Stability Assessment and Geomorphological Evolution of Sea Natural Arches by Geophysical Measurement: The Case Study of Wied Il-Mielah Window (Gozo, Malta)

The Wied il-Mielaħ Window (Gozo–Malta) is a limestone natural arch on the north-western coast of the island of Gozo in Malta. It is located at the end of the Wied il-Mielaħ valley north of the village of Għarb. This natural arch is less well known than the Azure Window, which collapsed in March 2017...

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Autores principales:	Giovanni Leucci, Raffaele Persico, Lara De Giorgi, Maurizio Lazzari, Emanuele Colica, Salvatore Martino, Roberto Iannucci, Luciano Galone, Sebastiano D’Amico
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	Wied il-Mielaħ Window Gozo geophysics coastal geomorphology stability analysis safety factor Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/76a7c71f7c564f8592e7d76572be410f
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:76a7c71f7c564f8592e7d76572be410f2021-11-25T19:01:54ZStability Assessment and Geomorphological Evolution of Sea Natural Arches by Geophysical Measurement: The Case Study of Wied Il-Mielah Window (Gozo, Malta)10.3390/su1322125382071-1050https://doaj.org/article/76a7c71f7c564f8592e7d76572be410f2021-11-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/22/12538https://doaj.org/toc/2071-1050The Wied il-Mielaħ Window (Gozo–Malta) is a limestone natural arch on the north-western coast of the island of Gozo in Malta. It is located at the end of the Wied il-Mielaħ valley north of the village of Għarb. This natural arch is less well known than the Azure Window, which collapsed in March 2017 following a heavy storm, but notwithstanding, it is an imposing and important natural monument too. In the past, the Wied il-Mielah valley was responsible for discharging wastewater from the surrounding localities to the Mediterranean directly at the Wied il-Mielah Window. The sewage flag was often clearly visible underneath the archway into the open sea. The natural features of the arch provide an outstanding touristic attraction. To avoid what happened to the Azure Window, a methodology for the evaluation of the collapse hazard, combining passive seismic, ground penetrating radar (GPR), geological/geomorphological surveys and mine engineering methods, is here proposed. In this study, a methodological approach was applied, based on the following: (i) passive seismic method to study the physical–mechanical characteristics of the rock mass that constitutes the window; (ii) GPR method in order to demonstrate the conservation state (i.e., the intensity of fracturing); (iii) geological/geomorphological surveys in order to obtain a crack pattern; and (iv) scaled span empirical analysis in order to evaluate the stability of the arch. The calculation of the safety factor, with a static method, gave a value equal to 3.75 with a probability of collapse of the marine arch within 50 and 100 years.Giovanni LeucciRaffaele PersicoLara De GiorgiMaurizio LazzariEmanuele ColicaSalvatore MartinoRoberto IannucciLuciano GaloneSebastiano D’AmicoMDPI AGarticleWied il-Mielaħ WindowGozogeophysicscoastal geomorphologystability analysissafety factorEnvironmental effects of industries and plantsTD194-195Renewable energy sourcesTJ807-830Environmental sciencesGE1-350ENSustainability, Vol 13, Iss 12538, p 12538 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Wied il-Mielaħ Window Gozo geophysics coastal geomorphology stability analysis safety factor Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350
spellingShingle	Wied il-Mielaħ Window Gozo geophysics coastal geomorphology stability analysis safety factor Environmental effects of industries and plants TD194-195 Renewable energy sources TJ807-830 Environmental sciences GE1-350 Giovanni Leucci Raffaele Persico Lara De Giorgi Maurizio Lazzari Emanuele Colica Salvatore Martino Roberto Iannucci Luciano Galone Sebastiano D’Amico Stability Assessment and Geomorphological Evolution of Sea Natural Arches by Geophysical Measurement: The Case Study of Wied Il-Mielah Window (Gozo, Malta)
description	The Wied il-Mielaħ Window (Gozo–Malta) is a limestone natural arch on the north-western coast of the island of Gozo in Malta. It is located at the end of the Wied il-Mielaħ valley north of the village of Għarb. This natural arch is less well known than the Azure Window, which collapsed in March 2017 following a heavy storm, but notwithstanding, it is an imposing and important natural monument too. In the past, the Wied il-Mielah valley was responsible for discharging wastewater from the surrounding localities to the Mediterranean directly at the Wied il-Mielah Window. The sewage flag was often clearly visible underneath the archway into the open sea. The natural features of the arch provide an outstanding touristic attraction. To avoid what happened to the Azure Window, a methodology for the evaluation of the collapse hazard, combining passive seismic, ground penetrating radar (GPR), geological/geomorphological surveys and mine engineering methods, is here proposed. In this study, a methodological approach was applied, based on the following: (i) passive seismic method to study the physical–mechanical characteristics of the rock mass that constitutes the window; (ii) GPR method in order to demonstrate the conservation state (i.e., the intensity of fracturing); (iii) geological/geomorphological surveys in order to obtain a crack pattern; and (iv) scaled span empirical analysis in order to evaluate the stability of the arch. The calculation of the safety factor, with a static method, gave a value equal to 3.75 with a probability of collapse of the marine arch within 50 and 100 years.
format	article
author	Giovanni Leucci Raffaele Persico Lara De Giorgi Maurizio Lazzari Emanuele Colica Salvatore Martino Roberto Iannucci Luciano Galone Sebastiano D’Amico
author_facet	Giovanni Leucci Raffaele Persico Lara De Giorgi Maurizio Lazzari Emanuele Colica Salvatore Martino Roberto Iannucci Luciano Galone Sebastiano D’Amico
author_sort	Giovanni Leucci
title	Stability Assessment and Geomorphological Evolution of Sea Natural Arches by Geophysical Measurement: The Case Study of Wied Il-Mielah Window (Gozo, Malta)
title_short	Stability Assessment and Geomorphological Evolution of Sea Natural Arches by Geophysical Measurement: The Case Study of Wied Il-Mielah Window (Gozo, Malta)
title_full	Stability Assessment and Geomorphological Evolution of Sea Natural Arches by Geophysical Measurement: The Case Study of Wied Il-Mielah Window (Gozo, Malta)
title_fullStr	Stability Assessment and Geomorphological Evolution of Sea Natural Arches by Geophysical Measurement: The Case Study of Wied Il-Mielah Window (Gozo, Malta)
title_full_unstemmed	Stability Assessment and Geomorphological Evolution of Sea Natural Arches by Geophysical Measurement: The Case Study of Wied Il-Mielah Window (Gozo, Malta)
title_sort	stability assessment and geomorphological evolution of sea natural arches by geophysical measurement: the case study of wied il-mielah window (gozo, malta)
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/76a7c71f7c564f8592e7d76572be410f
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Stability Assessment and Geomorphological Evolution of Sea Natural Arches by Geophysical Measurement: The Case Study of Wied Il-Mielah Window (Gozo, Malta)

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