0000000000497630
AUTHOR
Fabio Cafiso
Rockfall hazards of Mount Pellegrino area (Sicily, Southern Italy)
A map derived by rockfall analysis at Mount Pellegrino is presented herein. The study area is affected by several phenomena of rockfall which caused numerous damage and a strong social and economic impact. Official reports and maps that give a general assessment of rockfall hazard are available in this respect, however, it would be advisable to provide a more specific cartographic support useful for land management and planning. The drafting of new maps showing the rockfall runout areas is an additional tool that may be used in conjunction with the existing maps as a means of risk mitigation and reduction. On the basis of geological, geomorphological, and geomechanical analysis and exploiti…
Analysis of the Rockfall Phenomena Contributing to the Evolution of a Pocket Beach Area Using Traditional and Remotely Acquired Data (Lo Zingaro Nature Reserve, Southern Italy)
The coastal domain of central western Sicily is characterized by the presence of rocky coasts, which mainly consist of pocket beaches situated between bedrock headlands that constitute ecological niches of great touristic and economic value. In this peculiar morphodynamic system, the sedimentary contributions are mainly derived from the rockfall that affects the back of nearby cliffs or the sediment supply of small streams that flow into it. In this study, we investigated the geomorphological processes and related landforms that contribute to the evolution of a pocket beach area located in a coastal sector of NW Sicily Island. The cliffs in this are affected by several rockfalls, and deposi…
La Rocca di Cefalù: modello geomeccanico e condizioni di rischio per la cittadina normanna
La cittadina di Cefalù, ubicata a circa 70 km da Palermo, è una delle perle del Mediterraneo, per la bellezza dei luoghi, dominati dalla Rocca, imponente rupe carbonatica alta circa 250 m s.l.m., e per i beni architettonici (Figg. 1 e 2). Fondata dai greci con il nome di Κεφαλοίδιον tra il XIV e il XIII a.C., conserva sulla Rocca il palazzo santuario ciclopico-megalitico, noto come Tempio di Diana. Sul ciglio della Rocca e per il suo intero sviluppo si snoda la cinta muraria di tipo megalitico risalente alla fine del V secolo a.C. (periodo pre-ellenico), in parte ricostruita nel periodo bizantino (VII÷IX secolo d.C.). Nel periodo normanno (secolo XII d.C.) furono costruiti i principali monu…
Joint interpretation of electrical and seismic data aimed at modelling the foundation soils of the Maredolce monumental complex in Palermo (Italy)
The monumental complex of Maredolce (Palermo) includes an Arab-Norman castle that stands on the banks of an artificial lake carved out of the calcarenitic rock that rests on impermeable clays. The lake was originally filled with water, thanks to the channelling of a spring. Over time, the lowering of the water table and the high hydraulic permeability of the calcarenites have caused the lake to dry up. A project to renovate the monumental complex has recently been launched. It also provides the study of a possible restoration of the original conditions of the lake. To this end, a multidisciplinary geophysical study was carried out to investigate the geotechnical conditions of permeability o…
Landslide inventory and rockfall risk assessment of a strategic urban area (Palermo, Sicily)
This study concerns the assessment of the rockfall risk for two strategic sectors of the Mount Pellegrino, one of the most relevant place in the city of Palermo. During the last two decades, several rockfalls affected the study area setting up a serious threat to the people, structures and infrastructures preventing the economic and social development. For these landslides a detailed GIS inventory was realized; the most dangerous rockfalls occurred within the two study sectors. In both areas we have carried out detailed field surveys and the geo-mechanical characterization of the rock slopes. These analyses allowed to define the rock mass parameters, the set of discontinuities and the kinem…
Landslide inventory and rockfall risk assessment of the Monte Pellegrino Oriented Nature Reserve area (Sicily)
In the last 20 years the natural oriented reserve of Monte Pellegrino is affected by several rockfall events. This sector of the Northern Sicily is a strategic urban area and represent the most important element of both the religious and cultural tradition and landscape for the city of Palermo.The rockfalls are here the major natural threats and represent a relevant risk of people, structures and infrastructures and prevents the economic and social development that could be made by high tourist potential of the area. For the above mentioned reasons a detailed geological and geotechnical study in order to define a quantitative risk analysis is now being carried out, concurrently with the imp…