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On the geotechnical characterisation of the polluted submarine sediments from Taranto

  • Integrated environmental characterization of the contaminated marine coastal area of Taranto, Ionian Sea (southern Italy) - the RITMARE Project
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Abstract

This paper reports the results of the first geomechanical laboratory experiments carried out on the polluted submarine clayey sediments of the Mar Piccolo in Taranto (South of Italy). The study had to face with extreme difficulties for the very soft consistency of the sediments and the contaminants. The mineralogy, composition and physical properties of the sediments were analysed, along with their compression and shearing behaviour. The investigation involved sediments up to about 20 m below the seafloor, along three vertical profiles in the most polluted area of the Mar Piccolo, facing the Italian Navy Arsenal. The experimental results were used to derive a preliminary geotechnical model of the site, necessary for the selection and design of the most sustainable in situ mitigation solutions. Moreover, the experimental data reveal that the clayey sediments of the most polluted top layer do not follow the classical geotechnical correlations for normally consolidated deposits. This seems to open interesting perspectives about the effects of pollutants on the geotechnical behaviour of the investigated sediments.

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Acknowledgements

The activities described in this publication were funded by the Agency for Environmental Protection of the Apulia Region (ARPA-Puglia) in the South of Italy. The authors are grateful to the technician Angelo Miccoli for his help in experimental laboratory testing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Politecnico di Bari, Bari, Italy

    Claudia Vitone, Antonio Federico, Elettra Carrassi & Francesco Todaro

  2. Institute for Geotechnical Engineering, ETH Zurich, Zürich, Switzerland

    Alexander M. Puzrin & Michael Ploetze

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  1. Claudia Vitone
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  2. Antonio Federico
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  3. Alexander M. Puzrin
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  4. Michael Ploetze
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  5. Elettra Carrassi
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  6. Francesco Todaro
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Correspondence to Claudia Vitone.

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Vitone, C., Federico, A., Puzrin, A.M. et al. On the geotechnical characterisation of the polluted submarine sediments from Taranto. Environ Sci Pollut Res 23, 12535–12553 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-6317-x

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