The 22 August,2006,anomalous rock fall along the Gran Sasso NE wall(Central Apennines,Italy)

摘要

It is described the rock fall event occurred along the Gran Sasso massif(Central Apennines,Italy)on 22 August,2006,when a limestone block,with an estimated volume of about 30,000 m3,fell from the sub-vertical NE wall nearby the Como Grande peak,the highest peak of the Italian Apennines. Despite the small rockvolume involved in the landslide,the rock fall deposits covered an area of about 35,000 m2,a giant and abrasivedust cloud was generated by the atmospheric pressure waves (air blasts) induced by the rockfall impact anddetermined destructive effects over an area of about 110,000 m2 at the base of the slope. Moreover the dust cloudcovered a distance of about 3 km,thus reaching the village of Casale San Nicola and the A24 motorway that wastemporarily closed for security reasons. The seismic noise generated by the rock fall was recorded by the NationalInstitute of Nuclear Physics seismometric devices located in the Gran Sasso underground laboratories (LNGS).