Mario Parise

Karst subsidence in South-Central Apulia, Southern Italy

Subsidence in the karst of Apulia (Southern Italy), one of the classical karst areas of Italy, is described in this paper. The carbonate rocks that make up the geological structure of the Apulia region are affected by subsidence, which is of different type and intensity depending upon geological , topographical, and hydrogeological conditions. In particular, we discriminate between inland subsidence and coastal subsidence. Inland subsidence is generally restricted to the presence of individual cavities, either empty or partly or totally filled with deposits produced by dissolution of soluble rocks underground. Locally, such subsidence can cause severe effects on anthropogenic structures above. The coastal plains of Apulia, particularly the southernmost part (Salento Peninsula) , show interesting karst subsidence. Here the main feature is the development of compound sinks extending for several thousands of square metres, or the formation of individual, mostly circular, dolines along the coastline. Occurrence of one or the other of the above features seems to depend upon topographical conditions, and also upon their relationship with sea level oscillations.

Lessons Learned from Occurrence of Sinkholes Related to Man-Made Cavities in a Town of Southern Italy

Introduction Altamura (Figure 1) is one of the largest towns in the High Murge of Apulia (south-east Italy), and is located in a foreland area consisting of carbonate rocks where karst is the main agent shaping the landscape (Parise, 2011). In addition to the many karst caves and surface landforms, including the Pulo, one the largest dolines in the region with a diameter of over 500 m and depth of 92 m, there are several cavities of anthropogenic origin at the outskirts of town, in a sector undergoing urban expansion.

Evaporite karst in Italy: a review

*jo.dewaele@unibo.it Citation:

Examples of Anthropogenic Sinkholes in Sicily and Comparison with Similar Phenomena in Southern Italy

A sinkhole, occurred in June 2011 and related to an underground quarry in the eastern sector of Marsala, is described in this paper as a case study (Figure 2). The site was selected for the availability of topographic data of the underground quarry, prior to the formation of the Abstract Anthropogenic sinkholes affect several built-up areas of Sicily (southern Italy) representing a great risk to people, buildings, and infrastructures. These phenomena are generally associated with the presence of ancient underground quarries for the extraction of calcarenite rock, used for building or ornamental materials. These quarries were poorly constructed and abandoned throughout history.

Geological and Geophysical Techniques for the Identification of Subterranean Cavities

Different techniques, used to identify the presence of subterranean cavities in the urban area of Altamura (southern Italy) are described in this paper, with specific regard to the geophysical surveys performed, that were integrated whenever possible by direct surveys and explorations by cavers. Aimed at identification of voids that are present underground, and at assessing the likely related threat to the anthropogenic environment above, electrical resistivity tomography, ground penetrating radar and seismic surveys are described in the article. The experiences carried out in 15 years of work are summarized to highlight the most significant outcomes from the different techniques used, and their advantages and drawbacks.

The Coastal Sulfuric Acid Cave System of Santa Cesarea Terme (Southern Italy)

Santa Cesarea Terme in Salento is the only area in which hypogenic caves have been recognized in the Apulia region. In this spa area, the rising of sulfidic thermal waters that mix with both recent fresh infiltration waters and coastal salt water has formed four active sulfuric acid speleogenesis (SAS) caves. These caves are characterized by the typical set of sulfuric acid meso- and micromorphologies, and also by the presence of both gypsum and native sulfur. In all caves, biofilms are visible in the sulfidic thermal waters and on the cave walls.

Geo-Mechanical Characterization of Carbonate Rock Masses by Means of Laser Scanner Technique

Knowledge of the geometrical and structural setting of rock masses is crucial to evaluate the stability and to design the most suitable stabilization works. In this work we use the Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) at the site of the Grave of the Castellana Caves, a famous show cave in southern Italy. The Grave is the natural access to the cave system, produced by collapse of the vault, due to upward progression of instabilities in the carbonate rock masses. It is about 55-m high, bell-shaped, with maximum width of 120 m. Aim of the work is the characterization of carbonate rock masses from the structural and geo-mechanical standpoints through the use of innovative survey techniques. TLS survey provides a product consisting of millions of geo-referenced points, to be managed in space, to become a suitable database for the morphological and geological-structural analysis. Studying by means of TLS a rock face, partly inaccessible or located in very complex environments, allows to investigate slopes in their overall areal extent, thus offering advantages both as regards safety of the workers and time needed for the survey. In addition to TLS, the traditional approach was also followed by performing scanlines surveys along the rims of the Grave, following the ISRM recommendations for characterization of discontinuity in rock masses. A quantitative comparison among the data obtained by TLS technique and those deriving from the classical geo-mechanical survey is eventually presented, to discuss potentiality of drawbacks of the different techniques used for surveying the rock masses.

Landslide susceptibility maps in the rock slopes of the Ventotene Island (Latium, Italy).

The paper illustrates an application of the Matheson test, implemented in GIS environment, to the cliffs of the volcanic island of Ventotene (Pontine Archipelago, Italy). Starting from detailed field study and geo-structural analysis, four failure mechanisms were considered for the analysis (planar sliding, wedge failure, flexural toppling, and block toppling), and a susceptibility map was produced as a cartographic representation of the rock failures affecting the cliffs around the island.

Grotta Lu Bissu (PU 141), hot spot della biospeleologia italiana

It Si riassumono le principali conoscenze biospeleologiche sulla grotta Lu Bissu (= L’abisso) (Pu 141), nel territorio di Castro (Lecce). Nonostante le non eccezionali dimensioni, la grotta rappresenta, dal punto di vista biologico, una delle piu importanti cavita del territorio regionale, dato che al suo interno sono state rinvenute ben 15 specie troglobie (10 acquatiche e 5 terrestri), che rappresentano il 35% dell’intero popolamento ipogeo pugliese. Dopo una descrizione dei principali caratteri geologici e morfologici della cavita, si elencano le specie ritrovate nella grotta, evidenziando la necessita di una maggiore protezione della stessa, al fine della salvaguardia del notevole patrimonio biospeleologico della cavita. En The present paper deals with the main biospeleological outcomes from the cave Lu Bissu (= The abyss) (number 141 in the Regional Inventory of Caves), located in the territory of Castro (Lecce province). Notwithstanding its quite limited size and depth, the cave is one of the most remarkable example in Apulia as regards biospeleology: in fact, Lu Bissu hosts 15 troglobian species (10 aquatic and 5 terrestrian). They represent 35 % of the whole hypogean fauna in Apulia, which means that one third of the Apulian species are present in this small cave. After a description of the main geological and morphological characters of the cavity, the 15 species are listed and briefly described. Eventually, some considerations on the necessity to protect the cave are presented, aimed at safeguarding the important biological heritage hosted in the cave.