Effect of stratification on the frequency of bounded Rossby modes over a non-flat bottom

This work attempts to express and analyze the challenges, induced by stratification, affecting the Rossby-topographic eigenmodes of a closed domain with a general uneven bottom of arbitrary shape filled with a uniform fluid in the unperturbed configuration. The modified eigenmodes have been computed analytically: stratification is introduced in the mathematical form of a perturbation of a homogeneous fluid over a non-flat bottom. The eigenmodes lose their barotropic character and differences appear in the dynamical fields (velocity and pressure) from upper to lower layer, as expected. Expressions for the baroclinic and ageostrophic velocity components due to the perturbation are given. The analysis is carried out in the frame of linear shallow water approximation. All terms have been retained apart from nonlinear advection in the governing equations. We find that the frequencies of the eigenmodes change; an analytical expression of frequency correction as a function of layer density difference and interface depth is found. Initial results for some elementary geometrical settings with a waveguide bottom are determined and expressed in a concise, easily readable closed form. The results obtained in the shallow water approximation are expanded in series with respect to the Rossby number. Next, they are compared with the frequency correction obtained in an alternative framework in which the quasi-geostrophic approximation is used, and a purely baroclinic perturbation is imposed from the outset as the result of the introduction of stratification in the otherwise homogeneous fluid. In this scenario, reduced gravity and the ratio of upper to lower layer depth are, in turn, used as the expansion parameters in lieu of the Rossby number.     

7000 years of paleostorm activity in the NW Mediterranean Sea in response to Holocene climate events

A high-resolution record of paleostorm events along the French Mediterranean coast over the past 7000 years was established from a lagoonal sediment core in the Gulf of Lions. Integrating grain size, faunal analysis, clay mineralogy and geochemistry data with a chronology derived from radiocarbon dating, we recorded seven periods of increased storm activity at 6300–6100, 5650–5400, 4400–4050, 3650–3200, 2800–2600, 1950–1400 and 400–50 cal yr BP (in the Little Ice Age). In contrast, our results show that the Medieval Climate Anomaly (1150–650 cal yr BP) was characterised by low storm activity.The evidence for high storm activity in the NW Mediterranean Sea is in agreement with the changes in coastal hydrodynamics observed over the Eastern North Atlantic and seems to correspond to Holocene cooling in the North Atlantic. Periods of low SSTs there may have led to a stronger meridional temperature gradient and a southward migration of the westerlies. We hypothesise that the increase in storm activity during Holocene cold events over the North Atlantic and Mediterranean regions was probably due to an increase in the thermal gradient that led to an enhanced lower tropospheric baroclinicity over a large Central Atlantic–European domain.     

Geodetic techniques applied to the study of the Etna volcano area (Italy)

Volcanic behaviour of Mt. Etna is due to the complex interaction between both the local and the regional stress field involving the eastern Sicily. Eruptions could trigger (be triggered?) during crust extension and/or compression, which are strictly linked with the dynamics of the lower mantle. In this study, very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) space geodesy technique has been used in order to study Etna volcano’s activity by means of the crustal deformations between Noto and Matera (located on the African and the Eurasian Plates, respectively). By analysing VLBI data, we obtained the behaviour of the baseline which crosses the Etnean area, from 1990 December to 2003 March, representing the time variations of the distance between the two geodetic stations; the linear trend of the baseline shows a general increasing, pointing out an extension of the crust between them. A detailed analysis of the Noto-Matera baseline allows the identification of three parts of the VLBI curve in the considered period. In the first part of the curve (from 20/12/90 to 09/02/94), VLBI data are rather poor and therefore no reliable consideration about correlation between crust movements and volcanic and seismicity activity has been made. In the second part of the curve (from 09/02/94 to 04/09/00), VLBI data are more frequent and show slightly fluctuations in the distance. Increasing in the extension and compression were observed in the central and in the final part of this period. In the third period (from 04/09/00 to 25/03/03), VLBI data are very sparse even if the time series was quite long; therefore, to fill gaps in the information, we analysed global positioning system (GPS) data. GPS technique performs continuous observations, and we were able to highlight both extensions and compressions in detail. Comparisons between the trend of Noto-Matera baseline length variations, volcanic activity and seismicity in the Etna area show the complexity of the development over time and space of the phenomenology determined by a deep cause which can be traced, in our opinion, to the interaction between the asthenospheric mantle, deep crust and surface crust. Therefore, we state that crustal distension and compression are determined by the lower pulsating mantle.     

A combined methodology to assess the intrinsic vulnerability of aquifers to pollution from agrochemicals

The groundwater vulnerability indices are valuable tools for the development of agrochemicals management strategies based on environmental/agricultural policies. The groundwater vulnerability methods of LOS, SINTACS, DRASTIC, Pesticide DRASTIC, GOD and AVI were applied for the agricultural fields of Sarigkiol basin (Northern Greece). The results of the aforementioned methods were examined and discussed in order to show how the dissimilarities in the vulnerability assessment approaches may become an advantage. The results of the methods were used to propose a combined conceptual approach which adds another two dimensions (depth and time) in the current two-dimensional vulnerability mapping (longitude, latitude) procedures. The LOS method provided information about the intrinsic vulnerability of the topsoil (30 cm) to water (+conservative pollutants) and nitrogen losses, and the AVI method described the vulnerability of the unsaturated zone to allow pollutants to reach the aquifer while the aquifer vulnerability was analysed using SINTACS, DRASTIC, Pesticide DRASTIC and GOD. In this study, the results of the SINTACS method were found more accurate to describe the local aquifer conditions. The final conceptual approach provided a stratified vulnerability (dimension of depth) of the overall hydrogeologic system using LOS for the topsoil, AVI for unsaturated zone and SINTACS for the aquifer. The dimension of time was introduced by the LOS and AVI methods, which provide quantitative results in time. The use of LOS method also highlighted the basic limitation of the other methods to describe the potential contribution to pollution of areas (especially upland areas) which are out of the aquifer boundaries.     

Landslide susceptibility assessment in Apulian Southern Apennine: heuristic vs. statistical methods

In this paper, a bivariate-heuristic model (modified Stevenson’s method) and two multivariate statistical procedures (discriminant analysis and logistic regression) were used in order to assess and map landslide susceptibility in the north-western side of Daunia region (Apulia, Southern Italy). The whole Daunia region is characterized by complex and composite landslides, which are located on clayey slopes, near urban centers, affecting structures and infrastructures. The high predisposition to landsliding of the Daunia hillslopes is related to the very poor strength properties of clayey formations. The comparative analysis of landslide susceptibility using different methods, on the same test site and with the same inventory map allowed understanding the dependence of the results from the dataset and the capability of models under different levels of use, from expert to simple operator. By comparing the performance of the three models through the success rate curves, it emerges that the simple modified Stevenson’s method produces reliable outcomes, comparable with those deriving from more complex multivariate statistical models. This result is related to the characteristics of clayey slopes, in which the landslide occurrence is so much controlled by the poor strength properties of the clayey formations that the multivariate analysis of a large set of morphometric, geological and land-use variables results to be somehow superfluous. This suggests that, for clayey slopes, a simple, easy-to-manage bivariate-heuristic model based on expert opinion can be used with reliable results.     

Amphibole and phlogopite in “hybrid” metasomatic bands monitor trace element transfer at the interface between felsic and ultramafic rocks (Eastern Alps,Italy)

Ultramafic rocks in contact to gneisses in the Mt. Hochwart HP mélange (Eastern Italian Alps) preserve a series of metasomatic mineral zones. A phlogopitite with minor tremolite and accessory zircon and apatite forms close to the gneiss (Zone 1). Zone 2 consists of tremolite, phlogopite and anthophyllite followed by Zone 3 with anthophyllite plus minor chlorite and talc. Zone 3 grades into an amphibole–garnet peridotite lens. This reaction zone has been generated by infiltration of hydrous fluids at T of 660–700 °C and P < 1.2 GPa, which occurred during exhumation of coupled continental crust and mantle peridotites.The reaction zone between a trace element-rich (gneiss) and a trace element depleted reservoir (peridotite) allows assessment of local trace element mobility in aqueous fluids. We present the results of in situ LA-ICP-MS trace element analysis of minerals from the reaction zone. Phlogopite is the main host for Large Ion Lithophile Elements (LILE) and contributes significantly to the Li, Ti, Nb, Ta, Pb and Sc budget. Anthophyllite is the main host for Li whereas all other trace elements including Rare Earth Elements (REE) are preferentially incorporated into tremolite. Combined with the abundance of these minerals over the contact zone, the mineral trace element data suggests that the LILE and REE were mobile on a small scale of a few centimetres only. Limited mobility of Ta, which is generally regarded as barely mobile in fluids, is documented in elevated contents of Ta in anthophyllite coupled with low Nb/Ta. The high Li content in minerals throughout the reaction zone suggests that Li was the most mobile element.The studied metasomatic zones mirror geochemical processes occurring in subduction zones at the slab–mantle interface. Phlogopite crystallization at the slab–mantle interface is an efficient mechanism to filter LILE from the aqueous fluid. Thus, such reaction zones, forming at temperatures < 660–700 °C, likely prevents that the typical slab signature with enriched LILE is transported by aqueous fluids over long distances in the mantle wedge. However, if coupled to the downgoing slab, phlogopite- and tremolite-rich rocks from such reaction zones might be able to act as carriers of trace elements and water into deeper parts of the subduction zone.     

Hydrogeochemistry of Roccamonfina volcano (Southern Italy)

This is the first hydro-geochemical investigation carried out on the Roccamonfina Volcanic Complex groundwaters. The chemistry of Roccamonfina waters is defined by water–rock and water–rock–gas interactions. In fact, interactions between rocks of the first eruptive high-K formations and circulating groundwaters are recognized by high K concentrations. On the other hand, inverse concentration of calcium versus alkali metals is related to two different rock interactions occurring in different areas of the volcano: (a) within the caldera where groundwaters flow within latite and pyroclastic formations releasing calcium, and (b) similarly at the base of the volcano where groundwaters flowing from surrounding carbonates got strongly enriched in Ca. These geochemical processes are also associated with K (SE of caldera) and Mg/Ca (in sites located at the NE base of the volcano) decrease. Completely different dynamics occurs at Riardo groundwaters (SE). Here waters are the result of a mix between the Roccamonfina deep aquifer and the carbonate aquifer of the Riardo plain. Rich-CO₂ emissions make these waters strongly mineralized. Minor elements show a similar geochemical behavior of major ions and are crucial defining interactions processes. The evolution of Roccamonfina groundwaters is also evident along the simultaneous enrichment of Ba, Sr, and Ca. Ba increase is the result of deep local carbonate alteration enhanced by CO₂ emissions and, the lower Sr/Ca ratio, from 10 to 2 (ppb/ppm), is also due to the same process. In the light of our results the Roccamonfina aquifer can be schematically divided into two main reservoirs: (a) a superficial aquifer which basically follows the volcanic structure morphology and tectonics and (b) a deeper reservoir, originating within the oldest Roccamonfina volcano ultra potassic lavas and then flowing into the carbonate aquifers of the neighboring plain. Eventually, the chemistry of the Roccamonfina aquifer does not show any specific and visible pollution, contrary to what happens in the volcano surrounding plains. In fact, only 14% of the samples we collected (206) show a NO₃ content >30 mg/l. These sites are all located at the base of the volcano, near the plain.     

Petrogenesis of Quebrada de la Mina and Altar North porphyries (Cordillera of San Juan,Argentina): Crustal assimilation and metallogenic implications

We investigate the geology of Altar North (Cu–Au) and Quebrada de la Mina (Au) porphyry deposits located in San Juan Province (Argentina), close to the large Altar porphyry copper deposit (995 Mt, 0.35% Cu, 0.083 g/t Au), to present constraints on the magmatic processes that occurred in the parental magma chambers of these magmatic-hydrothermal systems. Altar North deposit comprises a plagioclase-amphibole-phyric dacite intrusion (Altar North barren porphyry) and a plagioclase-amphibole-biotite-phyric dacite stock (Altar North mineralized porphyry, 11.98 ± 0.19 Ma). In Quebrada de la Mina, a plagioclase-amphibole-biotite-quartz-phyric dacite stock (QDM porphyry, 11.91 ± 0.33 Ma) crops out. High Sr/Y ratios (92–142) and amphibole compositions of Altar North barren and QDM porphyries reflect high magmatic oxidation states (fO₂ = NNO +1.1 to +1.6) and high fH₂O conditions in their magmas. Zones and rims enriched in anorthite (An_37–48), SrO (0.22–0.33 wt.%) and FeO (0.21–0.37 wt.%) in plagioclase phenocrysts are evidences of magmatic recharge processes in the magma chambers. Altar North and Quebrada de la Mina intrusions have relatively homogeneous isotopic compositions (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr_(t) = 0.70450–0.70466, ε_Nd(t) = +0.2 to +1.2) consistent with mixed mantle and crust contributions in their magmas. Higher Pb isotopes ratios (²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 15.6276–15.6294) of these intrusions compared to other porphyries of the district, reflect an increase in the assimilation of high radiogenic Pb components in the magmas. Ages of zircon xenocrysts (297, 210, 204, 69 Ma) revealed that the magmas have experienced assimilation of Miocene, Cretaceous, Triassic and Carboniferous crustal rocks.Fluids that precipitated sulfides in the Altar deposit may have remobilized Pb from the host rocks, as indicated by the ore minerals being more radiogenic (²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb = 15.6243–15.6269) than their host intrusions. Au/Cu ratio in Altar porphyries (average Au/Cu ratio of 0.14 × 10^?4 by weight in Altar Central) is higher than in the giant Miocene porphyry deposits located to the south: Los Pelambres, Río Blanco and Los Bronces (Chile) and Pachón (Argentina). We suggest that the increase in Au content in the porphyries of this region could be linked to the assimilation of high radiogenic Pb components in the magmas within these long-lived maturation systems.     

Establishing robustness of a spatial dataset in a tolerance‐based vector model

Spatial data are usually described through a vector model in which geometries are represented by a set of coordinates embedded into an Euclidean space. The use of a finite representation, instead of the real numbers theoretically required, causes many robustness problems which are well known in the literature. Such problems are made even worse in a distributed context, where data is exchanged between different systems and several perturbations can be introduced in the data representation. In order to discuss the robustness of a spatial dataset, two implementation models have to be distinguished: the identity and the tolerance model. The robustness of a dataset in the identity model has been widely discussed in the literature and some algorithms of the Snap Rounding (SR) family can be successfully applied in such contexts. Conversely, this problem has been less explored in the tolerance model. The aim of this article is to propose an algorithm inspired by those of the SR family for establishing or restoring the robustness of a vector dataset in the tolerance model. The main ideas are to introduce an additional operation which spreads instead of snapping geometries, in order to preserve the original relation between them, and to use a tolerance region for such an operation instead of a single snapping location. Finally, some experiments on real‐world datasets are presented, confirming how the proposed algorithm can establish the robustness of a dataset.