Computing the flux of moisture from net radiation and soil wetness

A study has been made of the time evolution of the flux of moisture E over grassland. The parameterization of E has been examined in order to formulate an equation depending on the net radiation flux and on bulk parameters which depend on the daily average meteorological situation and soil conditions. In particular the gradient of soil moisture has been recognized as playing a fundamental role in the time evolution of E(t). A time-dependent equation is proposed to compute in a statistical sense the irrigation needs or to forecast the hourly values of E(t), the maximum value E ₀ and the time at which this maximum happens.     

Analysis at medium scale of low-resolution DInSAR data in slow-moving landslide-affected areas

Landslide studies over large areas call for multidisciplinary analyses supported by accurate ground displacement measurements. At present, conventional techniques can be valuably complemented by innovative satellite techniques such as Differential SAR Interferometry (DInSAR), furnishing huge amounts of data at competitively affordable costs. This work investigates the remote sensed data potential in landslide studies starting from the awareness of the present constraints of the technique. To this end, with reference to a sample area–within the territory of the National Basin Authority of Liri-Garigliano and Volturno rivers (Central-Southern Italy)–for which detailed base and thematic maps are available, quantitative examples of DInSAR data coverage on both different land-uses and landslide-affected areas are shown. Then, an original tool for “a priori DInSAR landslide visibility zoning” is proposed to address the choice of the most suitable image datasets. Finally, referring to the visible zones, the outcomes of DInSAR data for checking/updating landslide inventory maps at 1:25,000 scale highlight appealing perspectives, also holding the promise of obtaining relevant information in the landslide hazard evaluation.     

A multiscale observational case study of an isolated tornadic supercell

This work deals with the analysis of an isolated tornadic supercell thunderstorm that took place on the plain of Friuli Venezia Giulia (Italy) causing several damage. The analysis is performed using different kind of data, looking in the available information for possible signatures that could be helpful in the forecasting and nowcasting procedures. The analysis reveals that rather than a single cause for the tornadic storm development, there is an “interaction” of several effects. In particular, a favorable environment seems to be produced by the interplay between synoptic and mesoscale environments with a fundamental role played by orography. Radar data, in particular Doppler measurements, are fundamental to the recognition and interpretation of the events but in this particular case they could give little useful information for the forecasting and nowcasting procedures. The most robust signals of an environment prone to the onset of severe deep moist convection come from the thermal gradients at the ground and by the vertical profile analysis. The reason why the event took place in that specific place and not in others is still unknown.     

Lithofacies,depositional environments,regional biostratigraphy and age of the Chitarwata Formation in the Bugti Hills,Balochistan, Pakistan

The Oligocene-early Miocene Chitarwata Formation records a critical interval of terrestrial sedimentation that predates the Siwalik deposits on the Potwar Plateau of north-central Pakistan. This Oligocene-early Miocene time interval has long been considered as lacking in the entire Indo-Pakistan region. The Chitarwata Formation is widely exposed in the Sulaiman Range, but has never been described in detail in the Sulaiman Lobe, where the famous fossiliferous strata called ‘Bugti Bone Beds’ have been known for over a century and half. The Chitarwata Formation represents coastal-delta at the base, and plain and fluvial environments at the top. Lithofacies and sedimentary structures of the Chitarwata Formation in the Bugti area are described in detail, and show a clearly distinct lithologic pattern, different from that reported from the Zinda Pir area. The Chitarwata Formation also records an important transition in the evolution of the drainage systems in the area during the late Paleogene and early Neogene. This transition from the west-flowing paleo-Indus fluvial system to the development of the ancestral Indus drainage system may explain the numerous hiatuses that characterize the Chitarwata Formation. The abundance of fossil mammals from the Chitarwata and overlying Vihowa formation in the Bugti Hills provides critical biochronologic information that sheds new light on biostratigraphic correlation with the Zinda Pir area and for the entire Sulaiman Range.     

Randomized Tensor Decomposition for Large-Scale Data Assimilation Problems for Carbon Dioxide Sequestration

Mathematical Geosciences - Data assimilation methods are commonly used to predict petrophysical properties of deep saline aquifers for carbon dioxide sequestration studies. However, data...     

The variability of European floods since AD 1500

The paper presents a qualitative and quantitative analysis of flood variability and forcing of major European rivers since AD 1500. We compile and investigate flood reconstructions which are based on documentary evidence for twelve Central European rivers and for eight Mediterranean rivers. Flood variability and underlying climatological causes are reconstructed by using hermeneutic approaches including critical source analysis and by applying a semi-quantitative classification scheme. The paper describes the driving climatic causes, seasonality and variability of observed flood events within the different river catchments covering the European mainland. Historical flood data are presented and recent research in the field of historical flood reconstructions is highlighted. Additionally, the character of the different flood series is discussed. A comparison of the historical flood seasonality in relation to modern distribution is given and aspects of the spatial coherence are presented. The comparative analysis points to the fact that the number of flood events is predominately triggered by regional climatic forcing, with at most only minor influence on neighbouring catchments. The only exceptions are extreme, supra-regional climatic events and conditions such as anomalous cold winters, similar to that of 1784, which affected large parts of Europe and triggered flood events in several catchments as a result of ice-break at the beginning of the annual thaw. Four periods of increased occurrence of flooding, mostly affecting Central European Rivers, have been identified; 1540–1600, 1640–1700, 1730–1790, 1790–1840. The reconstruction, compilation and analysis of European-wide flood data over the last five centuries reveal the complexity of the underlying climatological causes and the high variability of flood events in temporal and spatial dimension.     

Cautious neotectonic hypotheses for assessing the seismic hazard in northeastern Italy

A simplified tectonic scheme for hazard purposes was recently adopted for northeastern Italy, introducing large generalized seismogenic areas containing systems of complex geometry faults. This scheme considers only major faults with documented seismic activity. In the present analysis, a different tectonic scheme, with linear elements as seismogenic sources, is presented. The assessment of the regional seismic hazard is done with the fault rupture model, its most important advantage being the recognition that the length of fault rupture during an earthquake is an important consideration in probabilistic calculations of seismic hazard. Moreover, some structures with no associated seismicity but with notable neotectonic activity are considered, and their contribution to the results investigated. Important uncertainties such as those in the maximum possible magnitude of future earthquakes, in the location of the fault, in the focal depth, and in the attenuation law are accounted for in the calculations and their influence studied. The results identify a seismic belt running from Lake Garda to Friuli and along the Yugoslav coast and are very similar to those already known for Friuli, with the largest values corresponding to the zone around Gemona. Some slight differences in the shape of the areas of equal acceleration are probably due to the delineation of the seismic sources of the proposed model. For a cautious elaboration, some neotectonic lines without present seismicity were added into the fault model. Their contribution is negligible in the areas of highest acceleration, but increases remarkably in the areas where acceleration is not expected to exceed the medium values.