Silvia Livilla Chersich

Analysis of Hydro-meteorological Monitoring Data Collected in Different Contexts Prone to Shallow Landslides of the Oltrepò Pavese (Northern Italy)

Open image in new window This work presents the results of the continuous monitoring of two slopes of the Oltrepo Pavese (northern Apennines, north-western Italy), representative of different contexts usually affected by shallow landslides. The first monitored site is representative of high gradient slopes with silty soils. The second one represents slopes with low-medium slope gradient and clayey soils. Hydrological monitoring allowed to identify the responses of the soils to different rainy or dry periods, focusing in particular on the conditions which could predispose landslides triggering. As demonstrated by monitoring and by slope stability analyses through a simplified physically-based model, increase in pore water pressure during most intense rainfalls in wet periods, sometimes with development of perched water table, can promote slope instability.

Monitoring and Modelling of Soil–Atmosphere Interaction on a Slope Affected by Shallow Landslides

A long-term field monitoring proves very helpful to understand the effect of climatic variables on the hydrological response of a shallow soil and the role of atmospheric features in the triggering mechanism of rainfall-induced landslides. In this work, field measurements of the soil saturation in a sample slope, coming from 18 months continuous monitoring of soil water content, are presented. The experimental data are compared with the seasonal trends of the soil saturation resulting from the application of a simplified empirical model, based on rainfall and air temperature input data. The performance of the model is evaluated for two different soil depths, in order to establish a future application of this method to predict time trends of the saturation for large scale slope stability analyses.

Rainfall-Induced Landslides: Slope Stability Analysis Through Field Monitoring

Rainfall-induced shallow landslides are hazardous phenomena that could cause several damages to infrastructures and people. To understand the hydrological and mechanical triggering conditions of shallow landslides in an area of Oltrepo Pavese (Northern Apennines, Italy) a field monitoring was conducted. In this work the results of 16 months monitoring are shown, focusing on the hydrological behaviour of the studied materials as function of rainfall and its effect on slope stability.