42 research outputs found
Modello matematico di flusso nei sistemi acquiferi del Veneto Centrale
No full textFor the last thirty-five years, the aquifer system of Central Veneto (Italy) has been involved by an increasing demand of water for domestic and private use and by a relevant reduction of groundwater heads. The regional groundwater model developed is a large scale model taking origins from detailed studies of the hydrogeological system. Its purpose is to provide boundary conditions for the study of flow and transport models at smaller scale and to predict the behaviour of the aquifers in conditions different from the present-day ones (changes in rainfall trend, rivers regime, soil use). The three-dimensional flow model of the aquifer systems is based on a large number of experimental data, concerning both groundwater balance (measured rain in pluviometric stations, water flux dispersed by rivers and irrigation channels, water flux springing out of the springs, water withdrawal from a large number of private and public wells) and hydraulic permeability of aquifers. A three-dimensional geological model of the system has been created by means of geological sections and stratigraphies. The flow simulations are performed using a tetrahedral finite element code. The model is calibrated on the basis of real piezometric heads and is used to analyze the interaction between the unconfined aquifer, located in the northern part of the study area, and the multiaquifer system that originates in this area and proceeds towards the sea.
The model simulates reasonably well the water flow aquifers system of Central Veneto and permits to simulate the effects of changes in withdrawal policies and/or boundary conditions relevant to the complex aquifer system. The model will allow the establishment of causal relationships between withdrawal of water (whatever the production layer, and the extracted flow rates) and the fluctuations of piezometric heads anywhere in the system. We have investigated the robustness of the model towards variations of the geological model and towards variations of the hydraulic permeability of aquifers and low permeability lenses. The implemented 3D flow model has allowed to improve the understanding of the regional groundwater system and of its hydrogeological properties. The model permits to predict the response of the system to overpumping, fluctuations in recharges, relevant land use changes, new public derivations: so it is deemed of central importance for the management of water resources in the area
Alternative conceptual models and the robustness of groundwater management scenarios in the multi-aquifer system of the Central Veneto Basin, Italy
No full textA three-dimensional (3D) groundwater flow model of the deep multi-aquifer Quaternary deposits of the Po plain sedimentary basin, within a 3,300-km(2) area (Veneto, Italy), is developed, tested and applied to aid sustainable large-scale water-resources management. Integrated mathematical modelling proves significantly successful, owing to an unusual wealth of available geological, geophysical, and hydrologic data and to state-of-the-art numerical tools. Of particular interest is the evaluation of the influence of alternative conceptual models; that is, of reconstructed representations of the 3D geological model of the structure of the aquifers. The reference conceptual model is set up by means of extended geological sections and stratigraphic records, and is used to create a large, unstructured 3D finite element grid. By analyzing the effects on piezometric surfaces and on the overall water budget of geometrical perturbations from the reference structure, alternative geo-structural models, obtained by systematically shifting the pinch-out of the aquitards, are compared. Interestingly, the impacts of aquitard pinch-out prove far from negligible. The results suggest the critical importance of reliable geological models even for large, complex 3D models. The good practice of iteratively testing numerically the impact of surprises on the conceptual model, as more field information is collected, is thus supported
Assessment of seasonal soil moisture forecasts over Central Mediterranean toward groundwater management
No full textIt is highly likely that in the near future the Mediterranean region will experience increased aridity and hydrological droughts. Therefore, seasonal forecasts of soil moisture can be a valuable resource for agriculture and for evaluating the flux in the vadose zone towards shallow unconfined aquifers. However, their accuracy in this region has not been evaluated against observations. This study presents an evaluation of soil moisture in the Central Mediterranean region (35–50° N, 5–25° E) during the period 2001–2021 using the seasonal forecast system (SEAS5) of the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). In this perspective, standardized anomalies of soil moisture are compared with observed values in ERA5-Land reanalysis of ECMWF. In terms of the average magnitude of the forecast error and the anomaly correlation coefficient, the forecasts demonstrate good performance only in certain regions of the domain for the deepest soil layer: Hungary, peninsular Italy, internal areas of the Balkan Peninsula, Provence, Sardinia, and Sicily. These regions correspond to those with the largest memory timescale of soil moisture and do not exhibit a complex orography. The obtained results show that seasonal forecasts are useful to detect wet and dry events for the deepest soil layer in the mentioned regions, with lead times of up to 6 months. In these regions, the area under the relative operating characteristic (ROC) curve can reach values larger than 0.8. For all soil layers, dry events are generally better captured than wet events; the best forecast skill, on average, is obtained for the events where the antecedent condition is correspondent to the present condition (dry after dry, wet after wet). To illustrate these features, the case study of the 2012 drought period demonstrates the capacity of the SEAS5 model to forecast such an event for central and northern Italy with a 6-month lead time. Furthermore, the close correlation between soil moisture and the observed water table in shallow unconfined aquifers in Italy underscores the significant potential of seasonal soil moisture forecasts for underground water management applications
Epidemiology of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Friuli-Venezia Giulia, North-Eastern Italy, 2002–2014: a retrospective population-based study
No full textObjectives: To describe the epidemiology of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) in Friuli-Venezia Giulia (FVG) region, Italy, over a 13-year period (2002–2014), estimating ALS (a) incidence, prevalence, and clinical features; (b) mortality, also comparing Udine municipality to the rest of FVG. Methods: We conducted a retrospective population-based study. ALS incident cases were ascertained using multiple sources and validated through expert review. We calculated crude and standardized incidence rate (IR), point prevalence and mortality rate (MR), each with 95% confidence interval. Standardized incidence (SIR) and mortality (SMR) ratio were calculated to compare Udine to FVG. Results: Among 444 incident cases (50.0% men, median age 68.5 years), onset was bulbar in 30.2%, spinal in 59.9%, mixed in 9.9%; 3.6% had familial ALS. Crude and 2000 European population standardized IR was respectively 2.81 (2.56–3.09) and 2.09 (1.89–2.29) per 100,000 person-years. Standardized male-to-female incidence ratio was 1.05. IR peaked at age 65–74 years (men: 9.93, 8.04–12.32; women: 7.74, 6.18–9.67) and decreased thereafter. Prevalence was 8.36 (6.74–9.97) cases per 100,000 inhabitants on 30 June 2009 and 7.98 (6.40–9.56) on 30 June 2014. SIR was 1.20 and SMR 1.11. Conclusions: When assessed over a long period, incidence of ALS was in the range of Italian and European population-based registries and showed a consistent pattern by age and sex. IR and MR were only slightly higher in Udine vs. FVG.</p
A population-based study of injuries to the brachial plexus and to the peripheral nerves of the shoulder girdle and upper limb in the Italian region Friuli Venezia Giulia
No full textThe aim of this study was to estimate the incidence, identify the causes, and explore treatments of the injuries to the brachial plexus and peripheral nerves of the shoulder girdle and upper limb in the 1,220,000-inhabitant Italian region Friuli Venezia Giulia.We linked at the individual patient level various administrative databases using an anonymous stochastic key: list of residents, hospital discharge, emergency department, and outpatient care prescriptions database. We abstracted hospital discharge records with at least one discharge diagnosis code ICD-9-CM 953.4 (brachial plexus) or 955.0-955.9 (upper limb). For hospitalized patients, we investigated the prescriptions of ambulatory care during the following year. Emergency department visits in the month prior to hospital admission were also assessed.From 2000 to 2015, we observed 474 hospitalizations (annual average: 61); 48% of patients received at least one prescription of outpatient physical therapy and rehabilitation in the following year, accounting for more than 25,000 visits and interventions. According to emergency department data, falls were the most common mechanism among the elderly; cuts were common among the young.This is the first population study of peripheral nerve injuries to the brachial plexus and peripheral nerves of the shoulder girdle and upper limb in Italy
The diagnostic, therapeutic and assistance pathway for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in a north-eastern Italian region: satisfaction of patients and their caregivers
No full textIn order to evaluate the users’ satisfaction degree for the diagnostic, therapeutic and assistance services for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) in the Italian region Friuli-Venezia Giulia (FVG), a self-compiled anonymous multiple-choice questionnaire was administered to ALS patients and their caregivers. The questionnaire explored 41 different issues covering the following areas: (a) access to diagnostic pathway and communication among patients, families and health professionals; (b) quality of disease monitoring and effectiveness of interventions aimed at mitigating ALS symptoms; (c) easiness of access to assistive devices (e.g. wheelchair, ankle-foot-orthosis) and home assistance; (d) patient’ choices sharing and health professionals empathy. The same issues were proposed both to patients and carers, appropriately adapting the questions, during the period between June and December 2019. The answers were categorised according to criticality level. Median with interquartile range of the numeric variables and percentages of the categorical variables and of the answers to questions were calculated. The mean percentage of satisfied users was 72.8%, considering all the areas. Pain treatment and easiness of access to ambulance transport were the most positive aspects (95.7% and 92.5% of satisfied respondents, respectively), while information about possible enrolment in clinical trials and about possible registration to the regional ALS association were the most critical issues (30.9% and 43.4% of satisfied users). Although the satisfaction level of ALS patients and their caregivers for the services provided resulted generally good, there were some areas that have to be improved. For this purpose, enhancement of multidisciplinary collaboration, sharing of points of view from users and different practitioners and rising awareness among healthcare professionals through clinical audits could be useful. Further research is needed to identify a wider range of users’ unexplored unmet needs
Sistema integrato di previsione delle piene in tempo reale nel bacino idrografico del Piave
No full textImplementazione di un sistema di previsione per la gestione delle piene in tempo reale: il Bacchiglione nel Vicentino
No full textModellazione idrologica del bacino idrografico del torrente Leogra
No full textLa presente tesi ha come scopo lo sviluppo e la taratura di un modello idrologico per la previsione degli eventi di piena del torrente Leogra. L'importanza del lavoro è connessa al ruolo fondamentale che il torrente ha nella formazione delle piene del fiume Bacchiglione a Vicenzaope
