The Masseria Marino Case Study

According to Urciuoli (1990), more than 50% of the landslides occurring in the stiff fissured clays and clay shales of marine origin that outcrop in the Southern Italian Apennines are earthflows. The size of these landslides, which present volumes ranging from several hundreds to millions of cubic metres, is highly variable; the same can be said for the displacement rate, which ranges from metres per hour, a value that can be attained during the triggering phase, to millimetres per year, the typical rate that characterises the final long‑lasting stage. Landslides of the earthflow type are widespread in the upper Basento valley, Southern Italy, where clayey flysch formations largely outcrop. In the last few decades, in‑depth studies including geological, geomorphological, and geotechnical investigations have been carried out in this area (see Urciuoli et al. 2016a). In particular, in the 1990s, the authors observed some active earthflows within a 70 km2 area, where 484 landslides, 95% of which of the flow type, had been recognized (Guida & Iaccarino 1991). The Masseria Marino earthflow, which has been the subject of several investigations including geomorphological surveys, laboratory tests, and monitoring of both displacements and groundwater regime, is one of them. This paper reports some data collected during these investigations, outlining the peculiar features and mechanisms of the earthflow, which can be considered a typical example of the landslides present in the Italian Apennines.