IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v10y2018i2p417-d130447.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Rockfall Analysis for Preliminary Hazard Assessment of the Cliff of Taormina Saracen Castle (Sicily)

Author

Listed:
  • Simone Mineo

    (Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, Corso Italia 57, 95129 Catania, Italy)

  • Giovanna Pappalardo

    (Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, University of Catania, Corso Italia 57, 95129 Catania, Italy)

  • Michele Mangiameli

    (Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia 54, 95125 Catania, Italy)

  • Santo Campolo

    (Regione Siciliana—Department of Cultural Heritage and Sicilian Identity, Viale Boccetta 38, 98100 Messina, Italy)

  • Giuseppe Mussumeci

    (Department of Civil Engineering and Architecture, University of Catania, Via Santa Sofia 54, 95125 Catania, Italy)

Abstract

A rockfall analysis at one of the most relevant cultural heritage sites of northeastern Sicily (Italy) is presented herein with the aim of assessing the hazard arising from the unstable conditions of the rock cliff of Taormina city, upon which the Saracen Castle is perched on its top. Several rockfalls affected this area in the latest years, representing a serious threat for the safety of inhabitants and tourists. Therefore, the qualitative Evolving Rockfall Hazard Assessment (ERHA) was applied for the hazard zonation, supported by rock mass surveys and Terrestrial Laser Scanner prospecting. Kinematic analysis revealed that the unstable rock failure patterns are represented by planar/wedge sliding and toppling, while simulation of potential rockfalls allowed studying the impact of future events in terms of trajectory and energy. This is higher at the foot of scarps and in steeper sectors, where the application of ERHA identified a critical zone close to the inhabited center, which is one of the main elements at risk, along with a pedestrian tourist path. Achieved results represent a starting point for the definition of risk management strategies and provide a scientific contribution to the study of hazard and risk arising from rockfall occurrence.

Suggested Citation

  • Simone Mineo & Giovanna Pappalardo & Michele Mangiameli & Santo Campolo & Giuseppe Mussumeci, 2018. "Rockfall Analysis for Preliminary Hazard Assessment of the Cliff of Taormina Saracen Castle (Sicily)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(2), pages 1-18, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:2:p:417-:d:130447
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/2/417/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/10/2/417/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Claudia Mignelli & Stefano Russo & Daniele Peila, 2012. "ROckfall risk MAnagement assessment: the RO.MA. approach," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 62(3), pages 1109-1123, July.
    2. Fabio Matano & Sabato Iuliano & Renato Somma & Ermanno Marino & Umberto del Vecchio & Giuseppe Esposito & Flavia Molisso & Germana Scepi & Giuseppe Maria Grimaldi & Antonio Pignalosa & Teresa Caputo &, 2016. "Geostructure of Coroglio tuff cliff, Naples (Italy) derived from terrestrial laser scanner data," Journal of Maps, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 12(3), pages 407-421, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Zhong-Min Ji & Tian-Li Chen & Fa-Quan Wu & Zhen-Hua Li & Qing-He Niu & Ke-Yi Wang, 2023. "Assessment and prevention on the potential rockfall hazard of high-steep rock slope: a case study of Zhongyuntai mountain in Lianyungang, China," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 115(3), pages 2117-2139, February.
    2. Simone Mineo & Giovanna Pappalardo & Salvatore Onorato, 2021. "Geomechanical Characterization of a Rock Cliff Hosting a Cultural Heritage through Ground and UAV Rock Mass Surveys for Its Sustainable Fruition," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-16, January.
    3. Sajid Ali & Rashid Haider & Wahid Abbas & Muhammad Basharat & Klaus Reicherter, 2021. "Empirical assessment of rockfall and debris flow risk along the Karakoram Highway, Pakistan," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 106(3), pages 2437-2460, April.
    4. Simone Mineo & Giovanna Pappalardo, 2019. "Sustainable Fruition of Cultural Heritage in Areas Affected by Rockfalls," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(1), pages 1-17, December.
    5. Giovanna Pappalardo & Simone Mineo & Serafina Carbone & Carmelo Monaco & Domenico Catalano & Giovanni Signorello, 2021. "Preliminary Recognition of Geohazards at the Natural Reserve “Lachea Islet and Cyclop Rocks” (Southern Italy)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-14, January.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Daniele Giordan & Martina Cignetti & Danilo Godone & Davide Bertolo & Marco Paganone, 2021. "Definition of an Operative Methodology for the Management of Rockfalls along with the Road Network," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-22, July.
    2. Franck Bourrier & Julien Baroth & Stéphane Lambert, 2016. "Accounting for the variability of rock detachment conditions in designing rockfall protection structures," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 81(1), pages 365-385, March.
    3. Claudia Mignelli & Daniele Peila & Stefano Lo Russo & Sara Ratto & Massimo Broccolato, 2014. "Analysis of rockfall risk on mountainside roads: evaluation of the effect of protection devices," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 73(1), pages 23-35, August.
    4. Reza Nassirzadeh Goorchi & Mehdi Amini & Hossein Memarian, 2018. "A new rating system approach for risk analysis of rock slopes," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 91(1), pages 75-102, April.
    5. Valerio De Biagi & Maria Lia Napoli & Monica Barbero, 2017. "A quantitative approach for the evaluation of rockfall risk on buildings," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 88(2), pages 1059-1086, September.
    6. Franck Bourrier & Julien Baroth & Stéphane Lambert, 2016. "Accounting for the variability of rock detachment conditions in designing rockfall protection structures," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 81(1), pages 365-385, March.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:10:y:2018:i:2:p:417-:d:130447. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.