Understanding geohazards in the UNESCO WHL site of the Derwent Valley Mills (UK) using geological and remote sensing data

摘要

An analysis of the British Geological Survey’s key hazard datasets (GeoSure, DiGMapGB, National Landslide Database,udGeological Indicators of Flooding and Susceptibility to Groundwater Flooding) has provided an enhanced understandingudof geohazards within the Core Area and Buffer Zone of the UNESCO Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage List (WHL)udsite, UK. This knowledge contributes to the preservation of this industrial heritage site that is included as the UKuddemonstration site of the Joint Programming Initiative on Cultural Heritage and Global Change (JPI-CH) Heritage Plusudproject PROTHEGO: ‘PROTection of European cultural HEritage from GeO-hazards’ which is mapping geohazards inudthe 400+ WHL sites of Europe using satellite radar interferometry (InSAR) combined with geological information.udActing as baseline geohazard characterisation to feed into PROTHEGO’s WP5-WP6, our analysis reveals that floodingudfrom fluvial water flow and emergence of groundwater at the ground surface (across over 50% and 40% of the CoreudArea, respectively) are the main geohazards that require careful consideration, together with slope instability along theudsteep sides of the Derwent river valley (e.g. 1.4 km2 landslide deposits found at Cromford within the Buffer Zone). TheudUK Climate Projections 2009 (UKCP09) for the Derwent river catchment suggest drier summers (e.g. -15.1 to -19.4%udchange in summer precipitation in 2050; -18.5 to -23.1% in 2080), wetter winters and increased annual temperatures (e.g.ud+2.4 to +2.5 °C in 2050; +3.4 to +3.5 °C in 2080) under a medium greenhouse gas emission scenario. These couldudexacerbate flooding and slope instability and extend the areas susceptible to geohazards, posing further challenges forudheritage management.