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The expected increase in precipitation and temperature in Scandinavia, and especially short-time heavy precipitation, will increase the frequency of flooding. Urban areas are the most vulnerable, and specifically, the road infrastructure. The accumulation of large volumes of water and sediments on road-stream intersections gets severe consequences for the road drainage structures. The need for a tool to identify characteristics that impacts the occurrence of flooding, and to predict future event is thus essential. This study integrates the spatial and temporal soil moisture properties into the research about flood prediction methods. Soil moisture data is derived from remote sensing techniques, with focus on the soil moisture specific satellites ASCAT and SMOS. Furthermore, several physical catchments descriptors (PCDs) are used to identify catchment characteristics that are prone to flooding and an inventory of current road drainage facilities are conducted. Finally, the index of sediment connectivity (IC) by Cavalli, Trevisani, Comiti, and Marchi (2013) is implemented to assess the flow of water and sediment within the catchment. A case study of two areas in Sweden, Västra Götaland and Värmland, that was affected by severe flooding in August 2014 are included. The results show that the method with using soil moisture satellite data is promising for the inclusion of soil moisture data into estimations of flooding and the index of sediment connectivity. / De förväntade ökningarna i nederbörd och temperatur i Skandinavien, och speciellt extrem korttidsnederbörd, kommer att öka frekvensen av översvämningar. Urbana områden är de mest sårbara, och speciellt väginfrastrukturen. Ackumuleringen av stora volymer av vatten och sediment där väg och vattendrag möts leder till allvarliga konsekvenser för dräneringskonstruktionerna. Behovet av ett verktyg för att identifiera egenskaper som påverkar förekomsten av översvämningar, och för att förutsäga framtida händelser är väsentligt. Studien integrerar markfuktighet både rumsligt och tidsmässigt i forskningen om metoder för översvämningsrisker. Markfuktighetsdata är inkluderat från fjärranalysteknik, med fokus på de specifika satelliterna för markfuktighet, ASCAT och SMOS. Vidare är flertalet faktorer (PCDs) inkluderade för att identifiera egenskaper i avrinningsområden som är benägna till översvämning samt en inventering av nuvarande vägdräneringskonstruktioner. Slutligen är ett index med sediment connectivity (Cavalli et al., 2013) implementerat för att se flödet av vatten och sediment inom avrinningsområdet. En fallstudie med två områden i Sverige, Västra Götaland och Värmland, som drabbades av allvarliga översvämningar i augusti 2014 är inkluderat. Resultaten visar att metoden att använda markfuktighet från satellitdata är lovande för inkludering i uppskattningar av översvämningsrisk och i indexet med sediment connectivity.

Climate changes are predicted to increase precipitation intensities and occurrence of extreme rainfall events in the near future. Scandinavia has been identified as one of the most sensitive regions in Europe to such changes; therefore, an increase in the risk for flooding, landslides and soil erosion is to be expected also in Sweden. An increase in the occurrence of extreme weather events will impose greater strain on the built environment and major transport infrastructures such as roads and railways. This research aimed to identify the risk of flooding at the road-stream intersections, crucial locations where water and debris can accumulate and cause failures of the existing drainage facilities. Two regions in southwest of Sweden affected by an extreme rainfall event in August 2014, were used for calibrating and testing a statistical flood prediction model. A set of Physical Catchment Descriptors (PCDs) including road and catchment characteristics was identified for the modelling. Moreover, a GIS-based topographic Index of Sediment Connectivity (IC) was used as PCD. The novelty of this study relies on the adaptation of IC for describing sediment connectivity in lowland areas taking into account contribution of soil type, land use and different patterns of precipitation during the event. A weighting factor for IC was calculated by estimating runoff calculated with SCS Curve Number method, assuming a constant value of precipitation for a given time period, corresponding to the critical event. The Digital Elevation Model of the study site was reconditioned at the drainage facilities locations to consider the real flow path in the analysis. These modifications led to highlight the role of rainfall patterns and surface runoff for modelling sediment delivery in lowland areas. Moreover, it was observed that integrating IC into the statistic prediction model increased its accuracy and performance. The calibrated model was then validated in another area, located in the central part of Sweden, affected by severe rainfall event in August 2004, in order to verify its robustness even in ungauged catchments.

The expected increase in precipitation and temperature in Scandinavia, and especially short-time heavy precipitation, will increase the frequency of flooding. Urban areas are the most vulnerable, and specifically, the road infrastructure. The accumulation of large volumes of water and sediments on road-stream intersections gets severe consequences for the road drainage structures. The need for a tool to identify characteristics that impacts the occurrence of flooding, and to predict future event is thus essential. This study integrates the spatial and temporal soil moisture properties into the research about flood prediction methods. Soil moisture data is derived from remote sensing techniques, with focus on the soil moisture specific satellites ASCAT and SMOS. Furthermore, several physical catchments descriptors (PCDs) are used to identify catchment characteristics that are prone to flooding and an inventory of current road drainage facilities are conducted. Finally, the index of sediment connectivity (IC) by Cavalli, Trevisani, Comiti, and Marchi (2013) is implemented to assess the flow of water and sediment within the catchment. A case study of two areas in Sweden, Västra Götaland and Värmland, that was affected by severe flooding in August 2014 are included. The results show that the method with using soil moisture satellite data is promising for the inclusion of soil moisture data into estimations of flooding and the index of sediment connectivity. / De förväntade ökningarna i nederbörd och temperatur i Skandinavien, och speciellt extrem korttidsnederbörd, kommer att öka frekvensen av översvämningar. Urbana områden är de mest sårbara, och speciellt väginfrastrukturen. Ackumuleringen av stora volymer av vatten och sediment där väg och vattendrag möts leder till allvarliga konsekvenser för dräneringskonstruktionerna. Behovet av ett verktyg för att identifiera egenskaper som påverkar förekomsten av översvämningar, och för att förutsäga framtida händelser är väsentligt. Studien integrerar markfuktighet både rumsligt och tidsmässigt i forskningen om metoder för översvämningsrisker. Markfuktighetsdata är inkluderat från fjärranalysteknik, med fokus på de specifika satelliterna för markfuktighet, ASCAT och SMOS. Vidare är flertalet faktorer (PCDs) inkluderade för att identifiera egenskaper i avrinningsområden som är benägna till översvämning samt en inventering av nuvarande vägdräneringskonstruktioner. Slutligen är ett index med sediment connectivity (Cavalli et al., 2013) implementerat för att se flödet av vatten och sediment inom avrinningsområdet. En fallstudie med två områden i Sverige, Västra Götaland och Värmland, som drabbades av allvarliga översvämningar i augusti 2014 är inkluderat. Resultaten visar att metoden att använda markfuktighet från satellitdata är lovande för inkludering i uppskattningar av översvämningsrisk och i indexet med sediment connectivity.

Depuis la fin du Petit Age Glaciaire, les glaciers du massif du Mont-Blanc se retirent et libèrent ainsi d’importants volumes de sédiments. La fourniture sédimentaire grossière, qui est l’un des éléments de contrôle principaux de l’activité géomorphologique des torrents proglaciaires, peut être profondément modifiée. Dans le contexte de la vallée de Chamonix, où la pression urbaine est très forte, l’accélération du retrait glaciaire soulève des questionnements de la part à la fois des gestionnaires et des scientifiques sur l’évolution des risques et de la gestion des flux solides.L’objectif de ce travail de thèse est d’étudier le couplage sédimentaire entre les espaces libérés des glaces et les torrents jusqu’en fond de vallée, avec un double niveau de réponse. Le premier niveau permet de comprendre les trajectoires géomorphologiques des systèmes glacio-torrentiels depuis la fin du Petit Age Glaciaire et à l’échelle de la vallée. Il est étayé par une analyse géomorphologique et par l’étude de l’évolution du réseau hydrographique, qui s’appuie sur une modélisation et sur de nombreux documents d’archive. Cette étape souligne la diminution du potentiel du système torrentiel à remobiliser des sources sédimentaires. En conséquence, l’activité des torrents a fortement baissée depuis 150 ans. La seconde approche concerne l’étude des dynamiques récentes basée sur la comparaison diachronique de MNT LiDAR à haute résolution. Elle se focalise sur les trois systèmes glacio-torrentiels les plus grands de la vallée (Argentière, Mer de Glace et Bossons) dont les activités morphogènes ont pu être interprétées sous le prisme de crues d’occurrence décennale survenues en août 2014. Cette partie montre l’efficacité des processus de stockage sédimentaire au sein même des espaces désenglacés, ainsi que l’importance du forçage humain sur la morphogénèse torrentielle qui prime désormais sur l’influence du retrait glaciaire. L’état de la fourniture sédimentaire résulte actuellement de l’impact des différentes infrastructures, telles que les captages sous-glaciaires ou l’autoroute d’accès au Tunnel du Mont Blanc.Nos résultats montrent donc une première phase de diminution de l’activité torrentielle, principalement causée par le retrait des glaciers de 1850 à 1950, puis les conséquences pression des activités humaines sur les évolutions hydromorphologiques. La baisse de la torrentialité est toutefois ponctuée de quelques évènements, comme la crue du septembre 1920 sur l’Arveyron de la Mer de Glace, dont nous avons reconstitué les conséquences géomorphologiques. Malgré leur intensité, les effets de ces crues restent néanmoins relativement limités à l’aval immédiat des glaciers.Contrairement donc aux hypothèses initialement soulevées, le retrait glaciaire n’implique pas une augmentation de la fourniture sédimentaire, mais au contraire une diminution des apports du fait de la déconnexion entre les espaces désenglacés et les systèmes torrentiels. / Since the end of Little Ice Age, glaciers of the Mont blanc massif are retreating and large sediment volume are releasing from the ice. Thus, sediment supply, which is a main control factor of the proglacial stream geomorphic activity, could be deeply modified. Therefore, the consequences on the sediment fluxes and the risk management need to be understanding because of the present acceleration of glacier retreat and urban sprawl in the Chamonix valley. The goal of this thesis is to study the sediment coupling between stream systems and areas released by glaciers. A first approach allows understanding the geomorphic trajectory of proglacial system at the Chamonix scale since the end of the Little Ice Age. Our results supported by modelling and archives analyses, show the decreasing capacity of the hydrographic pattern to be connected with sediment sources. The second approach is lead on the LiDAR DEM multi-temporal comparison. It focuses on the three main proglacial systems: Argentière, Mer de Glace and Bossons, whom occurred a decennal flood during the 2014 summer. This part of our study underlines the storage efficiency into deglaciated areas and the increasing role of anthropic forcing. Present sediment yield to proglacial stream is leaded by facilities such as the Mont Blanc Tunnel substructure or the subglacial harnessing. Our results show that the decreasing geomorphic activity of proglacial stream in the Chamonix valley is mainly caused by glacier retreat from the early 18th Century to the middle 20th century, then it is leaded by the increasing human pressure. Nevertheless, the fall of stream activity is punctuated by extreme events, such as the 1920 flood in the Arveyron of the Mer de Glace that we reconstructed the geomorphic consequences. Despite their intensity, effects of that king of events are limited close to the glacier downstream. Contrary to our initial hypotheses, glacier retreat in the Chamonix Valley, is not follow by a geomorphic crisis of proglacial streams because of the disconnectivity between sediment released from the ice and stream systems.

Heavy precipitation events are expected to increase in the future, due to climate change. This predicted change will increase the risk of flooding, especially in urban areas. To mitigate these challenges and support a sustainable urban development, Nature-based solutions (NBS) can be used as a flood risk reduction measure. The NBS wetlands and constructed wetlands, composed of ponds, canals and ditches, are commonly used solutions which are multifunctional and primarily provides flood regulatory services, water quality improvements and increased biodiversity. To reach the full potential of NBS, the location and design is crucial. At present planning practise, a user friendly and time efficient tool to investigate suitable locations within a catchment is missing, where the concept of connectivity has arisen as a useful approach. In this study, the NBS concept and the potential of wetlands for flood risk mitigation have been investigated. In addition, the connectivity of two study case catchments has been analysed by using the Connectivity Index (IC index) by Cavalli et al. (2013). The aim has been to evaluate whether the IC index can be used to find suitable locations for NBS. Further, the study seeks to investigate how the IC index can be integrated into NBS planning practice in order to create useful information for the decisionmaking process. To validate the IC index result, a comparison has been performed with earlier flood events, two hydrological models, Multi criteria decision analysis and spatiotemporal soil parameters. From the obtained result and analysis, preliminary solutions have been proposed for two case studies in Sweden and Portugal. The result shows that IC index is promising as an, early stage, first assessment tool in NBS planning practice which can be used in order to allocate areas suitable for NBS. To find the most beneficial location and the site-specific design, a deeper investigation of the site-specific conditions is required. Moreover, a successful implementation is dependent on a close collaboration between different stakeholders and expertise. Finally, this study shows that realizing the potential of NBS wetlands is essential to create sustainable urban development and liveable and attractive cities.