Studio multidisciplinare delle strutture di collasso nell'Arcipelago Maltese

The Maltese Archipelago is composed of a Late Oligocene (Chattian) to Late Miocene (Messinian) succession of sedimentary rocks, mainly limestones. These are affected by different karst processes which produce a large variety of landforms. This paper shows the aims and research methods that are being and will be applied to investigate specific karst landforms, the solution subsidence structures, whose origin was widely discussed in the past and is still controversial. To this end, beside an in-depth bibliographic investigation, both superficial and underwater geological and geomorphological surveys will be carried out, with particular attention to the role of tectonics and sea-level change. These structures are, in fact, controlled by karst and gravity processes, eustatic changes and tectonic evolution. All this elements will be investigated to reconstruct the palaeogeography and the geomorphological evolution of the Maltese Islands, in order to define the environmental conditions which originated the subsidence structures and their possible influence on coastal development.