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The Sumela Monastery slope in Maçka, Trabzon, Northeast Turkey: rock mass properties and stability assessment

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Abstract

In 2001, rock falls occurred on the southern slope of the Sumela Monastery, which was built on a cliff in Trabzon, north east Turkey, and is visited by many tourists. Considering the steepness of the slope and difficulty of access, rock classifications were made based on seismic wave velocity, rock mass quality (Q), rock quality designation (RQD) and rock mass rating (RMR). The results indicated extremely poor to very poor rock in the cracked, fractured and weathered parts and poor to fair rock in the intact parts of the monastery slope. As a consequence, rock fall, slide and rolling may occur from time to time. These constitute a hazard to the facilities of the monastery and access paths. It is recommended that cracked areas are strengthened with cement-based materials, that accumulated rocks are removed, and that retaining walls are constructed on solid rock around the unstable rock blocks.

Résumé

En 2011, des chutes de blocs ont eu lieu sur la pente sud du Monastère de Sumela, construit en bord de falaise à Trabzon, au nord-est de la Turquie, et visité par de nombreux touristes. Considérant la raideur des pentes et les difficultés d’accès, des classifications des roches ont été réalisées à partir de données issues de mesures de vitesse du son et des indices Q, RQD et RMR. Les résultats conduisent à identifier des roches de résistance extrêmement faible à très faible dans les zones fissurées, fracturées et altérées et des roches de résistance faible à moyenne dans les zones intactes. En conséquence, des chutes de blocs, des glissements et des éboulements peuvent avoir lieu de temps en temps. Ceci représente un aléa pour les installations et les chemins d’accès au monastère. Il est recommandé que les zones fissurées soient renforcées par des matériaux à base de ciment, que les roches éboulées soient enlevées et que des murs de soutènement soient construits sur une base solide pour retenir les blocs instables.

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Acknowledgments

We are indebted to the Karadeniz Technical University Research Fund (No. 2002.112.007.1) and would like to address our thanks to Melek Demir for the translation parts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geophysics Department, Karadeniz Technical University, 61080, Trabzon, Turkey

    Kenan Gelişli, Aysel Şeren, Ali Erden Babacan & Hakan Ersoy

  2. Little Rock, 2801 S. University Avenue, Little Rock, AR, 72204, USA

    Aycan Çataklı

  3. Geology Department, Gumushane University, Gumushane, Turkey

    Raif Kandemir

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  1. Kenan Gelişli
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  2. Aysel Şeren
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  3. Ali Erden Babacan
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  4. Aycan Çataklı
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  5. Hakan Ersoy
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  6. Raif Kandemir
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Correspondence to Kenan Gelişli.

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Gelişli, K., Şeren, A., Babacan, A.E. et al. The Sumela Monastery slope in Maçka, Trabzon, Northeast Turkey: rock mass properties and stability assessment. Bull Eng Geol Environ 70, 577–583 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-010-0343-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10064-010-0343-6

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