Investigating the Susceptibility to Failure of a Rock Cliff by Integrating Structure-from-Motion Analysis and 3D Geomechanical Modelling

Multi-temporal UAV and digital photo surveys have been acquired between 2017 and 2020 on a coastal cliff in soft rocks in South-Eastern Italy for hazard assessment and the corresponding point clouds have been processed and compared. The multi-temporal survey results provide indications of a progressive deepening process of erosion and detachment of blocks from the mid-height portion of the cliff, with the upper stiffer rock stratum working provisionally as a shelf against the risk of general collapse. Based on the DEM model obtained, a three-dimensional geomechanical finite element model has been created and analyzed in order to investigate the general stability of the cliff and to detect the rock portions which are more susceptible to failure. Concerning the evolving erosion process, active in the cliff, the photogrammetric analyses and the modeling simulations result in agreement and a proneness to both local and general instabilities has been achieved.