1,721,178 research outputs found
Landslide Hazard and Risk in the Campi Flegrei Caldera, Italy
No full textThis chapter deals with the main characteristics of the mass movements affecting the slopes of the Campi Flegrei Volcanic Field. To this aim, giving due credit to previous works, an overview of the Phlegraean landslides is presented, taking into account other ongoing researches. The prevailing landslide types depend upon the lithological characteristics of the rocks involved: slides and flows dominate in the loose pyroclastic deposits, while falls and topples characterise the slopes where tuffs and lavas crop out. All the Phlegraean landslides show a moderate mobility, with a maximum runout distance lower than 350 m, and a mean angle of reach equal to 39°. More than 15% of the whole territory of the six Phlegraean towns is prone to landslide hazard, though the distribution of at-risk areas among the six towns is uneven (e.g., Monte di Procida, 31.7%; Quarto, 5%). Due to the intense urbanisation of the area, such a hazard results in a quite high risk. In recent years, a number of structural countermeasures, including low-impact soil bioengineering techniques, have been introduced as to mitigate the landslide risk in the Neapolitan-Phlegraean area. However, a paradigm shift is strongly needed, due in part to the persistent economic crisis, which should induce to emphasise the importance of non-structural preventive solutions, among which the improvement of the urban communities’ societal resilience is of paramount importance
Development and morphometry of sinkholes in coastal plains of Apulia, southern Italy. Preliminary sinkhole susceptibility assessment
No full textEvolution of coastlines in karst areas may be strongly controlled by dissolution processes which favour the development of surface and subsurface landforms. The generation of caves in these environments is commonly favoured by the mixing between fresh and brackish waters. The sinkholes resulting from the upward propagation of the caves may interfere with the anthropogenic environment and cause damage to human elements (property and activities). To highlight the often underestimated importance of karst phenomena in coastal areas, we have analyzed a coastal stretch of Apulia, in southern Italy. The study area, covering an extension of about 6 km2, is situated in the Ionian coast, and presents several interesting karst landforms that are generally connected to caves. Tens of sinkholes were mapped through field surveys, multi-year aerial-photographs (dating back to the 1940s) and archival research. We have performed a morphometric analysis of the sinkholes. The analysis describes the main parameters of the sinkholes (area, length, width, and depth), and the control exerted by the main discontinuity systems in the area. The detrimental effects derived from interaction between human environment and these karst landforms is also under consideration. A sinkhole susceptibility map, which may provide useful information for planners, developers and the insurance industry has eventually been produced through application of a decision tree model. © 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved
Cloud resource orchestration in the multi-cloud landscape: a systematic review of existing frameworks
Full text linkThe number of both service providers operating in the cloud market and customers consuming cloud-based services is constantly increasing, proving that the cloud computing paradigm has successfully delivered its potential. Nevertheless, the unceasing growth of the cloud market is posing hard challenges on its participants. On the provider side, the capability of orchestrating resources in order to maximise profits without failing customers’ expectations is a matter of concern. On the customer side, the efficient resource selection from a plethora of similar services advertised by a multitude of providers is an open question. In such a multi-cloud landscape, several research initiatives advocate the employment of software frameworks (namely, cloud resource orchestration frameworks - CROFs) capable of orchestrating the heterogeneous resources offered by a multitude of cloud providers in a way that best suits the customer’s need. The objective of this paper is to provide the reader with a systematic review and comparison of the most relevant CROFs found in the literature, as well as to highlight the multi-cloud computing open issues that need to be addressed by the research community in the near future
Landslide types and their relationships with weathering in a Calabrian basin, southern Italy
No full textThe basin of the Alaco River, in the Serre Massif of Calabria (Italy), is characterized by outcropping Palaeozoic granitoid rocks. The complex neotectonic history of the area and adverse climatic conditions, both active at least since the Quaternary, resulted in deep weathering of the crystalline rocks. Field observations, integrated with laboratory and in situ tests, allowed the weathering profile to be defined following the six-fold scheme proposed by the Hong Kong Geotechnical Control Office. The weathered rocks evidence a wide variety of mass movements, which were mapped over the entire basin. Debris flow-type instabilities dominate in the residual and saprolitic soils, while falls and slides are more significant in the less weathered rocks. In view of the complex vertical and lateral weathering in the rock mass and the high to very high overall susceptibility of the outcropping rocks to landsliding, it is difficult to postulate any direct relationships between individual types of mass movement and weathering grade. © Springer-Verlag 2005
Cavità sotterranee e regimentazione idraulica dell’Agro Nolano nel XIX secolo (Provincia di Napoli)
No full textL’estrazione dell’Ignimbrite Campana (I.C., 39 Ka) iniziò nella vasta plaga a nord-est del Somma-Vesuvio per rifornire di materiali da costruzione la capitale del Regno dopo il terremoto del 26 luglio 1805 a fronte della carenza di Piperno Flegreo. Questa attività minatoria, per le peculiarità della risorsa geologica, si afferma in piccoli centri abitati a nord della Città di Nola, in aree di fragilità idrografica che diventano teatro di disastrose alluvioni. L’analisi di documenti inediti e il rilievo cartografico dei siti di coltivazione hanno permesso di ricostruire i dissesti avvenuti, di descrivere i rimedi intrapresi per combattere la violenza delle acque montane nella piana, di definire le soluzioni tecniche a salvaguardia degli abitati e dell’attività di sfruttamento lapideo. Allo stato attuale, una parte del territorio convive con una rete di cavità tufacee che, nel particolare stato di abbandono, costituisce la causa di diversi dissesti (voragini da sprofondamento, subsidenza di superficie) La creazione di uno strumento di pianificazione ha inteso prescrivere regole di sorveglianza e prevenzione di una parte del territorio esposto e, nel contempo, garantire una più attenta gestione del carico urbano
Geological models and triggering mechanisms of slide-flows in the volcaniclastic deposits of Campania region (Italy)
No full textThe main factors which predispose and eventually can trigger slide-flows in the Campanian volcaniclastic deposits are here analyzed, with reference to two geological-geomorphological settings (carbonate hills, Phlegraean Fields), frequently affected by such landslides in the last decade. Based upon a thorough stratigraphical and geomorphological survey, the role played by factors such as pumice layers, mountain roads, groundwater circulation, etc., is related to the features of some Campanian landslides occurred from 1996 onward. Basic differences between the Phlegraean (Naples, Ischia island) and the peri-Vesuvian (Pizzo d'Alvano, Penisola Sorrentina - Lattari Mts., Mt. Fellino) landslides have been noticed; in the latter setting, in fact, the structure of the volcanic sequence is fundamental, while in the Phlegraean district weathering of the pyroclastic sediments favours the detachments and their repeated occurrence. Eventually a good agreement is found between the main results here achieved and the recentmost specific literature
Authors' reply to discussion by I. Yilmaz on "Development and morphometry of sinkholes in coastal plains of Apulia, southern Italy. Preliminary sinkhole susceptibility assessment" [Engineering Geology 99 (2008) 198-209]
No full textThe authors would like to express their thanks to the discusser Isik Yilmaz for his interest in our paper and the related comments. In this reply we present our explanations, hoping that they will help to clarify the points raised by the discusser
Which communication for higher education in scientific disciplines?
No full textTeaching, researching, knowledge transfer and innovation are important drivers of the development of any Country, provided by higher education in humanities, e.g. social and political sciences or clinical medicine, as well as in science and technology. In Europe these items correspond to the heart of a strategy, which aims to enforce a more inclusive, cohesive and competitive continent. Sometimes, science teaching fails because educational programs do not satisfactorily meet social needs, or research does not achieve innovation targets since it is not enough social-impacting. Scientific reductionism favours the individual point of view rather than shared perspectives, which integrate different disciplines and better answer to real problems. Many researchers, highly specialized in their knowledge fields, often transfer clear scientific concepts but unrelated to life or social and ethical values. Moreover, teaching today uses increasingly advanced tools to improve active learning, placing great trust in technology and forgetting the basics of good communication, which lies in the skills of communicator, his authenticity, his sincere interest in the listener’s growth. Following teaching experiences gained with a scientific communication course realised in the last two years at the Polytechnic and Basic Sciences School (Federico II University of Naples, Naples, Italy), we propose a distinction between science popularization and science communication, which establishes interesting guidelines for dealing with the complex interaction between higher education and society's needs. We have recovered the basic of communication skills, highlighting the importance of the sender-receiver relationship and strengthening the idea that effective communication occurs when receiver and sender simultaneously grow: the former improves his knowledge and his ability to choose, and the second one changes himself as an effect of the receiver’s reaction. Achieving effective communication in education is primarily a matter of taking care of the interpersonal relationship. Finally, we demonstrate that there is not only one way to communicate, but there are many approaches, depending on the peculiar relationship between sender and receiver
Historical instability and recent slope evolution of the ilice torrent catchment, Calabria, Italy
No full textThe present paper focuses on the geomorphological evolution of the central sector of llice Torrent basin, Italy, where deeply weathered crystalline rocks are present. Based on archival research, multitemporal air photo analysis, and geomorphological surveys, the study gives new insights into an area extensively affected by mass movements. The Santo Miele complex landslide is the main landform in the area. In 1996 it underwent a phase of reactivation, which in turn caused serious damage to public infrastructure and private properties. Based on analysis of the study area during the period 1955-2004, five geomorphological maps were produced, integrated by field surveys conducted between 2005 and 2006. Since 1955 several landslides have been recognized, with a relevant increase in the areal extent of unstable areas in 1979. Slope instability has been documented since at least the 16th century, when the Santo Miele landslide was already active. Copyright © 2008 by Bellwether Publishing, Ltd. All rights reserved
Weathering in the crystalline rocks of Calabria, Italy, and relationships to landslides
No full textThis paper reviews approximately 40 years of studies focused on landslides in weathered crystalline rocks of Calabria, southern Italy. In these studies geological, geomorphological, mineralogical, petrographical, engineering-geological and geotechnical aspects of the
Palaeozoic granitoids and the high-grade metamorphic rocks cropping out in the Calabrian massifs have been considered. This in turn has allowed depiction of the regional landsliding scenario, where almost all the main typologies of mass movements have been recognized, ranging from shallow soil slips and extremely rapid debris flows to slow moving deep-seated gravitational slope deformations. From north to south, the Sila Massif, Coastal Chain, and Poro, Serre and Aspromonte Massifs are described, with reference to the studies dealing with weathering and slope movements in the different geological and morphological settings. The regional extent of the weathering processes gave researchers the opportunity to adopt and calibrate mapping methods, specifically devoted to analysis and mitigation of the landslide hazard in weathered materials, which have also been applied to important civil engineering works. A further distinctive character of the Calabrian weathering is its age, which has been ascribed to Tertiary time. Such an ancient initiation could be regarded as one of the main reasons for the depth of the weathered
mantle, which, despite the rugged topography, in some districts exceeds 150–200 m
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