1,720,985 research outputs found
Outdoor science experiments, hands-on learning in nature: the Nirano Mud Volcano (NMV, Fiorano Modenese, Italy) open-field laboratory
No full textMud volcanoes (MVs) are part of the “sedimentary volcanism” due to their morphological resemblance
to igneous volcanoes and are characterized by the uplift of sediments and fluids (Martinelli & Judd, 2004;
Mazzini & Etiope, 2017). They are widely diffused and, although not always as fascinating as “ordinary”
volcanoes, no less investigated by various disciplines, e.g. botanics, microbiology, geophysics, geomorphology,
geochemistry and structural geology. In particular, they are taken into account for hydrocarbon prospection,
mainly gas, since they are mostly located in petroliferous basins and constitute the second natural source of
CH4 (Sciarra et al., 2019) and as earthquake precursors (Martinelli & Judd, 2004).
In Italy, MVs occur in both Northern and Central Apennine and in Sicily (Martinelli & Judd, 2004; Sciarra
et al., 2019). Nirano mud volcano (NMV) of the Emilia Romagna region is one of the biggest in Italy, situated
close to a small anticline in the outcrop of the Plio-Pleistocene “Argille Azzurre” clays (Martinelli & Judd,
2004), and is widely investigated for the gas composition (Mazzini & Etiope, 2017). Thousands of people of all
ages and levels of education visit this magnificent area every year. Master geology students from the University
of Ferrara, the course “geochemical prospecting”, have been putting into practice the theoretical geochemical
skills of measuring in-situ temperature, pH, and electrical conductivity, as well as collecting water and mud
samples for analyses (X-Ray Fluorescence, XRF; Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry, ICP-MS;
Ion Chromatography, IC; Elemental Analyzer for coupling to Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometers, EA-IRMS)
in the laboratory.
The results of their curiosity and abilities focused on the geochemical composition of NMV mud and
water, as shown during the second Italian Geochemistry Society congress. The aim of this work is also to
raise and increase awareness of peculiar geochemical threats in the national territory at many levels using the
NMV area as an open-field laboratory, which is suitable for everyone interested in improving their geological
knowledge and understanding and the processes occurring in the Earth crust (fault formation, fluid circulation,
and earthquake indicators). In particular, this outdoor experience fits very well with exploring teens, who can
make first-hand observations, mud, water and gas sampling (be prepared to get hands dirty!) and experience
simple analyses on the field, such as pH, EC, and water salinity measurement throughout specific probes.
Martinelli G. & Judd A. (2004) - Mud volcanoes of Italy. Geol. J., 39, 49-61, https://doi.org/10.1002/gj.943.
Mazzini A. & Etiope G. (2017) - Mud volcanism: An updated review. Earth-Sci. Rev., 168, 81-112, https://doi.
org/10.1016/j.earscirev.2017.03.001.
Sciarra A. et al. (2019) - Geochemical characterization of the Nirano mud volcano, Italy. Appl. Geochem., 102, 77-87,
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2019.01.006
Geophysical and geochemical data integration for agricultural soil monitoring and prevention of the effects of salinity, organic matter, and climate change in the Province of Ferrara (Northern Italy)
No full textCarbon, nitrogen, and sulphur isotope analysis of the Padanian Plain sediments: Backgrounds and provenance indication of the alluvial components
No full textThis work reports an ab initio study on the carbon (C), nitrogen (N), and sulphur (S) elemental and isotope compositions of the Padanian Plain sediments collected in the province of Ferrara (Northern Italy). The investigated sediments were already characterized by previous research that highlighted a bimodal provenance, as some sediments are from the Alpine chain and were conveyed to the plain by Po River, whereas others are from the Apennine chain and were conveyed to the plain by the Reno River. This information was obtained considering the concentration of heavy metals retrieved from hundreds of X-ray fluorescence analyses available in the literature, whereas CNS elemental and isotope compositions are unknown. These tracers are generally considered scarcely useful to identify the sediment provenance, as influenced by multiple environmental factors. However, this work challenges these assertions observing that 13C/12C, 15N/14N, 34S/32S are significantly different in Po and Reno River sediments. Our hypothesis is that the CNS geochemical signal is 1) mainly regulated by the organic fraction included in the alluvial sediments, and 2) these organic fraction have in turn a specific composition in the distinct source catchments. More in general, the presented data increase the knowledge on the local elemental and isotopic backgrounds. This is important because many pollutants contain significant CNS concentration and specific isotope composition. Therefore, they serve as baseline and will provide new tools to recognize possible anthropogenic anomalies in the studied area
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
Variations on the Author
Full text link“Variations on the Author” discusses two of Eduardo Coutinho’s recent films (Um Dia na Vida, from 2010, and Últimas Conversas, posthumously released in 2015) and their contribution to the general question of documentary authorship. The director’s filmography is characterized by a consistent yet self-effacing form of authorial self-inscription: Coutinho often features as an interviewer that rather than express opinions propels discourses; an interviewer that is good at listening. This mode of self-inscription characterizes him as an author who is not expressive but who is nonetheless markedly present on the screen. In Um Dia na Vida, however, Coutinho is completely absent form the image, while Últimas Conversas, on the contrary, includes a confessional prologue that moves the director from the margins to the center of his films. This article examines the ways in which these works stand out in the filmography of a director who offers new insights into the notion of cinematic authorship
Appropriate Similarity Measures for Author Cocitation Analysis
Full text linkWe provide a number of new insights into the methodological discussion about author cocitation analysis. We first argue that the use of the Pearson correlation for measuring the similarity between authors’ cocitation profiles is not very satisfactory. We then discuss what kind of similarity measures may be used as an alternative to the Pearson correlation. We consider three similarity measures in particular. One is the well-known cosine. The other two similarity measures have not been used before in the bibliometric literature. Finally, we show by means of an example that our findings have a high practical relevance.information science;Pearson correlation;cosine;similarity measure;author cocitation analysis
Dispelling the Myths Behind First-author Citation Counts
Full text linkWe conducted a full-scale evaluative citation analysis study of scholars in the XML research field to explore just how different from each other author rankings resulting from different citation counting methods actually are, and to demonstrate the capability of emerging data and tools on the Web in supporting more realistic citation counting methods. Our results contest some common arguments for the continued
use of first-author citation counts in the evaluation of scholars, such as high correlations between author rankings by first-author citation counts and other citation
counting methods, and high costs of using more realistic citation counting methods that are not well-supported by the ISI databases. It is argued that increasingly available digital full text research papers make it possible for citation analysis studies to go beyond what the ISI databases have directly supported and to employ more
sophisticated methods
East Vardar Ophiolite from North Macedonia revised within the GECCOSPARK know-how exchange programme (KEP) project funded by the Central European Initiative (CEI)
No full textThis contribution is part of a CEI-KEP project (Ref. No. 1206.006-19) titled “Promoting geological, e cological and cultural heritage through sustainable development and creation of geo-parks”. It includes the study of Mesozoic ophiolite rocks, which are interpreted as the remnants of the Vardar TethysOcean.
The East Vardar ophiolites are composed of basic magmatic sequences (pillow basalts, sheeted dykes, and gabbros), associated with intermediate and acid magmatic intrusions having subduction-related affinity and locally bearing an adakitic signature (Božović et al., 2013; Boev et al., 2018). To give new< insights on these ophiolites, new samples were collected from the Lipkovo and Demir Kapija localities, in the northern and southern part of North Macedonia, respectively.
Three groups of rocks are distinguished on the basis of whole-rock major and trace element composition and major element composition of clinopyroxene. Group 1 is characterized by tholeiitic basalts from Demir Kapija that exhibit slight enrichments in light-Rare Earth Element (L-REE) and slight negative Nb anomaly.
These features are comparable with those of back-arc basin basalts. Groups 2 and 3 are represented by calcalkaline rocks, showing typical subduction-related chemical affinity, as exemplified by N-MORB normalized spider diagrams showing typical Nb and Ta and, locally, P and Ti, negative anomalies along with Th-U positive anomalies. Group 2 rocks, which are from Demir Kapija, exhibit a weak adakitic affinity, as they are characterized by high LREE/HREE fractionation, high Sr/Y and La/Yb ratios.
Additional insights were provided by δ13C and δ34S analyses. Group 2 and 3 rocks show more pronounced negative δ13C (-22‰ to -18‰) and positive δ34S (+2.3‰ to +4.9‰) values compared to those of Group 1 rocks (δ13C: -16‰ to -10‰; δ34S: +0.7‰ to +2.4‰), suggesting that Group 2 and 3 rocks record comparatively higher metasomatic interaction of their mantle sources with slab-derived components. On the whole, the results show that magmatic rocks from ophiolites of East Vardar in the North Macedonia display a widespread supra-subduction chemical signature, indicating the formation of these ophiolites in an arc - back-arc ensialic setting. The data provide information about the geological evolution and setting of
this area, which should be disseminated using a didactic approach and simple concepts appealing for “nonexperts”, emphasizing that such studies are crucial to understand a unique geological system, which has no analogues in the present
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