51,256 research outputs found
CALDER: Cryogenic light detectors for background-free searches
No full textCALDER is a R&D project for the development of cryogenic light detectors with an active surface of 5x5cm2 and an energy resolution of 20 eV RMS for visible and UV photons. These devices can enhance the sensitivity of next generation large mass bolometric detectors for rare event searches, providing an active background rejection method based on particle discrimination. A CALDER detector is composed by a large area Si absorber substrate with superconducting kinetic inductance detectors (KIDs) deposited on it. The substrate converts the incoming light into athermal phonons, that are then sensed by the KIDs. KID technology combine fabrication simplicity with natural attitude to frequency-domain multiplexing, making it an ideal candidate for a large scale bolometric experiments. We will give an overview of the CALDER project and show the performances obtained with prototype detectors both in terms of energy resolution and efficiency
Socioeconomic development, demographic dynamics and forest fires in Italy, 1961-2017: A time-series analysis
No full textEmpirical studies investigating long-term trends in wildfires' frequency and severity have been relatively scarce in Europe. Number of fire events, total burnt area and average fire size were studied between 1961 and 2017 in Italy with the aim to identify homogeneous time periods with similar wildfire frequency and severity and correlate them with the background socioeconomic context. Fire attributes had a diverging behavior over time: the number of fires was the highest in the 1970s and the early 1980s; total burnt area was relatively more constant over time with a peak in the 1980s; and, finally, average fire size decreased quite homogeneously from the peak observed in the 1960s and early 1970s. The number of fires and average fire size were significantly influenced by the value of the same variable one year before. Investigating long-term historical outlines of forest fires, a mixed approach based on time-series statistical analysis, multivariate techniques and regressive models intended to define changes in fire regimes and socioeconomic development. In fact, the comparative valuation of the socioeconomic aspects and wildfire trends can reveal a key step to recognizing mitigation and preventive possibilities. Through a multivariate analysis, a substantial difference in the socioeconomic profile can emerge by decade, evidencing a (more or less) rapid socioeconomic development in relation to the evolution of forest fires in Italy
Characterizing population dynamics and early processes of urbanization in rural Tuscia, Central Italy
No full textUrbanization adapts itself strongly in rural areas, in terms of shape and structure, depending on the local-cultural customs that are usually linked to agricultural activities. With its landscapes, Italy offers a variety of settlements used by the primary sector, that however have changed over time. In the last century, urban dispersion has mixed the typical rural settlements with the new residential low-density ones. Sprawl in Italy has been successful thanks to the irregularities and the lack of compliance with the plan rules, sometimes not present or inefficient. Tuscia, which coincides with the province of Viterbo, is still a treasure trove of great natural and agricultural value, located in the heart of Italy. Also there the dispersive dynamics took place, but following the only rules dictated by the agricultural mentality, escaping from the control of urban planning. The paper focuses that, even today this territory is certainly more liveable compared to the neighbourhoods around the capital city of Rome, the urbanization of Tuscia rural areas accords with a population that is still strongly sensitive to the primary sector’s activities, which therefore allows to preserve a strong naturalness of the local context. Tuscia is probably one of the rare Italian reality in which the spatial dynamics have had to adapt to the lifestyle of its inhabitants, who persist to defend the local rural identity, still reaping the fruits of their territory
Past diatom blooms and benthonic foraminifera extinction detected in old Adriatic sediments
No full textSustainable development and policies against desertification
No full textDuring the last century, many countries experienced considerably (direct and indirect) impacts on environmental quality that are not yet fully understood. The relationship between economic growth and the consumption of natural capital makes it difficult to identify scenarios for a truly sustainable development (Salvati, 2013). For instance, the interactions between economic development, social inequalities and governance policies, in relation with environmental quality, should be better addressed (Galeotti, 2007; Salvati et al., 2013a; Cimini et al., 2013; Corona et al., 2014; Colantoni et al., 2015a; Marchetti et al., 2015; Rontos et al., 2016). In this respect, it is essential to identify processes that act as immediate causes and those representing latent factors of land degradation, as well as to recognize their effects in both the short- and long-term. The debate on sustainable development is focusing on complex interactions between bio-physical and socioeconomic factors, debating on the possibility of reconciling different concepts of 'sustainability' with the aim to formulate strategies promoting development and environmental quality together (Arrow et al., 1995; Smiraglia et al., 2016). Land degradation is a clear example of what has been discussed so far in Mediterranean environments, where landscape and geographical characteristics are relatively fragile (Ibanez et al., 2008; Salvati et al., 2012a), human pressures have sometimes an irreversible impact on natural environments (Salvati and Zitti 2005, 2012; Bajocco et al., 2012; Salvati et al., 2012a, 2013a; Colantoni et al., 2015a; Di Feliciantonio and Salvati, 2015; Karamesouti et al., 2015; Delfanti et al., 2016; Zambon et al., 2017, 2018). In this perspective, the resulting 'net degradation' is mainly caused by anthropogenic factors (Mairota et al., 1998; Fernandez, 2002; Wilson and Juntti, 2005; Johnson and Lewis, 2007)
The Northern Shift in the Geographical Distribution of the Olive Tree – A Bioclimatic Indicator?
No full textCharacterization of biogas and syngas obtained from pellets of grape vine and sun flower husk using a pyrolysis system
No full textBiochar produced from pellet obtained from grapevine (GV) and sunflower husk (SFH) at different temperature (400 and 500 °C) were studied by pyrolysis batch reactor. Chemical and physical evolution of biomass under pyrolysis conditions was determined and products characterization was evaluated, including main organic components in gaseous stream. The Biochar is a “porous carbonaceous solid” produced by thermochemical conversion of organic materials in an oxygen depleted atmosphere, which has physiochemical properties suitable for the safe and long-term storage of carbon in the environment and, potentially, soil improvement. Results have shown a decrease in yield as an increase in temperature. The objective of this work is to improve the acknowledgment for the alternative use of the biochar gained from agro-forestry biomass residuals grapevine and sunflower husks by means of modern chemical and physical characterization tools
Moving toward the north? The spatial shift of olive groves in Italy
No full textSouthern Europe is becoming a hotspot for climate change. Appropriate mechanisation is necessary for reducing soil compacting in such contexts. The olive tree distribution – a typical Mediterranean crop – showed a well--defined latitude gradient with progressive decline moving towards the north. Climate change, however, has supposed to cause a significant shift towards the north in the geographical range of olive trees. Our study analyses the spatial distribution of the olive tree area in Italy, a region within the species' ecological range apart from the Northern region, which is now becoming progressively specialised in this crop because of local warming. Results indicate that olive cultivated area increased in Northern Italy, especially in flat districts and upland areas, while decreasing (more or less rapidly) in central and southern Italy because of land abandonment
Solar plants, environmental degradation and local socioeconomic contexts: A case study in a Mediterranean country
No full textPhotovoltaic plants developed on rural land are becoming a common infrastructure in the Mediterranean region and may contribute, at least indirectly, to various forms of environmental degradation including landscape deterioration, land take, soil degradation and loss in traditional cropland and biodiversity. Our study illustrates a procedure estimating (i) the extension of ground-mounted photovoltaic fields at the municipal scale in Italy and (ii)
inferring the socioeconomic profile of the Italian municipalities experiencing different expansion rates of groundmounted photovoltaic fields over the last years (2007-2014). The procedure was based on diachronic information derived from official data sources integrated into a geographical decision support system. Our results indicate that the surface area of ground-mounted photovoltaic fields into rural land grew continuously in Italy between 2007 and 2014 with positive and increasing growth rates observed during 2007-2011 and positive but slightly decreasing growth rates over 2012-2014, as a result of market saturation and policies containing the diffusion of solar plants on greenfields. We found important differences in the density of ground-mounted solar plants between northern and southern Italian municipalities. We identified accessible rural municipalities in southern Italy with intermediate population density and large availability of non-urban land as the most exposed to the diffusion of solar plants on greenfields in the last decade. Our approach is a promising tool to estimate changes in the use of land driven by the expansion of photovoltaic fields into rural land
The biota of the "Grotta Azzurra" of Capo Palinuro (Tyrrhenian sea): general description and first observation on its trophic organization
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