We present 3D electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) imaging of the archaeological deposits at Arma Veirana cave (northern Italy), to date only partially explored. The archaeological importance of the cave is due to the presence of a rich Mousterian layer, traces of Late Upper Palaeolithic (Epigravettian) temporary occupations and an Early Mesolithic burial of a female newborn. ERT is rarely employed in Palaeolithic cave contexts because Palaeolithic remains are typically disseminated in loose deposits and either do not possess high electrical resistivity contrasts or are too small to be detected. Furthermore, some issues can derive from the confined environment in caves. In this view, our study represents an opportunity to assess the capability of this geophysical method to retrieve subsurface information of Palaeolithic cave deposits and create a framework for the improvement of ERT applications in such a peculiar cave context. The aim of this study was to define the features of the deposits (i.e. geometry, thickness and sediment distribution) and to map the morphology of the underlying bedrock. Results reveal that the thickness of the deposits varies both along the primary axis of the cave and transverse to it. This study allowed the recognition of shallow, meter-sized, fine-grained sediment-filled structures with a longitudinal orientation with respect to the primary axis of the cave, as well as a possible erosional-like structure. The cross-validation of geophysical results with the archaeological evidence (the Early Mesolithic newborn burial and Epigravettian artefacts) confirms that the low-resistivity unit could be the most promising from an archaeological point of view.
<p>According to the Centre for Research on Epidemiology of Disasters, every year landslides are to be blamed worldwide for at least 17% of all fatalities from natural disasters. Rainfall-induced shallow landslides are responsible for a significant number of those: they mobilize the first few meters (usually <2m) of soil, have high velocities and occur after abundant and prolonged rainfall events.</p><p>The runout of a landslide, defined as the difference between the total area of a landslide and its source area, from which the sediment is first mobilized, is what determines how far a landslide travels and how big the affected area is, and yet the runout is often neglected when it comes to analysing the overall hazard caused by potential landslides.</p><p>The land use practices have been proven as one of the factors which impact the susceptibility of an area to the formation of shallow landslides, it is however less clear if the land use also plays a role in influencing the size of the area of runout.</p><p>The aim of the present work is to investigate the correlation between the runout area and the land use in which the shallow landslide develops.</p><p>To do so, two inventories of landslides, which occurred in neighbouring regions in Northern Italy (Lombardy and Piedmont), comparable for lithology, land use, geomorphology and climate, were analysed.</p><p>The result of the analysis was that there were statistical differences in the distribution of the runout among different land use classes, meaning that an influence of the land use on the runout was highly probable. Such results could improve the comprehension on shallow landslides mobility and runout and could lead to the development of possible models of assessment of the runout at different scales.</p>
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