Subsidence hazards connected to quarrying activities in a karst area: the case of the Moncalvo sinkhole event (Piedmont, NW Italy)

Abstract

Gypsum is an important raw material for constructions and other industrial sectors. In Piedmont (NW Italy), main gypsum bodies are located in the Monferrato area, where large open pits and underground quarries are present. The gypsum-bearing formation outcropping in this area shows typical geological, structural, and hydrogeological features, which affect the quarrying and the related interaction with natural phenomena, human activities, and land use. In particular, gypsum karst has considerable influence on mining operations, as well as mining operations can produce strong impact on gypsum karst. In Monferrato, a specific case of interaction between the quarrying activity and geological, hydrogeological, and territorial setting is represented by the event of water inrush that happened in the Moncalvo underground quarry in association with the development of a surface sinkhole phenomenon.

Keywords

• gypsum
• quarries
• karst
• inrush
• sinkhole
• NW Italy