Abstract
A high proportion of glaciated and permafrost areas in the Alps are retreating with consequent strong impacts on sediment cascades of mountainous catchments. A modelling approach, using a geographical information system (GIS) combined with an analysis based on graph theory, is applied to study the sediment connectivity of a glaciated catchment in the Italian Alps. The spatial distribution of sediment source, transport and deposition areas are defined for contrasting sub-catchments and related to real-time measurements of sediment fluxes. Additionally, multi-temporal digital elevation models (DEMs) are analyzed using DEMs of Difference (DoDs) and flow routing algorithms to determine sediment pathways and calculate sediment delivery ratios (SDR). The results of the project will greatly contribute to advance our comprehension of sediment connectivity dynamics driven by glacier melting and permafrost thawing, which will allow river managers to set up improved strategies for integrating flood hazard mitigation and ecological restoration in mountain river networks.