Prof. Luca Zini | Università degli Studi di Trieste (original) (raw)
Papers by Prof. Luca Zini
Progetto P r o j e k t HYDROKARST Cover and layout: Divulgando Srl, Trieste-www.divulgando.eu EUT... more Progetto P r o j e k t HYDROKARST Cover and layout: Divulgando Srl, Trieste-www.divulgando.eu EUT-Edizioni Università di Trieste Progetto P r o j e k t HYDROKARST 2 Polla a mare delle sorgenti di Aurisina. Vodna žila nabrežinskega izvira.
Acta Carsologica, 2020
The new railway line between Divača and Koper/Capodistria in south-western Slovenia is being buil... more The new railway line between Divača and Koper/Capodistria in south-western Slovenia is being built, a part of which crosses the southern outskirts of the Classical Karst plateaux. It will run through two tunnels, the northern tunnel T1 (6.7 km long) and the southern T2 (6 km long), which partially cross karst aquifer system. A multi-tracer test with injections of fluorescent dyes uranine and naphthionate, bypassing the karst vadose zone, was carried out to define the directions and dynamics of the underground water flow. The main goals were better understanding of the complex hydrogeological conditions in the area and assessment of possible environmental impacts on the nearby water sources. With tracing of uranine injected into a nearby cave stream, the direction of flow from the northern T1 tunnel mainly towards the Reka-Timavo aquifer system and further towards the Timava/Timavo springs was proved. The peak velocities, as determined from the peaks of the tracer breakthrough curves...
Remote Sensing, 2020
Sinkholes linked to cover evaporite karst in urban environments still represent a challenge in te... more Sinkholes linked to cover evaporite karst in urban environments still represent a challenge in terms of their clear identification and mapping considering the rehash and man-made structures. In the present research, we have proposed and tested a methodology to identify the subsiding features through an integrated and non-invasive multi-scale approach combining seismic reflection, PS-InSAR (PSI), leveling and full 3D Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), and thus overpassing the limits of each method. The analysis was conducted in a small village in the Alta Val Tagliamento Valley (Friuli Venezia Giulia region, NE Italy). Here, sinkholes have been reported for a long time as well as the hazards linked to their presence. Within past years, several houses have been demolished and at present many of them are damaged. The PSI investigation allowed the identification of an area with higher vertical velocities; seismic reflection imagined the covered karst bedrock, identifying three depocenters;...
Acta Carsologica, May 24, 2016
Izvle~ek UDK: 556.3(450) Franco Cucchi & Luca Zini: Monitoring podzemeljske reke Timave (Kras) In... more Izvle~ek UDK: 556.3(450) Franco Cucchi & Luca Zini: Monitoring podzemeljske reke Timave (Kras) Instrumenti, ki zvezno merijo nivo, temperaturo in prevodnost vode so bili postavljeni na 10 to~kah. Opazovalna mesta so postavljena na dnu, kjer jama dose`e vode Reke (Timave), ki zbira podzemne vode klasi~nega Krasa. Predhodne analize velikega {tevila podatkov, ki smo jih zbrali do sedaj, pomagajo bolje dolo~iti na~in pretakanja vode v globinah. Ugotovili smo tri razli~ne vodne valove, vpliv ~rpanja na nekaterih delih in me{anje razli~nih voda na drugih. Klju~ne besede: zvezno opazovanje vode, senzorji za temperaturo, prevodnost in nivo, klasi~ni Kras, Italija, Slovenija.
Acta Carsologica, 2018
Fascinating and fragile environments as are the underground estuaries, need to be studied, unders... more Fascinating and fragile environments as are the underground estuaries, need to be studied, understood and protected for present and future generations. Even if wide and abundant bibliography related to tides and their behaviour with respect to the external estuaries is available, none dealed with the estuary caves and the related hydrogeology. This paper aims to partially fill this gap presenting a preliminary study done at the Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR), in the Palawan Island (Philippines). The data was collected during the last expedition (November 2016) organised by La Venta, in which some of the authors took part. During the survey, the cave has been instrumented with in continuous diver data-logger devices (CTD) recording temperature (T), electrical conductivity (EC) and water level fluctuations. Longitudinal and vertical water hydrogeological profiles of the cave were realised with the aim of understanding the dynamics of the waters during different hydrogeological regimes in combination with salt water intrusion. In addition, a bathymetric profile was done to better identify the point where to realise the vertical logs. A significant rainstorm occurred during the expedition, lasting for approximately 12 hours resulting in 80 mm of rain, and its effects gave the re
Geosciences, 2019
The present paper deals with a field experiments on evaporite rock samples and groundwater invest... more The present paper deals with a field experiments on evaporite rock samples and groundwater investigations in the Quinis test site, a hamlet of the Enemonzo municipality in NE Italy, were sinkholes occurred in the past and are still occurring causing severe damage to the existing infrastructures. The area is characterised by a Carnian evaporitic bedrock made of gypsum and anhydrite mantled by alluvial and colluvial deposits. In order to evaluate the loss of weight and volume of the subcropping evaporites as responsible for sinkholes, a field-experiment was carried out. Inside seven piezometers, at different depths, evaporitic rock samples were exposed to the naturally occurring variable climatic conditions such as degree of humidity, different air flow and hydrodynamic. The rock samples were installed at the beginning of April 2017 in the dry sections of piezometric tubes, in the vadose zone and in the phreatic zone. Data related to water level fluctuations were recorded by using dat...
Rendiconti Online della Società Geologica Italiana, 2019
Rendiconti Online della Società Geologica Italiana, 2019
Climate change and the necessity to preserve and provide good quality freshwater for human consum... more Climate change and the necessity to preserve and provide good quality freshwater for human consumption has led researchers to study the aquifers of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region (NE Italy) in more detail. Of particular interest is the crossborder Soča/Isonzo River, which contributed to the creation of a remarkable alluvial aquifer. Today more than 300.000 inhabitants are supplied by water withdrawals from AcegasApsAmga Hera Group and the IrisAcqua water companies, the water wells of which are located in the southern part of the afore mentioned aquifer. Taking into consideration the importance of this area for the inhabitants, in order to guarantee the sustainability of the actual use of the water resource, the necessity has arisen to compute a groundwater balance. The leakages of the Soča/Isonzo River and the effective infiltrations constitute the water balance input parameters. Outflow, evapotranspiration, spring discharges and groundwater withdrawals estimated for each type of use and for each aquifer system have been evaluated. Withdrawal entity, resurgence belt discharge, phreatic levels and confined aquifer pressure are closely interdependent and in dynamic equilibrium. The sustainability of the actual use of the resource comes from the consistency and ratio between recharge and withdrawals. The more detailed and precise the input values in the water balance are, the more conscious is the management and safeguarding of this precious resource, avoiding pauperization in terms of quantity but especially quality. Within the framework where trends in rising temperature are clear, (2014 and 2015 were the hottest years of the last century), trends in precipitation are not clearly indicated, groundwater balance can be understood as a starting point for any future planning.
Journal of Maps, 2017
The paper presents the map of intrinsic groundwater vulnerability of the Isonzo/Soča High Plain, ... more The paper presents the map of intrinsic groundwater vulnerability of the Isonzo/Soča High Plain, which is located between the Collio Hills and the Classical Karst Region and holds an aquifer shared between Italy and Slovenia. The map, produced at a scale of 1:25,000 and printed in A0 format, was obtained by means of the SINTACS method and shows the intrinsic vulnerability of the aquifer in terms of seven vulnerability classes, from extremely high to low. It is accompanied by four supplementary sketches that illustrate the geological framework, the bedrock top surface, the groundwater flow paths, the Hazard Index map and three diagrams that summarize the percentages of vulnerability classes and of Hazard Index classes of the study area.
Geosciences, 2018
The study of the different hydrogeological compartments is a prerequisite for understanding and m... more The study of the different hydrogeological compartments is a prerequisite for understanding and monitoring different fluxes, thereby evaluating the environmental changes in an ecosystem where anthropogenic disturbances are present in order to preserve the most vulnerable groundwaters from contamination and degradation. In many karst domains in the Mediterranean, areas groundwaters and surface waters are a single system, as a result of the features that facilitate the ingression of waters from surface to subsurface. This is also the case for the Classical Karst hydrostructure, which is a carbonate plateau that rises above the northern Adriatic Sea, shared between Italy and Slovenia. The main suppliers to the aquifer are the effective precipitations and the waters from three different rivers: Reka/Timavo, Soča/Isonzo and Vipava/Vipacco. Past and ongoing hydrogeological studies on the area have focused on the connections within the Classical Karst Region aquifer system through the anal...
International Journal of Speleology, 2017
The significance of intra-mountain valleys to infrastructure and human settlements and the need t... more The significance of intra-mountain valleys to infrastructure and human settlements and the need to mitigate the geo-hazard affecting these assets are fundamental to the economy of Italian alpine regions. Therefore, there is a real need to recognize and assess possible geohazards affecting them. This study proposes the use of GIS-based analyses to construct a sinkhole susceptibility model based on conditioning factors such as land use, geomorphology, thickness of shallow deposits, distance to drainage network and distance to faults. Thirtytwo models, applied to a test site (Enemonzo municipality, NE Italy), were produced using a method based on the Likelihood Ratio (λ) function, nine with only one variable and 23 applying different combinations. The sinkhole susceptibility model with the best forecast performance, with an Area Under the Prediction Rate Curve (AUPRC) of 0.88, was that combining the following parameters: Nearest Sinkhole Distance (NSD), land use and thickness of the surficial deposits. The introduction of NSD as a continuous variable in the computation represents an important upgrade in the prediction capability of the model. Additionally, the model was refined using a kernel density estimation that produced a significant improvement in the forecast performance.
Journal of Maps, 2017
In using the term sinkhole researchers indicate a natural closed depressions reaching as far as t... more In using the term sinkhole researchers indicate a natural closed depressions reaching as far as tens of meters in depth and sometimes exeeding 100 m in diameter. Ground subsidence phenomena and sinkholes associated with the presence of evaporites were recognised and classi ed in several European countries such as England (Cooper et al 2011), Lithuania, Spain (Galve et al 2008; 2009), and Albania (Parise et al. 2004). According to Nisio et al (2007) and Caramanna et al (2008) ground subsidence phenomena are also common in Italy. These landforms have been recognised in many regions such as Sicily, Apulia, Campania, Sardinia and Friuli Venezia Giulia. Sinkholes of Friuli Venezia Giulia (Figure 1) are mainly associated to the presence of evaporite rocks deposited during the Permian Age (Bellorophon Formation) and in the Carnian age (Raibl Formation). The rst studies, which were performed at the end of 1800s in the northern part of Tagliamento River Valley, reported sinkhole phenomena and were connected to events which occured in the Quaternary alluvial deposits overlying evaporite rocks (Gortani 1965). Recently there has been reneawed interest (Zini et al. 2015) aimed at gaining better knowledge of the territory and its geohazard. The Regional Geological Survery funded a subsidence sinkhole inventory of the entire Region. This inventory contains historiacal, geological and geomoprhological information of 600 sinkholes. Most of them are associated to evaporite rocks and are located in the NW sector of Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, where evaporite rocks are abudant.
International Journal of Speleology, 2017
Although outcropping rarely in Italy, evaporite (gypsum and anhydrite) karst has been described i... more Although outcropping rarely in Italy, evaporite (gypsum and anhydrite) karst has been described in detail since the early 20 th 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 on the gypsum areas of Emilia-Romagna and Sicily. Sinkholes related to Permian-Triassic gypsum have been studied in Friuli Venezia Giulia. This article reviews the state of the art regarding different aspects of evaporite karst in Italy focusing on the main new results.
Journal of Maps, 2016
The paper aims to present the geology of the western part of the Classical Karst (NW Dinarides), ... more The paper aims to present the geology of the western part of the Classical Karst (NW Dinarides), located at the border between Slovenia and Italy. The work is based on archive, published and new data collected by Slovenian and Italian researchers within several scientific national and Cross Border Cooperation projects. The map, produced at a scale of 1:50,000, summarizes the lithological and structural setting and is supplemented by three geological cross-sections of the study area.
Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst: Proceedings of the Fourteenth Multidisciplinary Conference, 2015
Kraški vodonosniki predstavljajo velike vodne potenciale in jih pogosto izkoriščajo za pitno vodo... more Kraški vodonosniki predstavljajo velike vodne potenciale in jih pogosto izkoriščajo za pitno vodo, vendar gre za izredno občutljive in ranljive sisteme. Pristojne oblasti in vodovodna podjetja pogosto nimajo inštrumentov in znanstveno-pravnih podlag, da bi lahko začrtali zaščitena območja omenjenih vodonosnikov. Od tod izhaja potreba po pripravi specifičnih tematskih kart, ki bi organom odločanja olajšale delo. V odgovor na te potrebe je bilo znotraj Projekta HYDROKARST pripravljeno Kartiranje naravne ranljivosti vodonosnika klasičnega Krasa. 10.1 Karte ranljivosti Klasični kraški vodonosnik pokriva približno 738 km 2 površine ter preko slovenskega in italijanskega vodovoda oskrbuje s pitno vodo več kot 240.000 oseb. Zaradi čezmejne narave vodonosnika (ena tretjina se nahaja v Italiji, ostalo v Sloveniji) je bilo za določitev skupnih smernic za zaščito vodnih virov potrebno mednarodno sodelovanje. Raziskovalci iz obeh držav so sodelovali pri pridobivanju in interpretaciji podatkov ter pri pripravi kart ranljivosti, ki so bile izbrane kot temeljno orodje pri oblikovanju skupnih vodovarstvenih smernic. Naravna ranljivost vodonosnika določa njegovo predispozicijo za onesnaženje. Upošteva sposobnost samoočiščevanja vodnega siste
belina mezozojskih karbonatnih kamnin, nekdanje karbonatne platforme je preko 6.000 m, na Krasu p... more belina mezozojskih karbonatnih kamnin, nekdanje karbonatne platforme je preko 6.000 m, na Krasu pa izdanjajo le kredne i paleogenske plasti v skupni debelini več kot 2.000 m (Slika 2.1). 2.1.1 Unità litostratigrafiche Le rocce che affiorano sul Carso Classico appartengono ad una successione di piattaforma carbonatica, definita da Velić et al. (2002) e Vlahović et al. (2005) come Piattaforma Carbonatica Adriatica (AdCP), che ha una potenza complessiva di circa 6.000 m e la cui radice è del Giurassico inferiore. Nel Carso affiora la sola sequenza cretacicopaleogenica, con spessore superiore ai 2.000 m (Figura 2.1), che inizia con la formazione di Brje (Cretacico inferiore), seguita dalla formazione Figura 2.1 Colonna stratigrafica. Slika 2.1 Geološki stolpec.
Classical Karst transboundary aquifer is a limestone plateau of 750 km2 that extends from Brkini ... more Classical Karst transboundary aquifer is a limestone plateau of 750 km2 that extends from Brkini hills in Slovenia to Isonzo River in Italy. Since ten years, the Mathematic and Geosciences Department of Trieste University is conducting a monitoring project in order to better understand the groundwater hydrodynamic and the relation between fracture and conduit. 14 water points among caves, springs and piezometers are monitored: hourly temperature, level and EC data are recorded. Two sectors are highlighted: the south-eastern one mainly influenced by the sinking of the Reka River, and a north-western one connected to the influent character of the Isonzo River. Water table fluctuation are significant with risings of more than one hundred meters and during floods the most part of the circuits are under pressure and only a comparative analysis of levels, temperature and conductivity permits a precise evaluation of the water transit times in fractured and/or karstified volumes
Progetto P r o j e k t HYDROKARST Cover and layout: Divulgando Srl, Trieste-www.divulgando.eu EUT... more Progetto P r o j e k t HYDROKARST Cover and layout: Divulgando Srl, Trieste-www.divulgando.eu EUT-Edizioni Università di Trieste Progetto P r o j e k t HYDROKARST 2 Polla a mare delle sorgenti di Aurisina. Vodna žila nabrežinskega izvira.
Acta Carsologica, 2020
The new railway line between Divača and Koper/Capodistria in south-western Slovenia is being buil... more The new railway line between Divača and Koper/Capodistria in south-western Slovenia is being built, a part of which crosses the southern outskirts of the Classical Karst plateaux. It will run through two tunnels, the northern tunnel T1 (6.7 km long) and the southern T2 (6 km long), which partially cross karst aquifer system. A multi-tracer test with injections of fluorescent dyes uranine and naphthionate, bypassing the karst vadose zone, was carried out to define the directions and dynamics of the underground water flow. The main goals were better understanding of the complex hydrogeological conditions in the area and assessment of possible environmental impacts on the nearby water sources. With tracing of uranine injected into a nearby cave stream, the direction of flow from the northern T1 tunnel mainly towards the Reka-Timavo aquifer system and further towards the Timava/Timavo springs was proved. The peak velocities, as determined from the peaks of the tracer breakthrough curves...
Remote Sensing, 2020
Sinkholes linked to cover evaporite karst in urban environments still represent a challenge in te... more Sinkholes linked to cover evaporite karst in urban environments still represent a challenge in terms of their clear identification and mapping considering the rehash and man-made structures. In the present research, we have proposed and tested a methodology to identify the subsiding features through an integrated and non-invasive multi-scale approach combining seismic reflection, PS-InSAR (PSI), leveling and full 3D Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), and thus overpassing the limits of each method. The analysis was conducted in a small village in the Alta Val Tagliamento Valley (Friuli Venezia Giulia region, NE Italy). Here, sinkholes have been reported for a long time as well as the hazards linked to their presence. Within past years, several houses have been demolished and at present many of them are damaged. The PSI investigation allowed the identification of an area with higher vertical velocities; seismic reflection imagined the covered karst bedrock, identifying three depocenters;...
Acta Carsologica, May 24, 2016
Izvle~ek UDK: 556.3(450) Franco Cucchi & Luca Zini: Monitoring podzemeljske reke Timave (Kras) In... more Izvle~ek UDK: 556.3(450) Franco Cucchi & Luca Zini: Monitoring podzemeljske reke Timave (Kras) Instrumenti, ki zvezno merijo nivo, temperaturo in prevodnost vode so bili postavljeni na 10 to~kah. Opazovalna mesta so postavljena na dnu, kjer jama dose`e vode Reke (Timave), ki zbira podzemne vode klasi~nega Krasa. Predhodne analize velikega {tevila podatkov, ki smo jih zbrali do sedaj, pomagajo bolje dolo~iti na~in pretakanja vode v globinah. Ugotovili smo tri razli~ne vodne valove, vpliv ~rpanja na nekaterih delih in me{anje razli~nih voda na drugih. Klju~ne besede: zvezno opazovanje vode, senzorji za temperaturo, prevodnost in nivo, klasi~ni Kras, Italija, Slovenija.
Acta Carsologica, 2018
Fascinating and fragile environments as are the underground estuaries, need to be studied, unders... more Fascinating and fragile environments as are the underground estuaries, need to be studied, understood and protected for present and future generations. Even if wide and abundant bibliography related to tides and their behaviour with respect to the external estuaries is available, none dealed with the estuary caves and the related hydrogeology. This paper aims to partially fill this gap presenting a preliminary study done at the Puerto Princesa Underground River (PPUR), in the Palawan Island (Philippines). The data was collected during the last expedition (November 2016) organised by La Venta, in which some of the authors took part. During the survey, the cave has been instrumented with in continuous diver data-logger devices (CTD) recording temperature (T), electrical conductivity (EC) and water level fluctuations. Longitudinal and vertical water hydrogeological profiles of the cave were realised with the aim of understanding the dynamics of the waters during different hydrogeological regimes in combination with salt water intrusion. In addition, a bathymetric profile was done to better identify the point where to realise the vertical logs. A significant rainstorm occurred during the expedition, lasting for approximately 12 hours resulting in 80 mm of rain, and its effects gave the re
Geosciences, 2019
The present paper deals with a field experiments on evaporite rock samples and groundwater invest... more The present paper deals with a field experiments on evaporite rock samples and groundwater investigations in the Quinis test site, a hamlet of the Enemonzo municipality in NE Italy, were sinkholes occurred in the past and are still occurring causing severe damage to the existing infrastructures. The area is characterised by a Carnian evaporitic bedrock made of gypsum and anhydrite mantled by alluvial and colluvial deposits. In order to evaluate the loss of weight and volume of the subcropping evaporites as responsible for sinkholes, a field-experiment was carried out. Inside seven piezometers, at different depths, evaporitic rock samples were exposed to the naturally occurring variable climatic conditions such as degree of humidity, different air flow and hydrodynamic. The rock samples were installed at the beginning of April 2017 in the dry sections of piezometric tubes, in the vadose zone and in the phreatic zone. Data related to water level fluctuations were recorded by using dat...
Rendiconti Online della Società Geologica Italiana, 2019
Rendiconti Online della Società Geologica Italiana, 2019
Climate change and the necessity to preserve and provide good quality freshwater for human consum... more Climate change and the necessity to preserve and provide good quality freshwater for human consumption has led researchers to study the aquifers of the Friuli Venezia Giulia Region (NE Italy) in more detail. Of particular interest is the crossborder Soča/Isonzo River, which contributed to the creation of a remarkable alluvial aquifer. Today more than 300.000 inhabitants are supplied by water withdrawals from AcegasApsAmga Hera Group and the IrisAcqua water companies, the water wells of which are located in the southern part of the afore mentioned aquifer. Taking into consideration the importance of this area for the inhabitants, in order to guarantee the sustainability of the actual use of the water resource, the necessity has arisen to compute a groundwater balance. The leakages of the Soča/Isonzo River and the effective infiltrations constitute the water balance input parameters. Outflow, evapotranspiration, spring discharges and groundwater withdrawals estimated for each type of use and for each aquifer system have been evaluated. Withdrawal entity, resurgence belt discharge, phreatic levels and confined aquifer pressure are closely interdependent and in dynamic equilibrium. The sustainability of the actual use of the resource comes from the consistency and ratio between recharge and withdrawals. The more detailed and precise the input values in the water balance are, the more conscious is the management and safeguarding of this precious resource, avoiding pauperization in terms of quantity but especially quality. Within the framework where trends in rising temperature are clear, (2014 and 2015 were the hottest years of the last century), trends in precipitation are not clearly indicated, groundwater balance can be understood as a starting point for any future planning.
Journal of Maps, 2017
The paper presents the map of intrinsic groundwater vulnerability of the Isonzo/Soča High Plain, ... more The paper presents the map of intrinsic groundwater vulnerability of the Isonzo/Soča High Plain, which is located between the Collio Hills and the Classical Karst Region and holds an aquifer shared between Italy and Slovenia. The map, produced at a scale of 1:25,000 and printed in A0 format, was obtained by means of the SINTACS method and shows the intrinsic vulnerability of the aquifer in terms of seven vulnerability classes, from extremely high to low. It is accompanied by four supplementary sketches that illustrate the geological framework, the bedrock top surface, the groundwater flow paths, the Hazard Index map and three diagrams that summarize the percentages of vulnerability classes and of Hazard Index classes of the study area.
Geosciences, 2018
The study of the different hydrogeological compartments is a prerequisite for understanding and m... more The study of the different hydrogeological compartments is a prerequisite for understanding and monitoring different fluxes, thereby evaluating the environmental changes in an ecosystem where anthropogenic disturbances are present in order to preserve the most vulnerable groundwaters from contamination and degradation. In many karst domains in the Mediterranean, areas groundwaters and surface waters are a single system, as a result of the features that facilitate the ingression of waters from surface to subsurface. This is also the case for the Classical Karst hydrostructure, which is a carbonate plateau that rises above the northern Adriatic Sea, shared between Italy and Slovenia. The main suppliers to the aquifer are the effective precipitations and the waters from three different rivers: Reka/Timavo, Soča/Isonzo and Vipava/Vipacco. Past and ongoing hydrogeological studies on the area have focused on the connections within the Classical Karst Region aquifer system through the anal...
International Journal of Speleology, 2017
The significance of intra-mountain valleys to infrastructure and human settlements and the need t... more The significance of intra-mountain valleys to infrastructure and human settlements and the need to mitigate the geo-hazard affecting these assets are fundamental to the economy of Italian alpine regions. Therefore, there is a real need to recognize and assess possible geohazards affecting them. This study proposes the use of GIS-based analyses to construct a sinkhole susceptibility model based on conditioning factors such as land use, geomorphology, thickness of shallow deposits, distance to drainage network and distance to faults. Thirtytwo models, applied to a test site (Enemonzo municipality, NE Italy), were produced using a method based on the Likelihood Ratio (λ) function, nine with only one variable and 23 applying different combinations. The sinkhole susceptibility model with the best forecast performance, with an Area Under the Prediction Rate Curve (AUPRC) of 0.88, was that combining the following parameters: Nearest Sinkhole Distance (NSD), land use and thickness of the surficial deposits. The introduction of NSD as a continuous variable in the computation represents an important upgrade in the prediction capability of the model. Additionally, the model was refined using a kernel density estimation that produced a significant improvement in the forecast performance.
Journal of Maps, 2017
In using the term sinkhole researchers indicate a natural closed depressions reaching as far as t... more In using the term sinkhole researchers indicate a natural closed depressions reaching as far as tens of meters in depth and sometimes exeeding 100 m in diameter. Ground subsidence phenomena and sinkholes associated with the presence of evaporites were recognised and classi ed in several European countries such as England (Cooper et al 2011), Lithuania, Spain (Galve et al 2008; 2009), and Albania (Parise et al. 2004). According to Nisio et al (2007) and Caramanna et al (2008) ground subsidence phenomena are also common in Italy. These landforms have been recognised in many regions such as Sicily, Apulia, Campania, Sardinia and Friuli Venezia Giulia. Sinkholes of Friuli Venezia Giulia (Figure 1) are mainly associated to the presence of evaporite rocks deposited during the Permian Age (Bellorophon Formation) and in the Carnian age (Raibl Formation). The rst studies, which were performed at the end of 1800s in the northern part of Tagliamento River Valley, reported sinkhole phenomena and were connected to events which occured in the Quaternary alluvial deposits overlying evaporite rocks (Gortani 1965). Recently there has been reneawed interest (Zini et al. 2015) aimed at gaining better knowledge of the territory and its geohazard. The Regional Geological Survery funded a subsidence sinkhole inventory of the entire Region. This inventory contains historiacal, geological and geomoprhological information of 600 sinkholes. Most of them are associated to evaporite rocks and are located in the NW sector of Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, where evaporite rocks are abudant.
International Journal of Speleology, 2017
Although outcropping rarely in Italy, evaporite (gypsum and anhydrite) karst has been described i... more Although outcropping rarely in Italy, evaporite (gypsum and anhydrite) karst has been described in detail since the early 20 th 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 on the gypsum areas of Emilia-Romagna and Sicily. Sinkholes related to Permian-Triassic gypsum have been studied in Friuli Venezia Giulia. This article reviews the state of the art regarding different aspects of evaporite karst in Italy focusing on the main new results.
Journal of Maps, 2016
The paper aims to present the geology of the western part of the Classical Karst (NW Dinarides), ... more The paper aims to present the geology of the western part of the Classical Karst (NW Dinarides), located at the border between Slovenia and Italy. The work is based on archive, published and new data collected by Slovenian and Italian researchers within several scientific national and Cross Border Cooperation projects. The map, produced at a scale of 1:50,000, summarizes the lithological and structural setting and is supplemented by three geological cross-sections of the study area.
Sinkholes and the Engineering and Environmental Impacts of Karst: Proceedings of the Fourteenth Multidisciplinary Conference, 2015
Kraški vodonosniki predstavljajo velike vodne potenciale in jih pogosto izkoriščajo za pitno vodo... more Kraški vodonosniki predstavljajo velike vodne potenciale in jih pogosto izkoriščajo za pitno vodo, vendar gre za izredno občutljive in ranljive sisteme. Pristojne oblasti in vodovodna podjetja pogosto nimajo inštrumentov in znanstveno-pravnih podlag, da bi lahko začrtali zaščitena območja omenjenih vodonosnikov. Od tod izhaja potreba po pripravi specifičnih tematskih kart, ki bi organom odločanja olajšale delo. V odgovor na te potrebe je bilo znotraj Projekta HYDROKARST pripravljeno Kartiranje naravne ranljivosti vodonosnika klasičnega Krasa. 10.1 Karte ranljivosti Klasični kraški vodonosnik pokriva približno 738 km 2 površine ter preko slovenskega in italijanskega vodovoda oskrbuje s pitno vodo več kot 240.000 oseb. Zaradi čezmejne narave vodonosnika (ena tretjina se nahaja v Italiji, ostalo v Sloveniji) je bilo za določitev skupnih smernic za zaščito vodnih virov potrebno mednarodno sodelovanje. Raziskovalci iz obeh držav so sodelovali pri pridobivanju in interpretaciji podatkov ter pri pripravi kart ranljivosti, ki so bile izbrane kot temeljno orodje pri oblikovanju skupnih vodovarstvenih smernic. Naravna ranljivost vodonosnika določa njegovo predispozicijo za onesnaženje. Upošteva sposobnost samoočiščevanja vodnega siste
belina mezozojskih karbonatnih kamnin, nekdanje karbonatne platforme je preko 6.000 m, na Krasu p... more belina mezozojskih karbonatnih kamnin, nekdanje karbonatne platforme je preko 6.000 m, na Krasu pa izdanjajo le kredne i paleogenske plasti v skupni debelini več kot 2.000 m (Slika 2.1). 2.1.1 Unità litostratigrafiche Le rocce che affiorano sul Carso Classico appartengono ad una successione di piattaforma carbonatica, definita da Velić et al. (2002) e Vlahović et al. (2005) come Piattaforma Carbonatica Adriatica (AdCP), che ha una potenza complessiva di circa 6.000 m e la cui radice è del Giurassico inferiore. Nel Carso affiora la sola sequenza cretacicopaleogenica, con spessore superiore ai 2.000 m (Figura 2.1), che inizia con la formazione di Brje (Cretacico inferiore), seguita dalla formazione Figura 2.1 Colonna stratigrafica. Slika 2.1 Geološki stolpec.
Classical Karst transboundary aquifer is a limestone plateau of 750 km2 that extends from Brkini ... more Classical Karst transboundary aquifer is a limestone plateau of 750 km2 that extends from Brkini hills in Slovenia to Isonzo River in Italy. Since ten years, the Mathematic and Geosciences Department of Trieste University is conducting a monitoring project in order to better understand the groundwater hydrodynamic and the relation between fracture and conduit. 14 water points among caves, springs and piezometers are monitored: hourly temperature, level and EC data are recorded. Two sectors are highlighted: the south-eastern one mainly influenced by the sinking of the Reka River, and a north-western one connected to the influent character of the Isonzo River. Water table fluctuation are significant with risings of more than one hundred meters and during floods the most part of the circuits are under pressure and only a comparative analysis of levels, temperature and conductivity permits a precise evaluation of the water transit times in fractured and/or karstified volumes