The Mesozoic continental rifting in the Mediterranean area: insights from the Verrucano tectofacies of southern Tuscany (Northern Apennines,Italy)

In the Alpine-Mediterranean region, the continental redbeds and shallow-marine siliciclastics related to the early depositional phases of the Late Permian-Mesozoic continental rifting are referred to as the most common representative of the “Verrucano tectofacies”. The Verrucano-type successions exposed in southern Tuscany are diachronous, spanning from Triassic to earliest Jurassic in age, and accumulated within the Tuscan domain, a paleogeographic region of continental crust that due to the opening of the Piedmont–Ligurian ocean formed part of the Adria passive-margin. They belong to the metamorphic Verrucano Group and the non-metamorphic Pseudoverrucano fm. Viewed overall, these Verrucano-type successions appear to manifest five episodes or pulses of an ongoing continental rifting. With the exception of the first episode that developed entirely within a terrestrial setting, each one is represented by basal Verrucano-type continental siliciclastics overlain by compositionally mixed marine deposits, which resulted from four diachronous, post-Middle Triassic transgressions. This suite of tectonic pulses produced the progressive westward widening (backstepping) of the Tuscan domain in the rifting south-Tuscany area.     

Effects of the Magnetic Field on the Hα Emission from Jets

We present results of MHD axisymmetrical cylindrical simulations performed to study Hα emission maps from jets, with a toroidal field geometry for the magnetic field. Our code uses a linear Riemann solver, integrates equations in 2.5 dimensions and includes the calculation of the ionization fraction and the effects of the emission due to the collisional excitation of [O I] and [O II] lines, radiative recombination of H and the collisional ionization of H and excitation of Lyman-α. The simulations with variable ejection velocities show that the magnetic field produces an increase in the emission from all of the knots except for the first bow shock.     

An accurate strength amplification factor for the design of SDOF systems with P–Δ effects

The response of structures subjected to seismic actions is always influenced by P–Δ effects. The importance of this effect is generally modest for structures experiencing an elastic response but often relevant for structures responding well within the inelastic range of behaviour. Seismic codes indicate that P–Δ effects may be counterbalanced through an increase in the structural strength required by a first order analysis. This increase is calculated by means of a strength amplification factor. The expressions suggested in codes for this factor are simplistic and often criticized by researchers. In this paper, the effectiveness of some of the provisions reported in the literature or suggested in seismic codes is evaluated on single degree of freedom systems with different periods of vibration. As suggested by past studies, attention is focused on the influence of the interstorey drift sensitivity coefficient, significant duration of the ground motion, class of the site soil, displacement ductility and equivalent viscous damping ratio of the system. Finally, an accurate expression of the strength amplification factor is proposed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analysis of Multitemporal NDVI Data for Crop Yield Forecasting in the Sahel

Abstract

Recent investigations demonstrated that inter‐year NOAA‐AVHRR NDVI variations at the middle of the rainy season can provide information on annual crop yields in Sahelian countries. This line of research is presently extended to the consideration of multitemporal NDVI data for several years (1986-1991) pre‐processed by a proven methodology. The investigation was conducted using NDVI and crop yield data from the sahelian sub‐districts of Niger. The results confirm that geographically standardized NDVI data are efficient for crop yield forecasting, but notable differences exist in this prediction capability depending on the beginning of the season. Late beginnings of the growing (rainy) season (after the end of June) allow optimum forecasting only after mid‐August, while early beginnings lead to anticipate the forecasting capability but also to decrease its accuracy. The importance of these findings in the context of an early warning system is finally discussed.     

意大利东北部晚三叠世一新翼龙

To date, the middle-late Norian Dolomia di Forni Formation of the Friuli region of NE Italy has yielded ten pterosaur specimens. They include the holotypes of Preondactylus buffarinii Wild, 1984 and Carniadactylus rosenfeldi (Dalla Vecchia, 1995) and a specimen referred to Austriadactylus cristatus Dalla Vecchia, Wild, Hopf & Reitner, 2002.     

The interplay of geomorphic processes and soil development in an upland environment, Calabria, South Italy

Five representative soil profiles outcropping in the area around the Cecita Lake (Calabria, South Italy) were characterised by field work, chemical and mineralogical analyses, optical and scanning electron microscopy. Interactions among weathering, pedogenesis and geomorphic processes are emphasised, in an attempt to link the results obtained at different scales of observation. The important role of topography in controlling soil development or removal by erosive processes is discussed, in relation to the natural geomorphological context and the effects of human pressure. Both present-day and relict features were recognised in the studied soils, and discussed in terms of environmental conditions and climatic changes. The chemical composition of volcanoclastic components identified in some soil horizons with Andosol-like field appearance, coupled with pedogenetic features, contributed useful chronological constraints for the reconstruction of Late Quaternary geomorphic events.     

Hydrothermal dolomitization in a complex geodynamic setting (Lower Palaeozoic,northern Spain)

Burial hydrothermal dolomitization is a common diagenetic modification in sedimentary basins with implications for oil and gas reservoir performance. Outcrop analogues represent an easily accessible source of data to refine the genetic models and assess risk in hydrocarbon exploration and production. The Palaeozoic succession of northern Spain contains numerous excellent exposures of epigenetically dolomitized limestones, particularly in the Carboniferous and Cambrian. The epigenetic dolomites in the Cambrian carbonates of the Láncara Formation are volumetrically small, but have a large aerial distribution across different tectonic units of the Variscan fold and thrust belt. Coarse crystals, abundant saddle dolomite cement, negative δ¹⁸O and fluid inclusion homogenization temperatures between 80°C and 120°C characterize these dolomites, which are petrographically and geochemically similar to the tens of kilometre‐sized hydrothermal dolomites replacing the Upper Carboniferous succession in the same area. In both cases, the dolomitizing fluids are derived from highly evaporated sea water, modified to a limited degree through fluid‐rock interaction. The dolomitization events affecting both Cambrian and Carboniferous strata are probably related to the same post‐orogenic hydrothermal fluid flow. The formation of the post‐collisional (latest Carboniferous) Cantabrian arc fostered dolomitization: the extension related to bending of the arc generated deep‐reaching faults and strike‐slip movements, which favoured the circulation of hot dolomitizing fluids in the outer parts of this orocline. A similar dolomitization process affected other areas of Europe after the main stages of the Variscan orogeny. Dolomitization was a continuous, uninterrupted, isochemical process. Limestone replacement resulted in a major porosity redistribution and focused the fluid flow into the newly created porous zones. Replacement was followed immediately by partial to complete cementation of the pores (including zebra fabrics and vugs) with saddle dolomite. The amount of porosity left depends on the volume of cement and therefore on the volume of fluids available.     

A systematic analysis of the XMM-Newton background: III. Impact of the magnetospheric environment

A detailed characterization of the particle induced background is fundamental for many of the scientific objectives of the Athena X-ray telescope, thus an adequate knowledge of the background that will be encountered by Athena is desirable. Current X-ray telescopes have shown that the intensity of the particle induced background can be highly variable. Different regions of the magnetosphere can have very different environmental conditions, which can, in principle, differently affect the particle induced background detected by the instruments. We present results concerning the influence of the magnetospheric environment on the background detected by EPIC instrument onboard XMM-Newton through the estimate of the variation of the in-Field-of-View background excess along the XMM-Newton orbit. An important contribution to the XMM background, which may affect the Athena background as well, comes from soft proton flares. Along with the flaring component a low-intensity component is also present. We find that both show modest variations in the different magnetozones and that the soft proton component shows a strong trend with the distance from Earth.     

On the contributions of atmospheric pressure and wind to daily sea level in the northern Adriatic Sea

Daily sea level variability in the Adriatic Sea is studied from different data sets using Empirical Orthogonal Functions, in connection with atmospheric pressure and wind stress. The first mode explains 56–69% of total variance and consists of uniform sea level variability all over the basin, correlated with atmospheric pressure through the inverse barometer effect. The second mode explains 13–16% of variance and accounts for an along-basin sea level gradient, which is correlated with the meridional wind stress component. The first two Principal Components are used as proxies to pressure- and wind-induced components of storm surges in the northern Adriatic. The analysis of the frequency of the most intense events in the 1957–2005 period shows that the wind contribution to storm surges has decreased, while no significant trends are found in the contribution of atmospheric pressure.     

Quantitative analysis of H2O and CO2 in cordierite using polarized FTIR spectroscopy

We report a FTIR (Fourier transform infrared) study of a set of cordierite samples from different occurrence and with different H₂O/CO₂ content. The specimens were fully characterized by a combination of techniques including optical microscopy, single-crystal X-ray diffraction, EMPA (electron microprobe analysis), SIMS (secondary ion mass spectrometry), and FTIR spectroscopy. All cordierites are orthorhombic Ccmm. According to the EMPA data, the Si/Al ratio is always close to 5:4; X _Mg ranges from 76.31 to 96.63, and additional octahedral constituents occur in very small amounts. Extraframework K and Ca are negligible, while Na reaches the values up to 0.84 apfu. SIMS shows H₂O up to 1.52 and CO₂ up to 1.11 wt%. Optically transparent single crystals were oriented using the spindle stage and examined by FTIR micro-spectroscopy under polarized light. On the basis of the polarizing behaviour, the observed bands were assigned to water molecules in two different orientations and to CO₂ molecules in the structural channels. The IR spectra also show the presence of small amounts of CO in the samples. Refined integrated molar absorption coefficients were calibrated for the quantitative microanalysis of both H₂O and CO₂ in cordierite based on single-crystal polarized-light FTIR spectroscopy. For H₂O the integrated molar coefficients for type I and type II water molecules (ν₃ modes) were calculated separately and are ^[I]ε?=?5,200?±?700?l?mol^?1?cm^?2 and ^[II]ε?=?13,000?±?3,000?l?mol^?1?cm^?2, respectively. For CO₂ the integrated coefficient is $ \varepsilon_{{{\text{CO}}_{ 2} }} $ ?=?19,000?±?2,000?l?mol^?1?cm^?2.