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The design of critical facilities needs a targeted computation of the expected ground motion levels. The Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) is the pipeline that transports natural gas from the Greek-Turkish border, through Greece and Albania, to Italy. We present here the probabilistic seismic hazard analysis (PSHA) that we performed for this facility, and the deaggregation of the results, aiming to identify the dominant seismic sources for a selected site along the Albanian coast, where one of the two main compressor stations is located. PSHA is based on an articulated logic tree of twenty branches, consisting of two models for source, seismicity, estimation of the maximum magnitude, and ground motion. The area with the highest hazard occurs along the Adriatic coast of Albania (PGA between 0.8 and 0.9 g on rock for a return period of 2475 years), while strong ground motions are also expected to the north of Thessaloniki, Kavala, in the southern Alexandroupolis area, as well as at the border between Greece and Turkey. The earthquakes contributing most to the hazard of the test site at high and low frequencies (1 and 5 Hz) and the corresponding design events for the TAP infrastructure have been identified as local quakes with MW 6.6 and 6.0, respectively.

In May 2012, two earthquakes (Mw 6.1 and 5.9) affected the Po Plain, Italy. The strongest shock produced extensive secondary effects associated with liquefaction phenomena. Few weeks after the earthquakes, an exploratory trench was excavated across a levee of the palaeo‐Reno reach, where a system of aligned ground ruptures was observed. The investigated site well preserves the geomorphic expression of a fluvial body that mainly formed in the fifteenth to sixteenth centuries as historical sources and radiometric data testify. In the trench several features pinpointed the occurrence of past liquefaction events: (i) dikes filled with overpressured injected sand and associated with vertical displacements have no correspondence with the fractures mapped at the surface; (ii) thick dikes are buried by the plowed level or even by fluvial deposits; (iii) although some of the 2012 ground fractures characterized by vertical displacement and opening occurred in correspondence of thick dikes observed in the trench, sand and water ejection did not occur; (iv) some seismites (load casts) were observed in the trench well above the 2012 water level. The results strongly suggest that shaking has locally occurred in the past producing a sufficient ground motion capable of triggering liquefaction phenomena prior to, and likely stronger than, the May 2012 earthquake. Historical seismicity documents three seismic events that might have been able to generate liquefaction in the broader investigated area. Based on the analysis of their macroseismic fields, the 17 November 1570 Ferrara earthquake is the most likely causative event of the observed palaeoliquefactions.

<p>On the May 20, 2012 (04:03:52 local time; 02:03:52 UTC), a moderate earthquake (Ml 5.9) [Scognamiglio et al. 2012, this volume] with a focal mechanism showing E-W-trending, S-dipping, reverse-faulting occurred in the eastern sector of the alluvial plain of the Po River, close to the border between the Regions of Emilia-Romagna and Lombardia (northern Italy). The tectonic structure is completely blind, but it was well known from a dense grid of seismic profiles for hydrocarbon explorations [e.g., Pieri and Groppi 1981, Toscani et al. 2009]. The earthquake triggered extensive liquefaction-induced ground effects at the surface, and caused severe structural damage to nonreinforced masonry and precast industrial buildings within the broader epicentral area. The hypocenter was at 44.89 ˚N, 11.23 ˚E, at a depth of 6.3 km [Scognamiglio et al. 2012], while the maximum acceleration was recorded in Mirandola, with peak ground acceleration 310 cm/s2 and 264 cm/s2 along the vertical and horizontal components, respectively [Bozzoni et al. 2012, this volume]. In this report, we focus on a zone including the Sant'A-gostino, San Carlo and Mirabello villages (west Ferrara Province), which were built along an abandoned reach of the Reno River and where liquefaction phenomena were particularly diffuse, with very intense local effects. […]</p>

In the present research, two arid coastal zones of the Mediterranean region (mean annual precipitation about 440 mm/a), have been investigated for evaluating the qualitative and quantitative impact of both human activities and climatic changes on the groundwater resources and the hydrological cycle in general. In particular, the hydrographic network of the Akrotiri (Cyprus) coastal aquifer system is strongly controlled by engineering handicrafts that have induced a quality worsening of the groundwater resources. Due to over-pumping in the central sector of the area, a lowering of the piezometric level of about 15 m has been observed. As a consequence, a salinization process has occurred in the coastal sector with a mean annual salinization velocity of the salty water front varying between 47 and 97 cm/a (period 1964-1996). Due to the high salinity values, the water is at present unsuitable for irrigation use. The second case study is represented by the alluvial plain of Licata (southern Sicily, Italy), where the evolution of the Salso River (in Italian the name means ’Salty River’) and the coastal dynamics, characterised by repeated marine transgressions and regressions, qualitatively and quantitatively influenced the underground water resources. Also the anthropogenic activities played a crucial role, especially the farming activity as it is largely documented by the occurrence of numerous greenhouses covering most of the plain. The water depth of the unconfined, mainly sandy, aquifer developed in the Quaternary deposits is between 0.3 m and locally 5 m from the surface, while the principal alimentation occurs via infiltration from precipitations and lateral outflow from the Salso River

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