OA Earth-prints Repository
Not a member yet
16457 research outputs found
Sort by
Holocene palaeoenvironmental and human settlement evolution in the southern margin of the Salpi lagoon, Tavoliere coastal plain (Apulia, Southern Italy)
No full textThis study aims to understand the relationship between the palaeoenvironmental
evolution of the southern margin of the Salpi lagoon (Tavoliere coastal plain, Apulia,
Italy) and the development of settlements on its shores during the last part of the
Holocene (Late Northgrippian to Late Meghalayan) to complement recent
archaeological investigations at the site of pre-Roman Salpia Vetus, Roman Salapia
and Medieval Salpi. Micropalaeontological, palynological, and sedimentological
analyses were conducted on a total of ten drilled cores, revealing local and regional
events. Facies and micropalaeontological analyses show that the lagoon was partially
connected to the sea between 6.2 ka BP and 3.1 ka BP. Between 3.1 ka BP and 2.4 ka
BP, the area was characterised by marshes and swamps with restricted brackish
lagoon conditions and permanent freshwater input. After 2.4 ka BP, the continuous
freshwater influx from the major rivers of the coastal plain determined the progradation
of the floodplain and the closure of the lagoon, with the formation of the two coastal
lakes of Lago Salso (north) and Lago Salpi (south). Pollen data show the expansion of
halophytic herbs under local brackish conditions during the Early Meghalayan and the
continuous spread of dryland herbs consistent with the closure of the basin. The
alluvial plain progradation during the Late Meghalayan allowed the intensive
exploitation of the area and the development of a highly anthropogenic landscape. The
development of the settlements of pre-Roman Salpia Vetus, Roman Salapia, and
Medieval Salpi was mainly determined by the insalubrious condition of the surrounding
marshes, due to the reduction in water depth and oscillations in salinity.Published37-545A. Ricerche polari e paleoclimaJCR Journa
Toward a Real-Time Analysis of Column Height by Visible Cameras: An Example from Mt. Etna, in Italy
No full textVolcanic plume height is one the most important features of explosive activity; thus, it is a parameter of interest for volcanic monitoring that can be retrieved using different remote sensing techniques. Among them, calibrated visible cameras have demonstrated to be a promising alternative during daylight hours, mainly due to their low cost and low uncertainty in the results. However, currently these measurements are generally not fully automatic. In this paper, we present a new, interactive, open-source MATLAB tool, named ‘Plume Height Analyzer’ (PHA), which is able to analyze images and videos of explosive eruptions derived from visible cameras, with the objective of automatically identifying the temporal evolution of eruption columns. PHA is a self-customizing tool, i.e., before operational use, the user must perform an iterative calibration procedure based on the analysis of images of previous eruptions of the volcanic system of interest, under different eruptive, atmospheric and illumination conditions. The images used for the calibration step allow the computation of ad hoc expressions to set the model parameters used to recognize the volcanic plume in new images, which are controlled by their individual characteristics. Thereby, the number of frames used in the calibration procedure will control the goodness of the model to analyze new videos/images and the range of eruption, atmospheric, and illumination conditions for which the program will return reliable results. This also allows improvement of the performance of the program as new data become available for the calibration, for which PHA includes ad hoc routines. PHA has been tested on a wide set of videos from recent explosive activity at Mt. Etna, in Italy, and may represent a first approximation toward a real-time analysis of column height using visible cameras on erupting volcanoes.Published2595OSV3: Sviluppo di nuovi sistemi osservazionali e di analisi ad alta sensibilitàJCR Journa
The optical, seismic, and infrasound signature of the March 5 2022, bolide over Central Italy
No full textOn March 5, 2022, a 12 kg meteoroid crossed the sky above Central Italy and was observed by three different observational systems: the PRISMA all-sky camera network (10 stations), the Italian national seismic network (61 stations), and a 4-element infrasound array. The corresponding datasets, each with its own resolution, provided three independent assessments of the trajectory, size and speed
of the meteoroid. The bolide traveled across central Italy with an azimuth of 102 degrees, becoming visible at about 91 km above sea level with a velocity of about 15.4 km/s. Its visible trajectory lasted about 15 s. Reasonably, the residual portion of the ablated bolide terminated its path in the Adriatic Sea and could not be recovered. Seismic and infrasound data well match optical observations detecting the bolide Mach cone at 68 km above sea level with a back azimuth of 25 degrees with respect to the array. By comparing results from the three different systems, discrepancies are within the estimated uncertainties, thus confirming the mutual consistency of the adopted methodologies. Therefore, this study shows that different approaches can be integrated to improve the detection capability for bolide crossing the sky in monitored regions.Published21135OST5 Verso un nuovo MonitoraggioJCR Journa
Something Still Remains: Factors Affecting Tsunami Risk Perception on the Coasts Hit by the Reggio Calabria-Messina 1908 Event (Italy)
No full textMediterranean coasts are prone to tsunamis due to high seismicity in some well-known areas near plate margins. However, tsunamis have a low frequency of occurrence despite having highly destructive potential. The low frequency of occurrence and historicity of the most destructive events lead to minimizing or neglecting this risk. Past research identified socio-demographic and spatial factors that may affect tsunami risk perception. This research is based on CATI survey (Computer Assisted Telephone Interview) to a sample of 5842 respondents designed to investigate whether and how risk perception and risk knowledge were affected by a major event such as the 1908 Reggio Calabria Messina tsunami, by making a comparison between areas hit by that event and unaffected areas, also providing some explanatory hypotheses. Despite differences between Calabria and Sicily, data show higher levels of tsunami risk perception in the area affected by the 1908 event, along with a major role of interpersonal sources, playing a relevant role in information gathering and understanding. Research also suggests the need to better integrate different sources of knowledge to improve people’s understanding so as to effectively cope with tsunami risk.Published2787OS: Terza missioneJCR Journa
Bottled Mineral Waters as Unconventional Sampling in Hydro-Geological Research
No full textBottled mineral waters originate from groundwater aquifers, their chemical composition
being initially determined by geochemical water-rock interaction processes. The waters used for
bottling originate from different parts of the hydrological cycle and have a unique hydro-geochemical
fingerprint. As water moves through the water cycle, the isotopic composition of oxygen and
hydrogen in the water molecule may change. Determining 18O and 2H can help to characterize the
source of bottled water and the natural conditions of the parent water body, of the recharge area, and
the influence of various processes during infiltration and water flow within the water body. Usually,
the chemical composition is reported on the label of bottled waters, while stable isotopes data are often
unreported and are sometimes available from scientific publications. Bottled waters from selected
sites of Europe where chemical and stable isotopic composition were available have been considered
and accompanying data reinterpreted. The available data have been reinterpreted by obtaining results
comparable, within limitations, to traditional sampling and analytical procedures, demonstrating
the usefulness of the adopted methodology in emergency cases. Therefore, the utilization of isotopic
values of bottled waters should be limited to the observation of general trends in isotopic composition
of feeding waters, while more local studies are advised for a better understanding of the hydrogeological
circuits.Published3466JCR Journa
Deep learning for earthquake hydrology? Insights from the karst Gran Sasso aquifer in central Italy
No full textBy leveraging monitoring data for the Gran Sasso carbonate aquifer during two significant seismic sequences that
hit central Italy in recent years, this study investigates the possibility of using memory-enabled deep learning
algorithms as meaningful tools for an enhanced modelling of the hydrological response of karst aquifers subject
to earthquake phenomena. Meteorological, hydrological and seismic data are used to train and validate long
short-term memory networks (LSTM) in one- and multiple-day ahead flow forecasting exercises, aimed at
assessing model sensitivities to input variables and modelling choices (training data and parameters of the
models). Results indicate that the models fairly reproduce the flow patterns for the considered spring in the Gran
Sasso aquifer, thus supporting the potential use of these models for hydrological applications in similar areas,
provided that sufficient data are available for the training of the network.Published1290029T. Geochimica dei fluidi applicata allo studio e al monitoraggio di aree sismicheJCR Journa
Statistical Insights on the Eruptive Activity at Stromboli Volcano (Italy) Recorded from 1879 to 2023
No full textStromboli is an open-conduit active volcano located in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea and
is the easternmost island of the Aeolian Archipelago. It is known as “the lighthouse of the Mediterranean”
for its continuous and mild Strombolian-type explosive activity, occurring at the summit
craters. Sometimes the volcano undergoes more intense explosions, called “major explosions” if
they affect just the summit above 500 m a.s.l. or “paroxysms” if the whole island is threatened.
Effusive eruptions are less frequent, normally occurring every 3–5 years, and may be accompanied or
preceded by landslides, crater collapses and tsunamis. Given the small size of the island (maximum
diameter of 5 km, NE–SW) and the consequent proximity of the inhabited areas to the active craters
(maximum distance 2.5 km), it is of paramount importance to use all available information to forecast
the volcano’s eruptive activity. The availability of a detailed record of the volcano’s eruptive activity
spanning some centuries has prompted evaluations on its possible short-term evolution. The aim of
this paper is to present some statistical insights on the eruptive activity at Stromboli using a catalogue
dating back to 1879 and reviewed for the events during the last two decades. Our results confirm the
recent trend of a significant increase in major explosions, small lava flows and summit crater collapses
at the volcano, and might help monitoring research institutions and stakeholders to evaluate volcanic
hazards from eruptive activity at this and possibly other open-vent active basaltic volcanoes.This research was funded by Project FIRST—ForecastIng eRuptive activity at Stromboli
volcano: timing, eruptive style, size, intensity, and duration, INGV–Progetto Strategico Dipartimento
Vulcani 2019 (Delibera n. 144/2020; Scientific Responsibility: S.C.).Published48221V. Storia eruttivaJCR Journa
The Meran-Mauls Fault: Tectonic switching from compression to transpression along a restraining bend of the Periadriatic Fault
No full textThe WSW-ENE Meran-Mauls Fault (MMF) represents a break in the broadly E-W trending Periadriatic Fault (PAF), separating the Southern Alps from the N-verging wedge of the European Alps. Understanding the MMF evolution is mandatory to reconstruct the role of the entire PAF during the evolution of the belt since the late Cenozoic.
Structural and microstructural analyses and paleostress calculations based on fault-slip data suggest the occurrence of four evolutionary stages for the MMF: 1) top-to-the-SE mylonites; 2) top-to-the-SE brittle faulting; 3) dextral faulting with re-activation of previous structures; 4) N–S compression associated with conjugate sets of mainly strike-slip fault systems. Paleostress reconstructions point to a σ2-σ3 permutation from stage 2 to stage 3, resulting in the switch from pure thrusting to strike-slip, followed by an anticlockwise rotation of the principal stress axes during stage 4, in a strike-slip regime related to N–S compression. Geochronological and thermochronological data point to 39-22 Ma age for stage 1, 22-17 Ma for stage 2, less than 17 Ma for stage 3. Our reconstruction strongly supports the interpretation of the MMF as a restraining bend of the PAF, which was weakly reactivated along its eastern portion as a dextral fault and later displaced by NNE-SSW left-lateral faults.Published1048782T. Deformazione crostale attivaJCR Journa
Homogenization of magnitudes of the ISC Bulletin
No full textThis article has been accepted for publication in Geophysical Journal International ©:The Author(s) 2023. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Royal Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy.
All rights reserved.We implemented an automatic procedure to download the hypocentral data of the online Bulletin of the International Seismological Centre (ISC) in order to produce in near real-time a homogeneous catalogue of the Global and EuroMediterranean instrumental seismicity to be used for forecasting experiments and other statistical analyses. For the interval covered by the reviewed ISC Bulletin, we adopt the ISC locations and convert the surface wave magnitude (Ms) and short-period body-wave magnitude (mb) as computed by the ISC to moment magnitude (Mw), using empirical relations. We merge the so obtained proxies with real Mw provided by global and EuroMediterranean moment tensor catalogues. For the most recent time interval (about 2 yr) for which the reviewed ISC Bulletin is not available, we do the same but using the preferred (prime) location provided by the ISC Bulletin and converting to Mw the Ms and mb provided by some authoritative agencies. For computing magnitude conversion equations, we use curvilinear relations defined in a previous work and the chi-square regression method that accounts for the uncertainties of both x and y variables.H2020 EU project RISE contract n. 821115Published1771-1785OST2 Deformazione e Hazard sismico e da maremotoJCR Journa
Rheological heterogeneities at the roots of the seismogenic zone
No full textAlthough rheological heterogeneities are invoked to explain differences in fault-slip be-
havior, case studies where an interdisciplinary approach is adopted to capture their specific roles are still rare. In this work, we integrated geophysical, geological, and laboratory data to explain how rheological heterogeneities influence the earthquake activity at the roots of the seismogenic zone. During the 2016–2017 Central Italy sequence, following the major earthquakes, we observed a deepening of seismicity within the basement associated with a transient stress change. Part of this seismicity was organized in clusters of events, with similar sizes and waveforms. The structural study of exhumed basement rocks highlighted a heterogeneous fabric made of strong, quartz-rich lenses (up to 200 m) surrounded by a weak, interconnected phyllosilicate-rich matrix. Laboratory experiments simulating the main shock–induced increase in loading rate showed that the matrix lithology experienced an ac- celerating and self-decelerating aseismic creep, whereas the lens lithology showed dynamic instabilities. Our results suggest that the post–main shock loading rate increases favored accelerated creep within the matrix, which promoted, as a consequence, seismic instabilities within the lenses in the form of clustered seismicity. Our findings emphasize the strong con- nection between seismicity and the structural and frictional properties of the seismogenic zone.Published988–992OST1 Alla ricerca dei Motori GeodinamiciJCR Journa