Popeye Village’s Rock Fracture Is ‘Moving Extremely Slowly’
A research team from Malta and Italy has spent years studying the rock fracture above Popeye’s Village and released a statement this morning following fears raised over social media that it could eventually collapse the way the Azure Window did earlier this year.
The scientists said the Anchor Bay fracture was not comparable to the Azure Window which was highly exposed to direct wave poundings and had no natural buffer to withstand the impact. Anchor Bay is characterised by a “landslide activity” where the Upper Coralline Limestone plateau has long been jointed and faulted due to past tectonic activity.
“To date, we can say with a good degree of assurance that our work has made the north-west coast one of the most well-monitored sites in the whole Maltese Islands in terms of exposure to landslide risks. Our studies have all been published in scientific journals (available on-line) and the management of Popeye Village has always been made recipient of the studies concerning Anchor Bay, in order to support the health and safety aspects of their business plan,” the research team said.
“The plateau fracture – highlighted in the social media image in question – was already charted in the topographic maps of the beginning of the 20th century, and it is likely that it dates back to hundred (if not millennia) years ago.”
“The results of the ten-year displacement monitoring show extremely slow movements (in the order of millimetres per year) affecting the Upper Coralline Limestone caprock, with a constant trend during the whole period (no accelerations were recorded).”
“The plateau fracture – highlighted in the social media image in question – was already charted in the topographic maps of the beginning of the 20th century, and it is likely that it dates back to hundred (if not millennia) years ago. In fact, very recent Cosmogenic Ray Exposure dating, undertaken by the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia (Italy) in collaboration with the University of Exeter (UK), show that the main cliff escarpment above Popeye Village was formed some 21 thousand years BP, thus demonstrating a very long-term cliff evolution.”
“Monitoring at Anchor Bay will hopefully continue in future, within a research project of the Council of Europe lead by the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, in collaboration with the University of Malta and the CNR of Padua. Needless to say, we are willing to share the results of our investigations not only with the scientific community but also with the Maltese competent authorities responsible for coastal conservation and hazard prevention.”
The statement was signed by Mauro Soldati, Professor of Geomorphology Department of Chemical and Geological Sciences at University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, and Ritienne Gauci from the Geography Department University of Malta.
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