https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7889-9616
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ABSTRACT
Among the environmental threats, the intensification of natural hazards, such as soil erosion may threaten the integrity and value of cultural heritage sites. In this framework, the present study’s main objective was to identify archaeological sites susceptible by soil erosion, taking the case study of Chania prefecture in Crete Island. Remotely sensed and other available geospatial datasets were analyzed in a GIS-based empirical model, namely Unit Stream Power Erosion and Deposition (USPED), to estimate the average annual soil loss and deposition rates due to water-induced erosion in the study area. The resultant erosion map was then intersected with the locations and surrounding zones of the known archaeological sites for identifying the sites and the portions of their vicinity being at risk. The results revealed that Chania prefecture and its cultural heritage are significantly affected by both soil loss and deposition processes. Between the two processes, soil loss was found to be more intensive, influencing a larger part of the prefecture (especially to the west) as well as a higher amount of archaeological sites. The extreme and high soil loss classes were also detected to cover the most considerable portion of the sites’ surrounding area. The identification of the archaeological sites being most exposed to soil erosion hazard can constitute a basis for cultural heritage managers in order to take preventive preservation measures and develop specific risk mitigation strategies.
Data availability statement
The data that support the findings of this study are available from the corresponding author, C.P., upon reasonable request.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
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Notes on contributors
Christos Polykretis
Dr Christos Polykretis is Geographer (BSc) holding master (MSc) in “Management and Analysis of Geographic Information (Geoinformatics)” and PhD in Geoinformatics for environmental modeling. Since 2019, he is post-doctoral researcher at the Laboratory of Geophysical - Satellite Remote Sensing and Archaeo-environment (GeoSat ReSeArch Lab), Institute for Mediterranean Studies (IMS), Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH). His research interests focus on the application of Geoinformatics technologies (geographic information systems, remote sensing, etc.) in the study and analysis of several phenomena/problems (environmental, social, etc.). His specialization is mainly located in the areas of geospatial/satellite imagery data processing and spatial analysis. He has provided supportive teaching on relevant undergraduate and postgraduate university courses, and has also lectured on various training and lifelong learning programs. His research work includes publications in both national and international scientific journals and conference proceedings, as well as participations as external collaborator in several research projects. Furthermore, his previous professional experience includes jobs as geospatial data analyst in both public and private sectors.
Dimitrios D. Alexakis
Dr Dimitrios D. Alexakis is Assistant Researcher at the Institute for Mediterranean Studies (IMS), Foundation for Research and Technology Hellas (FORTH). During his PhD studies, he received a Marie Curie Fellowship and a scholarship from Greek State Scholarship Foundation. After the completion of his PhD studies, he worked as postdoctoral researcher and adjunct Professor at Cyprus University of Technology (2011-2014) and Technical University of Crete (2014-2018). His scientific interests involve applications of Remote Sensing (Satellite, UAV, Field Spectroscopy, SAR, Aerial) and GIS in the fields of Geomorphology, Landscape Ecology, Natural Hazards, Landscape archaeology, Hydrology, Spatial planning and Environmental monitoring. He has published 44 peer-reviewed papers, 6 book chapters and more than 85 papers in conference proceedings. He has organized and participated as instructor in international workshops (RESTECH, Marie Curie, etc.) and has acted as member of the scientific/organizing committee of international conferences. Dr Alexakis is member of the editorial board of “Remote Sensing MDPI” and “Open Geosciences“ journals. He has been involved either as coordinator or partner in more than 40 International and National funded research projects (Horizon 2020, Life+, ERASMUS+ 2020, FP7 Research, INTERREG III, ARISTEIA, ELIDEK, etc.).
Manolis G. Grillakis
Dr Manolis G. Grillakis holds BSc in Environmental Engineering (2006), and a MSc (2007) in the field of Remote Sensing for Hydrological Applications, from the Technical University of Crete (TUC). Throughout his studies, he has received several awards and scholarships. After the acquisition of his PhD (2014) in Hydrology and Climate Change, he was a post-doctoral researcher at the School of Environmental Engineering, in TUC. In 2020, he joined the Institute for Mediterranean Studies (IMS) of Foundation for Research and Technology - Hellas (FORTH) where he is currently post-doctoral researcher in the Laboratory of Geophysical - Satellite Remote Sensing and Archaeo-environment (GeoSat ReSeArch Lab). His research interests are specialized on water resources management, climate change impact assessment (floods, soil moisture, drought, etc.), climate data bias correction, hydrological process and earth surface simulation modeling (GHMs - LSMs). He has extensive teaching experience as lecturer in the fields of Hydrology/Hydraulics and Environmental Engineering. Dr Grillakis has been involved in various research projects at a European (H2020, FP7, ETC.) and national level (HFRI, IKY, etc.). He has published a considerable number of papers in high impact peer-reviewed scientific journals, as well as in international and national (peer-reviewed) conference proceedings.
Athos Agapiou
Dr Athos Agapiou is an Assistance Professor (since 07/2021) at the Cyprus University of Technology. He obtained his Diploma from the School of Rural and Surveying Engineering at the National Technical University of Athens (2005), while two years later, he obtained a MSc in the field of Geoinformatics from the same university. Dr Agapiou holds a M.A. from the Department of History and Archaeology of the University of Cyprus (2010). In 2013, he received his PhD. Throughout his studies, he has received several awards and scholarships. During the last years, he has been involved in various research projects at a European (H2020), regional (JPI-CH; Interreg) and local level (Research Promotion Foundation Cyprus). For these research activities, he received the Cyprus Research Awards Competition, “Young Researcher 2018”. Currently, he is acting as the Chair of the CAA-Gr (National Chapter of the ‘Computer Applications and Quantitative Methods in Archaeology’), National Delegate of Cyprus for Cluster 4 – “Digital, Industry and Space” of the Horizon Europe EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation, as well as reviewer at NASA Postdoctoral Program (NPP). He has authored numerous publications in scientific journals and conferences.
Branka Cuca
Dr Branka Cuca has received her bachelor degree in Architecture at the Politecnico di Milano (POLIMI) in 2003, where she has obtained a master’s degree in Architecture (2006). In March 2010, she has earned a title of PhD in Geomatics and Infrastructures. From 2013 to 2016, she has collaborated with Remote Sensing Lab at the Cyprus University of Technology (CUT). Since January 2017, she is an Assistant Professor in Topography and Cartography (Ricercatore legge 240/10 - t.det.) at the Department of Architecture, Built environment and Construction engineering (ABC) of POLIMI. Her scientific interests involve applications on Geoinformatics (Remote Sensing and GIS), Photogrammetry, Cultural Heritage, Surveying and Mapping. Since 2013, she acts as a co-chair of the Working Group Earth Observation/Copernicus of the European network NEREUS (Network of European Regions Using Space Technologies). Since 2009 until 2013, Dr Cuca was conduction coordination work at the Delegation of Lombardy Region in Brussels, supporting 12 research groups during project proposals preparation under European research and innovation programs (FP7, CIP, IEE, LIFE +, INTERREG, ESPON etc.) and promoting the interests of these research groups. He has authored numerous publications in peer-reviewed scientific journals and conference proceedings.
Nikos Papadopoulos
Dr Nikos Papadopoulos holds BSc in Geology (2001) and PhD (2007) in Applied Geophysics from the University of Thessaloniki (Greece). He was a post-doctoral researcher in the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources, KIGAM (2008) and Visiting Fellow Researcher in University of Arkansas, USA (2013). He joined the Foundation for Research and Technology, Hellas (FORTH) in 2009 where he is currently Associate Researcher of Applied Geophysics in Cultural Heritage in the Laboratory of Geophysical-Satellite Remote Sensing & Archaeo-environment (GeoSat ReSeArch Lab). His research interests include the numerical modeling and inversion of resistivity tomographic data, the implementation of diverse geophysical methods for near surface archaeological, environmental, urban, shallow marine applications and the employment of Geoinformation technologies in cultural and natural resources management. He is Associate Editor of Journal of Archaeological Prospection and Near Surface Geophysics and Topic/Guest Editor in Remote Sensing.
Apostolos Sarris
Dr Apostolos Sarris holds a B.A. n Astronomy & Physics (1985) and a M.A. in Physics (1988) from Boston University and a M.Sc. (1990) and a Ph.D. in Physics/Geophysics (1992) from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He is Professor of the “Sylvia Ioannou” Chair on Digital Humanities at the Archaeological Research Unit of Department of History and Archaeology at the University of Cyprus and Research Director at F.O.R.T.H. - Head of the GeoSat ReSeArch Lab. He is also an Adjunct/Affiliate Professor of Cyprus University of Technology and a Research Associate of the Dept. of Anthropology, The Field Museum of Natural History of Chicago, Illinois, USA. He has been a Senior MC Fellow of the EU at FRIAS/Freiburg University, a DLR-DAAD Research Fellow and a visiting senior researcher at the University of Leiden. He is currently Treasurer of UISPP Commission IV and associate editor of the Archaeological Prospection Journal. He has been involved in more than 110 large scale national, European and International large scale projects and in 240 programs of applied research in geophysics and remote sensing at Greece, Cyprus, Italy, Albania, Egypt, USA, Germany, Turkey, etc.