Sinkhole monitoring to support landslide management

The availability of geological and geomorphological data represents an important element to support local authorities in land management policies and the design of mitigation measures to reduce natural risk levels. These data allow to improve decision makers awareness during the process of design and construction of civil works both public and private. SEA Consulting srl, was appointed by the Verduno municipality (Cuneo Province, Italy), in order to provide the inventory and the classification of the geological and geomorphological elements of the Tanaro Valley sector falling within the municipal territory. In this area the geological setting is characterized by shallow and deep landslides connected to a karst system developed in the Vena del Gesso Formation (Upper Messinian), represented by gypsum, which exerts a relevant influence on groundwater and runoff behaviour. This study was accomplished in different and consequential steps which allowed (1) to relate the field survey with the previous works and geological studies, (2) to realise the inventory with an appropriate and effective standard process for data field acquisition and (3) to develop and to implement a database to store field information. Information is organized in way to be read both on computer and on paper support. Thematic forms provides data related to specific aspects of the karsts shape such as the geographic location, morphology, evolution state, relationship to the anthropic activities, geologic and geomorphologic setting. The geographic features and the associated information are also available on a GIS. Specific command tools on database forms allow to easily read information and to perform specific queries. Finally, the study allowed (1) to improve awareness on land processes, (2) the monitoring of the evolution of the karst phenomena and their relationship with runoff dynamics and (3) to develop an operative tool for checking and managing municipal territory data by local public managers. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013.