Geology, soil and seismic risk

Subsidence in Emilia-Romagna

Mausoleo di Teodorico RavennaSubsidence is a geological phenomenon, both natural and anthropic in origin, encountered in a number of areas of the Po Plain and the northern Adriatic coast. For some ancient cities such as Ravenna, it is an age-old problem, so much so that the inhabitants have always been accustomed to living with a topographic surface which is slowly but inexorably falling with respect to sea level. Groundwater pumping, a common practice which has experienced a sharp rise in the past few decades in this area, has accelerated the process. In some areas of the Region, land lowering has reached alarming levels, forcing regional and local authorities to take legislative measures in order to try to control the situation. The Geological, Seismic and Soil Survey recently implemented an action plan in this sector to characterize subsidence from a geological point of view, monitor its evolution, study the causes and propose, on a practical level, a series of possible solutions. The following sections provide a summary of the knowledge base acquired at regional level in the study and monitoring of subsidence, the description of critical threats, study methods adopted and a brief mention of the main projects in which we are involved.

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last modified 2020-07-17T13:42:45+01:00
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