Metal fluxes to the sediments of the northern Venice Lagoon

Eighteen short cores were analyzed for major and trace metals (Al, Fe, Ca, Mg, Mn, Si, K, Ti, Pb, Zn, Cu, Ni, Cr), ²¹⁰Pb, ¹³⁷Cs, and other sediment characteristics, so as to describe the chronology of pollution and calculate metal concentration factors and fluxes. Substantial evidence was found that trace metal profiles are influenced by anthropogenic sources and by changes in sediment composition. Only Zn presents concentrations (up to 13.1 μmol g⁻) and concentration factors (1.3 to 13.2) that can be attributed to heavy contamination. Pb, Cu and Ni, in this order, are less significant. The areal distribution of concentrations and inventories reflects the importance of direct sources, in particular the industrial area of Porto Marghera and the Dese river. The inventories of excess metals, above pre-industrial levels, were determined for each core and the three different parts of the study area, the amounts of Zn accumulated in sediments are 11.0 Mmol, 5.1 Mmol and 0.37 Mmol in the Campalto, S. Erasmo, and Palude di Cona areas, respectively. Ruxes were also calculated and compared with those suggested for the atmospheric delivery by Cochran et al. [(1995)b. Atmospheric fluxes of heavy metal contaminants to the Venice Lagoon, Rapp. Comm. Int. Mer Médit., 34, 136.], the atmospheric contribution is predominant or significant in many cases, especially at sites far from the major local inputs. Concentrations and fluxes show a significant increase in the anthropogenic metal supply starting from the second decade of this century, with maximum inputs in the period between the (1930)s and the (1970)s. At some stations a decrease in heavy metal contamination of surficial sediments was found and this could be ascribed to a reduced input of pollutants in recent years.     

A numerical procedure for predicting rainfall‐induced movements of active landslides along pre‐existing slip surfaces

A numerical model to predict landslide movements along pre‐existing slip surfaces from rainfall data is presented. The model comprises: a transient seepage finite‐element analysis to compute the variations of pore water pressures due to rainfall; a limit equilibrium stability analysis to compute the factors of safety along the slip surface associated with transient pore pressure conditions; an empirical relationship between the factor of safety and the rate of displacement of the slide along the slip surface; an optimization algorithm for the calibration of analyses and relationships based on available monitoring data. The model is validated with reference to a well‐monitored active slide in central Italy, characterized by very slow movements occurring within a narrow band of weathered bedrock overlaid by a clayey silt colluvial cover. The model is conveniently divided and presented in two parts: a groundwater model and a kinematic model. In the first part, monthly recorded rainfall data are used as time‐dependent flow boundary conditions of the transient seepage analysis, while piezometric levels are used to calibrate the analysis by minimizing the errors between monitoring data and computed pore pressures. In the second part, measured inclinometric movements are used to calibrate the empirical relationship between the rate of displacement along the slip surface and the factor of safety, whose variation with time is computed by a time‐dependent stability analysis. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Multiwavelength study of M33's giant H ii regions NGC 588 and NGC 592

We present a detailed multiwavelength photometric study of giant H  ii regions NGC 592 and NGC 588 in the nearby small spiral galaxy M33. We use data taken with the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2) on board the Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ). We detect several massive stars in both ionizing clusters. Six Wolf–Rayet (WR) stars are known to exist within those regions and we are able to constrain their physical properties by comparing their photometry to the latest grid of model atmospheres for WR stars of the nitrogen sequence (WN subclass). We estimate the age and mass of both regions by fitting our photometry to models of integrated stellar populations.     

Transpressional tectonics and nappe stacking along the Southern Variscan Front of Morocco

The Southern Variscan Front in the Tinerhir area involves Palaeozoic allochthonous units (Ouaklim and Tilouine units) thrust onto the northern edge of the West African Craton during late Carboniferous time. Illite crystallinity data highlight an anchizonal grade for the Ouaklim Unit, and a diagenesis-anchizone transition for the Tilouine Unit during deformation phase D1. The tectonic stack is crosscut by major dextral reverse faults bounding E–W trending domains of dominant shortening deformation (central domain) and strike-slip deformation (northern and southern domains), later segmented by a network of post-Variscan faults. This complex deformation pattern is the result of kinematic partitioning of dextral transpression along the Southern Variscan Front, coeval with the Neovariscan (300–290 Ma) oblique convergence observed at the scale of the whole Moroccan Variscides. Partitioning of dextral transpression described in the Tinerhir area is consistent with dextral wrench faulting along the Tizi n’ Test Fault, and with Appalachian-style south-directed thrusting in the Tinerhir and Bechar-Bou Arfa areas.     

Radiocarbon Data on Lateglacial and Holocene Landslides in the Northern Apennines

The Emilia Romagna slope of the Northern Apennines is strewnwith over 32,000 landslides, 5,000 of which are larger than 1 million cubic metres. They representthe remains of geomorphic agents that shaped the Apennines during the Holocene. Dating themby means of radiocarbon methods adds a contribution to the knowledge about the last periodof the geological geomorphological history of the Apennines. They can also be used to examinethe influence of Quaternary climatic changes on the instability of slopes and, for practicalor planning functions, to assess the periodicity of activity phases of the landslides. Thedating has been carried out on wood remnants buried under the landslide bodies. In some cases theentire tree trunk was found.In this paper we present radiocarbon dating of 20 casestudies in the Northern Apennines. Results range approximately from 13790–13670 cal y BP to950–790 cal`y BP. The oldest case is that of the Morsiano earth-flow, while the younger datedevent is represented by the Marano case that represents an example of how radiometric analysescan further enhance the available historical data. In the Cavola case, wood remnants of different ageswere found at different depths (from 9 to 45 m), allowing the dating of the first and followingperiods of activity of the landslide. The results are discussed and some considerations on the correlationbetween landslide occurrence and Holocene climate changes are proposed.     

Modeling endogenous learning and imperfect competition effects in climate change economics

In this two-part paper we evaluate the effect of “endogenizing” technological learning and strategic behavior of agents in economic models used to assess climate change policies. In the first part we show the potential impact of R&D policies or demonstration and deployment (D&D) programs in the context of stringent stabilization scenarios. In the second part we show how game-theoretic methods can be implemented in climate change economic models to take into account three types of strategic interactions: (i) the market power of the countries benefiting from very low abatement costs on international markets for CO₂ emissions, (ii) the strategic behavior of governments in the domestic allocation of CO₂ emissions quotas, and (iii) the non-cooperative behavior of countries and regions in the burden sharing of CO₂ concentration stabilization. The two topics of endogenous learning and game-theoretic approach to economic modeling are two manifestations of the need to take into account the strategic behavior of agents in the evaluation of climate change policies. In the first case an R&D policy or a demonstration and deployment (D&D) program are put in place in order to attain a cost reduction through the learning effect; in the second case the agents (countries) reply optimally to the actions decided by the other agents by exploiting their strategic advantages. Simulations based on integrated assessment models illustrate the approaches. These studies have been conducted under the Swiss NCCR-Climate program.     

Analytical Solutions for Free-Hydrocarbon Recovery Using Skimmer and Dual-Pump wells

Accidental release of petroleum hydrocarbons to the subsurface may occur through spills around refineries, leaking pipelines, storage tanks, or other sources. If the spill is large, the hydrocarbon liquids may eventually reach a water table and spread laterally in a pancake-like lens. Hydrocarbons that exist as a separate phase are termed light nonaqueous phase liquids (LNAPLs). The portion of the LNAPL that is mobile, not entrapped as residual saturation, is termed "free product."
This paper presents new analytical solutions for the design of long-term free-product recovery from aquifers with skimmer, single- and dual-pump wells. The solutions are for steady-state flow, based on the assumption of vertical equilibrium, and include the effect of coning of LNAPL, air, and water on flow. The solutions are valid for soils of large hydraulic conductivity where the effect of capillary pressure on coning is small.
The results show how to estimate the maximum rate of inflow of LNAPL for skimmer wells, i.e., wells in which LNAPL is recovered with little or no water production. The paper also shows how to calculate the increase in LNAPL recovery when water is pumped by single- or dual-pump wells. A simple equation is given that can be used to adjust the water rate to avoid smearing of the LNAPL below the water table.