1,720,960 research outputs found
Multiscalar approach to assess the environmental geochemical risks from top soils in the Campania Region (Italy)
No full textA regional approach to the environmental risk assessment - Human health risk assessment case study in the Campania region
No full textEnvironmental quality is fundamental for the wellbeing of human life. Environmental risk assessment and analysis have a crucial role in the evaluation of human health risk, especially in intensive urbanized and industrialized areas, such as the Campania region (Italy). In Italy, after the Legislative Decree 152/2006, the environmental risk assessment has become mandatory for contaminated lands such as brownfield sites.
For the purposes of the present study 3535 topsoil samples were collected across the whole regional territory. The concentrations of 53 elements have been determined by aqua regia extraction followed by a combination of ICP-MS and ICP-AES methods.
A new approach to assess/rank environmental risk was applied by using geospatial analysis in a GIS platform to adapt a European-wide accepted methodology for the preliminary assessment of human health risks at single contaminated sites to a regional scale.
The methodology chosen for the risk assessment procedures is the PRA.MS (Preliminary Risk Assessment Model for the identification and assessment of probelm areas for Soil contamination in Europe). Following the PRA.MS guidelines, a conceptual model for the human health risk assessment in the Campania region has been based on four different exposure routes: 1) dispersion of contaminants in groundwater, 2) dispersion in surface water, 3) dispersion in air, and 4) direct contact with the contaminated media (soil). The source, pathway and receptor for each exposure route are scored fusing a quantitative or qualitative analysis of some characteristic features (parameters).
A total of 14 representative parameters were chosen, based on the available regional data for Campania. Starting from the values of these parameters, the information is aggregated to higher levels in several steps, adopting a mixed additive and multiplicative algorithm, up to the overall risk score. The final risk map is classified into four risk classes. This map is useful for identifying high risk areas, where monitoring and more detailed analysis has to be carried out
Isotopic microanalysis sheds light on the magmatic endmembers feeding volcanic eruptions: The Astroni 6 case study (Campi Flegrei, Italy).
No full textSr-isotopic microanalysis has been performed on selected minerals from the Campi Flegrei caldera, together with Sr and Nd isotopic ratio determinations on bulk mineral and glass fractions. The aim was a better characterization of the chemically homogeneous, but isotopically distinct magmatic components which fed volcanic eruptions of the caldera over the past 5. ka, in order to enhance our knowledge about one of the most dangerous volcanoes on Earth. Information on the involved magmatic endmembers, unobtainable by analyzing the isotopic composition of whole rock samples and bulk mineral fractions, has been acquired through high-precision determination of 87Sr/86Sr on single crystals and microdrilled mineral powders. We focused our investigations on the products emplaced during the Astroni 6 eruption (4.23calka BP), assumed representative of the expected event in case of renewed volcanic activity in the Campi Flegrei caldera. Data on single crystals and microdrilled mineral powders have been compared with Sr and Nd isotopic compositions of bulk mineral fractions from products emplaced during the whole Astroni activity, which included seven distinct eruptions. The 87Sr/86Sr ratios of single crystals and microdrilled mineral powders are in the 0.7060 to 0.7076 range, much wider than that of bulk mineral fractions, which range from 0.7066 to 0.7076. Moreover, the Sr isotopic ratios are inversely correlated to 143Nd/144Nd. The new data allow us to better define the magmatic endmembers involved in mingling/mixing processes that occurred prior to/during the Astroni activity. One magmatic endmember, characterized by average 87Sr/86Sr ratio of ~0.70750, was quite common in the past 15ka activity of the Campi Flegrei caldera; the other, as evidenced by the isotopic composition of single feldspar and clinopyroxene crystals, is less enriched in radiogenic Sr (87Sr/86Sr ~0.70724). The latter is interpreted to represent a new magmatic component that entered the Campi Flegrei caldera feeding system in the past 5ka, the previously recognized Astroni 6 component. However, diopside crystals in Astroni 6 are characterized by even lower 87Sr/86Sr, in the range of 0.7060-0.7068 and by the highest 143Nd/144Nd ratios measured in the products of Astroni activity. These diopsides may represent another common magmatic component, as they have been found in most of the Phlegrean Volcanic District products emplaced over the past 75ka. These diopsides, crystallized in a mantle-derived mafic magma, were entrapped by the Astroni 6 magma during ascent, before it mingled/mixed with the more differentiated and enriched in radiogenic Sr resident magma, thus attaining an intermediate Sr-Nd isotopic fingerprint. These results have an important outcome on the understanding of the volcano behavior, as renewed activity can be triggered by the arrival of fresh magma in the feeding system that would mingle/mix with the resident magma. Such an event may be able to start an unrest phase at the volcano that could last for years or decades, perhaps culminating in a new eruption
Atlante geochimico–ambientale dei suoli della Campania
No full textL’Atlante illustra i risultati ottenuti dalle indagini sui suoli superficiali della Campania. Su un’area di 13.595 Km2 sono stati raccolti 3.535 campioni di suolo e analizzati con una metodologia che combina l’ICP–MS (Spettrometria di massa al plasma accoppiato induttivamente) e l’ICP–ES (Spettrometria a emissione al plasma accoppiato induttivamente). Per ogni elemento chimico sono riportate le proprietà, le applicazioni, gli effetti sulla salute, nonché la distribuzione geochimica in Campania. Le carte geochimico–ambientali che compongono il volume rappresentano una “fotografia” risalente al momento del campionamento e potranno essere utilizzate in futuro come riferimento per la valutazione dell’impatto ambientale delle attività antropiche presenti sul territorio. Sono anche uno strumento di notevole valenza ambientale, soprattutto per quanto concerne la valutazione dei tenori di fondo (background) dei vari elementi chimici esaminati
Advanced geochemical survey and environmental multiscalar risk assessment methodologies applied on topsoils of Campania region (Italy) and in selected areas with high anthropic impact
Get PDFEnvironmental quality is fundamental for the well being of human life. Environmental risk assessment and analysis have a crucial role for guaranteeing the safety of the population, especially in intensive urbanized and industrialized areas, such as the Campania region (Italy). In Italy, after the Legislative Decree 152/2006, the environmental risk assessment has become mandatory for contaminated lands such as brownfields and dismantled industrial activities. Despite the importance and fragility of the soil, it is rarely taken into account as a resource to be preserved. Moreover, due to the heterogeneity of many variables involved in the process, the environmental and human health risk assessments are used at the scale of a site, while the regional evaluation is very difficult, and keeps the administration sceptical in taking it into account for land planning and decision-making processes.
During the last years, some international methodologies for ecological and human health risk assessment have been developed by national environmental agencies in many industrialized countries. An idea recently took place regarding the protection of soils: the monitoring of soil should be limited only to risk areas, as opposed to monitoring systems covering the entire territory. Focusing monitoring in selected areas would help to define priorities, increase efficiency of monitoring activities and reduce the monitoring costs. This is the reason why many methodologies for preliminary and simplified risk assessment of (potentially) contaminated sites, for the prioritization and planning of soil remediation and protection programmes, were developed.
The only lack that these methodologies have is the absence of the spatial analysis. The aim of this research was to implement the human health risk assessment. For the purposes of the study we used 3535 topsoil samples, collected across the whole regional territory. The concentrations of 53 elements have been determined at Bureau Veritas Analytical Lab. Ltd (Vancouver, Canada), by means of an Aqua Regia extraction followed by a combination of ICP-MS and ICP-AES methods. After the statistical and cartographic elaboration of these regional dataset, we integrated one of the model of relative risk assessment for single contaminated sites with spatial analysis procedures. In order to support the spatial assessment of contaminated sites at the regional scale, the most suitable tool is the Geographic Information System (GIS). A new approach was applied, in order to assess/rank environmental risk by using geospatial analysis in a GIS platform to adapt a European-wide accepted methodology for the preliminary assessment of human health risks at single contaminated sites to a regional scale. The developed regional risk assessment methodology can be used by the regional administrations to select at regional level the "problem or priority areas". The identification of the problem areas is necessary for developing an efficient monitoring system and to produce a ranking of the risky areas to be used as a reference in determining the development of intervention plans, for better addressing the resources dedicated to the environmental remediation of widely contaminated regions.
The methodology chosen as a reference for the risk assessment procedures is the PRA.MS (Preliminary risk assessment model for the identification of problem areas for soil contamination in Europe, 2005). Following the PRA.MS guidelines, a conceptual model for the human health risk assessment for the Campania region has been based on four different exposure routes: 1) dispersion of contaminants in groundwater, 2) dispersion in surface water, 3) dispersion in air, 4) direct contact with the contaminated media (soils). The source, the pathway and the receptor for each of the exposure route are scored on the base of a quantitative or qualitative analysis of some featuring characteristics (parameters).
A total of 14 representative parameters were chosen, basing on the available regional data for Campania. Starting from these parameters values, the information is aggregated to higher levels in several steps, adopting a mixed additive and multiplicative algorithm, up to the overall risk score. The final risk map is classified according four classes of risk.
This map was useful to identify the problem areas, characterized by a higher risk, where more detailed analysis had to be carried out. The identified area was located in a wide territory in the center of Campania region, between Avellino and Salerno municipalities, an high populated zone, where intensive agricultural and industrial activities are well developed. A high density survey has been carried out in this priority area; the concentrations of 53 elements have been measured on 102 new topsoil samples, followed by statistic and cartographic elaboration of the 15 potentially toxic elements (Sb, As, Be, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Se, Sn, Tl, V, Zn) for which the Italian legislation (D.Lgs. 152/06) established the trigger and action limits, by defining the contamination threshold values (CSC) for the amount of metals in topsoils or waters. The new methodology of GIS-based human health risk assessment has been again applied, in order to select sites of particular significance in terms of danger for the resident population. Some small areas characterized by high risk have been identified. New in situ measurements and classic follow up risk assessment should be here carried out to confirm if remediation actions are needed to guaranteeing the safety of the population.
Other works has been contemporaneously elaborated during the PhD. Six months have been spent at the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK), where a work on a humus samples dataset have been carried out, under the supervision of Dr. Timo Tarvainen. Moreover a new Geochemical Atlas will be completed based on inorganic elements and organic compounds concentrations in marine sediments samples, collected in the Gulfs of Naples and Salerno
Going Beyond Counting First Authors in Author Co-citation Analysis
Get PDFThe 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
Get PDF“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
Get PDFWe 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
Get PDFWe 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
- …
