Abstract
In this work, we describe a comprehensive approach aimed at assessing the slope stability conditions of a tuff cliff located below the village of Sugano (Central Italy) starting from remote geomechanical analysis on high-resolution 3D point clouds collected by terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) surveys. Firstly, the identification of the main joint systems has been made through both manual and automatic analyses on the 3D slope model resulting from the surveys. Afterwards, the identified joint sets were considered to evaluate the slope stability conditions by attributing safety factor (SF) values to the typical rock blocks whose kinematic was proved as compatible with tests for toppling under two independent triggering conditions: hydrostatic water pressure within the joints and seismic action. The results from the remote investigation of the cliff slope provide geometrical information of the blocks more susceptible to instability and pointed out that limit equilibrium condition can be achieved for potential triggering scenarios in the whole outcropping slope.
Highlights
Rock toppling is a type of slope movement affecting natural and artificial slopes characterized by the detachment of blocks or rock fragments, ranging in size from few dm3 to several hundred m3 [1,2]
A detailed analysis of the Sugano cliff slope (Central Italy) was performed on the 3D high-resolution point cloud resulting from terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) remote surveys
Both manual and automatic analyses have been performed in order to characterize the rock mass through the identification of the main joint sets of the cliff
Summary
Rock toppling is a type of slope movement affecting natural and artificial slopes characterized by the detachment of blocks or rock fragments, ranging in size from few dm to several hundred m3 [1,2]. The volume of the involved material can be limited, these events are characterized by a high temporal frequency of occurrence and, they can be highly hazardous for mankind and human activities [4]. The high speed and the long run out distances that blocks can attain typically result in extremely hazardous events even with small mobilized volumes. The morphological evolution of a rock cliff may represent a serious threat for the areas located downslope, and for hilltop towns that, especially in Central Italy, can be characterized by a high historical-artistic value.
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