Fausto Tomei - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Fausto Tomei

Meteorological Applications, 2021

Water availability is strongly variable in space and time, also due to the climate change. Agricu... more Water availability is strongly variable in space and time, also due to the climate change. Agriculture is a sector specially affected by the water scarcity problem considering that is one of the main users. Irrigation scheduling simulation models play an important role in this context by estimating plant water requirements and supporting best water management practices. Representative model parameters and input data are however fundamental to achieve good model performances. The objective of this work was to assess the sensitivity of the agro-hydrological model CRITERIA-1D to the leaf area index (LAI) parameter, commonly used to characterize the plant status and to represent its developing stages. The model has been set up using, on the one hand, literature LAIMAX and LAIMIN values and, on the other hand, ground measured values, obtained by means of a ceptometer. Results show significant differences between the irrigation water requirements estimated between the two scenarios. For t...

&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;One of the major challenges in soil hydrological modelli... more &amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;One of the major challenges in soil hydrological modelling is due to the fact that soils are heterogeneous at all spatial scales. The identification and accurate representation of such heterogeneity can be crucial for quantifying the subsurface hydrological states and water fluxes.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;This work presents the results of an integrated approach for process-based soil hydrological modelling for a highly instrumented hillslope site. The approach builds on the integration of classical soil mapping, on accurate monitoring of soil water dynamics as well as on geophysical measurements for characterising subsurface heterogeneity. It finally integrates the gathered information into a physical model for simulating the soil water dynamics with high spatial and temporal resolution.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;At the &amp;amp;lt;em&amp;amp;gt;Sch&amp;amp;amp;#228;fertal Hillslope&amp;amp;lt;/em&amp;amp;gt; site (Central Germany), the soil monitoring network &amp;amp;lt;em&amp;amp;gt;STH-net&amp;amp;lt;/em&amp;amp;gt; provides high-quality data about the soil water dynamics and soil properties at 8 instrumented soil profiles and depths within the unsaturated zone. The soil spatial variability, known from local soil description and sampling, was mapped using time-lapse electromagnetic induction measurements. The geophysical inversion of the data provided depth-resolved information about the subsurface structures in terms of soil-bedrock interface, soil horizons and their spatial continuity along the hillslope transect. Based on this, different versions of the subsurface geometry model were produced and associated to soil hydraulic parameterizations derived from different approaches.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;We show the performance of the physical model &amp;amp;lt;em&amp;amp;gt;CRITERIA-3D&amp;amp;lt;/em&amp;amp;gt; in reproducing the soil water dynamics for different subsurface models with increasing complexity. Specifically, we highlight and discuss the key challenges that need to be addressed when continuous information about the subsurface heterogeneity is to be mapped in the field with high resolution and represented in a numerical model with fine discretization in three-dimensions.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;&amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;gt;We conclude that linking state-of-the-art experimental methods to advanced numerical tools, and bridging the gap between different disciplines such as pedology, hydrology and geophysics can be the key for improving our ability to measure, predict and better understand the vadose-zone processes. This will provide important knowledge needed for transferring this approach to larger scales where the accurate quantification of the soil water fluxes is required for a more efficient water management in the context of sustainable food production and climate change.&amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;gt;

Transport in the Soil–Plant–Atmosphere System, 2015

The year 2014 had a mild and extremely rainy start when the Alps were covered with the thickest s... more The year 2014 had a mild and extremely rainy start when the Alps were covered with the thickest snow depth since the 50ies. Then the year continued with a rainy spring and a cool and extremely rainy summer, with snow flakes outside alpine huts on the 15th of August. Autumn has been extremely rainy, but warm. During this last season, the usual daily cycle was not observed in the Po valley for days and sometimes minimum temperatures exceeded the expected values of climatic maximum temperature. The start of the last winter has badly impacted the alpine ski resorts, with very mild temperatures, especially at high locations, which made the alpine landscape more autumn-like than winter-like. To summerize, the 2014 has been a very warm year, with intense precipitation anomalies in all seasons, except for spring, and in which several extreme meteorological events further contributed to destabilize the alpine and appennine slopes, reactivating critical hydro-geological instabilities which re...

Atti del Workshop …, 2010

Agricultural and Forest Meteorology, 2007

Advances in Water Resources, 2010

We present a numerical, catchment-scale model that solves flow equations of surface and subsurfac... more We present a numerical, catchment-scale model that solves flow equations of surface and subsurface flow in a three-dimensional domain. Surface flow is described by the two-dimensional parabolic approximation of the St. Venant equation, using Manning's equation of motion; subsurface flow is described by the three-dimensional Richards' equation for the unsaturated zone and by three-dimensional Darcy's law for the saturated zone, using an integrated finite difference formulation. The hydrological component is a dynamic link library implemented within a comprehensive model which simulates surface energy, radiation budget, snow melt, potential evapotranspiration, plant development and plant water uptake. We tested the model by comparing distributed and integrated three-dimensional simulated and observed perched water depth (PWD), stream flow data, and soil water contents for a small catchment. Additional tests were performed for the snow melting algorithm as well as the different hydrological processes involved. The model successfully described the water balance and its components as evidenced by good agreement between measured and modelled data.

Water, 2020

In recent decades, water scarcity has become a frequent and widespread phenomenon. Intensificatio... more In recent decades, water scarcity has become a frequent and widespread phenomenon. Intensification of water scarcity will have economic impact on the main water-using sectors. The highest pressure on the water resources is exerted by agriculture. Irrigation is the largest consumer of the agriculture sector and the efficient use of water is of utmost importance. The aim of this study is to explore the capability of an innovative platform that combines Earth Observation data, weather forecasts and numerical simulations to plan more precisely water allocation in space and time in the irrigated agriculture. This platform, created in the framework of MOSES, provides in Romania short-term irrigation forecasts adapted to the hydrological behavior of alluvial soils specific to the Lower Danube Floodplain. The short-term irrigation forecasts have been tested with applied water volumes and in situ water resources measurements in order to assess the water allocation in the irrigated agricultur...

In this paper we present an operational chain developed in the Emilia-Romagna region (Italy) to m... more In this paper we present an operational chain developed in the Emilia-Romagna region (Italy) to monitor snow cover and snow water equivalent (SWE) over the area managed by the Regional Catchment Technical Service. Remote sensing data from medium resolution sensors (MODIS and AVHRR/3) are used as input for snow cover detection algorithms. Hourly weather station measurements are used as input for a snow melt and accumulation model in order to estimate the snow water equivalent. The model reliability is mainly related to the network density of heated rain gauges detecting snow precipitation. The products are disseminated as web bulletins and they are used in monitoring chain and alert for the Civil Protection Agency. Keywords: remote sensing, snow, MODIS, AVHRR/3, MSG, snow water equivalent, civil protection. Analisi della copertura nevosa in Emilia-Romagna Riassunto Il presente documento descrive la catena operativa sviluppata in Emilia-Romagna per il monitoraggio del manto nevoso e l...

... Tipologia: Proceedings. Citazione: DRAGO A, DIMINO G, DRAGO C, NERI L, PASOTTI L, SAMMARTANO ... more ... Tipologia: Proceedings. Citazione: DRAGO A, DIMINO G, DRAGO C, NERI L, PASOTTI L, SAMMARTANO A, et al. ... Autori: DRAGO A; DIMINO G; DRAGO C; NERI L; PASOTTI L; SAMMARTANO A; SCIBETTA C; SEMINARA C; ZINONI F; ANTOLINI G; FONTANA G; TOMEI ...

2018 23rd Conference of Open Innovations Association (FRUCT)

The Science of the total environment, 2020

In Europe, 25% of groundwater has poor chemical status. One of the main stressors is agriculture,... more In Europe, 25% of groundwater has poor chemical status. One of the main stressors is agriculture, with nitrates and plant protection products (PPPs) causing failure in 18% and 6.5%, respectively, of groundwater bodies (by area). EU legislation for the placement of the PPPs on the market is one of the most stringent in the world. However, recent monitoring studies in hilly vineyards of Tidone Valley, north-west of Italy, show presence of PPPs used for grapevine cultivation in 15 out of 26 groundwater wells monitored, at values above the Environment Quality Standard (EQS) for groundwater (0.1 μg/L). However, no information about the contamination sources are available. Therefore, the objective of the present work is to evaluate the groundwater contamination sources by PPPs, in a small catchment with intensive viticulture, by collecting and integrating monitoring data, sub-surface water movement data and territorial characteristics. The results show that in wells used for PPP's mix...

1. Introduction 2. Basic physical properties of soil 3. Soil gas phase and gas diffusion 4. Soil ... more 1. Introduction 2. Basic physical properties of soil 3. Soil gas phase and gas diffusion 4. Soil temperature and heat flow 5. Soil liquid phase and soil-water interactions 6. Steady state water flow and hydraulic conductivity 7. Variation in soil properties 8. Transient water flow 9. Triangulated irregular network 10. Water flow in three dimensions 11. Evaporation 12. Modeling coupled transport 13. Solute transport in soils 14. Transpiration and plant-water relations 15. Atmospheric boundary conditions