1,720,976 research outputs found
PERMACLIM: a model for the distribution of mountain permafrost, based on climatic observations
No full textLa geologia e il paesaggio sulla e nell'etichetta. il progetto di Lucilia Gregori.
No full textThe wines, as well as other cultural expressions, they can become a tool to promote sustainable development in Italy, as well as a culture of responsible consumption.
Socio-economic development of a country is closely linked to the geomorphological assect of the itself: even if at different scales, the endogenous and exogenous processes, and rocks, such as landscape elements, influence the development of the environment and form the basis spatio-temporal development of a region. By integrating a variety of information on the geology and land use, it is possible to study the link between landscapes and wine areas
Un metodo non dispersivo per la determinazione delle direzioni di drenaggio nei modelli digitali del terreno su griglia rettangolare.
No full textValtellina (Sondrio, Northern Italy): a typical terroir for Nebbiolo grape
No full textLocated in the Central Alps of Italy, Valtellina is the main longitudinal valley in the Alpine chain, deeply cut by the Adda river, tributary of Como lake, the latter being one of the deepest canyons due to Messinian erosion (FINCKH, 1978). The E-W trending part of the valley is tectonically controlled, running parallel to the Periadriatic Lineament, the main fault of the entire Alpine edifice (LAUBSCHER, 1983; HEITZMANN, 1987; CNR, 1990). The geomorphology of this valley is characterized by a strong difference between the opposite slopes. The southern one, named Orobico, has a northwards exposure, while the northern one, named Retico (Rhaetian), has a southwards exposure and enjoys a strong solar radiance. Glacial erosion widened the valley and smoothed the bedrock up to 2,000 m a.s.l. Bedrock outcroppings clearly prevail in comparison with scattered, thin Quaternary deposits (BONSIGNORE et alii, 1971). The strong vertical relief from the alluvial plain of the Adda river to the adjacent mountain ridge (about 2,000 meters) is due to a combination of structural control, fluvial erosion and glacial overexcavation. The Rhaetian side is protected from the northerly winds and enjoys a microclimate that allows grape growing at a latitude of 46 degrees 10' and elevations ranging from about 300 up to 700 m a.s.l. (BELLONI & PELFINI, 1987; FAILLA et alii, 2004). Here the noblest italian wine grape (Nebbiolo) is cultivated on steep sunny slopes, on narrow terraces supported by stone walls. This ancient man-made landscape adds a typical note which takes part in characterization of Valtellina terroir. The bedrock is represented by strongly deformed metamorphic units of both Austroalpine and Southalpine domains, scatterly covered by thin glacial deposits. Nebbiolo offers some of the finest and prone to ageing wines in the world, in particular Barbaresco and Barolo from Piedmont Langhe, which has a typical exquisite bouquet ranging from goudron to violets to rose. As a wine grape, Nebbiolo is nevertheless very sensitive to both microclimate and pedological characteristics. Outside Piedmont area, Nebbiolo wine growing has generally denied satisfactory results, due to its selective micro-climatic requirements (ROBINSON, 1998). Nebbiolo, locally called Chiavennasca, has been cultivated in Valtellina since several centuries and is fully adapted to the local conditions. Vine-growing in Sondrio province is devoted to both local consumption (as for instance in Valchiavenna) and DOCG-DOC production (MURADA et alii, 2004; ZOIA, 2004). The DOCG and DOC qualified area is limited to the Rhaetian side of Valtellina, in an approximatively 45 km long belt which encompasses chief town Sondrio (MARIANI & COLA, 2004). Between 1998 and 2002 the DOCG production was about 21,500 hl produced in a 850 ha area
The role of Earth Science and Landscape approach in the ethic geology: communication and divulgation for the prevention and reduction of geological hazard.
No full textTerritorial and environmental problems demand, now more than ever, and par-ticularly in Italy where the situation is dramatic, the constant presence of the geol-ogist in all social, cultural, economic and territorial contexts. It is necessary to act with greater authority and to make the public aware of how the territory in which they live can be both a source of risk and a resource. Knowledge is the key tool; the diffusion of scientific heritage, using well known and appreciated topics that are more accessible to the public, may represent one of the goals for the commu-nication and sensitivity versus natural disasters.
From the latest dramatic events in Italy emerged the need to create a new kind of communication that can activate a wider and conscious target, providing society with correct and clear information about the geo-environmental conditions in Italy.
There is an obvious need for a new approach to the problems related to the complex context that now shows us a planet going beyond the critical point. A ho-listic approach is imperative, that is a one that considers the environmental and social ecosystem in its entirety, providing all policy makers with a realistic view of the situation and of possible developments.
In fact, a big problem for scientists as well as for society, is the prediction of natu-ral disasters. Knowing what is going to happen, as accurately as possible, is the key to be able to provide an effective warning of the population and plan action to safeguard people and properties
Vine-growing in Valchiavenna (SO): the Pianazzola project
No full textCentered in the Alpine chain, Valchiavenna (Mera catchment area, Sondrio Province) could well represent a standard reference area for Quaternary geology and Alpine environment geomorphology. Also important here is the ancient cultural heritage: the man-made landscape. The latter corresponds to a combination of steep slopes, terraces and vineyards, which have been cultivated probably since the 11(th) century, although the quality of wine made of Chiavennasca (Nebbiolo) was always lower than that from nearby Valtellina. (ZoIA, 2004). The area is located in the northern edge of Lombardy, close to Switzerland. Northern Valchiavenna encompasses two valleys, Val San Giacomo and Val Bregaglia/Bergell, which have been deeply cut respectively by Liro creek, originating from Spluga Pass and Mera/Maira river, from Maloja Pass, on the main Alpine watershed. This paper describes some characteristics of a site belonging to the Chiavenna municipality: Pianazzola, a small village at an elevation of about 750 m a.s.l., on southwards (dextral) slope of Bregaglia valley. Pianazzola lays just above the confluence of Liro in the Mera river: the former follows a dense swarm of NNW-SSE trending fractures, belonging to a regional tectonic lineament (FORCELLA et alii, 1982); the latter is partly influenced by the south-western termination of Engadine Line, a late-alpine sinistral strike-slip fault (TRUMPY, 1977; SCHMID & FROITZHEIM, 1993). Pianazzola lays on a post-glacial landslide mass (AGOSTONI et alii, 1997), with a volume of approximately 60 x 10(6) m(3). The sliding scar is located close to the lithological boundary between a highly fractured Variscan meta-granite and an intensely deformed gneisses suite, both belonging to middle Penninic Tambo nappe (MONTRASIO & SCIESA, 1988; MARQUER, 1991). Landslides played and keep on playing an important role in geomorphic processes in the whole Sondrio Province, so that the Chiavenna inhabitants do live on several landslide masses. Starting from Middle Age, the cultivations and the subsequent hydrogeological failure monitoring have been managed by the building up of a stone wall system supported terraces and a drainage canals network (BONARDI & SCARAMELLINI, 2004). Terraced areas allow vine growing in the lower part, up to about 700 m a.s.l., and chesnut (Castanea saliva) in the upper one, up to about 1,100 m a.s.l. The partial re-naturalization of Valchiavenna slopes is the consequence of the territory depopulation during the last decades of the XX(th) century. The incoming future offers the opportunity of an experimental vineyard niche production of a dessert white wine, based on Sauvignon and Kerner wine grapes; the withering and shrinkage technique is the same one used for the well known Valtellina's Sforzato
Path-based methods for the determination of nondispersive drainage directions in grid-based digital elevation models
No full textPath-based methods for the determination of nondispersive drainage directions ingrid-based digital elevation models are presented. These methods extend the descriptivecapabilities of the classical D8 method by cumulating the deviations between selected andtheoretical drainage directions along the drainage paths. It is shown that either angular ortransversal deviations can be employed. Accordingly, two classes of methods designatedD8-LAD (eight drainage directions, least angular deviation) and D8-LTD (eight drainagedirections, least transversal deviation) are developed. Detailed tests on four syntheticdrainage systems of known geometry and on the Liro catchment (central Italian Alps)indicate that the proposed methods provide significant improvement over the D8 methodfor the determination of drainage directions and drainage areas
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Full text linkThe present study examines one of the fundamental aspects of author co-citation analysis (ACA) - the way co-citation
counts are defined. Co-citation counting provides the data on which all subsequent statistical analyses and mappings
are based, and we compare ACA results based on two different types of co-citation counting - the traditional type that
only counts the first one among a cited work's authors on the one hand and a non-traditional type that takes into
account the first 5 authors of a cited work on the other hand. Results indicate that the picture produced through this non-traditional author co-citation counting contains more coherent author groups and is therefore considerably clearer. However, this picture represents fewer specialties in the research field being studied than that produced through the traditional first-author co-citation counting when the same number of top-ranked authors is selected and analyzed. Reasons for these effects are discussed
Territorial knowledge and cartographic evolution
Full text linkThe role of geological and geotematic mapping has recently come to the forefront in spatial/environmental management. This paper aims to present some cases of boundary extension in the use of contemporary cartographic tools (GIS and WEBGIS). The potential of digital maps and associated databases offers a wide range of applications, responding to the urgent need to make available to users (practitioners in the technical sectors, planners and society as a whole) the most important concepts to concretely achieve better land management, active risk prevention and sustainable resource enhancement. The application of geomorphological maps to issues closer to society can effectively create its approach to more properly technical-scientific issues, fostering a shared awareness, useful in protecting and enhancing the fragile Italian territory. The described experiences focus on GIS, which confirms its effectiveness both for social involvement in environmental issues, and in territorial/environmental management
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