Contaminated marine sites: geotechnical issues bridging the gap between characterisation and remedial strategies

The article deals with an original approach to contaminated marine sites where geotechnical engineering is bridging the gap between site characterisation and first selection of remedial strategies. The research has been prompted by a highly contaminated marine site in Italy and it is centred on the Conceptual Design Site Model (CDSM). The CDSM is based not only on the knowledge of the main current system's characteristics and boundary conditions but also on the coupled processes acting within it. The analysis of the model has been developed in light of the Complexity Theory and has brought about the building of the so-called resilience matrix. The matrix is a new tool to address site-specific management options and technology screening. However, the focus on the chemo-mechanical properties of the marine sediments has shown that, at some scale, the whole system can enter the edge-of-chaos. In this condition, the site turns out to be a complex adaptive system and predictions about its future development become more challenging.