Paleoecological evidence for diatom response to metal pollution in Lake Orta (N. Italy)

Diatom remains were analysed in two short sediment cores from a subalpine Italian lake (Lake Orta), known for its major industrial pollution dating from the late 1920s, which has only recently been stopped. Copper was recognised as the main toxic agent for diatoms during the first 30 years of pollution (peak value: 100 g l-1 in the late 1950s). A diatom community similar to other deep subalpine lakes existed in the past, and was disrupted by the pollution events. Acute and long-term effects of Cu contamination were tracked by changes in three distinct groups of species around the sharp boundary corresponding to the onset of the pollution. These groups were respectively composed of: (1) Species quickly extirpated by the discharge, mostly belonging to Fragilaria and Cyclotella and never reappearing; (2) Species apparently not affected, or not immediately affected, by the pollution, showing no definite trends with time. Synedra species, with various deformities, were conspicuous among these; (3) Species with accumulation rates increasing with time irrespective of pollution, mostly belonging to Achnanthes. Properties and tolerances of these groups (e.g. Synedra and Achnanthes) are discussed in detail.     

Three Decades of Seismic Activity at Mt. Vesuvius: 1972–2000

We analyse the seismic catalogue of the local earthquakes which occurred at Somma-Vesuvius volcano in the past three decades (1972–2000). The seismicity in this period can be described as composed of a background level, characterised by a low and rather uniform rate of energy release and by sporadic periods of increased seismic activity. Such relatively intense seismicity periods are characterised by energy rates and magnitudes progressively increasing in the critical periods. The analysis of the b value in the whole period evidences a well-defined pattern, with values of b progressively decreasing, from about 1.8 at the beginning of the considered period, to about 1.0 at present. This steady variation indicates an increasing dynamics in the volcanic system. Within this general trend it is possible to identify a substructure in the time sequence of the seismic events, formed by the alternating episodes of quiescence and activity. The analysis of the source moment tensor of the largest earthquakes shows that the processes at the seismic source are generally not consistent with simple double-couples, but that they are compatible with isotropic components, mostly indicating volumetric expansion. These components are shown to be statistically significant for most of the analysed events. Such focal mechanisms can be interpreted as the effect of explosion phenomena, possibly related to volatile exsolution from the crystallising magma. The availability of a reduced amount of high quality data necessary for the inversion of the source moment tensor, the still limited period of systematic observation of Vesuvius micro-earthquakes and, above all, the absence of eruptive events during such interval of time, cannot obviously permit the outlining of any formal premonitory signal. Nevertheless, the analysis reported in this paper indicates a progressively evolving dynamics, characterised by a generally increasing trend in the seismic activity in the volcanic system and by a significant volumetric component of recent major events, thus posing serious concern for a future evolution towards eruptive activity.     

Large slope deformations detection and monitoring along shores of the Potrerillos dam reservoir,Argentina, based on a small-baseline InSAR approach

The Argentina National Road 7 that crosses the Andes Cordillera within the Mendoza province to connect Santiago de Chile and Buenos Aires is particularly affected by natural hazards requiring risk management. Integrated in a research plan that intends to produce landslide susceptibility maps, we aimed in this study to detect large slope movements by applying a satellite radar interferometric analysis using Envisat data, acquired between 2005 and 2010. We were finally able to identify two large slope deformations in sandstone and clay deposits along gentle shores of the Potrerillos dam reservoir, with cumulated displacements higher than 25 mm in 5 years and towards the reservoir. There is also a body of evidences that these large slope deformations are actually influenced by the seasonal reservoir level variations. This study shows that very detailed information, such as surface displacements and above all water level variation, can be extracted from spaceborne remote sensing techniques; nevertheless, the limitations of InSAR for the present dataset are discussed here. Such analysis can then lead to further field investigations to understand more precisely the destabilising processes acting on these slope deformations.     

Delineation of the geometry of nodes in the Alps–Dinarides hinge zone and recognition of seismogenic nodes (M ≥ 6)

We introduce a new method based on the analysis of the topographical alignments and used to delineate the structural boundaries of the nodes, which permits the definition of relatively narrow earthquake-prone areas by the pattern recognition approach. The structurally bounded nodes capable of earthquakes with M  ≥ 6.0, identified with pattern recognition, in fact, cover a significantly smaller area of the study region as compared with that defined by Gorshkov et al. (2004) who used conventional circles. The proposed method thus improves the precision in the location of potential large earthquakes.     

Some results of coastal defences monitoring by ground laser scanning technology

A general coastal retreat affects almost all the beaches of the Apulia region (southern Italy). In particular, the coastal strip of the Gulf of Manfredonia shows an evident retreat due to human activity. To control coastal erosion, several defence interventions have been realised: breakwaters, shore parallel defences, and, above all, several types of groynes (rectilinear, hook-shaped, T-shaped) were built along the shoreline in accordance with local request. Nowadays, there are about 300 coastal defences built up to protect against human activities. A laser scanner survey of these defences, using a Leica Geosystems HDS3000, was carried out between April 2006 and September 2008 to collect data about the beach profiles and changes occurring in the defence framework. The survey work consists of 3D rendering of defences in order to make comparisons between scans of different periods. Overlap between the points cloud of the whole coastline showed that defences preserved their own profile when no human interventions took place. Moreover, throughout the length of the investigated area, not a single trend occurred in the beach profile: according to the defence framework, some stretches of coast display advancing trend, while others are stable or retreating. Therefore, this preliminary study indicated that the changes that occurred in the beach profiles and defence structures are mainly due to human interventions.     

Dinoflagellate Cyst Assemblages in Surface Sediments from Three Shallow Mediterranean Lagoons (Sardinia,North Western Mediterranean Sea)

The present study identified and quantified dinoflagellate cysts in surface sediments from three Mediterranean lagoons. Sediment samples were recovered from 11 stations in May 2009 at Cabras Lagoon, eight stations in May 2010 at Corru S'Ittiri Lagoon, and five stations in May 2011 at Santa Giusta Lagoon. Fifty-three dinoflagellate cyst morphotypes were identified. Sixteen species are first reports for the lagoons, and two for the Mediterranean Sea. Moreover, a new Scrippsiella species was discovered in Cabras. Seven harmful algal species were identified, primarily belonging to the potentially toxic genus Alexandrium. Total cyst abundance, number of morphotypes, and assemblages varied among lagoons, and each lagoon showed a distinct morphotype composition. A degree of heterogeneity was also detected within lagoon. Cabras and Santa Giusta cyst assemblages were characterised by morphotypes belonging to the autotrophic genus Scrippsiella, whereas Corru S'Ittiri assemblages showed dominance of heterotrophic morphotypes, including Protoperidinium cf tricingulatum. Differentiation among lagoons was also evident according to environmental conditions. Salinity proved to be a fundamental variable in determining total cyst abundance, morphotype number, and composition. This study was among the first to examine dinoflagellate cyst composition in coastal lagoons, especially from the Mediterranean region, and contributed data that increased our knowledge of cyst-producing dinoflagellates in these environments.     

Estimate of the Transition Value of Librational Invariant Curves

We investigate the break-down threshold of librational invariant curves. As a model problem, we consider a variant of a mapping introduced by M. Hénon, which well describes the dynamics of librational motions surrounding a stable invariant point. We verify in concrete examples the applicability of Greene's method, by computing the instability transition values of a sequence of periodic orbits approaching an invariant curve with fixed noble frequency. However, this method requires the knowledge of the location of the periodic orbits within a very good approximation. This task appears to be difficult to realize for a libration regime, due to the different topology of the phase space. To compute the break-down threshold, we tried an alternative method very easy to implement, based on the computation of the fast Lyapunov indicators and frequency analysis. Such technique does not require the knowledge of the periodic orbits, but again, it appears very difficult to have a precision better than Greene's method for the computation of the critical parameter.     

Extensive characterization of Italian accelerometric stations from single-station ambient-vibration measurements

This paper describes the analyses of the single-station ambient-vibration measurements performed on the Italian accelerometric network to detect site resonance phenomena potentially affecting earthquake recordings. The use of low cost, high quality microtremor measurement can be helpful to discriminate among soil classes, since several classification schemes based on resonance frequencies were proposed in the last decades. Operatively, in the framework of the Italian Strong Motion Database project (DPC-INGV 2007–2009 S4; ), soil resonance frequencies have been evaluated from more than 200 ambient vibration measurements in correspondence of accelerometric stations included in ITACA (). The noise recordings have been analyzed using the same numerical protocol in order to standardize the results. Particular attention has been paid to evaluate the quality of measurements and to develop an on-purpose mathematical tool to automatically estimate the peaks in the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) curve. The reliability of the resonance frequencies from HVSR has been tested by comparing estimates provided by independent methods (modeling or earthquake recordings). The test confirmed the reliability of the microtremor HVSR for assessing the resonance frequencies of the examined sites.     

The experimental governing of mobility and trade on the China‐Laos frontier: The Tai Lue case

This paper discusses the governing of subjects and objects' mobility in the context of trans‐border rice and corn trade on the China‐Laos frontier. It traces the attempts by a group of ethnic Tai Lue traders from China to assert themselves as ‘flexible subjects’ and economically triumphant actors on the Upper Mekong market in the era of economic regionalization. It illustrates how, between 2005 and mid‐2006, the traders' economic success relied on a variety of ‘border strategies’. ‘Border strategies’ include a gender‐balanced organization of trade, the instrumental deployment of trans‐border ethnicity, the appropriation of a Han style of business, the opportunistic reliance on the Chinese administration's ‘regime of graduated mobility’, and the enactment of a ‘war‐machine’ against Lao state agents. Yet, in late 2006, a new wave of state authoritarianism, enmeshed in corporate accumulation processes, inhibited the traders' success. The paper suggests that, unlike what some defenders of globalization and transnational theories maintain, in the age of economic regionalization, the alleged flexibility and increased mobility of subjects and objects across the borders of the Greater Mekong Subregion remain conditional on an unpredictable mechanism of loosening and tightening. This is part of a long‐applied governing pattern of ‘experimentation under hierarchy’ on the Sino‐Lao frontier.