Il concetto di attività in Geomorfologia: problemi e metodi di valutazione

The Concept of activity in Geomorphology: problems and evaluation methods

Abstract

Some of the main problems connected with both the theoretical concept of landforms activity in geomorphology and the practical evaluation of this parameter are briefly discussed. Furthermore, some of methods for the survey of data useful to determine this characteristic are sinthetically reported. Some possible schemes for the classification of activity, mainly aimed to geomorphological mapping, are presented. In the first of those classifying methods, useful for detailed documents at different scales, it is proposed first simply to split landforms in active and inactive and then to complete the information with an indication of mean return time (for the former) and age of last activation (for the latter). A second scheme, whose application could be appropriate for less detailed maps of large areas, is a more simplifying of the previous one, limiting the distinction to the three main activity classes (active s.s., dormant and inactive landforms). At last, a third and even more simplified classifying scheme, in which, distinction, in two classes, is based upon the landform activity demonstrated in the last two centuries, is briefly reported.