Enhancing preparedness for managing debris from earthquakes: lessons from Italy

Natural Hazards - Earthquakes can generate large volumes of debris which may threaten public health, hinder reconstruction and impact the environment. The present paper aims at investigating how...     

On the efficiency and effectiveness of automatic deep drainage systems during an extreme rainfall event: the Mendatica landslide case study (western Liguria,Italy)

Landslides - This study presents the employment of automatic deep drainage systems to stabilize the Mendatica landslide, one of the largest relict landslides of western Liguria (north-western...     

An INSPIRE-compliant open-source GIS for fire-fighting management

Every year, there are almost 50,000 forest fires in Europe (127/day), which have burned an area equal to more than 450,000 ha. An effective management of forest fires is therefore fundamental in order to reduce the number of the fires and, especially, the related burned areas, preserving the environment and saving human lives. However, some problems still exist in the structure of information and in the harmonization of data and fire management procedures among different European countries. Pursuing the same interoperability aims, the European Union has invested in the development of the INSPIRE Directive (Infrastructure for Spatial Information in Europe) to support environmental policies. Furthermore, the EU (European Union) is currently working on developing ad hoc infrastructures for the safe management of forests and fires. Moving from this premises and following an analysis of the state of the art of information systems for forest fire-fighting, in the light of the end-user requirements, the paper presents the INSPIRE—compliant design of a geographical information system, implemented using open-source platforms.     

Crystallisation sequence and magma evolution of the De Beers dyke (Kimberley,South Africa)

We present petrographic and mineral chemical data for a suite of samples derived from the De Beers dyke, a contemporaneous, composite intrusion bordering the De Beers pipe (Kimberley, South Africa). Petrographic features and mineral compositions indicate the following stages in the evolution of this dyke: (1) production of antecrystic material by kimberlite-related metasomatism in the mantle (i.e., high Cr-Ti phlogopite); (2) entrainment of wall-rock material during ascent through the lithospheric mantle, including antecrysts; (3) early magmatic crystallisation of olivine (internal zones and subsequently rims), Cr-rich spinel, rutile, and magnesian ilmenite, probably on ascent to the surface; and (4) crystallisation of groundmass phases (i.e., olivine rinds, Fe-Ti-rich spinels, perovskite, apatite, monticellite, calcite micro-phenocrysts, kinoshitalite-phlogopite, barite, and baddeleyite) and the mesostasis (calcite, dolomite, and serpentine) on emplacement in the upper crust. Groundmass and mesostasis crystallisation likely forms a continuous sequence with deuteric/hydrothermal modification. The petrographic features, mineralogy, and mineral compositions of different units within the De Beers dyke are indistinguishable from one another, indicating a common petrogenesis. The compositions of antecrysts (i.e., high Cr-Ti phlogopite) and magmatic phases (e.g., olivine rims, magnesian ilmenite, and spinel) overlap those from the root zone intrusions of the main Kimberley pipes (i.e., Wesselton, De Beers, Bultfontein). However, the composition of these magmatic phases is distinct from those in ‘evolved’ intrusions of the Kimberley cluster (e.g., Benfontein, Wesselton water tunnel sills). Although the effects of syn-emplacement flow processes are evident (e.g., alignment of phases parallel to contacts), there is no evidence that the De Beers dyke has undergone significant pre-emplacement crystal fractionation (e.g., olivine, spinel, ilmenite). This study demonstrates the requirement for detailed petrographic and mineral chemical studies to assess whether individual intrusions are in fact ‘evolved’; and that dykes are not necessarily produced by differentiated magmas.

     

Pre-1991 sulfur transfer between mafic injections and dacite magma in the Mt. Pinatubo reservoir

Before the 1991–1992 activity, a large andesite lava dome belonging to the penultimate Pinatubo eruptive period (Buag ∼ 500 BP) formed the volcano summit. Buag porphyritic andesite contains abundant amphibole-bearing microgranular enclaves of basaltic–andesite composition. Buag enclaves have lower K₂O and incompatible trace element (LREE, U, Th) contents than mafic pulses injected in the Pinatubo reservoir during the 1991–1992 eruptive cycle. This study shows that Buag andesite formed by mingling of a hot, water-poor and reduced mafic magma with cold, hydrous and oxidized dacite. Depending on their size, enclaves experienced variable re-equilibration during mixing/mingling. Re-equilibration resulted in hydration, oxidation and transfer of mobile elements (LILE, Cu) from the dacite to the mafic melts and prompted massive amphibole crystallization. In Buag enclaves, S-bearing phases (sulfides, apatite) and melt inclusions in amphibole and plagioclase record the evolution of sulfur partition among melt, crystal and fluid phases during magma cooling and oxidation. At high temperature, sulfur is partitioned between andesitic melt and sulfides (Ni-pyrrhotite). Magma cooling, oxidation and hydration resulted in exsolution of a S–Cl–H₂O vapor phase at the S-solubility minimum near the sulfide–sulfate redox boundary. Primary magmatic sulfide (pyrrhotite) and xenocrystic sulfide grains (pyrite), recycled together with olivines and pyroxenes from old mafic intrusives, were replaced by Cu-rich phases (chalcopyrite, cubanite) and, partially, by Ba–Sr sulfate. Sulfides degassed and transformed into residual spongy magnetite in response to fS₂ drop during final magma ascent and decompression. Our research suggests that a complete evaluation of the sulfur budget at Pinatubo must take into account the en route S assimilation from the country rocks. Moreover, this study shows that the efficiency of sulfur transfer between mafic recharges and injected magmas is controlled by the extent and rate of mingling, hydrous flushing and melt oxidation. Vigorous mixing/mingling and transformation of the magmatic recharge into a spray of small enclaves is required in order to efficiently strip their primary S-content that otherwise remains locked in the sulfides. Hydrous flushing increases the magma oxidation state of the recharges and modifies their primary volatile concentrations that cannot be recovered by the study of late-formed mineral phases and melt inclusions. Conversely, S stored in both late-formed Cu-rich sulfides and interstitial rhyolitic melt represents the pre-eruptive sulfur budget immediately available for release from mafic enclaves during their decompression.     

Hazards and landscape changes (degradations) on Hungarian karst mountains due to natural and human effects

In order to study the karstological processes within the karst ecological system,the geohazards and degradation of karst landscapes on the karst areas of the Bakony mountains(Hungary),we investigated the abiotic elements of the environment,soil and cover deposits,erosion soil decay;the changes in the quantity and quality of karst waters:contamination at swallow holes,contamination of karst springs;and the biogenic factors:surface vegetation coverage by the corine land cover method,plant-ecological examinations,qualification of surface waters with the help of biological water labeling.We recognized that the increasing human activities during the past few centuries have had significant impact on the investigated landscapes of karst areas because of their spatial sensitivity.In the scope of our research we concluded that the landscape changes due to natural and human effects can vary strongly on the different karst areas.These differences can arise from the climatic and geomorphologic situation,the coverlayer’s qualities,etc.,but primarily from the different utilization of the investigated karst areas(e.g.the intensity,characteristics and territorial extension of utilization).On the spot investigation we detected traces of new and fast geomorphological processes(gully formation,landslides,collapses,new sinkhole development) and landforms(sinkholes,gullies,swallow holes),which are clear evidences of the effect of climatic changes.     

Delayed delivery from the sediment factory: modeling the impact of catchment response time to tectonics on sediment flux and fluvio‐deltaic stratigraphy

The sediment flux from a catchment is driven by tectonics and climate but is moderated by the geomorphic response of the landscape system to changes in these two boundary conditions. Consequently, catchment response time and the non‐linear behavior of landscapes in response to boundary condition change control the downstream propagation of climatic or tectonic perturbations from catchments to neighboring basins. In order to investigate the impact of catchment response time on sediment flux, we integrated a spatially‐lumped numerical model PaCMod, with new routines simulating the evolution of landscape morphology and erosion rates under tectonic and climatic forcing. We subsequently applied the model to reconstruct the sediment flux from a tectonically perturbed catchment in central Italy. Finally, we coupled our model to DeltaSim, a process‐response model simulating fluvio‐deltaic stratigraphy, and investigated the impact of catchment response time on stratigraphy, using both synthetic scenarios and a real world system (Fucino Basin, central Italy). Our results demonstrate that the differential response of geomorphic elements to tectonic and climatic changes induces a complex sediment flux signal, and produces characteristic stratigraphic architectures and shoreline trajectories. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Improved salt imaging in a basin context by high resolution potential field data: Nordkapp Basin,Barents Sea

The seismic imaging of salt diapirs in the Nordkapp Basin gave rise to considerable problems in defining their shape and volume. Independent information was added by integrating the interpretation with high resolution gravity and magnetic data. We developed a novel, iterative workflow, separated into sub‐categories: sediments, salt structures, basement and Moho. Distinctions between the sources of the anomalies from different depths was achieved by utilizing the different decay characteristics of gravity, gravity gradiometry and high resolution magnetic anomalies. The workflow was applied to the southern part of the Nordkapp Basin. It started with the sedimentary model derived from seismics, populated with measured densities and magnetic susceptibilities and a starting model for the base salt. The residual after the removal of this model was interpreted in terms of a crustal model, including flexural isostatic calculations for the Moho with the sedimentary load. The residual after the removal of crustal and early sedimentary model was used to tune the salt model. As these major and minor modelling steps depend on each other, an iterative process was applied to stepwise improve the density and magnetic susceptibility model. The first vertical gradient of gravity and the magnetic field were found to give most information about the cap rock of the diapirs. The improvement in salt imaging, integrated with results from controlled‐source electromagnetic and magneto‐telluric modelling is shown for the salt diapir Uranus, where a well, terminated in the salt, constrains the minimum of the depth to base salt.     

Linking the Recurrence Time of Earthquakes to Source Parameters: A Dream or a Real Possibility?

By using a single-degree-of-freedom spring-slider analog fault model, we generate a synthetic catalog of nearly 500 different seismic sequences. We explore the parameter space by assuming different values of constitutive parameters and tectonic environment. We also consider three different versions of the rate-dependent and state-dependent friction laws [the Dieterich-Ruina (DR), the Ruina-Dieterich (RD) and the Chester-Higgs (CH) models], and different approximations of the behavior of the friction at high sliding speeds, as well as the radiation damping effects. Our results indicate that for all the considered models, the recurrence time (T _cycle) exhibits an inverse proportionality on the loading rate; a linear, positive dependence on the effective normal stress; and a linear, negative dependence on the characteristic distance controlling the state variable evolution. These results confirm and generalize previous studies. Remarkably, we found here that the coefficients of proportionality strongly depend on the adopted friction model, on the high speed behavior and on the reference set of parameters. Notably, we also found that the positive proportionality between T _cycle and the difference b – a, confirmed for DR and RD laws, does not hold in general for the CH law. Overall, we conclude that even in the simplest (and idealized) case of characteristic earthquakes considered here, in which the limiting cycle is reached by the system, and even in the framework of a very simplified fault model, the possibility to a priori predict, through an universal analytical relation, the inter-event time of an impending earthquake still remains only a dream. On the other hand, a numerical prediction of T _cycle would require the exact knowledge of the rheological model (and its parameters at all times over the entire life of the fault) and the actual state of the fault, which indeed are often unknown.