Italy: Back To The Future!

Italy is a beautiful country with so many different habitats inside it. It can go from sandy beaches with mild weather, to gigantic mountains with harsh cold winds and snow.

The Appenine Mountains are a key example of Orogeny.
Orogeny is the process by which mountains are created. "Oros"
 meaning mountains in Greek and "Genesis" meaning origin. T
his is the primary land form found cutting Italy in half.

There can be gorgeous valleys with waterfalls and lots of agriculture, and then there are Volcanoes that inspired novels.

Stromboli Volcano off the coast of Italy was the  insipiration for Mordor  in the Lord of the Rings

Trevi Fountain, Rome, Italy

 Italy literally has just about everything to offer. It was the start of the Renaissance artistic period, and for a while it was the center the world. (Not geographically speaking).

Ancient Roman ship buried in silt recently dug up in Pisa, Italy.

In some places like Pisa, the grounds are sinking in and will eventually suck in the buildings.Pisa is silting in, which is the process when sediments are moved by water and deposited on land. Eventually, so much silt will be deposited inland and bury and Pisa. Not that long ago, as a matter of fact, while digging through silt in Pisa, 9 ancient ships were found buried and are now on display.

Cinque Terre, Italy is slowly silting in.

But if Pisa is starting to silt in, then what will happen to the rest of the country over time?

Lipari Island, Messina, Italy.
The huge square blocks in from of the island are from revetment.
Placing large blocks or rocks in front of the shore line stops silt from imposing the land.

1,000 Years Into the Future
By this time Pisa will be gone and silted under. Without revetment to stop the sand from flowing in, Pisa will be buried.

The coasts will slowly be eaten away. With the water intruding the land, higher cliffs will gain wave cut notches from the water digging into the side of the rock. when these notches get too large, the cliff will collapse and be laid into the water.

Wave cut Notch. Eventually, the base won't be
strong enough to support the top and it will collapse.

Other effects that will occur due to failed revetment will be Sea Arches. A sea arch is when a wall of rock stands in the water, and a portion isn't strong enough. The waves blow a holes through it and we get these:

Sea Arch in Ponzo, Italy. The wall gave out in this portion due to weak sediments and fell into the water.

10,000 Years Into the Future

The current Ice Age we're in will be concluded and the world will start to heat up. The ice caps and glaciers will have mostly melted causing sea level rising. With increased sea level rising, the silting will have moved further and further inland. the higher elevated land by the water will soon become sea stacks. 

How Sea Stacks are formed

Faraglioni sea stack in Italy.

If you were to go into the Appenine mountains, you'd find that they have even hotter summers. The climate of Italy is due mainly to the mountains themselves. The Po River attributes to about 70% of lower Italy. The river will have a massive flood because of temperature increase and be followed with heavy unforgiving rains. The mountains will increase in size due to converging and the clouds will accumulate on top of the mountains. These powerful storms will rip down the sides of the Apennines and create thick lush plants that can survive at the base of the mountains and towards the beaches.

1,000,000 Years Into the Future

Hopefully by this time, the Earth is at the end of another Ice Age as we are today. After the ice caps freeze again the water levels will recede. In Italy, most of the beaches would be silted over, but we'd see these nice wave cut platforms that would have happened over the last million years.

Sea cut platform process.

These sea cut platforms will begin to shape Italy again as it once was. Pisa will still be covered by sand and be buried, but the water above it from before will now be gone and flat. New Volcanoes will have risen from the ocean, whereas our old ones would have detonated and collapsed. Places like Sicily that had been flooded out due to the end of the last ice age will now be uncovered and plants will begin to thrive on the new island. 

Africa, being divergent from Saudi Arabia will move up closer and closer to Italy, which will be moving more into central Europe. The mountains will greatly increase in height, and due to the African plate pushing into the country, it will move back the western side will connect with Croatia, Bosnia, and Albania. Italy will get colder due to moving north and will eventually converge with the entire continent to no longer become a peninsula. The Mediterranean sea will shrink in size with Africa imposing north.  

Portoverne, Italy. Looking closely at the rock formations, you can see notches
in the rocks, and the different layers of rocks that have formed over the years.
The cliffs were once underwater and/or at water level because platforms are seen.
Sea caves are present and the large rocks in the water are from watch vut notches
that couldn't be supported anymore and were dropped from the wall.

In Conclusion

Italy is a ridiculously weird country. Originally it broke apart from Central Europe into the Mediterranean sea. I believe that it will go back to the way it almost was, however, the Appenine Mountains will grow larger due to the African and Eurasian plates colliding and pushing the country north. Within the first 1000 years, not too much will happen, just silting in the beaches. After that with the ice age ending, silting will increase and the the Mediterranean will rise, taking over lower Italy and making the country a lot hotter more rainy. After that, the country will be located more north, however the land will look a lot like it does today towards the beaches and right next to the mountains because of the lower sea levels. Italy will still have many different types of habitats and areas that are unique only to their country, and it will still be just as beautiful, even 1,000,000 years later.

Manarola, Italy. Part of the Cinque Terre

Italian Climate

Climate and weather are two completely different things. Climate is what it's supposed to be like outside, and weather is what you actually get. Weather happens atmosphere, but not just anywhere in the atmosphere. The atmosphere is approximately 32,000 km or 20,000 miles thick. The way I see it is that the crust of the earth is it's skin, and the atmosphere is can be considered either the hairs on the skin that protect from heat and cold, or a mystic aura that protects the body from incoming UV rays and holds us together.

The layers of the atmosphere
Troposphere- Where the weather happens
Tropopause- The top of the Troposphere
Stratosphere- A stable area where the temperature increases;
Ozone found here
Mesosphere- The middle
Thermosphere/ Exosphere- the otter layers of the atmosphere

It starts with Water Vapor, which is variable from place to place. The ability to hold moisture is a function of temperature.How much water is in the air in a certain area effects how the weather is. The atmosphere is divided into section, each doing their own part to help protect the Earth from solar particles and UV radiation.

The way temperature works from radiation balance. Insolation (The amount of solar radiation received at a certain area). The radiation from sun is projected to Earth, and while some is absorbed to heat the planet, the rest is reflected. The radiation that is absorbed gets turned into thermal energy which increases the temperature of the area. The reflected energy is reflected because of an objects albedo (the colour or hue of an item determines how much energy is collected from heat. White reflects heat and black collects it).

Earth's Atmosphere Pressure. Each section represents how the weather in that area functions. H stands for High pressure which comes with good weather and clear skies. L stands for low pressure and normally means cool weather and/or storms.

The Earth circulates like the human body. The latitudinal lines across the planet can be categorized based off the type of pressure that occurs.

Koppen ClassificationChart

Another way of categorizing the weather is the Koppen climate classification chart. This chart categorizes the different regions of the world into sections that can relate to one another. According to the chart, places that lie in the same relative latitudes SHOULD have similar weather. This is both true and false. As you can see from the chart, Northern Africa is all categorized similarly, as is Russia and Canada. However when looking at the U.S. and Italy, there are spots that match such as the coastlines, and parts that don't such as the middle around Colorado. Italy is considered to have several different categorizations on Koppen's chart.

Rome in the summer. Standard Csa Climate.
Low vegetation and hot temperatures.

The first is a Csa. Csa shows that this section of Italy has a warm temperature, with dry and hot summers. Sections of Italy that fall under this category are like Rome and Naples. The average temperature is around 74-78 degrees with lots of precipitation in the winter, but rare snowfall. The plants that live there have adapted to the cold winters and low summer precipitation.

Potenza, Italy. Csb Climate

Italy also is considered a Csb, which is verey similar to a Csa, just meaning that the summers are warm instead of hot. These areas have more rain during the winter and experience snowfall. These areas are also higher elevated.

Florence, Italy. Cfa Climate

Getting more towards the mountains and valleys, were agriculture flourishes, cities such as Milan, Florence, and Venice have Cfa climates, indicating they have hot and wet summers, and mild winters. Places like this tend to be northern inland, and Southern Italy. These climates have no dry seasons.

Other places in the mountains have Dfb and Dfc climates which mean they have cold winters with lots of snow and precipitation, and cool-mild summers.

Rhemes- Notre- Dame, Winter. Dfc climate

Rhemes- Notre- Dame, Summer. Dfc climate

The Po's of Italy

Italy has an extraordinary landscape. Italy is very famous for its romantic atmosphere; houses at riverfront and relaxing gondola rides. A common attraction of Italy, besides the art, is the gorgeous rivers that flow through the towns. However, the rivers also serve for trade routes among the locals.

Restaurant and attraction strip along the river. Transportation by gondola.

The country itself actually has over 1000 different rivers. There are three prominent ones however  named Po, Tiber, and the Amo.

The main Rivers of Italy, not including the much smaller ones

The Po river is the largest in the country, stretching relatively 420 miles, is it about the same length as the Noatak river in Alaska. The Po river is the main point of industry in Italy. in 2002 relatively 1/3 of Italy's population lived along the Po river.

The Po River winds through the country side and cities. The rivers curves around the many hills  out east towards the  Adriatic Sea.

The course of the Po River

The Po river has 141 tributaries connecting to it. Tributaries are streams or smaller rivers that connect to the main one to help increase its size. The tributary itself does not lead to the ocean directly though. When two tributaries meet, they create a confluence. This continues with more tributaries meet up and converging until the main stem is created and leads out to the ocean/sea. The Po river is below sea level leading to very accessible and high water tables. The streams that feed into the main stem fill up quickly and the river is subject to frequent and high flood waters.

Po River Tributary map

Thee main use of the river is for agriculture. The Po River is located in the Po Valley, also called the Po Basin. The Basin can be divided into two parts. The upper portion of the valley is more dry and not suitable for farming, whereas the lower section of the valley where more tributaries are located serves for for agriculture works. The farms are located in the synclines of the land with steep anticlines along the outsides. The water flows down the anticlines easily even though there are many rocks in the way because of the porous landscape. A porous landscape means that the the water can move through the rocks easily and quickly based off the porosity of the rocks. Italy's land is very porous.

Synclines are created when the earth folds on itself due to compression. The Earth gets pushed together, but neither buckles or breaks and instead folds. The anticline is the steeper portion of the slope and the thickest part of the fold.

The Po river, along with most of Italy is very mild with a subtropical climate. This means that the country has cold winters and moderate summers. However they also do have extremely hot hot days that occur sometimes in the summer as well as days where the rain gets dumped on them. The reaction for the soil is very good. The area towards the end of the Po valley is a rich a fertile alluvial fan. With all the different streams flowing, the ground is perfect for farming. In some places the Po river almost gets dried out because of how much farming occurs, but is then quickly and easy replaced naturally. 

Alluvial fans are created when sediments and build up get caught in a stream or
river and eventually get taken away. The water gradient declines causing it to flow in different directions and break up.

Italy is certainly considered a permeable slope which means it can absorb rain water.The Pedogenic regime (soil forming environments which develop distinct soil characteristics) that Italy has is called Calcification. This means that the land is rich with organic matter and vegetation  Water is able to move fluidly through the soil. The exact type of soil with the Calcification class is called Mollisol which is perfect for agriculture. The ground moves slow and calmly (in most cases). Permeable slopes move in a fashion called creep where the ground sags and slopes slow and steadily. 

Example of Creep. creeping over time is noticeable in the hills.
This happens over many years and shows how the land moves
slowly downhill.

Even though the ground most often moves at a consistently slow pace, it is highly susceptible to mass wasting. Mass wasting is the down-slope movement of angular slope material. The most common type of mas wasting in Italy are flows. This can either be debris, which contains all sorts of rocks and trees as well as other things, to just mud flows. Both of which move very quickly and look like swift dark water. 

The different types of Mass Wasting

The slopes in the Po valley are perfect for mass wasting, however there haven't been too many large incidents over the years in the area.

The Apennines and Stromboli?!?

Italy is certainly one of the most distinguishable land masses. Italy is one of the three largest peninsulas in Southern Europe at approximately  620 miles long. A peninsula is created when waves of water begin to erode the outsides of the land, causing the middle of it to become more prominent. Italy is surrounded by the Adriatic, Ionian, and Tyrrhenian seas which include Sicily and Sardinia. 

With that being said, Italy lies right at the meeting points of the Eurasian and African tectonic plates. These plates clash together and cause subduction right along the middle of the country. This creates the mostly sedimentary Apennine Mountains. These mountains are sometimes called the Italian Backbone because they span the length of the country.

Apennine Mountains

Parts of the Apennines are made from volcanic activity. When looking at the rock formations we can see huge chunks of basalt.

Basalt Pillows 

There are about 29 volcanoes in Italy, out of all of them, there are still 3 active volcanoes, and 3 volcanoes, with reported, but not confirmed activity in previous years. The most famous of Italy's active Volcanoes is Mount Vesuvius. Mount Vesuvius is an andesite, or composite volcano with a large and deep caldera which formed approximately 17,000 years ago after a massive explosion. Even though the volcano does little more than spout steam and gases, it is rich with potassium and phonolite, causing extreme explosions.

1944 Eeruption

Satellite View

Vesuvius Today

There is however, another famous volcano, Stromboli. I'm not meaning the tasty dish either, I'm meaning the awesome volcano that was the inspiration for Mordor in The Lord of the Rings. Stromboli is a highly active volcano off the coast of Sicily. It is known as the "Lighthouse of the Mediterranean" because of house visible it is. Stromboli is a Stratavolcano.

Stromboli Volcano off of Sicily

When looking at other rock formations like the gorgeous plateau, Pietra di Bismantova, scientists had discovered that this area used to be underwater and rose up out of the sea. Fossils can be found on the peaks, and the rocks matches those that had been found in the sea. The area used to be, at one point, in the lush tropical waters, as suggested by the fossils found. It almost looks like a hogback but I don't believe it is. 

Pietra di Bismantova

Tying back into the clashing of the tectonic plates however, some cities, such as Pisa, aren't exactly suitable for construction. The Leaning Tower of Pisa, was once straight, but due to liquefaction, part of the tower began to sink into the ground. Liquefaction is was the ground is really sandy and has just enough water under and in it to slowly pull things down. Quicksand is a keep form of liquefaction.

Leaning Tower of Pisa

When the plates crash together, the earthquakes shake up the soft sandy ground with the water and cause the ground to sink down in the areas around the earthquake. Such as during the earthquake that occurred in Italy last May where the streets began to sink in the sand.

The grounds aren't exactly stable and the the plates colliding isn't a good thing, but it still is a very beautiful place to live.

  

The Geography of Italy!

My Name is Christopher White and I thought I'd really rather do a blog than some traditional tests for my Geography class that I'm currently enrolled in. I decided to pick Italy for my main focus. I've never been to Italy, but it is definitely the first place I want to really visit out of the country. I've been to most of the states in the U.S, and I have some favourites, such as Maine, and I have some that I couldn't stand, such as Missouri. But I've never really found a place in America that's quite like Italy. I love the culture and the art that comes from Italy. The Renaissance is by far my favourite art period. The mythology and massive sculptures, the science, and the famous artists; everything about it interests me and I thought I'd like to go more in depth in learning about the country and why it is the way that it is. Plus, look at this beautiful scenery, who wouldn't wanna study it?