Tectonic features of the Lipari–Vulcano complex (Aeolian archipelago,Italy) from 10 years (1996–2006) of GPS data

The tectonic deformation of the Lipari–Vulcano complex, one of the most important active volcanic areas of the Mediterranean region, is studied here through the analysis of 10 years (1996–2006) of GPS data from both three permanent and 13 non‐permanent stations. This area can be considered crucial for the understanding of the interaction between the Eurasian and African plates in the Mediterranean area, and, in general, this work emphasizes a methodological approach, already applied in other areas worldwide ( J. Geophys. Res., 1996, 101 , 27 957 ; J. Geodyn., 1999, 27 , 213 ) where geodetic data and strain parameters maps of critical areas can help to improve our understanding of their geodynamical aspects. In this framework, this study is aimed at providing a kinematic deformation model on the basis of the dense geodetically estimated velocities of the Lipari–Vulcano complex. In particular, the observed deformation pattern can be described by a combination of (1) the main N–S regional compression and (2) a NNE–SSW compression with a small right‐lateral strike slip component acting along a tectonic structure trending N°40W between the two islands. This pattern was inspected through a simplified synthetic model.     

Quaternary deformations along the ‘Engadine–Gruf tectonic system’, Swiss–Italian Alps

The Engadine Line (EL) is a seismically active fault in southeastern Switzerland. In the field we studied its western segment, presently not affected by seismicity but characterised by features suggesting neotectonic motions, and the coterminous Gruf Line. Uphill‐ and downhill‐facing scarps, offset rivers, non‐equilibrium hydrological conditions and aligned deep‐seated gravitational slope deformations are dominant in the western sector of the EL in the Inn Valley. Landform offsets and the most recent fault striations point to oblique left‐lateral strike‐slip. Close to the EL, at the Maloja Pass, a huge collapse beheaded the Inn Valley. Trench excavation with palaeoseismic analysis, stratigraphic correlations of Quaternary deposits and optically stimulated luminescence dating indicate that the collapse and faulting mostly occurred in the Late Pleistocene. In the Bregaglia Valley, the Gruf Line stretches along the southwestern extension of the EL. Six deep‐seated gravitational slope deformations developed along the Gruf Line and were dated to pre‐ and post‐Last Glacial Maximum times. We suggest that the western sector of the EL moved also in a Pleistocene time interval during which tectonic forces in the area were probably larger than at present, favouring local uplift, widespread gravity deformation, and retrogressive slope failure at the Inn Valley head. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Non-Keplerian orbits for electric sails

An electric sail is capable of guaranteeing the fulfilment of a class of trajectories that would be otherwise unfeasible through conventional propulsion systems. In particular, the aim of this paper is to analyze the electric sail capabilities of generating a class of displaced non-Keplerian orbits, useful for the observation of the Sun’s polar regions. These orbits are characterized through their physical parameters (orbital period and solar distance) and the spacecraft propulsion capabilities. A comparison with a solar sail is made to highlight which of the two systems is more convenient for a given mission scenario. The optimal (minimum time) transfer trajectories towards the displaced orbits are found with an indirect approach.     

Earthquake early warning feasibility in the Campania region (southern Italy) and demonstration system for public school buildings

We present the results of a feasibility study of an earthquake early warning system (EEWS) for the Campania region (southern Italy) using schools as specific targets. The study considered the seismogenic zones as sources of potential earthquakes for the area, the Italian accelerometric network as the recording network for seismic event occurrence, and the performances of the software platform PRESTo ^Plus for data analysis and processing. We analyze the distribution of lead-times for all possible threatening seismic sources for each municipality in the region under study by extracting the lead-time value corresponding to the 5th, 10th and 25th percentiles of the distributions. We discuss the results for the 5th percentile in order to analyze the worst-case scenario: in the case of a single site, the lead-time is expected to be larger than this value in the 95 % of the cases. Since the population distribution in Campania is uneven and most of the people live nearby the coast, whilst the most destructive earthquakes occur along the Apennine chain, we can conclude that an efficient EEWS can allow most of the schools in the area to undertake some mitigating actions. The testing of the EEWS was carried out in the high school ITIS ‘E. Majorana’, located at Somma Vesuviana, about 80 km from the seismogenic Irpinia region. For this purpose, the Sentinel, an actuator made up of low-cost hardware (i.e., Arduino^®), was developed in close cooperation with students and teachers of the school to receive alert messages from the PRESTo ^Plus platform and warn the school users in case of a seismic event. The EEWS and the Sentinel were successfully tested during some blind drills performed during normal school activities.     

4. Building of a Habitable Planet

Except the old Jack Hills zircon crystals, it does not exit direct record of the first 500 Ma of the Earth history. Consequently, the succession of events that took place during this period is only indirectly known through geochemistry, comparison with other telluric planets, and numerical modelling. Just after planetary accretion several episodes were necessary in order to make life apparition and development possible and to make the Earth surface habitable. Among these stages are: the core differentiation, the formation of a magma ocean, the apparition of the first atmosphere, oceans and continents as well as the development of magnetic field and of plate tectonics. In the same time, Earth has been subject to extraterrestrial events such as the Late Heavy Bombardment (LHB) between 3.95 and 3.8 Ga. Since 4.4–4.3 Ga, the conditions for pre-biotic chemistry and appearance of life were already met (liquid water, continental crust, no strong meteoritic bombardment, etc...). This does not mean that life existed as early, but this demonstrates that all necessary conditions assumed for life development were already present on Earth.     

Damping‐adjusted combination rule for the response spectrum analysis of base‐isolated buildings

The classical response spectrum method continues to be the most popular approach for designing base‐isolated buildings, therefore avoiding computationally expensive nonlinear time‐history analyses. In this framework, a new method for the seismic analysis and design of building structures with base isolation system (BIS) is formulated and numerically validated, which enables one to overcome the main shortcomings of existing techniques based on the response spectrum method. The main advantages are the following: first, reduced computational effort with respect to an exact complex‐valued modal analysis, which is obtained through a transformation of coordinates in two stages, both involving real‐valued eigenproblems; second, effective representation of the damping, which is pursued by consistently defining different viscous damping ratios for the modes of vibration of the coupled BIS‐superstructure dynamic system; and third, ease of use, because a convenient reinterpretation of the combination coefficients leads to a novel damping‐adjusted combination rule, in which just a single response spectrum is required for the reference value of the viscous damping ratio. The proposed approach is specifically intended for design situations where (i) the dynamic behaviour of seismic isolators can be linearised and (ii) effects of nonproportional damping, as measured by modal coupling indexes, are negligible in the BIS‐superstructure assembly. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fluids in early stage hydrothermal alteration of high-sulfidation epithermal systems: A view from the Vulcano active hydrothermal system (Aeolian Island,Italy)

High-sulfidation (HS) epithermal systems have elements in common with passively degassing volcanoes associated with high T, acid fumarole fields or acid crater lakes. They are considered to form in two stages, the first of which involves advanced argillic alteration resulting from intense, strongly acidic fluid–rock interaction. The La Fossa hydrothermal system (Vulcano Island) represents a classic example of such an active HS system and can be considered as a modern analogue of this early stage of alteration, resulting in a core of intense silicic (90–95% pure SiO₂) alteration surrounded by alunitic alteration zones.     

A robust empirical model to estimate earthquake-induced excess pore water pressure in saturated and non-saturated soils

In engineering practice, the liquefaction potential of a sandy soil is usually evaluated with a semi-empirical, stress-based approach computing a factor of safety in free field conditions, defined as the ratio between the liquefaction resistance (capacity) and the seismic demand. By so doing, an estimate of liquefaction potential is obtained, but nothing is known on the pore pressure increments (often expressed in the form of normalized pore pressure ratio r_u) generated by the seismic action when the safety factor is higher than 1. Even though r_u can be estimated using complex numerical analyses, it would be extremely useful to have a simplified procedure to estimate them consistent with the stress-based approach adopted to check the safety conditions. This paper proposes such a procedure with reference to both saturated and unsaturated soils, considering the latter as soils for which partial saturation has been artificially generated with some ground improvement technology to increase cyclic strength and thus tackle liquefaction risk. A simple relationship between the liquefaction free field safety factor FS, and r_u(S_r) is introduced, that generalizes a previous expression proposed by Chiaradonna and Flora (Geotech Lett, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1680/jgele.19.00032) for saturated soils. The new procedure has been successfully verified against some experimental data, coming from laboratory constant amplitude cyclic tests and from centrifuge tests with irregular acceleration time histories for soils having different gradings and densities.

     

The distal segment of Etna’s 2001 basaltic lava flow

Etna’s 2001 basaltic lava flow provided a good example of the distal flow segment between the flow front and stable channel, across which the flow evolves from channel-contained to dispersed. This zone was mapped with meter precision using LIDAR data collected during 2004 and 2005. These data, supported by field mapping, show that the flow front comprised eight lobes each 10 to 20 m high. The flow front appears to have advanced not as a single unit, but as a series of lobes moving forward one lobe at a time. Primary lobes were centered on the channel axis and marginal lobes were off-axis. The lobes advanced as breakouts of low-yield-strength lava from the flow core of the stalled flow front. Marginal lobes were abandoned and contributed to marginal levees flanking the transitional channel. For Etna’s 2001 flow, the transitional channel is 140 m wide, 700 m long and fed a 240-m-long zone of dispersed flow; the change from stable to transitional channel occurred at a major reduction in slope. Above this, the stable channel is 5.2 km long, 55 to 105 m wide and bounded by 15- to 25-m-high levees, and the stable channel is located over a previous channel. In a final stage of activity, lava ponding at the break-in-slope that marks the terminus of the stable channel put pressure on the eastern levee, causing it to fail. Liberated lava then fed a final break-out to the east. Similar flow front-features occur at other volcanoes, indicating that similar processes are characteristic of dispersed flow zones.