The challenge of tunneling through Mediterranean karst aquifers: the case study of Trieste (Italy)

Abstract

After the 1st May 2004, when new countries joined the European Union, the need was felt to link these states through an infrastructure network of motorway and railway links (high speed—HS/high capacity—HC) easily able to transport all possible goods throughout Europe. Within this framework, 14 different projects were developed with the aim of linking important cities. One of these links is the Corridor V connecting Lisbon (Portugal) to Kiev (Ukraine) and assigning a strategic role to Italy with respect to the integration process of these countries. In detail, part of the Corridor V is expected to start from Venice, reaching Trieste and from here on to Ljubljana (Slovenia) before proceeding to Budapest and finally reaching Kiev in Ukraine. The whole development (from Portugal to Ukraine) is approximately 4,000 km long of which, about 30 km (less than 1 % of the entire route), falls within the Italian Classical Karst area, a highly karstified zone, renowned worldwide as one of the best karst landscapes on the planet. The present paper regards the GIS statistical methodological approach used to identify the degree of karstification of the Italian Classical Karst providing the stakeholders all the necessary information while planning possible railway HS/HC solutions.