Search results for "Sinkhole"
showing 10 items of 23 documents
SINKHOLES IN GESSOSO SOLFIFERA FORMATION (CENTRAL SICILY): HISTORICAL RESEARCH
2011
Examples of anthropogenic sinkholes in Sicily and comparison with similar phenomena in southern Italy
2013
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.
Mine sinkhole in Sicily: geomorphologic and environment hazard
2009
A three-dimensional back-analysis of the collapse of an underground cavity in soft rocks
2017
Abstract The assessment of stability of man-made underground caves, excavated in the past and later on abandoned, represents a serious challenge for land and urban planning operations, especially for the areas of possible interaction of the caves with overlying structures and infrastructures. Several areas of Southern Italy are characterized by the presence of abandoned underground quarries for the extraction of soft calcarenite rocks, which now threatens the overlying environment due to the risk of collapse and the consequent generation of sinkholes. This work presents a back-analysis of a sinkhole occurred in 2011 in the town of Marsala, caused by the collapse of an underground quarry, as…
First report on the sinkhole phenomena in the Sicilian evaporites (Southern Italy)
2009
Analisi numerica dei processi di instabilità in cave sotterranee a Marsala (Sicilia occidentale)
2014
La presenza di estesi sistemi caveali in sotterraneo, utilizzati nel secolo scorso per l’estrazione di materiale da costruzione in diversi contesti del territorio italiano, di frequente determina situazioni di pericolo per l’ambiente antropizzato, a causa dello sviluppo di processi di instabilità, che possono propagarsi verso l’alto, sino a raggiungere la superficie. Specialmente nei casi in cui la memoria storica della presenza ed estensione delle cave sotterranee è andata persa, lo sviluppo urbanistico dei centri abitati nel corso degli ultimi decenni può avere determinato la realizzazione di abitazioni ed infrastrutture al di sopra, o nelle immediate vicinanze, di zone interessate da com…
Evaporite karst in Italy: A review
2017
none 16 si Although outcropping rarely in Italy, evaporite (gypsum and anhydrite) karst has been described in detail since the early 20th century. Gypsum caves are now known from almost all Italian regions, but are mainly localised along the northern border of the Apennine chain (Emilia Romagna and Marche), Calabria, and Sicily, where the major outcrops occur. Recently, important caves have also been discovered in the underground gypsum mines in Piedmont. During the late 80s and 90s several multidisciplinary studies were carried out in many gypsum areas, resulting in a comprehensive overview, promoting further research in these special karst regions. More recent and detailed studies focused…
The last sinkhole at Marsala: the 21 November, 2013,event
2014
Marsala area, in the western end of Sicily, has been historically interested by quarry activities, both at surface and underground. The carved rocks are Lower Pleistocene calcarenites, defined as “Calcarenite di Marsala” and referred to the Marsala syntheme. These calcarenites are composed of three main lithofacies with vertical and lateral passages: a)coarse to fine yellow bio- and lithoclastic calcarenites, rich in macrofossils; b) sands; and c) gray sandy clays. According to previous authors, the calcarenitic lithofacies can be divided into three lithotypes: i) coarse calcarenites and calcirudites strata, from 10 to 100 cm thick; ii) fine to coarse calcarenites with thickened grains; iii…
L’ultimo sprofondamento a Marsala: l’evento del 21 novembre 2013
2015
The Marsala area, at the western end of Sicily, has been historically interested by quarry activities, both at surface and underground. The carved rocks are Lower Pleistocene calcarenites, defined as “Calcarenite di Marsala” and referred to the Marsala syntheme. The subterranean quarries, now abandoned, show increasing instability signs becoming in time a risk factor for several causes, among which: a) breakdowns due to poor (weak) strength of rock and to large size of voids; b) progressive weathering of rock; c) effects of the discontinuities in the rock mass with the pillars and/or walls of the underground quarries. These factors contributed to enlargement of the subterranean voids and to…