Building a database for the analysis of sinkholes related to artificial cavities: the case study of Altamura (Apulia, southern Italy)

Altamura town (Apulia, southern Italy) has been severely affected by collapse sinkholes during the last decades, particularly at new urbanized areas at the eastern outskirts of the historic center. Ground failures occurred in correspondence of the extensive network of man-made underground galleries, excavated as calcarenite quarries. This study aims at providing the first data useful for evaluating the sinkholes susceptibility at Altamura, in collaboration with the local municipality, also aimed at evaluating the probability of future collapse events. Collecting the first data from a variety of sources, starting from the scientific bibliography and the official digital cadastre at the Altamura Municipality, will result in producing the first database that will be a useful tool for the authorities and planners in charge of land management. The available morphometric data of the sinkholes occurring at Altamura are described and the results show how their spatial arrangement closely reflect at the ground surface the development of the network of underground anthropogenic quarries excavated in the calcarenite formation.