CAMPANIA GREY TUFF AND ANTHROPOGENIC TUFF CAVITES IN THE SOUTHERN METROPOLITAN AREA OF CASERTA (SOUTHERN ITALY)

Abstract

The Late Quaternary geological evolution of the northern Campania Plain was affected by the volcanic activity of the Phlegrean Field. The geological features of the Campania Grey Tuff (CGT, ~39 Ky), deposited on the whole Campania Plain, were reconstructed along a transect from the northern boundary of the metropolitan area of Naples up to Caserta. Since the tuff has good mechanical properties, it was involved since historical times in an extensive mining activity, from which a very dense network of quarries and underground cavities was inherited, strongly related to the lithofacies distribution. We provided a first geological underground database of the metropolitan area of Caserta, north of Naples, and analyzed the hazard aspects related to the mining activities.