Slope stabilization in difficult conditions: the case study of a debris slide in NW Italian Alps

A case study of a debris slide (estimated volume of about 35,000 m³) is described in this paper. This slide occurred in April 2009 in the North Western Italian Alps (Aosta valley) and damaged the SR25 road along the Valgrisenche valley. Ground investigations started with severe safety and logistic issues being posed. Given the need to open as soon as possible the road, the design of the landslide stabilization works was carried out using a “design as you go” approach. The stabilization measures were conceived to be flexible in order to allow for changes and integration during construction, in line with the progressive refinement of the geological–geotechnical slope model being developed. Back analysis by means of the limit equilibrium method (LEM) and the finite element method (FEM) was used. Groundwater level rise following heavy rainfall and spring snow melting was found to be the main cause of the debris slide. The stabilization works were designed by using both the LEM and FEM methods. The stability conditions of the engineered slope were assessed based on the available performance monitoring data.     

Clastic dikes in the Dead Sea basin as indicators of local site amplification

Natural Hazards - Early Holocene seismic activity triggered fluidization and clastic-dike emplacement within Late Pleistocene lacustrine Lisan Formation sediments in the Dead Sea basin (DSB)....     

Laboratory tests with interferometric optical fibre sensors to monitor shallow landslides triggered by rainfalls

Optical fibre–based sensors have now established their place in the field of geohazard monitoring due to their sensitivity to strain and temperature changes. Progressive development in the technology leads to the availability of novel, accurate and durable sensors at a relatively limited cost. This creates room for original monitoring applications that have been, so far, impeded by the shortcomings of conventional monitoring tools. In this work, we explore the applicability of an interferometric optical fibre sensor as a vibration sensing tool at laboratory scale. We tested the ability of the sensor to identify precursors of instability in a downscaled model of a rainfall-induced landslide composed of granular material. We carried out four experimental tests which involved different sensor deployments and soil mixtures. The recorded signals were processed by means of a time–frequency analysis and we identified two frequency-domain parameters—the spectral centroid and band power—that could provide information on the development of instability. Their ratio yielded a unique parameter through which a precursory stage could be outlined by defining a threshold value based on the data collected at the beginning of the experiment. In our lab tests, precursors of instability were detected 2–3 min before a crack was observed at the surface. This may upscale to a lead time of about 20–30 min or more in the field, classifying our monitoring approach in between an alarm and a warning system. The work presented here can be considered a first promising step towards an innovative monitoring system and shows the potential of optical fibre sensing as a shallow landslide monitoring technique, encouraging further testing, especially in real-case studies.

     

Risk assessment strategies for the reactivation of earth flows in the Northern Apennines (Italy)

The aim of this paper is to analyze the reactivation mechanism of ancient earth flows, with a view to gleaning information that can subsequently be utilized to formulate a risk-reduction strategy. All considerations made herein are the result of direct experience and observation of actual events which have occurred over the past few decades in the Northern Apennines. Particular attention has been paid to the analysis of the evolution of landslides during actual reactivation, acknowledging a typical, recurring succession of events that precede the failure of the slope. The hazard assessment of these large landslide bodies, which are of slope scale, constitutes a thorny problem, especially in view of the inapplicability of traditional deterministic models such as limit equilibrium stability analysis. Nevertheless, a site-specific assessment of probability of reactivation of these large and ancient earth flows is fundamental to effective land-use planning.     

How a court, a commissioner and a lobby group brought European transport policy to life in 1985

Until the mid-1980s, transport policy was considered by many as one of the least successful domains of the European integration project. However, from the early 1990s onwards, there are clear signs of a single European transport policy, along with the accompanying implementation of infrastructure projects. What is the explanation for such a change in pace? This paper aims to offer insight in these processes by looking at the mechanisms which form and transform this policy domain. To understand the state of a policy domain and its dynamics over time an institutional approach is taken. Two concepts in political science, ‘policy arrangements’ and ‘supranational governance’ are combined and used as a framework to analyse the European transport policy domain. This analysis describes the development of several elements: organisations, rules, the transnational society, power, resources, and the central transport discourse. It demonstrates that all of these elements have developed from an intergovernmental setting towards a more supranational one. This development was slow in the first decennia when European transport policy was rather passive, but it picked up speed in the 1980s and 1990s. In the pivotal year of 1985, pressure from the transnational society resulted in a rapid change of the rules, the resources and the discourse.     

Unravelling the evolution of an Alpine to post-glacially active fault in the Swiss Alps

The Gemmi fault is a prominent NW–SE striking lineament that crosses the Gemmi Pass in the central Swiss Alps. A multidisciplinary investigation of this structure that included geological mapping, joint profiling, cathodoluminescence and scanning electron microscopy, stable isotope measurements, luminescence- and U-TH-dating, 3D ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveying and trenching reveals a history of fault movements from the Miocene to the Holocene. The main fault zone comprises a 0.5–3 m thick calcite cataclasite formed during several cycles of veining and brittle deformation. Displaced Cretaceous rock layers show an apparent dextral slip of 10 m along the fault.A detailed study of a small sediment-filled depression that crosses the fault provides evidence for a post-glacial reactivation of the fault. A trench excavated across the fault exposed a Late-Glacial-age loess layer and late Holocene colluvial-like slope-wash deposits that showed evidence for fault displacement of a few centimeters, indicating a recent strike-slip reactivation of the fault. Focal mechanisms of recent instrumentally recorded earthquakes are consistent with our findings that show that the fault at the Gemmi Pass, together with other parallel faults in this area, may be reactivated in today's stress field. Taking together all the observations of its ancient and recent activity, the Gemmi fault can be viewed as a window through geological space and time.     

Understanding carbonate factories through palaeoecological and sedimentological signals – Tribute to Luis Pomar

The carbonate factories, their controlling factors and their palaeoecological and sedimentological signals recorded in sedimentary successions are key elements for understanding the evolution of carbonate platform systems. Luis Pomar has dedicated most of his academic life to the study of carbonate rocks and carbonate factories. The idea for this special issue to celebrate Pomar’s career arose during a session at the 34^th International Association of Sedimentologists meeting held in Rome, entitled ‘Understanding carbonate factories through palaeoecological and geochemical signals’. The proposal encountered great response among participants, and additional contributions followed an email invitation to other specialists. This issue contains a variety of papers on carbonate sedimentology and carbonate factories. Here, an introduction that contextualizes the papers and key concepts discussed in this thematic issue is provided. It reviews Luis Pomar’s major achievements in carbonate sedimentology and discusses the evolution of the concept of the carbonate factory and the series of palaeoecological and sedimentological signals used to characterize the wide spectrum of carbonate depositional systems found in the natural world.     

Differences in grain growth of calcite: a field-based modeling approach

Normal grain growth of calcite was investigated by combining grain size analysis of calcite across the contact aureole of the Adamello pluton, and grain growth modeling based on a thermal model of the surroundings of the pluton. In an unbiased model system, i.e., location dependent variations in temperature-time path, 2/3 and 1/3 of grain growth occurs during pro- and retrograde metamorphism at all locations, respectively. In contrast to this idealized situation, in the field example three groups can be distinguished, which are characterized by variations in their grain size versus temperature relationships: Group I occurs at low temperatures and the grain size remains constant because nano-scale second phase particles of organic origin inhibit grain growth in the calcite aggregates under these conditions. In the presence of an aqueous fluid, these second phases decay at a temperature of about 350 °C enabling the onset of grain growth in calcite. In the following growth period, fluid-enhanced group II and slower group III growth occurs. For group II a continuous and intense grain size increase with T is typical while the grain growth decreases with T for group III. None of the observed trends correlate with experimentally based grain growth kinetics, probably due to differences between nature and experiment which have not yet been investigated (e.g., porosity, second phases). Therefore, grain growth modeling was used to iteratively improve the correlation between measured and modeled grain sizes by optimizing activation energy (Q), pre-exponential factor (k₀) and grain size exponent (n). For n=2, Q of 350 kJ/mol, k₀ of 1.7×10²¹ mⁿs^–1 and Q of 35 kJ/mol, k₀ of 2.5×10^-5 mⁿs^–1 were obtained for group II and III, respectively. With respect to future work, field-data based grain growth modeling might be a promising tool for investigating the influences of secondary effects like porosity and second phases on grain growth in nature, and to unravel differences between nature and experiment.Editorial responsibility: J. Hoefs     

The seagrass skeletal assemblage from modern to fossil and from tropical to temperate: Insight from Maldivian and Mediterranean examples

Seagrasses are marine angiosperms that form extensive submarine meadows in the photic zone where carbonate producing biota dwell as epiphytes on the leaves or as infaunal forms, and act as prolific carbonate sediment factories. Because seagrasses have a low preservation potential and records of exceptionally well‐preserved and plant material from marine settings are rare, these palaeoenvironments are difficult to identify in the rock record. Consequently, sedimentological and palaeontological proxies are the main indicators of the presence of seagrass‐dominated ecosystems. This work investigates the skeletal assemblage of Modern (Maldivian and western Mediterranean) and fossil (Eocene; Apula and Oman carbonate platforms and Oligocene; Malta platform) seagrass examples to characterize the skeletal assemblage of modern and fossil seagrasses. Two main types of grains, calcareous algae and foraminifera, constitute around 50% of the bioclastic sediment in both tropical Maldivian and temperate Mediterranean scenarios. However, in the tropical setting they are represented by green algae (Halimeda), while in the Mediterranean they are represented by corallinacean red algae. In contrast, in the Eocene examples, the foraminifera are the most conspicuous group and the green algae are also abundant. The opposite occurs in the Maltese Chattian, which is dominated by coralline algae (mean 42%), although the foraminifera are still abundant. It is suggested to use the term foralgal to identify the seagrass skeletal assemblage. To discriminate between red algae and green algae dominance, the introduction of the prefixes ‘GA’ (green algae) and ‘RA’ (red algae) is proposed. The investigated examples provide evidence that the green algae–foralgal assemblage is typical of tropical, not excessively dense seagrass meadows, characterized by a well‐illuminated substrate to support the development and calcification of the Halimeda thallus. Contrarily, the red algae‐foralgal assemblage is typical of high density tropical to subtropical seagrass meadows which create very dense oligophotic conditions on the sea floor or in temperate settings where Halimeda cannot calcify.     

Macroseismic effects highlight site response in Rome and its geological signature

A detailed analysis of the earthquake effects on the urban area of Rome has been conducted for the L??Aquila sequence, which occurred in April 2009, by using an online macroseismic questionnaire. Intensity residuals calculated using the mainshock and four aftershocks are analyzed in light of a very accurate and original geological reconstruction of the subsoil of Rome based on a large amount of wells. The aim of this work is to highlight ground motion amplification areas and to find a correlation with the geological settings at a subregional scale, putting in evidence the extreme complexity of the phenomenon and the difficulty of making a simplified model. Correlations between amplification areas and both near-surface and deep geology were found. Moreover, the detailed scale of investigation has permitted us to find a correlation between seismic amplification in recent alluvial settings and subsiding zones, and between heard seismic sound and Tiber alluvial sediments.