Stability Assessment and Geomorphological Evolution of Sea Natural Arches by Geophysical Measurement: The Case Study of Wied Il-Mielah Window (Gozo, Malta)

Giovanni Leucci,Emanuele Colica,Maurizio Lazzari,Roberto Iannucci,Sebastiano D’Amico,Lara De Giorgi,Luciano Galone,Raffaele Persico,Salvatore Martino

doi:10.3390/su132212538

Giovanni Leucci, Emanuele Colica + Show 7 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/su132212538

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Abstract

The Wied il-Mielaħ Window (Gozo–Malta) is a limestone natural arch on the north-western coast of the island of Gozo in Malta. It is located at the end of the Wied il-Mielaħ valley north of the village of Għarb. This natural arch is less well known than the Azure Window, which collapsed in March 2017 following a heavy storm, but notwithstanding, it is an imposing and important natural monument too. In the past, the Wied il-Mielah valley was responsible for discharging wastewater from the surrounding localities to the Mediterranean directly at the Wied il-Mielah Window. The sewage flag was often clearly visible underneath the archway into the open sea. The natural features of the arch provide an outstanding touristic attraction. To avoid what happened to the Azure Window, a methodology for the evaluation of the collapse hazard, combining passive seismic, ground penetrating radar (GPR), geological/geomorphological surveys and mine engineering methods, is here proposed. In this study, a methodological approach was applied, based on the following: (i) passive seismic method to study the physical–mechanical characteristics of the rock mass that constitutes the window; (ii) GPR method in order to demonstrate the conservation state (i.e., the intensity of fracturing); (iii) geological/geomorphological surveys in order to obtain a crack pattern; and (iv) scaled span empirical analysis in order to evaluate the stability of the arch. The calculation of the safety factor, with a static method, gave a value equal to 3.75 with a probability of collapse of the marine arch within 50 and 100 years.

Highlights

IntroductionThe main topic dealt with in this work is inherent to the multidisciplinary study of the evolution of natural marine arches, (known as “windows”), widespread along the high rocky coasts in the Mediterranean area
horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) curves taken on the arch show a dip below one that can be attributed to the free vibrations of the beam
Monumental morphologies, such as, for example, those of marine arches, could be key sites to better bring out the values expressed by geoheritage, understood as another expression of natural heritage, and places to concentrate geotourism activities and proposals

Summary

Introduction

The main topic dealt with in this work is inherent to the multidisciplinary study of the evolution of natural marine arches, (known as “windows”), widespread along the high rocky coasts in the Mediterranean area. They often constitute important local tourist attractions, which, could have a limited life depending on the structural vulnerability conditions and the morphoevolutive stage of the arch itself. Window Window (Figure 1d), located 5 km north-west

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