Seismic site response of unstable steep slope using noise measurements: the case study of Xemxija bay area, Malta

Landslides phenomena act on the northern coast of Malta, affecting in particular the urban area of Xemxija. Limestones overlying a clayey formation, represent the shallower lithotypes that characterize the surficial geology of this area, where lateral spreading phenomena and rockfalls take place. A geomorphologic survey was performed in the Xemxija bay area, focusing attention on landslide and rockfall risks. Ambient noise records, processed through spectral ratio techniques, were analysed in order to characterize the dynamic behavior of the rock masses affected by the presence of fractures linked to the landslide body existing in the area. Experimental spectral ratios were also calculated after rotating the horizontal components of the seismic signal and a direct estimate of the polarization angle was also performed, in order to investigate the existence of directional effects in the ground motion. The results of the morphologic survey confirmed the existence of large cliff-parallel fractures that cause cliff-edge and unstable boulder collapses. Such phenomena appear connected to the presence, inside the clay formation, of a sliding surface that was identified through the interpretation of the noise measurement data. The boundaries of the landslide area appear quite well defined by the pronounced polarization effects, trending in the northeastern direction, observed in the fractured zone and in the landslide body in particular.