MORPHOTECTONIC APPROACH. KEY TO DETECT TECTONIC SIGNATURES IN DRAINAGE NETWORK SYSTEMS

Tectonically active regions host landscapes shaped by the interaction between endogenic forces, which drive crustal deformation, and exogenic processes, which sculpt the surface. Understanding these interactions lies at the core of tectonic geomorphology, a discipline that integrates concepts and tools from geology, geodesy, computational science, and related fields to extract information preserved in the landscape. In recent decades, rapid technological advances, including the availability of high-resolution digital elevation models, specialized databases, and computational techniques, have transformed the field, enabling more rigorous analyses of the dynamics governing active terrains. Rivers, and particularly bedrock channels, stand out as especially valuable systems in this context. Their longitudinal profiles are sensitive to changes in base level and tectonic perturbations, allowing them to serve as geomorphic markers of landscape adjustment. Among the models developed to quantify fluvial incision, the stream power incision model remains the most widely applied. Its simplicity, however, highlights limitations related to parameter estimation and the representation of complex physical processes, underscoring the need for careful methodological refinement. This thesis applies river profile inversion techniques to quantify landscape evolution in different tectonic contexts. The first case study, located in the northwestern Apennines (Italy), employs uniform erodibility values given the relative lithological homogeneity of the catchments analyzed. Results provide insights into the regional evolution of this sector of the mountain belt. A second case study, carried out in western Anatolia (Turkey), required a more complex approach due to greater lithological variability and tectonic complexity. Here, erodibility values were differentiated by lithology, capturing more accurately the incision dynamics and emphasizing the role of geological contrasts in shaping the drainage network. A third case study revisits the Apennines at a broader spatial scale, encompassing both northern and central sectors. Unlike the first Apennine analysis, this investigation emphasizes differences in geomorphological relief and topographic variability, situating the results within the wider framework of crustal processes acting across the mountain chain. By comparing these regions, the research highlights both the strengths and limitations of current inversion methodologies. It shows how the accuracy of parameters such as concavity and erodibility strongly conditions the outcomes, and how different tectonic settings demand adapted strategies for robust interpretation. Beyond contributing specific insights into the geodynamics of the Apennines and western Anatolia, this thesis refines the application of river profile inversion and advances the broader use of fluvial landscapes as quantitative markers of tectonic and climatic forcing in active mountain belts.