Relationships between multibeam backscatter,sediment grain size and Posidonia oceanica seagrass distribution

The use of data, including bathymetry, backscatter intensity and the angular response of backscatter intensity, collected using multibeam sonar (MBS) systems to recognise seabed types was evaluated in the inner shelf of central western Sardinia (western Mediterranean sea), a site characterised by a complex seabed including sandy and gravelly sediments, Posidonia oceanica seagrass beds growing on hardgrounds (i.e. biogenic carbonates) and sedimentary substrates.     

Land subsidence along the Ionian coast of SE Sicily (Italy), detection and analysis via Small Baseline Subset (SBAS) multitemporal differential SAR interferometry

The paper presents the results of a multi‐temporal, differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (DInSAR) analysis aiming to identify active surface deformation phenomena in south‐eastern Sicily. The study area has been chosen because of its strong seismicity, high concentration of industrial and agricultural activities, and high density of people living in the coastal area. Furthermore, the morphology, lithology and climatic features of this sector of the Hyblean foreland are suitable for an interferometric analysis, providing a high coherence over the area. The Small BAseline Subset (SBAS) multitemporal DInSAR technique was used to calculate mean ground velocity maps and displacement time series from a large data set of European Remote Sensing Satellites (ERS 1–2) images spanning the time period 1992–2000. The reliability of the DInSAR results was tested calculating the East_SAR and Up_SAR values over two permanent global positioning system (GPS) stations in the area, and comparing them with the East_GPS and Up_GPS values. The residuals between GPS and DInSAR velocities were 1 and 0.6 mm/yr for the Up and East components, respectively. Four main subsiding areas, previously undetected, have been identified, corresponding with the towns of Augusta, Siracusa, Priolo, and Villasmundo. The observed deformation phenomena are located within coastal structural basins, filled with Pleistocene and Holocence deposits, except the Villasmundo land subsidence, which is located on the Hyblean plateau. The measured deformation rates reach values up to ?18 mm/yr in Augusta, –6 mm/yr in Siracusa, –5 mm/yr in Villasmundo and ?4.5 mm/yr in Priolo. The examination of velocity profiles, time series, and geological data allows us to relate all the detected deformation patterns primarily to groundwater over‐exploitation. A multi‐dimensional interpolation with kriging was performed to obtain a field subsidence map. A first‐order elastic deformation model was used to simulate the peculiar features of the Villasmundo subsidence. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical insights on the seismic behavior of a non-isolated historical masonry tower

In this paper, numerical insights on the seismic behavior of a non-isolated historical masonry tower are presented and discussed. The tower under study is the main tower of the fortress of San Felice sul Panaro, a town located near the city of Modena (Italy). Such a tower is surrounded by adjacent structural elements and, therefore, is not isolated. This historical monument has been hit by the devastating seismic sequence occurred in May 2012 in the Northern part of the Emilia region (the so-called “Emilia earthquake”), showing a huge and widespread damage. Here, in order to understand the behavior of the structure, its interaction with the adjacent buildings and the reasons of the occurred damage, advanced numerical analyses (both nonlinear static and dynamic) are performed on a 3D finite element model with different levels of constraint supplied by the adjacent structural elements and a detailed comparison between the simulated damage and the actual one is carried out. The results of the conducted numerical campaign show a good agreement with the actual crack pattern, particularly for the model of the tower that considers the adjacent structural elements.     

Geometric and kinematic characterization of landslides affecting urban areas: the Lungro case study (Calabria,Southern Italy)

The geometric and kinematic characterization of landslides affecting urban areas is a challenging goal that is routinely pursued via geological/geomorphological method and monitoring of ground displacements achieved by geotechnical and, more recently, advanced differential interferometric synthetic aperture radar (A-DInSAR) data. Although the integration of all the above-mentioned methods should be planned a priori to be more effective, datasets resulting from the independent use of these different methods are commonly available, thus making crucial the need for their standardized a posteriori integration. In this regard, the present paper aims to provide a contribution by introducing a procedure that, taking into account the specific limits of geological/geomorphological analyses and deep/surface ground displacement monitoring via geotechnical and A-DInSAR data, allows the a posteriori integration of the results by exploiting their complementarity for landslide characterization. The approach was tested in the urban area of Lungro village (Calabria region, southern Italy), which is characterized by complex geological/geomorphological settings, widespread landslides and peculiar urban fabric. In spite of the different level of information preliminarily available for each landslide as result of the independent use of the three methods, the implementation of the proposed procedure allowed a better understanding and typifying of the geometry and kinematics of 50 landslides. This provided part of the essential background for geotechnical landslide models to be used for slope stability analysis within landslide risk mitigation strategies.     

Seismic hazard assessment of northern Pakistan

This article presents probabilistic seismic hazard analyses of northern Pakistan region carried out to produce macro-seismic hazard maps for the region that define new regional ground motion design parameters for 95-, 475-, 975- and 2475-year return period earthquakes as regional contour maps and horizontal uniform hazard at important cities. The Cornell–McGuire approach (Cornell in Bull Seismol Soc Am 58(05):1583–1606, 1968; McGuire in FORTRAN computer program for seismic risk analysis. US Geological Survey, Open file Report, 76-6768, 1976) is used to carry out the analyses at 0.1° rectangular grid. The seismotectonic model of the region used in analysis consists of shallow and deep area zones differentiated based on the focal depths of the earthquakes. Earthquake catalogue compiled and used in the analysis is a composite catalogue composed of 19,373 events. Ground motion prediction equations (GMPEs) used are calibrated using goodness-of-fitness measures and visual inspection with local strong motion data. Epistemic uncertainty in the GMPEs is taken into account through the logic tree approach. Comparison of ground motions due to deep earthquakes is made for the first time for the region. The comparison between ground motion due to shallow and deep earthquakes indicates that the seismic hazard would be underestimated if the deep earthquakes are excluded. Ground motion values obtained in this study considering all the earthquakes suggest ground motions are dominant towards the north east of the region. The proposed study indicates that the ground motion hazard values suggested by the current Building Code of Pakistan underestimate the seismic hazard. Final results of this study are in close agreement with the recent studies on the region.     

Central Mediterranean tephrochronology between 313 and 366 ka: New insights from the Fucino palaeolake sediment succession

Thirty-two tephra layers were identified in the time-interval 313–366 ka (Marine Isotope Stages 9–10) of the Quaternary lacustrine succession of the Fucino Basin, central Italy. Twenty-seven of these tephra layers yielded suitable geochemical material to explore their volcanic origins. Investigations also included the acquisition of geochemical data of some relevant, chronologically compatible proximal units from Italian volcanoes. The record contains tephra from some well-known eruptions and eruptive sequences of Roman and Roccamonfina volcanoes, such as the Magliano Romano Plinian Fall, the Orvieto–Bagnoregio Ignimbrite, the Lower White Trachytic Tuff and the Brown Leucitic Tuff. In addition, the record documents eruptions currently undescribed in proximal (i.e. near-vent) sections, suggesting a more complex history of the major eruptions of the Colli Albani, Sabatini, Vulsini and Roccamonfina volcanoes between 313 and 366 ka. Six of the investigated tephra layers were directly dated by single-crystal-fusion ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating, providing the basis for a Bayesian age–depth model and a reassessment of the chronologies for both already known and dated eruptive units and for so far undated eruptions. The results provide a significant contribution for improving knowledge on the peri-Tyrrhenian explosive activity as well as for extending the Mediterranean tephrostratigraphical framework, which was previously based on limited proximal and distal archives for that time interval.     

Submerged archaeological sites along the Ionian coast of southeastern Sicily (Italy) and implications for the Holocene relative sea-level change

Precise measurements of submerged archaeological markers in the Siracusa coast (Southeastern Sicily, Italy) provide new data on relative sea-level change during the late Holocene. Four submerged archaeological sites have been studied and investigated through direct observations. Two of them are Greek archaic in age (2.5–2.7 ka) and are now 0.98–1.48 m below sea level; the other two developed during the Bronze age (3.2–3.8 ka) and are now 1.03–1.97 m below sea level. These archaeological data have been integrated with information derived from a submerged speleothem collected in a cave located along the Siracusa coast at − 20 m depth. The positions of the archaeological markers have been measured with respect to present sea level, corrected for tide and pressure at the time of surveys. These data were compared with predicted sea-level rise curves for the Holocene using a glacio-hydro-isostatic model. The comparison with the curve for the southeastern Sicily coast yields a tectonic component of relative sea-level change related to regional uplift. Uplift rates between 0.3 and 0.8 mm/yr have been estimated.     

Probe and SIMS investigation of clinopyroxene inclusions in chromites from the Troodos chromitites (Cyprus): Implications for dunite–chromitite genesis

Chromite ores formation is still a debated topic and, in this study, detailed analyses of major, minor elements by EMPA and Rare Earth Elements (REE) by SIMS, were performed on silicate inclusions detected in chromite grains of chromitite pods, enveloping dunites and on clinopyroxene of lherzolitic host rock of well known Trodoos chromite ores. Results show the complexity of relationships among lithologies that reflects the subtlety of genetic events and of chromite ore occurrence.Analyses of textural and chemical features have led to a better understanding of the chromite ore genetic process, that is related to a supra-subduction geodynamic setting where partial melting processes were overlapped by metasomatic events.Metasomatism, that marks the general genetic context, is characterized by the presence of a hydrated boninitic melt that favors the precipitation of chromite ores. Chromite ores, typical of ophiolite complexes and usually enveloped by dunite are, in this case, characterized by the presence of two different types of dunites whose geochemical differences are reflected by olivine mineral chemistry and by different REE patterns of analyzed clinopyroxenes. Such geochemical marks, related to different magmatic and metasomatic events, could be a main key for location of fertile or barren dunites in terms of chromite ore occurrence in the field.