Several decades of field observations, laboratory experiments and mathematical modelings have demonstrated that the riparian environment is a disturbance-driven ecosystem, and that the main source of disturbance is river flow fluctuations. The focus of the present work has been on the key role that flow fluctuations play in determining the abundance, zonation and species composition of patches of riparian vegetation. To this aim, the scientific literature on the subject, over the last 20 years, has been reviewed. First, the most relevant ecological, morphological and chemical mechanisms induced by river flow fluctuations are described from a process-based perspective. The role of flow variability is discussed for the processes that affect the recruitment of vegetation, the vegetation during its adult life, and the morphological and nutrient dynamics occurring in the riparian habitat. Particular emphasis has been given to studies that were aimed at quantifying the effect of these processes on vegetation, and at linking them to the statistical characteristics of the river hydrology. Second, the advances made, from a modeling point of view, have been considered and discussed. The main models that have been developed to describe the dynamics of riparian vegetation have been presented. Different modeling approaches have been compared, and the corresponding advantages and drawbacks have been pointed out. Finally, attention has been paid to identifying the processes considered by the models, and these processes have been compared with those that have actually been observed or measured in field/laboratory studies.

Riparian ecosystems exhibit complex biotic and abiotic dynamics, where the triad vegetation‐sediments‐stream determines the ecogeomorphological features of the river landscape. Random fluctuations of the water stage are a key trait of this triad, and a number of behaviors of the fluvial environment can be understood only taking into consideration the role of noise. In order to elucidate how randomness shape riparian transects, a stochastic model that takes into account the main links between vegetation, sediments, and the stream is adopted, emphasizing the capability of vegetation to alter the plot topography. A minimalistic approach is pursued, and the probability density function of vegetation biomass is analytically evaluated in any transect plot. This probability density function strongly depends on the vegetation‐topography feedback. We demonstrate how the vegetation‐induced modifications of the bed topography create more suitable conditions for the survival of vegetation in a stochastically dominated environment.

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Precipitation of calcium carbonate from water films generates fascinating calcite morphologies that have attracted scientific interest over past centuries. Nowadays, speleothems are no longer known only for their beauty but they are also recognized to be precious records of past climatic conditions, and research aims to unveil and understand the mechanisms responsible for their morphological evolution. In this paper, we focus on crenulations, a widely observed ripple-like instability of the the calcite–water interface that develops orthogonally to the film flow. We expand a previous work providing new insights about the chemical and physical mechanisms that drive the formation of crenulations. In particular, we demonstrate the marginal role played by carbon dioxide transport in generating crenulation patterns, which are indeed induced by the hydrodynamic response of the free surface of the water film. Furthermore, we investigate the role of different environmental parameters, such as temperature, concentration of dissolved ions and wall slope. We also assess the convective/absolute nature of the crenulation instability. Finally, the possibility of using crenulation wavelength as a proxy of past flows is briefly discussed from a theoretical point of view.

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International audienceRiver dunes and antidunes are induced by the morphological instability of stream-sediment boundary. Such bedforms raise a number of subtle theoretical questions and are crucial for many engineering and environmental problems. Despite their importance, the absolute/convective nature of the instability has never been addressed. The present work fills this gap as we demonstrate, by the cusp map method, that dune instability is convective for all values of the physical control parameters, while the antidune instability exhibits both behaviors. These theoretical predictions explain some previous experimental and numerical observations and are important to correctly plan flume experiments, numerical simulations, paleo-hydraulic reconstructions, and river works

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This work presents the technical characteristics and the regulation system of a complex water supply system (WSS) in an Italian Alpine valley. The WSS faces multiple challenges:water supply over a large area, hydropower generation, and coordination between multiple local sources and networks. The development of an optimal feedback-control algorithm for the supervisory control system was key to guarantee the operation of this modern WSS. This regulation scheme and the rationale for its development are described in this paper. A customized numerical model of the WSS was developed in order to test the operating rules through suitable numerical simulations. Results show that the proposed algorithm satisfies the objectives of the WSS and respects its tight constraints. The analysis of the case study evidences the advantages of coordination between municipal water networks, quantifies the hydropower generation potential in the WSS, and highlights the key role of automation and remote control in modern water systems. Finally, the case study presented here provides an efficient technical solution for the hydraulic regulation of a high pressure water main connecting a cascade of small tanks in mountain regions.