In order to assess the geodiversity of the Italian Peninsula, which covers approximately 300.000 km
2
, a semi-quantitative method based on the use of grids recording several indicators and indices ...was developed. The variety of geological, geomorphological, and pedological elements, characterizing the Italian territory, has been assessed with a two-step procedure. Firstly, the variety algorithm has been applied using grid cells with variable size, related to the spatial resolution of the input data, then the resulting variety values were averaged with a fixed cell size functional to the extent of the study area and the output scale of the geodiversity map. This procedure made it possible to preserve the spatial resolution of the input data (Digital Terrain Model, lithological and soil maps) providing as output a geodiversity map that faithfully reproduces the features of the Italian territory. In case of discrete data (rivers, lakes, glaciers, etc.), a procedure that assigns to each cell the maximum area or length values out of all its elements has been implemented. It made possible to preserve the hydrological elements that shape the landscape (e.g., the longest rivers, largest lakes, etc.) and represent important freshwater resource. An overview of the geographical distribution of geodiversity classes over the whole Italian territory has been elaborated. The resulting geodiversity map is a valuable tool for environmental planning, in particular for the identification of areas to be preserved, for the proper management of geo-resources and natural services.
Campi Flegrei is an active volcanic district located along the Eastern Tyrrhenian continental margin, Italy, and is worldwide known for dramatic ground deformation phenomena (bradyseism) recorded ...over the last centuries. The purpose of this article is to present the annual rates of ground deformation fields (average velocity, average acceleration, and combined annual velocity/acceleration) at Campi Flegrei, during almost two decades (years 1993–2010). The research work was conducted based on a temporal analysis and advanced mapping of Persistent Scatterer Pair (PSP) data, obtained from interferometric processing of radar satellite European Remote Sensing-1/2 and Environmental Satellite (ENVISAT) scenes of the study area. Patterns and trends of annual PSP velocity have provided a reconstruction of the spatial and temporal variability of ground deformation in terms of uplift and/or subsidence along the satellite line of sight (LOS). The analysis of annual PSP velocity and acceleration has revealed an intense dynamics of the Campi Flegrei caldera collapse-resurgence system, testified by the high PSP velocity and acceleration values, as well as the significant changes in the rates of ground deformation through time. The main results of this research indicate that the largest ground deformation is localized within and around the structural border of the Campi Flegrei caldera and suggest a systematic recurrence of opposite trends (uplift vs . subsidence) in the ground deformation of the inner caldera region with respect to the surrounding areas throughout the analysed time period.
We apply the Permanent Scatterers Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (PS-InSAR) technique to the Campania Region (Southern Italy), which includes the Southern Apennines chain and Plio-Quaternary ...structural depressions, with the aim to detect ground displacements at a regional scale. The study area, which extends for 13,600 km
2, is characterized by intense urbanization, active volcanoes (Phlegraean Fields, Vesuvius and Ischia), seismogenic structures, landslides, hydrogeological instability. PS-InSAR technique allows us to identify a set of radar benchmarks (PS) where accurate displacement measurements can be carried out. About 1.7·10
6 PS are identified by processing Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) images acquired in ascending and descending orbits from 1992 to 2001 by the European Remote Sensing satellites (ERS). The PS-InSAR application at regional scale detected ground deformations ranging from +
28 to −
39 mm/yr. The calculated velocity values are consistent with the available GPS and levelling data from selected areas. We identify volcanic areas in which the deformation is mainly related to the depressurization of the local hydrothermal systems, and recognize deformations along seismogenic and aseismic NNW–SSE and NW–SE faults. The deformations localized along the Southern Apennines chain are mainly related to landslides while those occurring in the plains are due to subsidence processes induced by intensive drainage from wells, i.e. anthropic activity. The review of 9 years of SAR data shows that tectonic, volcanic/hydrothermal, gravity, and anthropic processes are responsible for the ground deformation of Campania. The proposed joint interpretation of deformation fields related to natural and anthopogenic factors provides a comprehensive view of the dynamics of the Earth’s surface.
The amount of coastal subsidence on the Sele River coastal plain has been examined and measured with local vertical land movement data. The vertical displacements, derived by satellite radar ...differential interferometry processing (Ps‐InSAR), show that the analysed coastal sector is characterised by a south‐eastward decrease of vertical subsidence rates. These results have been coupled with sea‐level rise (SLR) scenarios, in order to identify the most critical areas. In general, the subsidence mostly affects areas where alluvial deposits are thicker, the back‐dune areas and the Sele River mouth, all late Holocene in age. Five local SLR scenarios allow identifying zones in the plain potentially prone to inundation and the shoreline retreat for the years 2065 and 2100. For these dates, 2.2% and 7.06% of the investigated area will have a topography lower than the estimated future sea level. Moreover, results show that the extent of the areas potentially exposed to inundation and erosion increases moving from south to north.
Bagnoli-Coroglio is a Site of National Interest (SNI) facing the Pozzuoli Bay that has been the place of an industrial activity for more than a century (1854-1985). The modern coastal geology of this ...area results from the recent evolution of an antecedent volcanic landscape that originated after a caldera collapse following the eruption of Neapolitan Yellow Tuff (NYT) of Campi Flegrei (15 ka). After the NYT eruption, a shallow marine depression formed within the caldera collapse area that underwent progressive filling-up, due to volcaniclastic sediment input from the caldera borders, within a semi-enclosed source-to-sink system.
The integrated interpretation of the Digital Terrain Model (DTM) of the Bagnoli-Coroglio area and the high resolution reflection seismic profiles acquired off the Pozzuoli Bay suggests that the present-day coastal plain of Bagnoli-Fuorigrotta and conterminous continental shelf represent the latest infilling phase of the annular depression (caldera 'collar') between the structural border of the NYT caldera and the inner caldera resurgent dome.
The stratigraphic architecture and morpho-bathymetry of the Bagnoli inner shelf provide a record of the complex interplay between eustatic sea level changes, volcano-tectonic (ground/seafloor) deformation, and supply of volcaniclastic sediments, with associated coastline shifts over the last millennia.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
BFBNIB, DOBA, GIS, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
In this paper, we present a GIS-based method for regional zoning of seismic-induced landslide susceptibility and show its application to the territory of the Campania region, Southern Italy. The ...method employs only three factors that we believe are most significant in the susceptibility assessment: the type of outcropping rock/soil, the slope angle, and the MCS intensity. Each of the three parameters is quantified in terms of relative weight expressed as indices, and the resulting
Seismic Landslide Susceptibility
index of an area is given by the average of the indices of the first two factors multiplied by the index of the third factor. The result of this susceptibility zonation applied to Campania shows a good agreement between the distribution of the historical earthquake-triggered landslides and the highly susceptible zones.
An integrated study, comprising detailed mapping, stratigraphy, evaporite facies analysis, strontium content, and
87Sr/
86Sr ratio data, is presented for two Messinian evaporite-bearing units ...cropping out in Irpinia-Daunia Mountains (southern Apennines, Italy). These units record the tectonic and palaeogeographic evolution of the Messinian southern Apennine foreland basin system during the abrupt salinity crisis which occurred in the Mediterranean region. The Daunia unit comprises the Monte Castello evaporites, formed by euxinic diatomitic marls, evaporitic limestones, and shallow-water gypsum, having a
87Sr/
86Sr average value of 0.70898±0.00005, close to the Sr isotopic value of the coeval seawater. These marginal evaporites are capped by an erosional unconformity and continental clastic deposits. The Vallone del Toro unit is made up of thin-bedded marls, claystones, calcilutites, and diatomite layers with small gypsum crystals, laminated gypsum, and gypsarenite, testifying deposition in relatively deep-water settings. Gypsum has variable Sr isotopic data with an average value of 0.70899±0.00005 for the “Argilliti policrome del Torrente Calaggio” formation and an average value of 0.70863±0.00014 for the “Argilliti di Mezzana di Forte” formation, reflecting major riverine freshwater input. The different patterns of lithofacies and Sr isotopic composition of gypsum discriminate two distinctive evaporite units, reflecting the tectonic and palaeogeographic controls within the Apennines mountain belt and the Mediterranean. Data for evaporites of the southern Apennines testify the presence of basins in the central and eastern Mediterranean Sea, which never desiccated during the entire salinity crisis and evolved to widespread Lago-Mare conditions in the latest Messinian.
The analysis of geological processes threatening people
and properties in a populated region should be based on a comprehensive
knowledge of historical events and related characteristics. This type ...of
information is essential for predisposing event scenarios, validating
prediction models, and planning risk mitigation measures. Such activities
may be more complex in some geological settings, where urban settlements are
exposed to multi-hazard conditions. This is the case of the densely
populated Campi Flegrei volcanic area located in the Campania region,
southern Italy. Here, volcanic and seismic hazards are associated with
landslides, floods, and coastal erosion, which are playing a relevant role
in the landscape modification. The CAmpi Flegrei LAndslide Geodatabase
(CAFLAG), here presented, provides information related to 2302 landslides
that occurred in the continental, coastal, and insular sectors of the study
area during the 1828–2017 time interval. Data associated with the collected
landslide events highlight the characteristics of both landslides and of the
affected sites. Most of the cataloged mass movements consist of rock falls
affecting rocky slopes formed by lithified volcanic rocks, such as tuff or
ignimbrite. In addition, rainfall-induced earth and debris slides
translating into debris avalanches or rapid flows are widespread along steep
slopes mantled by weakly welded pyroclastic airfall deposits, similarly to
other areas of the region. The highest density of landslides is concentrated
along the coastline, where mass movements are contributing to the retreat of
coastal cliffs, and along inland slopes exposed towards the western
directions, where most of the storm systems come from. Temporal
information shows peaks of landslides in the years 1986, 1997, and 2005. A total
of 127 people lost their lives as a consequence of 53 cataloged landslides,
with a frequency of deadly events observed however to have decreased since the
early 1980s. This information will be useful to analyze mortality and risk
conditions still affecting the population of the Campi Flegrei caldera, which should be fully addressed with advanced knowledge and accurate
scenarios. The full database is freely available online at
https://doi.org/10.4121/14440757.v2 (Esposito and Matano, 2021).
Rainfall can trigger flow-like mass movements characterised by different percentages of solid and water (debris flows, hyperconcentrated flows, and flash floods). They exhibit different magnitude ...(volume), run-out distance and consequence, due to both distinct triggering mechanisms and kinematic features. Indeed, discriminating among these phenomena for appropriate risk analysis and zoning is a relevant issue also considering that the volume of the flow may sudden increase along the propagation path. The paper deals with September 2010 combined types of flows occurred at Atrani village (Amalfi coast, southern Italy), and originated by heavy rainstorm in the catchment located upslope to the urban centre. The events were reconstructed by using multi-source information. Field surveys, geological analysis, elaboration of videos recorded during the events and numerical modelling were combined. A 40 minutes lasting water flood abruptly combined to a relatively small-sized high-discharge hyperconcentrated flow, with the consequence of an abnormal flow that invaded the narrow main street of the urban area in few minutes. The peak discharge at the catchment outlet was increased by erosion and/or other rainfall-induced slope instabilities occurred in the whole catchment. As main conclusion, the multidisciplinary analysis has resulted effective to enhance the understanding of the complex flow-like mass movements.
Along the coastline of the Phlegraean Fields volcanic
district, near Naples (Italy), severe retreat processes affect a large part
of the coastal cliffs, mainly made of fractured volcanic tuff and
...pyroclastic deposits. Progressive fracturing and deformation of rocks can
lead to hazardous sudden slope failures on coastal cliffs. Among the
triggering mechanisms, the most relevant are related to meteorological
factors, such as precipitation and thermal expansion due to solar heating of
rock surfaces. In this paper, we present a database of measurement time
series taken over a period of ∼4 years (December 2014–October 2018)
for the deformations of selected tuff blocks in the Coroglio coastal
cliff. The monitoring system is implemented on five unstable tuff blocks and
is formed by nine crackmeters and two tiltmeters equipped with internal
thermometers. The system is coupled with a total weather station, measuring
rain, temperature, wind and atmospheric pressure and operating from January 2014 up to December 2018. Measurement frequencies of 10 and 30 min have been set for meteorological and deformation sensors
respectively. The aim of the
measurements is to assess the magnitude and temporal pattern of rock block
deformations (fracture opening and block movements) before block failure and
their correlation with selected meteorological parameters. The results of a
multivariate statistical analysis of the measured time series suggest a
close correlation between temperature and deformation trends. The recognized
cyclic, sinusoidal changes in the width (opening–closing) of fractures and
tuff block rotations are ostensibly linked to multiscale (i.e., daily,
seasonal and annual) temperature variations. Some trends of cumulative
multi-temporal changes have also been recognized. The full databases are
freely available online at: https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.896000
(Matano et al., 2018) and https://doi.org/10.1594/PANGAEA.899562 (Fortelli
et al., 2019).
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