The landslide hazard assessment, when based on the deterministic diagnosis of the processes, can be pursued only through the interpretation and the geo-hydro-mechanical modelling of the slope equilibrium. In practice, though, landslide hazard assessment is still seldom dealt with slope modelling, in particular when it addresses vast areas, where either heuristic or statistical methods do not entail any geo-hydro-mechanical knowledge of slope features and stability. The Multiscalar Method for Landslide Mitigation (MMLM) is an original methodological approach for intermediate to regional landslide hazard assessment. It is based on the geo-hydro-mechanical knowledge achieved from the application of a stage-wise diagnostic methodology of the landslide mechanism at the slope scale. The paper discusses the main steps of the MMLM aiming at diagnoses of landslide hazard based on hydro-mechanics, for small scale hazard mapping (at the large area).

Carbonate aquifers, located in foreland tectonic settings, could represent important thermal water resources outside the volcanic areas, supplying spas or geothermal installations. Thermal springs constitute the discharge areas of deep marine and continental groundwaters flowing within these carbonate aquifers whose hydraulic conductivity and the relevant geothermal fluid migration are strictly controlled by both the discontinuity network and the karst processes involving the foreland environment. An example of these springs occurs along the south-easternmost portion of the Apulia region (Southern Italy) where some sulphurous and warm waters (22-33 °C) flow out in partially submerged caves located along the coast, thus supplying the spas of Santa Cesarea Terme.These springs are known from ancient times (Aristotele in III century BC) and the physical-chemical features of their thermal waters resulted to be partly influenced by the sea level variations. Some hypotheses about the origin of these warm waters were proposed up to now by previous researches but some uncertainties still exist. For this reason, the area has been selected in order to define the conceptual model of the geothermal resources related to the thermal springs and, as a consequence, the origin of the thermal springs. It is one of the pilot site of the Vigor Project (Evaluation of the geothermal potential of Regions of Convergence), promoted by the Italian Ministry of Economic Development and National Research Council.Santa Cesarea Terme zone is located within the Apulia carbonate platform, the foreland of the southern Apennines, which consists of Jurassic-Cretaceous limestones, thick more than 5 km in the study area and affected by intense karst processes, resting above the Late Triassic evaporite (Burano Fm) and, unconformably, overlaid by Cenozoic calcareous successions. Belonging to a coastal area, the studied groundwater, whose top is located almost to the sea level, is involved in saltwater intrusion and therefore the salt-fresh water interface occurs at some meters below the sea level moving inland. Geological and hydrogeological surveys, including geo-electrical prospecting, and chemical and isotopic analyses of both groundwater and seawater have been carried out. Stable isotopes (?18O, ?D) were used to define the origin of the thermal waters and the recharge mechanism of the geothermal systems while the unstable isotope (3H) was determined for estimating the age of the thermal waters and to define the conceptual model of this low temperature geothermal resource. All the data have been analysed to improve the knowledge of the groundwater flow system, thus assessing the possibility of using low-temperature geothermal fluids to fulfil the thermal needs of the town of Santa Cesarea Terme.In this narrow area, the source of geogenic salinization of spring groundwater was referred to ascending very deep groundwater, more saline than current sea water.The geochemical com

The paper presents the phenomenological interpretation of the failure mechanism involving an active and complex landslide process within the Pisciolo hill-slope (Southern Apennines, Italy). The sliding process interacts with important infrastructures that in the last decade have undergone recurrent damage, prompting a comprehensive investigation and monitoring of the slope features and processes. Based on the study of all the investigation data, the interpretation of the failure mechanism has required the creation of the geological and the geotechnical model of the slope along with the reconstruction of the slope history. The case is representative of the slow evolution of landsliding typically occurring in chain areas where the outcropping clayey soils are extensively disturbed and fissured as result of intense long-lasting tectonics.

The Mar Piccolo basin is an internal sea basin located along the Ionian coast (Southern Italy), and it is surrounded primarily by fractured carbonate karstic environment. Because of the karstic features, the main continental water inflow is from groundwater discharge. The Mar Piccolo basin represents a peculiar and sensitive environment and a social emergency because of sea water and sediments pollution. This pollution appears to be caused by the overlapping effects of dangerous anthropogenic activities, including heavy industries and commercial and navy dockyards. The paper aims to define the contribution of subaerial and submarine coastal springs to the hydrological dynamic equilibrium of this internal sea basin. A general approach was defined, including a hydrogeological basin border assessment to detect inflowing springs, detailed geological and hydrogeological conceptualisation, in situ submarine and subaerial spring measurements, and flow numerical modelling. Multiple sources of data were obtained to define a relevant geodatabase, and it contained information on approximately 2,000 wells, located in the study area (1,600 km2). The conceptualisation of the hydrogeological basin, which is 978 km2 wide, was supported by a 3D geological model that interpolated 716 stratigraphic logs. The variability in hydraulic conductivity was determined using hundreds of pumping tests. Five surveys were performed to acquire hydro-geochemical data and spring flow-yield measurements; the isotope groundwater age was assessed and used for model validation. The mean annual volume exchanged by the hydrogeological basin was assessed equal to 106.93 106 m3. The numerical modelling permitted an assessment of the mean monthly yield of each spring outflow (surveyed or not), travel time, and main path flow.

Carbonate aquifers in foreland tectonic settings can host important thermal springs although located inareas commonly not characterized by regional high heat flow values. In these cases, when thermal springsare located close or along the coastlines the subaerial and/or submarine thermal springs constitute theoutflow of marine groundwater, flowing through localized fractures and karsitic rock-volumes. This isthe case of springs occurring along the south-easternmost portion of the Apulia region (Southern Italy)where few sulphurous and warm waters (22-33oC) outflow in partially submerged caves located alongthe shoreline, thus supplying the historical spas of Santa Cesarea Terme. Here, with the aim to define theorigin of the thermal fluids and their deep path, we carried out the geo-structural survey of the area anddetailed hydrogeological and geochemical analyses of the thermal spring fluids. In particular, the isotopes18O, D,13C in DIC,34Ssulphate,34Ssulphide,3He/4He ratio and13C in CO2were used to define the origin ofthe thermal water and the recharge mechanism of the geothermal system while the isotopes3H and14Cwere determined for estimating the age of the thermal waters, resulting in older than roughly twentythousands years BP. The results indicate that the thermal springs are fed by marine water, having reachedSanta Cesarea Terme through a localized fracture network. This affects the evaporitic and carbonatic rocksthat characterize the substratum of the Adriatic Sea in the offshore.

This paper concerns the landslide process occurring on a cut slope in stiff clays located at the north of the town of Lucera in southern Italy. This unstable slope lies between a hospital at the top and an abandoned quarry at the toe: the quarry was active until the end of the 1970s. Afirst landslide occurred around 1980, and was characterised by a subsequent retrogressive evolution. This paper presents an interpretation of the slope failure mechanism based on the results of geomorphological studies, field monitoring, laboratory testing, and both limit equilibrium and coupled numerical analyses, these latter carried out with FLAC2D. In particular, the numerical analyses have been performed in order to interpret the evolution of the slope movements with time, and to assess the influence of the quarrying-induced excess pore pressures on the development of the failure process. The numerical results show that during the excavation stages the negative excess pore water pressures due to undrained unloading allowed for a temporary stability of the slope. The analyses also indicate that the process of pore pressure equalisation triggered the 1980 failure, and initiated the retrogressive evolution of the landslide.

The paper presents a new methodology for the deterministic assessment of landslide hazard at the regional scale in geologically complex chain areas. The methodology entails site specific geo-mechanical studies, as background of any hazard prediction application, and the creation of a Regional Landslide Manual portraying the geo-mechanical knowledge about the slope conditions across the region. The search in the regional manual of the landslide mechanisms which may correspond to the combination of landslide factors recorded at the local scale results in the hazard prediction. The testing of the methodology in the Daunia Apennines is discussed.

The assessment of the slope failure mechanisms, along with the identification of the factors promoting the development of the landslide processes, represents the keystone for an effective design of landslide mitigation. The paper outlines some mitigation strategies for some slow-moving landslides, involving heterogeneous and tectonized soils, located in the outer sector of Southern Apennines. These mitigation designs result from a comprehensive analysis of the failure slope scenarios as resulted from field surveys and investigations, slope monitoring and laboratory testing.

Indicator-based approaches are often used to monitor land degradation and desertification from the global to the very local scale. However, there is still little agreement on which indicators may best reflect both status and trends of these phenomena. In this study, various processes of land degradation and desertification have been analyzed in 17 study sites around the world using a wide set of biophysical and socioeconomic indicators. The database described earlier in this issue by Kosmas and others (Environ Manage, 2013) for defining desertification risk was further analyzed to define the most important indicators related to the following degradation processes: water erosion in various land uses, tillage erosion, soil salinization, water stress, forest fires, and overgrazing. A correlation analysis was applied to the selected indicators in order to identify the most important variables contributing to each land degradation process. The analysis indicates that the most important indicators are: (i) rain seasonality affecting water erosion, water stress, and forest fires, (ii) slope gradient affecting water erosion, tillage erosion and water stress, and (iii) water scarcity soil salinization, water stress, and forest fires. Implementation of existing regulations or policies concerned with resources development and environmental sustainability was identified as the most important indicator of land protection.

The diagnosis of landsliding at the slope scale resulted from synergic geohydromechanical analyses of the slope factors, which should represent the first step to assess landslide hazard. According to the methodological approach discussed in the paper, the landslide hazard analysis should start from a phenomenological interpretation of the slope behaviour, including the definition of the slope factors, getting then to a quantitative prediction of the slope evolution with time. This quantitative evaluation should result from limit equilibrium analyses and numerical modelling, both of them performed considering the outcomes of the phenomenological reconstruction. Therefore, the understanding of the slope factors and of the landslide mechanism at the slope scale should drive the landslide hazard assessment, through analyses performed for different levels of diagnosis (phenomenological, analytical and numerical). Some landslides, representative for chain slopes in the Italian peninsula, are discussed in the paper in order to show the maturity of the geohydromechanical diagnosis of landslide hazard and, hence, to properly design the mitigation actions. A methodology for intermediate to regional landslide hazard assessment, based on geomechanical interpretations, is finally proposed.

In slopes formed by tectonized clayey turbidites, the soil fissuring recurrently influences the hydro-mechanical soil properties, determining an impoverishment in strength and an increase in permeability of the slope that make them predisposing factors of landsliding. This paper presents three case histories of slopes within tectonized clayey turbidites that are representative of several others in the Southern Apennines and, more widely, in the southern Mediterranean. The paper reports a novel attempt to connect tightly the slope geomorphological and hydromechanical features to the slope geological history, through an introductory presentation of the geological setting and history ofthe chain where the slopes occur. The slopes, location of very slow landslides, have been reconstructed based upon field surveys andinvestigations, multi-aerial photo-interpretation, laboratory testing, monitoring and numerical modelling. Furthermore, novel is the attempt to present, all together, the behaviour of the soils involved in the three landslide case studies, in the light of the mechanical modelling approach to fissured clays recently presented in the literature.

Numerical modelling represents a powerful technique to develop a quantitative assessment of the stress-strain mechanisms leading to either first-time slope failures or evolution of slopes already failed in the past. In this perspective, a valid interpretation of the landslide behaviour and an adequate strategy of risk mitigation can be achieved from a numerical validation of both the causative factors and the evolution mechanism that have been previously assumed according to detailed phenomenological or simple analytical approaches. This paper presents two case histories of slow landslides in clay slopes, both located in Puglia (Southern Italy), for which detailed phenomenological studies have been firstly carried out to infer assumptions on the slope failure mechanisms that have been later on verified by means of numerical analyses accounting for soil mechanical behaviour and slope hydraulic processes. The first case study concerns the first-time failure of a stiff clay slope in Lucera, which has been induced by the slow dissipation of negative excess pore water pressures generated by previous quarry excavation at the slope toe. The second case history is represented by the analysis of the stress-strain evolution of the ancient Volturino landslide, which is observed to reactivate mainly in wet seasons.

Le frane, dopo i terremoti e le alluvioni, sono le calamità naturali che ancor oggi mettono più a repentaglio le popolazioni e ne condizionano lo sviluppo socio-economico. Questo avviene nonostante l'attenzione che oggi si rivolge al rilievo del rischio su area vasta, che però spesso non contempla un'adeguata caratterizzazione delle dinamiche di dissesto e delle cause e che, dunque, non è sempre base efficace di scelte di gestione del rischio. Nella nota si evidenzia come oggi la diagnosi dei processi franosi in termini geo-idro-meccanici, che consegue ad una sinergia di analisi del processo franoso secondo diversi approcci specialistici, può condurre ad una valutazione quantitativa del rischio da frana di base per una più consapevole gestione delle aree a rischio e scelta delle strategie di mitigazione. In quest'ottica, dopo aver evidenziato l'urgenza di una ricognizione dei processi che generano il rischio da frana sul territorio e le ripercussioni sulla crescita socio-economica che ne può conseguire, la nota inquadra il metodo di analisi geo-idro-meccanica dei meccanismi di frana e ne esemplifica l'applicazione attraverso alcuni casi di diagnosi di franosità, in cui si è adottata la metodologia a scala di pendio. Infine, si propone una metodologia per la valutazione della pericolosità da frana su area vasta, intesa ad adottare gli strumenti di diagnosi su base geo-idro-meccanica, invalsi a scala di pendio, per valutazioni a più piccola scala.

The aim of this work is to present a methodology, based both on the use methods of time series analyses andof geospatial analyses of monthly climatic data (rainfall, wet days, rainfall intensity, and temperature), annualmaximum of short-duration rainfall (from 1 hour to 5 days), historical modification of land use, and populationvariations in order to characterise the effects of these variables on the occurrence of landsliding in Dauniaarea, located on the eastern margin of the Southern Apennines thrust belt (southern Italy). Rock strata (mainly)interbedded with clayey marls, clays and silty-clays outcrop in this area. Due to the intense strain history, thesesuccessions are found to be from stratified to deeply fractured, up to be disrupted and floating as blocks in aclayey matrix. In turn, the clay units are laminated to intensely fissured and characterised by very poor mechanicalproperties (Santaloia et al., 2012).The statistical analyses deal with data coming from published databases, integrated by public and privatedocuments, referring to a wide time span. Climate data records from 1877 to 2008 were elaborated, in particularthe data coming from sixteen rainfall gauges, ten of which were also thermometric. Moreover, some monthlyindices of rainfall, wet days, rainfall intensity, temperature, and landslide occurrence were introduced to simplifythe analysis of parameters, characterised by spatial and temporal variability. The population records are from the19th century up to now while the time period of reference for the land use data is from 1930 up to now.As concerns the landslide events, they were collected from 1918 to 2006. The main source of these records is theAVI database, an existing Italian database that collects data about damaging floods and landslides from 1918 to1996. This dataset was integrated up to 2006 by consulting newspapers, scientific publications, technical reports,written by the researchers of the CNR-IRPI for the Civil Protection, and also documents belonging to a researchproject (PS_119; Cotecchia et al. 2010). According to the landslide data collected, the landslide events resulted tobe 175 in the study area.The trend analyses show that the landslide occurrence was increased with the time, despite of the rainfall andtemperature data are not prone to landsliding. As a matter of fact, the trend of both the monthly rainfall andthe rainfall intensity decreases, and the temperature and the wet days show a positive trend during the period ofreference. The trend of the short-duration rainfall results generally to decrease.Not existing an evident relationship between climate variability and the increase of landslide occurrence, someother factors should be considered, as, for instance, the poor mechanical soil properties, the role of anthropogenicmodifications and the mismanagement of risk-prone areas. In this regards, the preliminary results obtainedfrom the data analyses

The coastal carbonate Apulian aquifers, located in southern Italy, feed numerous coastal cold springs and constitute the main local source of high quality water. The group of Santa Cesarea springs constitutes the unique occurrence of thermal groundwater outflow, observed in partially submerged coastal caves. The spring water is rich of hydrogen sulfide; temperature ranges from 25 to 33 C°. For their properties, spring waters are used for spa activities from several decades. Hydrogeological spring conceptualisations proposed up now were not able to justify water geochemical peculiarities or were not completely confirmed up now. To reduce these uncertainties, a complex hydrogeological survey has been defined. Geological and structural surveys, chemical and isotopic groundwater analyses, spring and well discharge measurements, well loggings, multi-parameters spring automatized measurements, and cave explorations are ongoing. All available data have been used to improve the knowledge of groundwater flow system, including the valuable deep aquifer, the origin of the thermal waters, and to investigate the possibility of using low-enthalpy geothermal fluids to fulfil the thermal needs of the town of Santa Cesarea Terme.

The coastal carbonate Apulian aquifers, located in southern Italy, feed numerous coastal cold springs and constitute the main local source of high quality water. The group of Santa Cesarea springs constitutes the unique occurrence of thermal groundwater outflow, observed in partially submerged coastal caves. The spring water is rich of hydrogen sulfide; temperature ranges from 25 to 33 C°. For their properties, spring waters are used for spa activities from several decades. Hydrogeological spring conceptualisations proposed up now were not able to justify water geochemical peculiarities or were not completely confirmed up now. To reduce these uncertainties, a complex hydrogeological survey has been defined. Geological and structural surveys, chemical and isotopic groundwater analyses, spring and well discharge measurements, well loggings, multi-parameters spring automatized measurements, and cave explorations are ongoing. All available data have been used to improve the knowledge of groundwater flow system, including the valuable deep aquifer, the origin of the thermal waters, and to investigate the possibility of using low-enthalpy geothermal fluids to fulfil the thermal needs of the town of Santa Cesarea Terme.

Rainfall infiltration to depth in slopes formed by clayey soils has been generally considered minor, to the extent of being assumed not influential on deep instabilities. As a consequence, rarely monitoring campaigns include piezometric monitoring at large depths. Furthermore, the modelling of seepage at depth is generally not satisfactory because it has to account for the lithostratigraphy of the whole slope and the hydro-geological boundary conditions, seldom surveyed with the appropriate accuracy. The present paper addresses this gap of knowledge in the field of slope-atmosphere interaction, being concerned with the effects of climate on the equilibrium at large depths in slopes formed by clayey soils. In particular, the clayey soils of reference are very widespread in the southern Apennines (Italy), often part of tectonized turbidites, that are in general sequences of fissured clays and fractured rock strata. The paper discusses the results of a research on a case history, the Pisciolo hill-slope (Melfi, Italy), a pilot site largely representative of the slopes in the Daunia and Lucanian Apennines. In the slopes of this region the combination of the clay poor strength properties with the high pore-water pressures prompts the propagation of deep failures, resulting in slow to extremely slow landsliding in slopes of even small inclination. Therefore, the research is aimed to investigate the sources of the large piezometric heads that predispose the slope to instability and the external causes that trigger the slope accelerations. The geological model of the Pisciolo slope and the results of the mechanical and hydraulic characterization of the fissured clays are first presented in the paper. Thereafter, numerical analyses of the seasonal rainfall infiltration and evapo-transpiration are reported with the aim to predict transient flow conditions and to verify the agreement with field monitoring data.

The paper presents the emblematic case of the Pianello slope, that is a complex landslide basin located in the town centre of Bovino, one of the most beautiful villages in Italy. The low gradient slope is formed of highly tectonised and heterogeneous clays and it is affected by very slow and deep landsliding. The failure mechanisms are representative of many others not only in the Daunia area in the south of Italy, but also in the slopes of the Italian Apennines. The analysis resulted from field surveys, investigations and monitoring data as well as from the laboratory test results of the geotechnical investigation. The phenomenological interpretation of the landslide mechanism, along with the identification of the predisposing and triggering factors has been validated by both limit equilibrium and numerical analyses.

The paper is concerned with the diffuse occurrence of movements in natural clay slopes that arefrom very slow to slow and that, at times, undergo accelerations bringing about significant damages of structuresand infrastructures in interaction with the slope. Four study cases are treated in the paper, showing bymeans of both in situ monitoring and mathematical modeling that such slope movements are effect of slidingprocesses along either pre-existing or newly developing shear bands, as part of progressive failure processesresulting from evolving equilibrium conditions. The evolving deformations are controlled by slow variationsof the effective stresses, largely associated to the hydro-mechanical coupling taking place in transient flowprocesses. Also, the lack of mitigation measures is shown to cause severe increase of the depth and extension ofthe landslide bodies, with a dramatic increase of the damaged structures and cost of final emergency measures.

Development of sinkholes in urban and rural area of Apulia (S Italy) is certainly one of the main hazards in the region. Related both to natural and anthropogenic cavities, sinkholes pose serious problems as regards safeguard of the territory, and have recently been the object of interest by mass media and population. For instance, the sinkholes at Marina di Lesina, the Alliste sinkhole in February 2004,the sinkhole of Via Firenze at Gallipoli on March 29, 2007, the several sinkholes in the Altamura municipality.The present work illustrates the research activities carried out by the Basin Authority of Apulia and the Institute of Research for the Hydrogeological Protection (IRPI) of CNR, aimed at predisposing an updated list of the Municipalities of Apulia Region interested by anthropogenic cavities, and at performing detailed studies about development of the underground cavities, and the likely failures induced. The present work, therefore, does not take into consideration sinkholes directly linked to presence of natural caves. An accurate inventory of the anthropogenic cavities in the region has been created, starting from the list by the local caving federation (FSP). The 564 man-made cavities have been analyzed, while detailed historical, archival and bibliographical researches, in turn integrated by interviews with the responsibles of the Technical Offices, were carried out. A survey form has been created to collect and analyze the information on the inventoried cavities; in such form, particular focus was given to those information useful to preliminarly evaluate the susceptibility to failures of the examined sites, also in relation to presence of elements at risk above the cavities, or in their immediate proximity. The first phase of work allowed to obtain a regional framework of knowledge that was useful to select ten municipalities where to perform analysis at a greater detail. These consisted of detailed geological and morphological descriptions, analysis of typology and distribution of the artificial cavities, evaluation of the overall stability in the areas affected by their presence, and description of the engineering works realized in the past, where present. In addition,three specific sites have been individuated to carry out further topographic surveys, and geological-structural analysis as well.All this work allowed to identify those areas in the regional territory that are mostly threatened by likely development of sinkholes related to anthropogenic cavities; further information on about three hundred other cavities have been then found, in many cases being related to systems of cavities rather than to single caves. This also stresses the very high number of man-made cavities in the region (estimated on the order of some thousands), and the need to continue studying sinkholes related to anthropogenic cavities, in order to contribute to mitigation of the related risk.

The Mar Piccolo (literally "narrow sea"), a sea internal basin which is part of the Taranto Gulf, located along the Ionian coast in southern Italy (Apulia region), represents both a peculiar and sensitive environmental area and a national environmental and social emergency due to the level of sea water pollution due to the pollutants coming from the close industrial area of Taranto.The area, located between the southern part of the Murgia plateau and the Ionian sea, is geologically characterized by a sequence of Mesozoic limestone (the Apulian carbonate platform) constituting the foreland of the southern Apennines chain. The Mesozoic sequence is intensely fissured and karstified, and forms an important groundwater reservoir.The aquifer occurring in the carbonate sequence of the Murgia plateau feeds numerous coastal springs and constitute the main local source of pure fresh groundwater. Galeso, Battentieri and Riso are the main subaerial springs located along the coast of Mar Piccolo, not far from the town of Taranto. This area is also characterized by several submarine springs, locally called "Citri".Submarine freshwater discharge plays an important, though not well quantified, role in the hydrogeological equilibrium of the system, but also the source of the spreading of many pollutants in the Mar Piccolo area due to the close presence of one of the largest European steel mill together a number of hazardous industrial activities of other types.The paper describes the efforts and the preliminary results to define a detailed conceptualisation of the aquifer as main support to characterise the hydrological balance of the internal sea and the quality of sea water and the effect on of the ecological equilibrium of the coastal environment.

La valutazione del rischio da frana rappresenta un tema di crescente interesse a causa del condizionamento dei processi franosi sullo sviluppo socio-economico dei centri urbani e sulle possibilità di conservazione del patrimonio storico-culturale. Con riferimento alle frane a cinematica lenta, le valutazioni di rischio di tipo quantitativo riguardano aspetti prevalentemente connessi alla suscettibilità o, in alcuni casi, alla pericolosità, limitando invece gli studi sulla vulnerabilità strutturale ad analisi di natura pressoché qualitativa. Questo contributo indaga gli effetti dell'interazione tra una classe di frane a cinematica lenta ed il patrimonio costruito sovrastante. Si presentano i risultati dell'applicazione di una metodologia multilivello per l'analisi di vulnerabilità alla scala del centro urbano. L'area di applicazione corrisponde ad un territorio urbanizzato dell'Appennino Dauno ove affiorano successioni torbiditiche tettonizzate. I risultati delle analisi geomorfologiche, geotecniche e strutturali sono confluiti nella 'carta geotecnica del danneggiamento da frana', strumento di supporto per l'analisi di vulnerabilità in aree franose.