Water storage mapping and stability analysis of pyroclastic covers through resistivity measurements

We describe a new conceptual approach that combines electrical resistivity tomographies and laboratory analyses to study the hazard assessment of pyroclastic covers. We report the results of a high-resolution 2D resistivity survey carried out in a test area (Sarno Mountains, southern Italy), and the results of laboratory analyses performed on undisturbed samples collected from the same area, devoted to the determination of characteristic curves electrical resistivity vs. water content. We use such characteristic curves to evaluate the water content of the investigated slope. Finally, we estimate the local empirical safety factor, recently introduced by the authors, in terms of local resistivities and slope angles and compare the values of this parameter with those of the 1D safety factor commonly used in the slope stability assessment.