Ricerc@Sapienza

A team of researchers from different Universities and Public Institutions from Italy and USA, of which the proposing of this project is the Italian coordinator, has been mobilized to investigate geotechnical and geological aspects of the destructive earthquake sequence that occurred in Central Italy from August to October 2016. During the reconnaissance activities following the seismic events, many information have been gathered and systematically collected and many instability phenomena have been documented, that can be used to advance our understanding of landslides-triggered earthquakes. The data collection have been performed using traditional mapping/observational methods and advanced imaging tools. Preliminary field investigations have been focused, among others, on major rockfalls and rockslides, including a large slide that dammed a river, as they could threaten road infrastructures.
Based on this preliminary field work, in this research project we want to investigate major rock slope failures occurred at three selected sites during the Central Italy earthquake sequence. These case-studies will be back analysed to investigate influence of rock mass behaviour and slope morphology on the instability mechanism under dynamic loading. Analyses will rely on a thorough review of existing geological and geotechnical data, specific field and laboratory investigations and analysis of strong motion data. Results are expected to provide insight on the factors that control occurrence of slope instability and type of failure mechanisms under dynamic loading due to medium-high seismic events, typical of many regions of Italy and other regions in the world.
The findings of the study may have important engineering implications in that they can increase our capability to mitigate seismic risks in inhabited mountain areas related to earthquake-triggered landslide hazard.