Geomorphological evolution of coastal landslides in Malta: integration of terrestrial and marine datasets

The paper shows the main results of multidisciplinary research carried out in the Island of Malta aiming at the integration of terrestrial and marine datasets. Identification, mapping, monitoring and dating of landslides, including submerged ones, have enabled to define a time frame for the development of landslides and to reconstruct the geomorphological evolution of the investigated areas. This has provided useful means for landslide susceptibility and hazard mapping, which is crucial for north-west coast of Malta

Integrated Geomorphological Mapping of Emerged and Submerged Coastal Areas based on the Coupling of Terrestrial and Marine Datasets

A deeper understanding of the processes acting on the coastal areas is crucial for coastal hazard assessment and mapping. To this aim, integrated geomorphological investigations of emerged and submerged areas resulting in geomorphological mapping represent an innovative way to provide the necessary knowledge for preventing hazards and reducing risks. An example is provided from the north-western coast of Malta (central Mediterranean Sea)

Community-led initiatives’ everyday politics for sustainability – Conflicting rationalities and aspirations for change?

This project has received funding from the European Union’s 7th Framework Programme for Research, Technological Development and Demonstration (Grant Agreement no. 603705) through TESS (Towards European Social Sustainability, http://www.tess-transition.eu/).Community-based initiatives are widely seen to play an essential role in a societal move towards a low carbon, sustainable future. As part of this, there is often an assumption that such initiatives share expectations (i.e. a guiding vision) of large-scale change and that their activities contribute to this change. Here, we ask to what extent this assumption reflects members’ own perspectives on and interpretations of the aims and ambitions of their community initiative, and what this implies for a larger vision of sustainability transitions. In doing so, we respond to calls for a better understanding of the ‘everyday politics’ of what could be seen as processes of societal transitions in practice. We conducted qualitative interviews with members of five community initiatives in Italy, Finland and the UK. In each of these initiatives, we found a range of aspirations (i.e. outcome-related aims) and rationalities (i.e. procedural guiding principles). While some of these aims and ways of working were compatible with each other, we identified three major tensions that could be found across our study initiatives. These tensions centred on (i) the degree of politicisation of the initiative, (ii) the extent to which financial aims should take priority and (iii) questions of organisational form. We interpret these tensions as conflicting expressions of larger, societal-level discourses, and argue that this diversity and resulting conflicts need to be acknowledged – both in transition research and at the practical level – to avoid co-optation and disenfranchisement.PostprintPeer reviewe

Advanced SAR interferometric analysis to support geomorphological interpretation of slow-moving coastal landslides (Malta, Mediterranean Sea)

An advanced SAR interferometric analysis has been combined with a methodology for the automatic classification of radar reflectors phase histories to interpret slope-failure kinematics and trend of displacements of slow-moving landslides. To accomplish this goal, the large dataset of radar images, acquired in more than 20 years by the two European Space Agency (ESA) missions ERS-1/2 and ENVISAT, was exploited. The analysis was performed over the northern sector of Island of Malta (central Mediterranean Sea), where extensive landslides occur. The study was assisted by field surveys and with the analysis of existing thematic maps and landslide inventories. The outcomes allowed definition of a model capable of describing the geomorphological evolution of slow-moving landslides, providing a key for interpreting such phenomena that, due to their slowness, are usually scarcely investigated

Landslide susceptibility analysis exploiting Persistent Scatterers data in the northern coast of Malta

During the last decade a pressing need for more adequate tools to manage the considerable increasing number of hydrogeological emergencies arose among land planning and civil protection authorities. As a consequence, both development and testing of different qualitative and quantitative methods for landslide displacements detection become fundamental in order to provide the best analysis performance in terms of cost-benefit and scientific reliability. Lately quantitative methods to measure deformations of unstable slopes had great advances. In this context, remotely sensed radar techniques, such as PSI (Persistent Scatterers Interferometry), can assist traditional landslide investigations in assessing ground and infrastructure deformations caused by large landslides. The main purpose of this study is exploiting the results of PSI analysis conducted over the Island of Malta to train a Bayesan model for evaluating active landslide susceptibility. This approach has been applied in the NW coast of Malta, where outstanding coastal landslides, such as rock spreads and block slides, have been recognized and mapped. The outcomes of the statistical analysis have been validated through specific field check and GNSS measurements. The results show that the developed susceptibility model predicts an acceptable percentage of landslides and can be considered reliable even if in areas without PSI data

Landslide susceptibility modeling assisted by Persistent Scatterers Interferometry (PSI): an example from the northwestern coast of Malta

Persistent Scatterers Interferometry (PSI) techniques are widely employed in geosciences to detect and monitor landslides with high accuracy over large areas, but they also suffer from physical and technological constraints that restrict their field of application. These limitations prevent us from collecting information from several critical areas within the investigated region. In this paper, we present a novel approach that exploits the results of PSI analysis for the implementation of a statistical model for landslide susceptibility. The attempt is to identify active mass movements by means of PSI and to avoid, as input data, time-/cost-consuming and seldom updated landslide inventories. The study has been performed along the northwestern coast of Malta (central Mediterranean Sea), where the peculiar geological and geomorphological settings favor the occurrence of a series of extensive slow-moving landslides. Most of these consist in rock spreads, evolving into block slides, with large limestone blocks characterized by scarce vegetation and proper inclination, which represent suitable natural radar reflectors for applying PSI. Based on geomorphometric analyses and geomorphological investigations, a series of landslide predisposing factors were selected and a susceptibility map created. The result was validated by means of cross-validation technique, field surveys and global navigation satellite system in situ monitoring activities. The final outcome shows a good reliability and could represent an adequate response to the increasing demand for effective and lowcost tools for landslide susceptibility assessment

Linking coastal and seafloor morphological features along the eastern side of the Maltese archipelago

The integration of detailed geomorphological information from the present subaerial exposures of the Maltese archipelago, with morphobathymetric data obtained from the adjacent continental margin may serve in understanding processes active in shaping the archipelago since the Last Glacial Maximum. In perspective, this appears also to be of fundamental importance to better define the kinematics of active gravitational processes occurring along the coastlines. Preliminary results reveal the existence of submerged morphologies comparable to subaerial analogous. A case in point is circular depressions at shallow depth interpreted as inundated former karst features like sinkholes on-land. This is probably the case also of fractured plateaus surrounded by detached blocks identified offshore, which are comparable to terrestrial landforms formed by lateral spreading. Other relevant features identified on the continental margin and easily correlatable with morphologies on land include meandering river valleys.peer-reviewe

Multidisciplinary geological excursion in the open-air laboratory of the Island of Malta. 11-18 November 2010. Field-Trip Guide.

Si tratta della guida all'escursione geologica multidisciplinare tenutasi a Malta dall'11 al 18 novembre 2010, nell'ambito del progetto di internazionalizzazione dell'Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia dal titolo "Multidisciplinary research in the open-air laboratory of the island of Malta: an internazional network for landslide hazard assessment in coastal areas" (2008-2010) finanziato dalla Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Modena e Reggio Emilia, per i Corsi di Laurea Triennale in Scienze Geologiche e Magistrale in Scienze e Tecnologie Geologiche