1,721,299 research outputs found
Landslide mapping and monitoring by using radar and optical remote sensing: Examples from the EC-FP7 project SAFER
No full textThis paper focuses on the Landslide Thematic services of the EU-funded FP7-SPACE project SAFER (Services and Applications For Emergency Response) for inventory mapping, monitoring and rapid mapping by using Earth Observation (EO). We exploited satellite Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) and Object-Based Image Analysis (OBIA), and discuss example applications in South Tyrol and Abruzzo (Italy), Lower Austria (Austria), Lubietova (Slovakia) and the Kaohsiung County (Taiwan). These case studies showcase the significance of radar and optical EO data, InSAR and OBIA methods for landslide mapping and monitoring in different geological environments and during all phases of emergency management: mitigation, preparedness, crisis and recovery. © 2016 The Author
Ground deformation and associated hazards in NW peloponnese (Greece)
No full textIn the last decades, ground deformations were investigated, analysed and monitored using several methods. As a consequence of a spreading urbanization, several phenomena, e.g. landslide and subsidence, were emphasized or triggered causing not only socio-economic damages, but, in some cases, also casualties. The investigation and mapping of these phenomena are important for both local authorities and civil protection in order to promote a higher conscientious urban planning and to highlight the more hazardous areas. Furthermore, the information are a key point for social development connected to the awareness of the environment and the related risk. The Achaia prefecture, in the north-eastern Peloponnese (Greece), close to the Gulf of Patras, is an area strongly affected by subsidence and landslides. Furthermore, this is an earthquake-prone area, a factor that can trigger some mass movements. For this region, a landslide inventory was realized with the help of the interpretation of Persistent Scatterers data, for the period 1992–2008, and high-resolution optical satellite images, available until 2016, in addition to the investigation of the landslide State of Activity. Moreover, for the coastal area, a section was investigated to evidence subsidence. © 2018, © 2018 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group
Remote sensing techniques using Landsat ETM+ applied to the detection of iron ore deposits in Western Africa
No full textRemote sensing methods enable the rapid and inexpensive mapping of surface geological and mineralogical features. This capability proves highly useful when working on isolated or inaccessible areas. In this study, several enhancements of Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus (i.e. band ratios, false colour composites and principal component analysis) were used and evaluated to obtain the best possible visualisation of iron deposits hosted in the Devonian sedimentary rocks of northwestern Africa. In particular, two test sites were chosen: southern Algeria (Djebilet area), where the literature mineralogical and geological data on iron mine fields were already available, and the Western Sahara (the southern flank of Tindouf Basin), which was investigated during a field campaign and was where the occurrence of an analogous sedimentary succession led us to hypothesise the possible presence of exploitable iron deposits. This work demonstrates the usefulness of multispectral imagery in the detection of iron-rich areas and establishes a full remote sensing procedure, which can be profitably applied to a wider region of Western Sahara and can provide interesting perspectives on the possibility of detecting new exploitable iron ore deposits in arid environments. © 2012 Saudi Society for Geosciences
Pre-eruptive ground deformation of Azerbaijan mud volcanoes detected through satellite radar interferometry (DInSAR)
No full textMud volcanism is a process that leads to the extrusion of subsurface mud, fragments of country rocks, saline waters and gases. This mechanism is typically linked to hydrocarbon traps, and the extrusion of this material builds up a variety of conical edifices with a similar morphology to those of magmatic volcanoes, though smaller in size. The Differential Interferometry Synthetic Aperture Radar (DInSAR) technique has been used to investigate the ground deformation related to the activity of the mud volcanoes of Azerbaijan. The analysis of a set of wrapped and unwrapped interferograms, selected according to their coherence, allowed the detection of significant superficial deformation related to the activity of four mud volcanoes. The ground displacement patterns observed during the period spanning from October 2003 to November 2005 are dominated by uplift, which reach a cumulative value of up to 20 and 10. cm at the Ayaz-Akhtarma and Khara-Zira Island mud volcanoes, respectively. However, some sectors of the mud volcano edifices are affected by subsidence, which might correspond to deflation zones that coexist with the inflation zones characterized by the dominant uplift. Important deformation events, caused by fluid pressure and volume variations, have been observed both (1) in connection with main eruptive events in the form of pre-eruptive uplift, and (2) in the form of short-lived deformation pulses that interrupt a period of quiescence. Both deformation patterns show important similarities to those identified in some magmatic systems. The pre-eruptive uplift has been observed in many magmatic volcanoes as a consequence of magma intrusion or hydrothermal fluid injection. Moreover, discrete short-duration pulses of deformation are also experienced by magmatic volcanoes and are repeated over time as multiple inflation and deflation events
DInSAR analysis reveals bulging of Azerbaijan mud volcano edifices before an eruption
No full textMud volcanism consists in the surface extrusion of gases, saline waters and mud breccias, which produce conical edifices of various sizes with morphology similar to that of magmatic volcanoes. In this work, DInSAR technique has been used to investigate the ground deformation related to the activity of Azerbaijan mud volcanoes during the period October 2003-November 2005. This work focuses on two important deformation events at the Ayaz-Akhtarma and Khara-Zira mud volcanoes. The ground deformations at mud volcanoes are generally originated by fluid pressure and volume variations in the reservoir. The observed deformation pattern is characterized by pre-eruptive inflation that reaches a cumulative value of up to 20 cm at Ayaz-Akhtarma in about two years. Similar pre-eruptive bulging has been observed at magmatic volcanoes, where uplift is typically associated with magma intrusion. We conclude that mud and magmatic volcanoes display some similarities in the behavior of ground deformation during pre-eruptive stages
Multitemporal landslides inventory map updating using spaceborne SAR analysis
No full textDeep seated gravitational slope deformation and slow moving landslides on large areas were analyzed by spaceborne SAR interferometry: a test site in the Italian Alps of about 300 km2 was selected for updating pre-existing landslide inventory maps based on the advanced interferometric processing technique (A-DInSAR). SAR images from ERS-1/2 satellites (1995-2000) and from Envisat satellite (2002-2009) have been used, allowing the deferred-time analysis of past movements and the record of recent slope movements. In the multi-temporal updated landslide inventory database, the characteristics of the landslides were highlighted: geometry, state of activity, typology, monitoring systems, interventions, source of information and the updating time and actions. Furthermore, for each landslide area, the occurrence of persistent scatterers points and the statistical description of their velocities were reported. This methodology may allow the systematic updating of landslides inventory maps keeping all information on each landslide, becoming the basic tool for the realization and updating of thematic maps such as the landslide susceptibility map. © 2014 The Authors
Persistent Scatterer Interferometry analysis of ground deformation in the Po Plain (Piacenza-Reggio Emilia sector, Northern Italy): Seismo-tectonic implications
No full textThis work aims to explore the ongoing tectonic activity of structures in the outermost sector of the Northern Apennines, which represents the active leading edge of the thrust belt and is dominated by compressive deformation. We have applied the Persistent Scatterer Interferometry (PSI) technique to obtain new insights into the present-day deformation pattern of the frontal area of the Northern Apennine. PSI has proved to be effective in detecting surface deformation of wide regions involved in low tectonic movements. We used 34 Envisat images in descending geometry over the period of time between 2004 and 2010, performing about 300 interferometric pairs. The analysis of the velocity maps and of the PSI time-series has allowed to observe ground deformation over the sector of the Po Plain between Piacenza and Reggio Emilia. The time-series of permanent GPS stations located in the study area, validated the results of the PSI technique, showing a good correlation with the PS time-series. The PS analysis reveals the occurrence of a well-known subsidence area on the rear of the Ferrara arc, mostly connected to the exploitation of water resources. In some instances, the PS velocity pattern reveals ground uplift (with mean velocities ranging from 1 to 2.8 mm yr-1) above active thrust-related anticlines of the Emilia and Ferrara folds, and part of the Pede-Apennine margin.We hypothesize a correlation between the observed uplift deformation pattern and the growth of the thrust-related anticlines. As the uplift pattern corresponds to known geological features, it can be used to constrain the seismo-tectonic setting, and a working hypothesis may involve that the active Emilia and Ferrara thrust folds would be characterized by interseismic periods possibly dominated by aseismic creep. © The Authors 2016
Structural characterization of cadmium sulfide selenide (Cd(Se, S))-doped glasses
No full textTwo Cd(Se, S)-doped glasses, one richer in selenium and the other richer in sulphur, were examined by X-ray scattering (at high and at small angles) in order to determine with high precision the stoichiometry of the microcrystalline phase as well as the crystallite/particle average size and size distribution. The peak profile broadening analysis, carried out by best-fitting methods, has shown the presence of microstrains inside the dispersed crystalline particles. This result agrees with very recent HRTEM observations. Particle sizes, as determined by SAXS, are shown to agree very well with the corresponding ones determined by SANS
Plasmonic enhanced solar cells: Summary of possible strategies and recent results
No full textPlasmonic structures for light manipulation at sub-wavelength scale have received great interest in the field of photovoltaic (PV) solar cells for their potential to significantly enhance the cell's efficiency. The performance of any solar cell is determined by the capability to absorb incoming light and produce electric charges, which, in turn, has a number of limiting factors. One is related to the ever-reducing size and acceptance angle of the active region. Another is the limited spectral sensitivity of the active material, which cannot make use of significant parts of the solar spectrum. Correspondingly, the energy harvesting may be improved in two ways, namely by adopting light trapping schemes and by exploiting spectral modification processes to shift frequencies of the solar spectrum, which are initially not absorbed, into the region of maximum absorption of the cell. Plasmonic nanoparticles (NPs) can give a significant boost to both these aspects, by scattering and concentrating the electromagnetic field into the active region of the device, and by doing that within specific spectral regions, which can be properly tuned by optimizing the size, shape, distribution of the plasmonic NPs, and by choosing the right surrounding medium. During the last ten years, many papers have been published on very specific issues, but also on general properties of plasmonics applied to solar cells, with a strong increase between 2006 and 2012, followed by a period of significant, but stable, literature productivity. Given these premises, an organized and schematic summary of the main strategies and of the recent results on the field is given in this review, where different plasmonic approaches are compared and discussed, also by recalling specific examples from the literature and providing a few key conclusions to understand the main aspects and the future perspectives of the field
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