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Landslide risk assessment is often a difficult task due to the lack of temporal data on landslides and triggering events (frequency), run-out distance, landslide magnitude and vulnerability. The probability of occurrence of landslides is often very difficult to predict, as well as the expected magnitude of events, due to the limited data availability on past landslide activity. In this paper, a qualitative procedure for assessing the exposure of elements at risk is presented for an area of the Apulia region (Italy) where no temporal information on landslide occurrence is available. Given these limitations in data availability, it was not possible to produce a reliable landslide hazard map and, consequently, a risk map. The qualitative analysis was carried out using the spatial multi-criteria evaluation method in a global information system. A landslide susceptibility composite index map and four asset index maps (physical, social, economic and environmental) were generated separately through a hierarchical procedure of standardising and weighting. The four asset index maps were combined in order to obtain a qualitative weighted assets map, which, combined with the landslide susceptibility composite index map, has provided the final qualitative landslide exposure map. The resulting map represents the spatial distribution of the exposure level in the study area; this information could be used in a preliminary stage of regional planning. In order to demonstrate how such an exposure map could be used in a basic risk assessment, a quantification of the economic losses at municipal level was carried out, and the temporal probability of landslides was estimated, on the basis of the expert knowledge. Although the proposedmethodology for the exposure assessment did not consider the landslide run-out and vulnerability quantification, the results obtained allow to rank the municipalities in terms of increasing exposure and risk level and, consequently, to identify the priorities for designing appropriate landslide risk mitigation plans

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Environmental isotope techniques, hydrogeochemical analysis and hydraulic data are employed to identify the main recharge areas of the Mt. Vulture hydrogeological basin, one of the most important aquifers of southern Italy. The groundwaters are derived from seepage of rainwater, flowing from the highest to the lowest elevations through the shallow volcanic weathered host-rock fracture zones. Samples of shallow and deep groundwater were collected at 48 locations with elevations ranging from 352 to 1,100m above sea level (a.s.l.), for stable isotope (δ 18 O, δD) and major ion analyses. A complete dataset of available hydraulic information has been integrated with measurements carried out in the present study. Inferred recharge elevations, estimated on the basis of the local vertical isotopic gradient of δ 18 O, range between 550 and 1,200m a.s.l. The isotope pattern of the Quaternary aquifer reflects the spatial separation of different recharge sources. Knowledge of the local hydrogeological setting was the starting point for a detailed hydrogeochemical and isotopic study to define the recharge and discharge patterns identifying the groundwater flow pathways of the Mt. Vulture basin. The integration of all the data allowed for the tracing of the groundwater flows of the Mt. Vulture basin.

Sea level is the base level for groundwater circulation in coastal aquifers. The evolution of karst surface landforms and subsurface drainage systems in these aquifers has been conditioned in geological time by tectonics and glacio‐eustatic sea‐level changes. Present morpho‐structural settings and the type/distribution of karst surface and subsurface forms have developed in different carbonate formations according to differences in lithology, climate and exposure time, all driving the intensity of morphologic and karst processes. The repeated and significant changes of groundwater level linked to ‘sea‐level changes’ have had the most important role in driving the continuous evolution of karstic drainage systems, and has resulted in most cases in a multiphase karst. This study aims at defining a general method for identifying, in karst coastal settings, the elevations of flat or low topographic gradient surfaces (using morphometric analysis of Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) and geographical information systems (GISs), and their comparison with elevations of distinctive karstic levels (passages, lateral solution cavities) observed in vertical shafts and horizontal caves. Of the elevations of flat or low topographic gradient surfaces only those agreeing, within ±10 m or ±20 m, with elevation ranges marked by the high frequency of distinctive karst levels were considered as representative of the more probable past sea‐level stands. The method is applied to a regional coastal carbonate formation in southern Italy, by using a 10 m DEM and information on 140 complex caves and 85 shafts. Of the 15 elevations indicated by DEM analysis [620, 600, 470, 450, 425, 385, 355, 315, 270, 250, 205, 180, 150, 110, and 70 m above sea level (a.s.l.)], 13 match clearly those highlighted by significant frequencies of distinctive karstic levels. These elevations are validated by comparison to the elevation of terraces and karst plains indicated in the literature. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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In this paper, a study aimed to assess the landslide susceptibility at a regional scale for the wide provincial territory of Matera (Basilicata region, southern Italy) and the relative risk along the main road corridors distributed in this area is presented. A heuristic-bivariate statistical predictive model was performed to assess and map the landslide susceptibility in the study area by using a polynomial function of eight predisposing factors, weighted according to their influence on the instability process. The resulting susceptibility map was successively used for assessing the landslide risk along the provincial road network. The importance of these roads, representing the main network connecting the urban centres, derives from the absence of an efficient integrated transportation system through the entire regional territory. The landslide risk was evaluated through a matricial approach, which has allowed to define the risk levels (low, medium and high) along road stretches by overlapping the consequences and hazard maps, by combining their corresponding classes in a matrix and by associating to each combination a risk level. The resulting landslide risk map provides support information for decision-making and for identifying the priorities for the design of appropriate mitigation plans.