Prototype measurements and small-scale model tests of wave overtopping at shallow rubble-mound breakwaters: the Ostia-Rome yacht harbour case

The paper presents the comparison between the results of small-scale model tests and prototype measurements of wave overtopping at a rubble-mound breakwater. The specific structure investigated is the west breakwater of the yacht harbour of Rome at Ostia (Italy) and is characterized by a gentle seaward slope (1/4) and by a long, shallow foreshore. The laboratory tests firstly aimed at carefully reproducing two measured storms in which overtopping occurred and was measured. The tests have been carried out in two independent laboratories, in a wave flume and in a wave basin, hence using a two-dimensional (2-D) and a three-dimensional (3-D) setup. In the 2-D laboratory tests no overtopping occurred during the storm reproductions; in the 3-D case discharges five to ten times smaller than those observed in prototype have been measured. This indicates the existence of model and scale effects. These effects have been discussed on the basis of the results of several parametric tests, which have been carried out in both laboratories, in addition to the storm reproductions, varying wave and water level characteristics. Final comparison of all the performed tests with 86 prototype measurements still suggests the existence of scale and model effects that induce strong underestimation of overtopping discharge at small scale. The scale reproduction of wave breaking on the foreshore, together with the 3-D features of the prototype conditions and the absence of wind stress in the laboratory measurements, have been individuated as the main sources of scale and model effects. The paper also provides a comparison between the data and a largely used formula for wave overtopping discharges in the presence of structures similar to the one at hand. The suitable value of a roughness factor that appears in that formula is investigated and good agreement is found with other recent researches on rubble-mound breakwaters.     

Mechanisms linking active rock glaciers and impounded surface water formation in high‐mountain areas

Rock glaciers are slowly flowing mixtures of debris and ice occurring in mountains. They can represent a reservoir of water, and melting ice inside them can affect surface water hydrochemistry. Investigating the interactions between rock glaciers and water bodies is therefore necessary to better understand these mechanisms. With this goal, we elucidate the hydrology and structural setting of a rock glacier–marginal pond system, providing new insights into the mechanisms linking active rock glaciers and impounded surface waters. This was achieved through the integration of waterborne geophysical techniques (ground penetrating radar, electrical resistivity tomography and self‐potentials) and heat tracing. Results of these surveys showed that rock glacier advance has progressively filled the valley depression where the pond is located, creating a dam that could have modified the level of impounded water. A sub‐surface hydrological window connecting the rock glacier to the pond was also detected, where an inflow of cold and mineralised underground waters from the rock glacier was observed. Here, greater water contribution from the rock glacier occurred following intense precipitation events during the ice‐free season, with concomitant increasing electrical conductivity values. The outflowing dynamic of the pond is dominated by a sub‐surface seepage where a minor fault zone in bedrock was found, characterised by altered and highly‐fractured rocks. The applied approach is evaluated here as a suitable technique for investigating logistically‐complex hydrological settings which could be possibly transferred to wider scales of investigation. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Integration of zircon and apatite U–Pb geochronology and geochemical mapping of the Wude basalts(Emeishan large igneous province):A tool for a better understanding of the tectonothermal and geodynamic evolution of the Emeishan LIP

Radiogenic isotopic dating and Lu–Hf isotopic composition using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry(LA-ICP-MS)of the Wude basalt in Yunnan province from the Emeishan large igneous province(ELIP)yielded timing of formation and post-eruption tectonothermal event.Holistic lithogeochemistry and elements mapping of basaltic rocks were further reevaluated to provide insights into crustal contamination and formation of the ELIP.A zircon U–Pb age of 251.3±2.0 Ma of the Wude basalt recorded the youngest volcanic eruption event and was consistent with the age span of 251-263 Ma for the emplacement of the ELIP.Such zircons hadε_Hf(t)values ranging from7.3 to+2.2,identical to those of magmatic zircons from the intrusive rocks of the ELIP,suggesting that crust-mantle interaction occurred during magmatic emplacement,or crust-mantle mixing existed in the deep source region prior to deep melting.The apatite U–Pb age at 53.6±3.4 Ma recorded an early Eocene magmatic superimposition of a regional tectonothermal event,corresponding to the Indian–Eurasian plate collision.Negative Nb,Ta,Ti and P anomalies of the Emeishan basalt may reflect crustal contamination.The uneven Nb/La and Th/Ta values distribution throughout the ELIP supported a mantle plume model origin.Therefore,the ELIP was formed as a result of a mantle plume which was later superimposed by a regional tectonothermal event attributed to the Indian–Eurasian plate collision during early Eocene.     

Remote sensing techniques for landslide studies and hazard zonation in Europe

An inventory is presented of researches concerning the use of remote sensing for landslide studies and hazard zonation as mainly carried out in the countries belonging to the European Community. An overview is given of the applicability of remote sensing in the following phases of landslide studies:

1. (1) Detection and classification of landslides. Special emphasis is given to the types of imagery required at different scales of analysis.

2. (2) Monitoring the activity of existing landslides using G.P.S., photogrammetrical techniques and radar interferometry.

3. (3) Analysis and prediction in space and time of slope failures. The different factors required in a landslide hazard study are evaluated, and the optimum remote sensing imagery for obtaining each of these factors is indicated.

Examples are given of research work carried out in these three phases from EC countries. Finally an evaluation is given of the aspects of uncertainty associated with the use of remote sensing data, and conclusions are given as to the incorporation of remote sensing techniques within the overall framework of techniques.     

Infiltration effects on a two-dimensional molecular dynamics model of landslides

We propose a two-dimensional computational model for deep landslides triggered by rainfall, based on interacting particles or grains. The model describes a vertical section of a fictitious granular material along a slope, in order to study the behavior of a wide-thickness landslide. The triggering of the landslide is caused by the exceeding of two conditions: a threshold speed and a condition on the static friction of the particles, the latter based on the Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion (Coulomb in Mem Acad R Div Sav 7:343–387, 1776; Mohr in Abhandlungen aus dem Gebiete der Technischen Mechanik. Ernst, Berlin, 1914). The interparticle interactions are represented as a potential that, in the absence of suitable experimental data and due to the arbitrariness of the grain dimension, is modeled similarly to the Lennard-Jones’ one (Lennard-Jones in Proc R Soc Lond A 106(738):463–477, 1924), i.e., with an attractive and a repulsive part. For the updating of the particle positions, we use a molecular dynamics method, which is quite suitable for this type of systems (Herrmann and Luding in Continuum Mech Thermodyn 10:189–231, 1998). An infiltration scheme is introduced for modeling the increasing pore pressure due to the rainfall. Finally, we also introduce the viscosity in the dynamical equations of motion. The statistical characterization and dynamical behavior of the results of simulations are quite satisfactory relative to real landslides: We obtain a power law distribution of landslide triggering times, and the velocity patterns are typical of real cases, including the acceleration progression. Therefore, we can claim that this type of modeling can represent a new method to simulate landslides triggered by rainfall.     

Biochemical alterations in juvenile carp (Cyprinus carpio) exposed to zinc: glutathione reductase as a target

The aim of this study was to investigate biochemical changes in juvenile carp (Cyprinus carpio) exposed to zinc chloride (10, 30 and 100 microM) for a period of 48 h. Zinc exposure caused a concentration-dependent reduction in glutathione reductase (GR) activity in gills, liver and brain. Gill glutathione S-transferase (GST) was reduced when animals were exposed to the highest concentration of 100 microM zinc. The phosphorylation of p38(MAPK) increased in the brain of fish exposed to zinc 100 microM, while phosphorylation of the extracellular signal-regulated protein kinase 1/2 (ERK1/2) and c-Jun N-terminal protein kinase 1/2 (JNK1/2) remained unchanged. Expression of proteins HSP60 and HSP70 were not affected by zinc exposure. Considering the significant concentration-dependent inhibition of GR in all tissues analyzed, this enzyme could be a potential biomarker of exposure to zinc, which has to be confirmed.     

Upper Ocean Temperatures Hit Record High in 2020

The long-term warming of the ocean is a critical indicator of both the past and present state of the climate system. It also provides insights about the changes to come, owing to the persistence of both decadal variations and secular trends,which the ocean records extremely well(Hansen et al., 2011;IPCC, 2013;Rhein et al., 2013;Trenberth et al., 2016;Abram et al., 2019).     

Geophysical Evidence of a Relict Oceanic Crust in the Southwestern Scotia Sea

The southwestern part of the Scotia Sea, at the corner of the Shackleton Fracture Zone with the South Scotia Ridge has been investigated, combining marine magnetic profiles, multichannel seismic reflection data, and satellite-derived gravity anomaly data. From the integrated analysis of data, we identified the presence of the oldest part of the crust in this sector, which tentative age is older than anomaly C10 (28.7 Ma). The area is surrounded by structural features clearly imaged by seismic data, which correspond to gravity lows in the satellite-derived map, and presents a rhomboid-shaped geometry. Along its southern boundary, structural features related to convergence and possible incipient subduction beneath the continental South Scotia Ridge have been evidenced from the seismic profile. We interpret this area, now located at the edge of the south-western Scotia Sea, as a relict of ocean-like crust formed during an earlier, possibly diffuse and disorganized episode of spreading at the first onset of the Drake Passage opening. The successive episode of organized seafloor spreading responsible for the opening of the Drake Passage that definitively separated southern South America from the Antarctic Peninsula, instigated ridge-push forces that can account for the subduction-related structures found along the western part of the South Scotia Ridge. This seafloor accretion phase occurred from 27 to about 10 Ma, when spreading stopped in the western Scotia Sea Ridge, as resulted from the identification of the marine magnetic anomalies.     

Coastal and estuarine habitat mapping, using LIDAR height and intensity and multi-spectral imagery

The airborne laser scanning LIDAR (LIght Detection And Ranging) provides high-resolution Digital Terrain Models (DTM) that have been applied recently to the characterization, quantification and monitoring of coastal environments. This study assesses the contribution of LIDAR altimetry and intensity data, topographically-derived features (slope and aspect), and multi-spectral imagery (three visible and a near-infrared band), to map coastal habitats in the Bidasoa estuary and its adjacent coastal area (Basque Country, northern Spain). The performance of high-resolution data sources was individually and jointly tested, with the maximum likelihood algorithm classifier in a rocky shore and a wetland zone; thus, including some of the most extended Cantabrian Sea littoral habitats, within the Bay of Biscay. The results show that reliability of coastal habitat classification was more enhanced with LIDAR-based DTM, compared with the other data sources: slope, aspect, intensity or near-infrared band. The addition of the DTM, to the three visible bands, produced gains of between 10% and 27% in the agreement measures, between the mapped and validation data (i.e. mean producer's and user's accuracy) for the two test sites. Raw LIDAR intensity images are only of limited value here, since they appeared heterogeneous and speckled. However, the enhanced Lee smoothing filter, applied to the LIDAR intensity, improved the overall accuracy measurements of the habitat classification, especially in the wetland zone; here, there were gains up to 7.9% in mean producer's and 11.6% in mean user's accuracy. This suggests that LIDAR can be useful for habitat mapping, when few data sources are available. The synergy between the LIDAR data, with multi-spectral bands, produced high accurate classifications (mean producer's accuracy: 92% for the 16 rocky habitats and 88% for the 11 wetland habitats). Fusion of the data enabled discrimination of intertidal communities, such as Corallina elongata, barnacles (Chthamalus spp.), and stands of Spartina alterniflora and Phragmites australis, which presented misclassification when conventional visible bands were used alone. All of these results were corroborated by the kappa coefficient of agreement. The high classification accuracy found here, selecting data sources, highlights the value of integrating LIDAR data with multi-spectral imagery for habitat mapping in the intertidal complex fringe.     

CMF模式的排他性依据和造山型银矿实例：东秦岭铁炉坪银矿同位素地球化学

河南熊耳山区的铁炉坪银矿定位于高级变质基底中的NE向断裂带中,是熊耳山脉状造山型金、银、铅锌矿床的重要组成部分。成矿作用包括了早、中、晚3个阶段,分别形成石英-黄铁矿,多金属硫化物和碳酸盐脉3类矿物组合。早阶段成 矿温度大约为373℃左右,成矿流体δD=-90‰,δ~(13)C_(co_2)=2.0‰,δ~(18)O=9‰,来源较深;晚阶段流体温度<203℃,δD=70‰,δ~(13)C_(co_2)=-1.3‰,δ~(18)O=-2‰,属于浅源大气降水热液;中阶段流体均一温度210～249℃,δD=-109‰,δ~(13)C_(co_2)=0.1‰,δ~(18)O=2‰,是深源与浅源流体的混合。对比讨论表明,熊耳山区的早前寒武纪变质基底、熊耳群火山岩和燕山期花岗岩类的三者之一或它们的混合物,均无法提供具有早阶段流体D-O-c同位素组成(高δ~(18)O和δ~(13)C,低δD)的成矿流体,表明早阶段流体来自栾川群和管道口群的碳酸盐-页岩-硅质岩建造的变质脱水作用。矿石硫同位素组成较低,铅同位素比值较高,同样不可能来自熊耳山的主要地质体,更不可能来自其下伏的地幔和下地壳,指示成矿物质和流体应主要来自栾川群和管道口群。尽管栾川群和管道口群地层的同位素地球化学研究尚待补充,铁炉坪银矿的同位素地球化学特征似乎只能借助碰撞造山成岩成矿与流体作用模式才能合理解释。即华南与华