Miloš Bavec

Geology of the Classical Karst Region (SW Slovenia–NE Italy)

ABSTRACT The paper aims to present the geology of the western part of the Classical Karst (NW Dinarides), located at the border between Slovenia and Italy. The work is based on archive, published and new data collected by Slovenian and Italian researchers within several scientific national and Cross Border Cooperation projects. The map, produced at a scale of 1:50,000, summarizes the lithological and structural setting and is supplemented by three geological cross-sections of the study area.

Coupling of GPS/GNSS and radar interferometric data for a 3D surface displacement monitoring of landslides

Persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI) is capable of millimetric measurements of ground deformation phenomena occurring at radar signal reflectors (persistent scatterers, PS) that are phase coherent over a period of time. However, there are also limitations to PSI; significant phase decorrelation can occur between subsequent interferometric radar (InSAR) acquisitions in vegetated and low-density PS areas. Here, artificial amplitude- and phase-stable radar scatterers may have to be introduced. I2GPS was a Galileo project (02/2010–09/2011) that aimed to develop a novel device consisting of a compact active transponder (CAT) with an integrated global positioning system (GPS) antenna to ensure millimetric co-registration and a coherent cross-reference. The advantages are: (1) all advantages of CATs such as small size, light weight, unobtrusiveness and usability with multiple satellites and tracks; (2) absolute calibration for PSI data; (3) high sampling rate of GPS enables detection of abrupt ground motion in 3D; and (4) vertical components of the local velocity field can be derived from single-track InSAR line-of-sight displacements. A field trial was set to test the approach at a potential landslide site in Potoška planina, Slovenia to evaluate the applicability for operational monitoring of natural hazards. Preliminary results from the trial highlight some of the key considerations for operational deployments in the field. Ground motion measurements also allowed an assessment of landslide hazard at the site and demonstrated the synergies between InSAR and GPS measurements for landslide applications. InSAR and GPS measurements were compared to assess the consistency between the methods from the slope mass movement detection aspect.

Glacial History of Slovenia

Abstract The Pleistocene glaciers in Slovenia formed an ice cap over the central parts of the Julian Alps, Kamnik-Savinja Alps and Karavanke Mountains and drained into the foreland along the valleys of rivers Soca, Sava and Savinja. Erosion, enhanced by Quaternary tectonic activity, removed bulk of glacial sediments by today.

The extent of Quaternary glaciations in Slovenia

This chapter discusses the extent of Quaternary glaciations in Slovenia. The Slovenian part of the Alps extending from the west to the east can be divided into three major units: the Julian Alps, the Karavanke Mountains and the Kamnik–Savinja Alps, respectively. High erosion rates in the Slovenian part of the Alps have caused most glacigenic sediments, together with depositional, as well as erosional geomorphological features, to be eroded or redeposited. The stratigraphical record has consequently been damaged to the point that it is rarely possible to put age-constraint on the glacial events identified. The maximum extent of Pleistocene glaciers is therefore interpreted according to the position of their most distal evidence of either glacial erosion or deposition, in most cases without assigning an age attribute.

Rockfall Susceptibility Assessment at the Municipal Scale (Bovec Municipality, Slovenia)

A detailed rockfall susceptibility map of the Bovec municipality at 1:25,000 scale was produced by application of the methodology, developed at the Geological Survey of Slovenia. A Chi-square analysis with a linear weighted sum model approach was used on the basis of selected spatio-temporal factors (lithology, strata dipping, slope angle and distance to faults) for defining the rockfall areas and classifying them according to probability of rockfall occurrence. The final product is a rockfall susceptibility map (only for source areas in this phase), which serves as one of the bases in municipality spatial planning. It is also available through a web application for general public access. The purpose of the latter is in part also raising the public awareness.