These coastal stretches are important for the ecosystems and the economic activities they host and are relatively stable areas from a geological point of view. Flood maps were constructed for these areas, for the reference periods 2010–2040, 2040–2070, and 2040–2099. Where possible, the new maps were compared with previous results, highlighting differences that are mainly due to the more refined and resolved sea-level projection and to the detailed Copernicus ground motion data. Coastal flooding was simulated by using the "bathtub" approach without considering the morphodynamic processes induced by waves and currents during the inundation process. The inundation zone was represented by the water level raised on a coastal DTM, selecting all vulnerable areas that were below the predicted new water level. Consequent risk was related to the exposed asset. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study quantifies the vegetation impact on urban meteorology by means of the numerical model WRF (Weather Research and Forecasting model). The assessment was made for two months: July and January. These were considered as representative for the summer and winter seasons, for the reference year 2015 in three European cities: Bologna, Milano, and Madrid. Two simulations at 1 km resolution were conducted over the cities with and without the actual urban vegetation, called VEG and NOVEG, respectively, in the model input. Then, the impact of vegetation was evaluated as the difference between the two simulations (VEG-NOVEG) for temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed fields. In general, we found that, as can be expected, urban vegetation tends to cool the atmosphere, enhance the humidity, and reduce the wind speed. However, in some cases, areas with the opposite behaviour exist, so that no a priori results can be attributed to the presence of urban vegetation. Moreover, even when major impact is confined around grid cells where urban vegetation is present, changes in meteorological quantities can be observed elsewhere in the city's area. The magnitude of urban vegetation impact is higher in summer than in winter and it depends on the city's morphological peculiarities, such as urban texture and vegetation types and distribution: average July temperature variations due to the presence of urban vegetation reach peaks of −0.8 °C in Milano, −0.6 °C Madrid, and −0.4 °C in Bologna, while in January, the values range between −0.3 and −0.1 °C. An average heating effect of ca. +0.2 °C is found in some parts of Madrid in January. For relative humidity, we found increments of 2%–3% in July and 0.5%–0.8% in January, while a decrease in wind speed was found between 0.1 and 0.5 m/s, with the highest occurring in Madrid during July. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]