AN INTEGRATED APPROACH FOR ANALYZING EARTHQUAKE-INDUCED SURFACE EFFECTS - A CASE-STUDY FROM THE NORTHERN APENNINES, ITALY

This paper illustrates research addressing the subject of the earthqua ke-induced surface effects by means of a multidisciplinary approach: t ectonics, neotectonics, seismology, geology, hydrogeology, geomorpholo gy, soil/rock mechanics have been considered. The research is aimed to verify in areas affected by earthquake-triggered landslides a methodo logy for the identification of potentially unstable areas. The researc h was organized according to regional and local scale studies. In orde r to better emphasise the complexity of the relationships between all the parameters affecting the stability conditions of rock slopes in st atic and dynamic conditions a new integrated approach, Rock Engineerin g Systems (RES), was applied in the Northern Apennines. In the paper, the different phases of the research are described in detail and an ex ample of the application of RES method in a sample area is reported. A significant aspect of the study can be seen in its attempt to overcom e the exclusively qualitative aspects of research into the relationshi p between earthquakes and induced surface effects, and to advance the idea of beginning a process by which this interaction can be quantifie d. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.