Synthesis on the Turin subsoil stratigraphy and hydrogeology (NW Italy)

The aim of this work is to synthesize researches on shallow subsoil of the city of Turin and on the recent deviation of the Po River, which flowed south of Turin Hill during the Middle and Upper Pleistocene and only recently developed NW. The stratigraphic setting of the plain, as examined using numerous wells, shows an erosional surface shaped on the Villafranchian succession and locally on the Pliocene and pre-Pliocene sediments, on which the Quaternary fluvial cover, which is mainly fed by the Dora Riparia River, rests. This cover is relatively thin (thickness between 20 and 60 m) and highly variable in terms of lithofacies and degrees of cementation. The setting of the Turin subsoil is strictly conditioned by the recent uplift of Turin Hill, pointing out the structural causes of this recent geological evolution and its relationship with seismicity. The hydrogeological features of the area are also reported, showing two superimposed main groundwater flow circuits, as well as the thermal regime of shallow groundwater and its geothermal potential. Finally, the most recent excavation activities are taken into consideration, which allowed the direct observation of the shallow subsoil stratigraphy.