Salvatore Monteleone

Contour map of the top of the regional geothermal reservoir of Sicily (Italy)

An integrated review of existing geological and geophysical data – partly acquired during oil and gas exploration – combined with new data provided by deep geothermal studies of selected key areas, was used for the 3D modeling and mapping of the top of the geothermal reservoir developed at a regional scale in Sicily (Central Mediterranean). The resulting 1:500,000 scale map covers the area of the whole Sicily (about 25,700 km2) and is devoted to represent the main input for both the thermal modeling and the evaluation of geothermal potential at a regional scale. As the map indicates the distribution at depth of a likely target for geothermal drilling, it can be also used as a rough indicator of expected drilling cost for geothermal projects. Such a map can be seen as a useful planning tool for any geothermal project, and related exploration to be carried out in the Sicily region in the future.

Water resource assessment in karst and fractured aquifers of Termini Imerese-Trabia Mts. (Northern central Sicily, Italy).

The carbonatic siliciclastic Mesozoic reliefs of Termini Imerese-Trabia Mts. (Northern central Sicily) were selected in order to investigate groundwater resources, as these fissured to karstic aquifers are used for potable water supply. These reliefs, part of the Sicilian Apennine Chain, consist of a tectonic units (deformed and emplaced during the Miocene-Pleistocene, and collapsed during the Plio-Pleistocene) mostly formed by clayey pelagic limestones (Sicilidi domain) overthrusting Meso-Cenozoic carbonate and silicoclastic rocks (Imerese Basin, Late Triassic-Early Oligocene) and terrigenous covers (Numidian Flysch, Late Oligocene-Early Miocene). The evolution of karstic network and subsurface drainage systems has been favoured by tectonic structures, the Messinian Salinity crisis (latest Miocene) and Quaternary eustatic sea-level changes. Several large-capacity wells drilled in the area, are strategic for water supply of both the city of Palermo (about 800.000 inhabitants) and eastern metropolitan region. Water shortage in some towns has been intensified by the indiscriminate exploitation of several springs most of which have disappeared. These events have produced a progressive groundwater resource reduction and threat of seawater intrusion. Moreover, the occurrence of potential pollution producing industries (Termini Imerese industrial zone) could also compromise freshwater quality. Several hydrothermal superficial manifestations, related to deep carbonate reservoir, occur in this region. The groundwater flow is controlled by the main tectonic fractures and by several karstic forms. The importance of a qualitative and quantitative study of the water resources in some hydrostructures influenced by the potential interaction of several factors is here proposed.

Hydrogeological hazards and weather events: Triggering and evolution of shallow landslides

Abstract Landslides are the most intense and serious manifestations of the degradation of slopes and they are the main causes of geological hazard when they, directly or indirectly, involving towns and infrastructures. They are a global environment problem; there are several examples that have produced untold damages and loss of human lives in many parts of the world. In 1920 the landslides mobilization, as a result of a strong earthquake in China, in the province of Kansu, killed 200,000 people; in 1938 fast debris flow, triggered by heavy rainfalls in Japan, caused the death of 600 people; in 1963 in Italy the Vajont disaster caused the death of 1,899 people, as a result of a landslide localized in the underlying artificial storage. During the last years there have been many tragedies linked to intense rainfall events which have sparked many shallow landslides: 1996 in Garfagnana, 1998 in Sarno, 2009 in the Ionic side of Messina, 2011 in Liguria. To throw light on this problem, over the past decades, the assessment and mitigation of landslides hazard and the danger related to it, have become goals of paramount importance in territorial planning and, more generally, in its management and with it the safeguard of the historical and cultural heritage within it. The occurrence of events which are considered exceptional thus implies a re-reading in terms of spatial planning to renovate the slopes and river-beds, as well as urban planning, infrastructural and socio-economic organization. The complex nature of these instability events that affect anthropized areas does not allow specific approaches for the defence of single good, but it finds a more effective solution based on the extensive knowledge of territory, perhaps at the scale of individual or several watersheds.

Analysis of hydrogeological and landslide hazards at Castellammare del Golfo (Northern Sicily)

Catastrophic floods or mass movements occur all too often owing to small streams overflowing their banks or to slope instabilities whose evolution has a more or less tragic impact on people and property; these events are the consequence of a poor understanding of the dynamics of geomorphological processes and of the laws governing them. This paper is focused on the case study of Castellammare del Golfo, a town in the province of Trapani. The study analysed the geological risk due to the geomorphology of the area and to the urban sprawl that it has experienced in the past decades. Geomorphological processes have a strategic role to play in spatial planning and management instruments and in their adaptation. Geomorphological dynamics may evolve over timescales comparable with those of human life, interfering with it and affecting the socio-economic development of the communities involved. Geomorphological and hydrological research studies are useful tools of analysis, not only to suggest appropriate rehabilitation works, but also to prevent the recurrence of events whose consequences are not always predictable, but increasingly calamitous.