scholarly journals Flood history in the karst environment of Castellana-Grotte (Apulia, southern Italy)

2003 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 593-604 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Parise
Keyword(s):  
Rock Mass ◽  
Complex Network ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Karst Area ◽  
Flood Events ◽  
Karst Environment ◽  
Main Factors ◽  
The Town

Abstract. Karst environments are characterized by peculiar hydrologic features, and in particular by a very limited, if not absent, surface hydrography. Water tends to infiltrate rapidly underground through the complex network of fractures and karstic conduits in the rock mass. However, on the occasion of concentrated rainfall, as well as in case of prolonged precipitation, such network might not be able to allow flowing of large amounts of water, which causes the occurrence of floods. This contribution illustrates the flood history in a classical karst area of Southern Italy, the town of Castellana-Grotte, in Apulia. The oldest part of the town lies at the bottom of a karst valley, which was hit by many flood events in the last centuries. More than twenty of these are here documented, starting from critical analysis of existing publications and documents, integrated with additional historical researches. Aimed at reconstructing the flood history at Castellana-Grotte, the best-documented events are described, together with the main factors, which played a role in distribution and gravity of the related damage. Eventually some engineering works realized during the first decades of the last century, in order to avoid further damage on the occasion of catastrophic floods, are also described.

scholarly journals Landslides, floods and sinkholes in a karst environment: the 1–6 September 2014 Gargano event, southern Italy

2017 ◽  
Vol 17 (3) ◽  
pp. 467-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Elena Martinotti ◽  
Luca Pisano ◽  
Ivan Marchesini ◽  
Mauro Rossi ◽  
Silvia Peruccacci ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Italy ◽  
Flash Floods ◽  
Temporal Information ◽  
Karst Area ◽  
Exceedance Probability ◽  
Karst Environment ◽  
Gargano Promontory ◽  
Landslide Forecasting ◽  
Landslide Early Warning ◽  
Torrential Rainfall

Abstract. In karst environments, heavy rainfall is known to cause multiple geohydrological hazards, including inundations, flash floods, landslides and sinkholes. We studied a period of intense rainfall from 1 to 6 September 2014 in the Gargano Promontory, a karst area in Puglia, southern Italy. In the period, a sequence of torrential rainfall events caused severe damage and claimed two fatalities. The amount and accuracy of the geographical and temporal information varied for the different hazards. The temporal information was most accurate for the inundation caused by a major river, less accurate for flash floods caused by minor torrents and even less accurate for landslides. For sinkholes, only generic information on the period of occurrence of the failures was available. Our analysis revealed that in the promontory, rainfall-driven hazards occurred in response to extreme meteorological conditions and that the karst landscape responded to the torrential rainfall with a threshold behaviour. We exploited the rainfall and the landslide information to design the new ensemble–non-exceedance probability (E-NEP) algorithm for the quantitative evaluation of the possible occurrence of rainfall-induced landslides and of related geohydrological hazards. The ensemble of the metrics produced by the E-NEP algorithm provided better diagnostics than the single metrics often used for landslide forecasting, including rainfall duration, cumulated rainfall and rainfall intensity. We expect that the E-NEP algorithm will be useful for landslide early warning in karst areas and in other similar environments. We acknowledge that further tests are needed to evaluate the algorithm in different meteorological, geological and physiographical settings.

Implementation of InfraRed Thermographic surveys in complex coastal areas: the case study of Polignano a Mare (southern Italy)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lidia Loiotine ◽  
Marco La Salandra ◽  
Gioacchino Francesco Andriani ◽  
Eliana Apicella ◽  
Michel Jaboyedoff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rock Mass ◽  
Structure From Motion ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Thermal Imager ◽  
Rock Masses ◽  
Field Surveys ◽  
Thermal Images ◽  
Thermal Anomalies ◽  
Rock Face

<p><em>InfraRed Thermography</em> (IRT) spread quickly during the second half of the 20<sup>th</sup> century in the military, industrial and medical fields. This technique is at present widely used in the building sector to detect structural defects and energy losses. Being a non-destructive diagnostic technique, IRT was also introduced in the Earth Sciences, especially in the volcanology and environmental fields, yet its application for geostructural surveys is of recent development. Indeed, the acquisition of thermal images on rock masses could be an efficient tool for identifying fractures and voids, thus detecting signs of potential failures.<br>Further tests of thermal cameras on rock masses could help to evaluate the applicability, advantages and limits of the IRT technology for characterizing rock masses in different geological settings.<br>We present some results of IRT surveys carried out in the coastal area of Polignano a Mare (southern Italy), and their correlation with other remote sensing techniques (i.e. <em>Terrestrial Laser Scanning</em> and <em>Structure from Motion</em>). The case study (<em>Lama Monachile</em>) is represented by a 20 m-high cliff made up of Plio-Pleistocene calcarenites overlying Cretaceous limestones. Conjugate fracture systems, karst features, folds and faults, were detected in the rock mass during field surveys. In addition, dense vegetation and anthropogenic elements, which at places modified the natural setting of the rock mass, represent relevant disturbances for the characterization of the rock mass. In this context, IRT surveys were added to the other techniques, aimed at detecting the major discontinuities and fractured zones, based on potential thermal anomalies. <br>IRT surveys were carried out in December 2020 on the east side of the rock mass at <em>Lama Monachile</em> site. Thermal images were acquired every 20 minutes for 24 hours by means of a FLIR T-660 thermal imager mounted on a fixed tripod. Ambient air temperature and relative humidity were measured during the acquisition with a pocketsize thermo-hydrometer. A reflective paper was placed at the base of the cliff to measure the reflected apparent temperature. In addition, three thermocouple sensors were fixed to the different lithologic units of the rock face. These parameters, together with the distance between the FLIR T-660 and the rock face, were used in order to calibrate the thermal imager and correct the apparent temperatures recorded by the device, during the post-processing phase. Successively, vertical profiles showing the temperature of the rock face over time were extracted from the thermograms. Thermal anomalies were correlated with stratigraphic and Geological Strength Index profiles, obtained by means of field surveys and Structure from Motion techniques. The presence of fracture and voids in the rock mass was also investigated.</p>

scholarly journals Between Southern Italy and Dalmatia Missal MR 166 of the Metropolitana Library, Zagreb

Zograf ◽  
2009 ◽  
pp. 63-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emanuela Elba
Keyword(s):  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Illuminated Manuscripts ◽  
Illuminated Manuscript ◽  
Textual Features ◽  
Italian Origin ◽  
Book Circulation

The Missal MR 166 from the Metropolitana Library, Zagreb, written in Beneventana script and dating back to the twelfth-thirteenth centuries, has long been considered a Dalmatian product, similar to the coeval illuminated manuscript in Beneventana script preserved in the Trogir Cathedral and originating in Zadar. Nevertheless, later studies - specifically based on the textual features of the manuscript - showed that it is undoubtedly a Southern Italian product, and a significant testimony of the uninterrupted book circulation that existed on both sides of the Adriatic for three centuries roughly from the eleventh to the thirteenth, thus influencing the activity of the Benedictine scriptoria on the Dalmatian coast. On the basis of the study that makes it possible to define more closely the group of manuscripts that make up the 'corpus of the illuminated manuscripts from Dalmatia', the paper aims to support the Southern Italian origin of the Missal by means of a critical analysis of the theories put forward so far about the 'typically Dalmatian' features of its Initialornamentik.

Treating Hernias in Ottoman Crete (c. 1670–1760): The Legal Imprint of a Medical Procedure

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonis Anastasopoulos ◽  
Christos Kyriakopoulos
Keyword(s):  
Ottoman Empire ◽  
Critical Analysis ◽  
Medical Condition ◽  
The Other ◽  
Medical Procedure ◽  
Health Issues ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The Town

Summary In Crete, as in the rest of the Ottoman Empire, patients who suffered from hernias and other diseases that required surgery made statements to the court of law that absolved the surgeons of liability in case of death as a result of the operation. These statements also included information about the medical condition concerned, the surgeon, the medical procedure and the fee to be paid. In this article, we discuss such statements of the period 1670–1760 from the town of Kandiye (mod. Heraklion). On one hand, we demonstrate that a critical analysis of the statements reveals a dynamic society, which actively overcomes its ideology of submission to God and religious prejudices when it comes to dealing with health issues. On the other hand, we argue that, as the statements were made before the official court of law, they constitute a facet of the Ottomanisation of Cretan society and its practices.

scholarly journals Semi-automated extraction of Deviation Indexes (DI) from satellite Persistent Scatterers time series: tests on sedimentary volcanism and tectonically-induced motions

2012 ◽  
Vol 19 (6) ◽  
pp. 643-655 ◽  
Author(s):  
F. Cigna ◽  
D. Tapete ◽  
N. Casagli
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Deformation Model ◽  
Automated Extraction ◽  
Persistent Scatterers ◽  
Information Level ◽  
Coherence Factors ◽  
The Village ◽  
The Town

Abstract. We develop a methodology based on satellite Persistent Scatterers (PS) time series and aimed to calculate two indexes which are capable to depict the deviation from a deformation model defined a priori. Through a simple mathematical approach, these indexes reproduce the visual process of identification of trend deviations that is usually performed manually by the radar-interpreter, and guide the prioritization of further interpretation for those areas recording significant variations within their motion history. First tests on semi-automated extraction of the Deviation Indexes (DI) from RADARSAT-1 PS data available over Southern Italy allowed the quantification of tectonically-induced land motions which occurred in February 2005 within the town of Naro, and also the clear recognition of the precursors to mud volcano eruptions which occurred in August 2008 in the village of St. Barbara. For these areas, the information level brought by the DI increases and adds onto that of other PS parameters, such as yearly velocity, standard deviation and coherence. Factors exerting influence on the DI are critically tackled within the discussions, together with the analysis of the potentials of these indexes for monitoring and warning activities of geohazards.

scholarly journals Multiple Effects of Intense Meteorological Events in the Benevento Province, Southern Italy

Water ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 1560 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paola Revellino ◽  
Luigi Guerriero ◽  
Neri Mascellaro ◽  
Francesco Fiorillo ◽  
Gerardo Grelle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Soil Erosion ◽  
Debris Flows ◽  
Southern Italy ◽  
Statistical Characteristics ◽  
Total Rainfall ◽  
Campania Region ◽  
Rainfall Events ◽  
Pattern Distribution ◽  
The Town ◽  
Flooded Areas

In October 2015, two intense rainfall events hit the central and southern regions of Italy and triggered a combination of different and widespread effects, including floods, landslides, and soil erosion. These outcomes devastated about 68 municipalities of the Benevento province (Campania region), killed two people, and caused millions of euros worth of damage to structures, infrastructures, and agriculture. The town of Benevento was one of the sectors most affected by overflow. Extensive areas characterized by flyschoid outcrops experienced widespread occurrences of soil erosion and landslides, and destructive, high-velocity debris flows (about 50) afflicted areas that had experienced heavy rainfall of higher intensity (total rainfall of 415.6 mm). In this study, the characteristics of these rainfall events and related geomorphological processes were determined by (i) analyzing the available rainfall data to identify the spatial pattern, distribution, and statistical characteristics of the two storms and (ii) mapping the storm effects, such as flooded areas, landslide types, and soil erosion. These effects were then related to the spatial distribution of the storms and the local geological and geomorphologic settings that drove their initiation and development.

scholarly journals A database on flash flood events in Campania, southern Italy, with an evaluation of their spatial and temporal distribution

2016 ◽  
Vol 16 (12) ◽  
pp. 2485-2500 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carmela Vennari ◽  
Mario Parise ◽  
Nicoletta Santangelo ◽  
Antonio Santo
Keyword(s):  
Southern Italy ◽  
Flash Flood ◽  
Hazard Analysis ◽  
General Structure ◽  
Temporal Distribution ◽  
Intermittent Flow ◽  
Flood Events ◽  
Campania Region ◽  
Future Events ◽  
Temporal Occurrence

Abstract. This study presents an historical database of flash flood events in the Campania region of southern Italy. The study focuses on small catchments characterized by intermittent flow, generally occurring during and after heavy rainstorms, which can be hydrologically defined as small Mediterranean catchments. As the outlet zones of these catchments (consisting mainly of alluvial fans or fan deltas) are highly urbanized in Campania, the population living in the delivery areas is exposed to high risk. Detailed scrutiny and critical analysis of the existing literature, and of the data inventory available, allowed us to build a robust database consisting of about 500 events from 1540 to 2015, which is continuously updated. Since this study is the first step of a longer project to perform a hazard analysis, information about time and site of occurrence is known for all events. As for the hazard analysis envisaged, collecting information about past events could provide information on future events, in terms of damage and also spatial and temporal occurrence. After introducing the issue of flash floods in Italy we then describe the geological and geomorphological settings of the study area. The database is then presented, illustrating the methodology used in collecting information and its general structure. The collected data are then discussed and the statistical data analysis presented.

scholarly journals TESTING THE EFFECT OF UNDERMINING ON POSITIONAL ACCURACY OF THE DIGITAL TECHNICAL MAP OF OSTRAVA IN THE PŘÍVOZ CADASTRAL DISTRICT / PŘÍVOZ KADASTRINIO RAJONO ĮTAKOS OSTRAVOS SKAITMENINIO TECHNINIO ŽEMĖLAPIO POZICINIAM TIKSLUMUI PADARINIŲ TYRIMAS / АНАЛИЗ ВЛИЯНИЯ РАЗРУШАЮЩИХ СИЛ НА ПОЗИЦИОННУЮ ТОЧНОСТЬ ЦИФРОВОЙ ТЕХНИЧЕСКОЙ КАРТЫ Г. ОСТРАВА В КАДАСТРОВОМ РАЙОНЕ ПРИВОЗ

2011 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 111-118
Author(s):  
Milan Mikoláš ◽  
Jiří Žváček ◽  
Michal Vaněk ◽  
Roman Donocik ◽  
Petra Zápalková ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Rock Mass ◽  
Stress State ◽  
Coal Mining ◽  
Tectonic Stress ◽  
Surrounding Rock ◽  
Recent Past ◽  
Positional Accuracy ◽  
Landscape Morphology ◽  
The Town ◽  
Town Area

Intensive underground exploitation took place in the area of the Ostrava corporate town in recent past. After the coal mining was shut down in 1994 gradual subsidence in the town area has slowed down, however, establishing of the Digital Technical Map of Ostrava (DTMMO) dates back to 1992. When working a seam the original geostatic and tectonic stress state in the surrounding rock mass changes, which is accompanied by rock transformation and displacement from the roof towards the stope. Undermining is manifested in landscape morphology in many different ways that we can divide to continuous and discontinuous deformations. Residual mining effects could therefore have impacted positional accuracy of DTMMO in the last 18 years. The Bohumín 8-9/43 topographic sheet was selected for testing purposes in the Přívoz cadastral district. Santrauka Netolimoje praeityje Ostravos, miesto Čekijos rytuose, savivaldybėje buvo intensyviai eksploatuojama žemė. Nustojus užsiiminėti angliakasyba, nuo 1994-ųjų, palaipsnis žemės smukimas miesto vietovėse sulėtėjo. Skaitmeninis techninis Ostravos žemėlapis (DTMMO) sukurtas dar 1992 metais. Vykstant darbams žemės tarpsluoksnyje pirminis geostatinis ir tektoninis slėgis aplinkinėje uolienų masėje keitėsi, ir tai lėmė uolienų transformaciją ir slinktį. Kraštovaizdžio morfologijoje žala pasireiškia įvairiais būdais. Skiriama nenutrūkstamoji ir nutrūkstamoji deformacijos. Liekamasis kasybos poveikis per pstaruosius 18 metų galėjo paveikti pozicinį DTMMO tikslumą. Tiriant Přívoz kadastrinį rajoną, pasirinkta Bohumín 8-9/43 topografinio žemėlapio lapas. Резюме В недавнем прошлом в районе корпоративного г. Острава интенсивно эксплуатировались нижние слои грунта. После прекращения добычи угля в 1994 г. постепенное оседание поверхности города замедлилось. Созданная цифровая техническая карта г. Остравы (DTMMO) восходит к 1992 г. При работе с пластом возникающее исходное геостатическое и тектоническое возбуждение приводит к изменениям в окружающих пласт горных массивах, которые сопровождаются преобразованием пород и перемещениями в направлении забоя. Разрушение проявляется в морфологии ландшафта в самых разных формах, которые можно подразделить на непрерывные и разрывные деформации. Поэтому остаточные явления горных разработок могут оказывать влияние на позиционную точность DTMMO за последние 18 лет. Для анализа была выбрана топографическая плита Богумин 8-9/43 в кадастровом районе Привоз.

scholarly journals Intrinsic vulnerability assessment of the south-eastern Murge (Apulia, southern Italy)

2004 ◽  
Vol 4 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 769-774 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Marsico ◽  
G. Giuliano ◽  
L. Pennetta ◽  
M. Vurro
Keyword(s):  
Southern Italy ◽  
Structural Data ◽  
Structural Features ◽  
Karst Area ◽  
The South ◽  
Intrinsic Vulnerability ◽  
South Eastern ◽  
Best Fitting ◽  
Potential Pollution ◽  
Index Maps

Abstract. Maps of areas with different vulnerability degrees are an integral part of environmental protection and management policies. It is difficult to assess the intrinsic vulnerability of karst areas since the stage and type of karst structure development and its related underground discharge behaviour are not easy to determine. Therefore, some improvements, which take into account dolines, caves and superficial lineament arrangement, have been integrated into the SINTACS R5 method and applied to a karst area of the south-eastern Murge (Apulia, southern Italy). The proposed approach integrates the SINTACS model giving more weight to morphological and structural data; in particular the following parameters have been modified: depth to groundwater, effective infiltration action, unsaturated zone attenuation capacity and soil/overburden attenuation capacity. Effective hydrogeological and impacting situations are also arranged using superficial lineaments and karst density. In order to verify the reliability of the modified procedure, a comparison is made with the original SINTACS R5 index evaluated in the same area. The results of both SINTACS index maps are compared with karst and structural features identified in the area and with groundwater nitrate concentrations recorded in wells. The best fitting SINTACS map is then overlaid by the layout of potential pollution centres providing a complete map of the pollution risk in the area.

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