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A new geological model for Spriana landslide

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Abstract

Complex large landslides are characterized by different kinematic behaviors and involve diverse materials. Both elements make it difficult to study the instability of these huge mass movements, which may cause massive damage and affect extended areas. This paper is focused on the study of Spriana landslide, an important rockslide located in the North of Italy. Starting from the geological interpretation provided by Belloni and Gandolfo (Geologia tecnica ed ambientale 3:7–36, 1997), the authors gather all available data sets and perform a novel analysis aimed to better describe the unstable body. The key point of this case study regards the characterization of the deeper surface of failure. The location as well as the continuity of this surface is a crucial unsolved question, and in this paper we try to provide a reasonable answer. We propose a new hypothesis based on a structurally controlled, wedge-like rockslide involving the presence of a composed deeper surface of failure constrained by the intersection of two different weak zones. Although this work mainly addresses the development of a new geological model, numerical simulations were also performed. Both continuous and discontinuous models were tested, and then a comparison of the outcomes of the numerical simulations was performed to define the best fit to the observed landslide behavior.

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Acknowledgments

The authors wish to thank Ing. Antonella Caimi, Dott. Gregorio Mannucci, Dott. Leonardo La Rocca and Dott. Alessandro Ballini for their assistance in field investigations. The help of Ing. Valentina Melillo is also acknowledged. The comments and suggestions of two anonymous reviewers significantly improved the quality of this manuscript.

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  1. Dipartimento di Ingegneria Civile e Ambientale, Politecnico di Milano, Piazza Leonardo da Vinci, 32, 20133, Milan, Italy

    L. Longoni, M. Papini, D. Arosio, L. Zanzi & D. Brambilla

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  1. L. Longoni
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  4. L. Zanzi
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  5. D. Brambilla
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Correspondence to L. Longoni.

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Longoni, L., Papini, M., Arosio, D. et al. A new geological model for Spriana landslide. Bull Eng Geol Environ 73, 959–970 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-014-0610-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-014-0610-z

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