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The monitoring of unstable or potentially unstable areas is a necessary operation every time you cannot remove the conditions of risk. So, in these cases landslide monitoring represents a very crucial mitigation operation, that is usually done by using conventional investigation devices. Generally, traditional landslide monitoring technologies, such as inclinometers, extensometers. LVDT and TDR based instrumentations, permit to define, if correctly positioned and with adequate accuracy, the critical values of displacement and/or acceleration into landslide body. In most cases, they do not allow real time warning signs to be generated, due to environmental induced errors. Remote-sensing monitoring instruments, such as 3D laser scanner, LIDAR and InSAR, are capable of inspecting an unstable slope with a high spatial and temporal frequency, but allow solely measurements of superficial displacements and deformations. The technological evolution exportable to the field of land instability monitoring is particularly hvely and allows the use of warning systems unthinkable just few years ago.

Micro-to meso-scale outcrop studies on selected field analogues allow direct calibration and testing of geophysical interpretations performed on mass transport deposits in modern continental margins, in terms of genetic processes and sliding dynamics. This comparative approach provides important information for forecasting and mitigating submarine landsliderelated geohazards. The comparison of fieldwork studies (i.e., siliciclastic, carbonate and mixed, seismic-scale Eocene-Oligocene submarine mass transport deposits of the Northern Apennines in Italy, central Pyrenees in Spain and the north-western Dinarides in Italy/Slovenia) with multibeam bathymetric, seismic and drill core data from some modern analogues (i.e., offshore of New Zealand, Japan and Svalbard in Arctic Norway) is proposed in order to upscale the outcrop observations and downscale the geophysical features. Our results show that slide mass mobility is a function of the degree of internal liquefaction/fluidization, mainly achieved at the basal sliding interval and within the slide body. This is due to undrained shearing/loading-unloading of poorly-lithified sediments, and consequent development of fluid overpressure that is able to accommodate deformations at high strain rates. Structures related to these processes are observable at all scales, and represent diagnostic criteria to recognize potentially catastrophic mass transport events.

In recent decades in Campania (Italy) there have been rapid landslides involving unsaturated soil covers resting on steep bedrock. The paper summarises the results of both monitoring at a pilot site in the municipality of Monteforte Irpino (AV) in southern Italy and hydro-mechanical properties of soils from the same site. The first part of the paper concerns the description of the pilot site and the hydro-mechanical characterization of the soils based on wide-ranging laboratory investigation. In the second part of the paper the seasonal features of the pore water regime are described. Measurements are elaborated to estimate the groundwater head spatial distribution and, in turn, head gradients. Finally, a simple stability analysis is presented, schematizing the slope as infinite.

Since 2011 the scientists have been working on the establishment of the Kostanjek landslide monitoring system in Zagreb (Croatia) in the frame of the Croatian-Japanese SATREPS FY2008 Project. The system consists of sensors for measuring displacement, hydrological properties and external triggers. The total rain quantity of 455.2 mm, which fell in the winter period of 2012/2013, caused a reactivation of the landslide. Displacements in the range of 9– 20 cm have been recorded by GNSS sensors and extensometers in various parts of the landslide surface (an area of 1 km2). This paper briefly presents measured displacements which pointed out the necessity to establish an early warning system (EWS). Monitored data will be used for the prediction of landslide failure and for the establishment of the threshold values for an early warning system. The final user of the early warning system will be the City’s administration for civil protection.

Heterogeneity of natural systems governs the pathway of pollutants in the environment, especially in aquifers. The relationship between a number of environmental pressures and the complex structure of groundwater flow systems generates many processes, which affect the behaviour and transport of pollutants. With regard to the wide variety of structural, volcanic and depositional processes which characterize the alluvial aquifer systems in the Campania Region (South Italy), this paper describes an integrated approach to delineate aquifer/aquitard units and recognize scale-dependent heterogeneity by means of geological, hydrogeological, geochemical and geostatistical techniques. In this analysis, a set of indicators, representative of the groundwater composition, have to be defined. Each indicator describes a specific aspect of groundwater quality and leads in combination with others to the definition of groundwater environmental index, due to natural and anthropogenic phenomena. The results of multivariate statistical analyses provide the identification of a number of homogeneous zones even in complex alluvial aquifer systems. At the same time, in wide regions this analysis enables to point out the most vulnerable sites and leads the working scale for planning technical and procedural solutions.

The subject of this paper are landslides triggered by the extreme precipitation during winter and spring of 2013. More than 900 landslides were (re)activated in the continental part of Croatia during the analyzed period. This paper presents preliminary analysis results of the relationship between 55 slide-type occurrences and precipitation conditions. The preliminary analysis is based on the sliding data from the hilly area of Medvednica Mt. in the City of Zagreb. The exact landslide location, the slope failure time, information on the precipitation duration D and the mean intensity I, which have resulted in landslide activation, are known for each analyzed landslide event. A comparison of precipitation series and landslides occurrence dates with global rainfall intensity-duration (ID) thresholds showed that precipitation conditions exceeded threshold values and were likely to trigger a landslide. The results will be used for further study of the empirical threshold of landslides in the area of NW Croatia.

In Angola, the earth construction constitutes part of the built and cultural her-itage. Numerous buildings made of raw earth, built with ancient techniques and methods, are distributed throughout the country. There are a considerable number of structures in wattle and daub, mud and more recently on CEB (Compressed Earth Block). But, adobe constitutes itself as the most widely used technique based on raw earth. Given the current development of the country, and the possibility of integrat-ing systems and alternative construction materials that respects the environ-ment, adobe construction is one of the most suitable options. Associating the scientific work to the ancestral knowledge, it can be improved and optimized these solutions, responding to the current social, economic and environmental requirements. This paper presents the results of a survey on the characterization of con-struction with raw earth in Central Plateau of Angola, involving the identifica-tion of collecting sites of the raw material, building methods, and the determi-nation of the properties of representative materials used in the adobe build-ings. The methodology followed in this research was based on the compilation of the information available in the literature, on interviews to the local popula-tions and on laboratory tests to characterize the physical properties (texture, consistency, density, etc.). The results of the research will identify and characterize the materials and methods used in the constructions with raw earth in Central Plateau of Ango-la, contributing to the development of knowledge of these sustainable solu-tions with a strong presence in this region.

The presence of abandoned and unstable underground cavities can give rise to a potential risk of surface collapse, particularly alarming when the presence of buildings is attested on the surface. The INERIS (Institut National de l’Environnement Industriel et des Risques, France) has carried out many studies, in recent years, investigating the effectiveness of several methodologies, devoted to monitor the evolution of the damaging mechanisms, reducing the risks of surface instability. Among the investigated methodologies, the acoustic monitoring has appeared as a suitable technique to detect damaging processes. During 2012 the Brasserie quarry, an old limestone mine located in the South-East of Paris (France) was instrumented with microphones to detect the acoustic waves generated by the collapse of blocks from the roof and the walls of the cavity. A series of tests were carried out with the aim of determining the propagation characteristics of sound and the attenuation of the acoustic waves inside the complex geometry of the quarry. Preliminary data processing concerned the classification of the recorded signals: the analysis of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) evidenced that the quarry can be subdivided into three main areas on the base of different attenuation attitude. The presence of critical areas and paths influencing the wave propagation also emerged. The research is still in progress. Specific analyses will be carried out to deepen the aspects related to the source localisation, simulating the acoustic behaviour of the quarry to obtain maps of sound attenuation and reverberation times.

On August 29th 2003 many debris flows were activated along different streams of the Fella river basin (North–East Italy). After that huge event a program of debris flow risk analysis was started and through the use of FLO-2D software, a new outline of the hazardous areas was obtained. In the last years, part of a PhD research project was addressed to define a quick field and laboratory survey methodology suitable to obtain reliable rheological parameters and to reproduce debris flow scenarios in the absence of back analysis. An example of the methodology is presented, including grain-size and rheological analysis on samples of a watershed located in left side of the Fella river, the reconstruction of its DTM starting from detailed laser scanner data (Civil Defense of Friuli Venezia Giulia Region) and the updating of the morphometric parameters in virtue of the more detailed data. For the present research, a comparison between previous simulated scenarios and those obtained through the introduction of new basic data was provided. In particular, the simulations based on the parameters collected after the 2003 event on the DTM of 2003 were used as back analysis, whereas new simulations were performed using the rheological parameters derived from samplings and laboratory analyses realized during 2013 on the DTMs of 2008, in order to create future possible flooding scenarios on the actual morphology and to test the effectiveness of the mitigation measures, built up after the 2003 event.

In 2012 the Engineering Group of the Geological Society of London established a Working Party to undertake a state-of-the-art review on the ground conditions associated with former Quaternary periglacial and glacial environments and their materials, from an engineering geological viewpoint. The final report was not intended to define the geographic extent of former periglacial and glacial environments around the world but to concentrate on ground models that would be applicable to support the engineering geological practitioner. Key aspects of ground condition uncertainty would be addressed and developed within these ground models. The Working Party considered the following topics with respect to engineering geology: Quaternary Setting, Geomorphological Framework, Glacial Conceptual Ground Models, Periglacial Conceptual Ground Models, Engineering Materials and Hazards, Engineering Investigation and Assessment along with Design and Construction Considerations.

As a consequence of the Saddam Hussein 1991 Iraqi led invasion of Kuwait more than 600 oil wells were set fire to as part of a scorched earth policy while retreating from the country. This action created a series of “oil lakes” and hydrocarbon contamination within the desert causing serious environmental damage. Some 23 years later after the fires were extinguished the ground affects of these actions can still be detected. This paper will present the results of a detailed geotechnical and geochemical investigation into the current ground conditions now present in the Burgan Oil Field some 35 km south of Kuwait City. Detailed geotechnical testing together with hydrocarbon analysis using a Gas Chromatograph—Mass Spectrometer (GCMS) have been carried out on samples from varying depths within the Greater Burgan Oil Field. A detailed geological, geotechnical and geochemical ground model has been developed to present the findings of these investigations. The area under study has major development plans for both housing and infrastructure. Subsequent Quantitative Human Health Risk Assessments have been undertaken to determine the potential levels of risk posed to any future urban developments within these affected areas. The paper will report on this assessment detailing the hazards posed and the tools used to assess them. Potential risks will be discussed and mitigation and management scenarios will be highlighted.