Chemical characteristics of atmospheric bulk deposition in a semi-rural area of the <Emphasis Type="Bold">Po Valley</Emphasis> (Italy)

This study provides an analysis of a five-year time series chemical composition of the bulk deposition (2009–2013), collected within a farm surrounded by industrial and urban settlements in a semi-rural area of the Po Valley, with the aim of characterizing potential emission sources affecting precipitation composition at the site. Most monitoring efforts in this region, recognized as one of the most polluted in the world both due to the intense industrialisation and urbanisation as well as to frequent air stagnation conditions, are presently devoted more to gaseous and particulate pollutants than to precipitation chemistry. The bulk deposition samples were very concentrated in chemical species, both acidic and alkaline, high compared to other polluted sites in the world and to locations in the same district. The mean ions concentrations (in μeq l^?1) are: NO₃ ^? (243) > SO₄ ^2? (220) > PO₄ ^3? (176) > Cl^? (153) > NO₂ ^? (29) > F^? (2.6); NH₄ ⁺ (504) > Ca²⁺ (489) > K⁺ (151) > Na⁺ (127) > Mg²⁺ (127). pH data shows a trend toward slightly alkaline conditions attributed to the large presence of ammonium and crustal elements, in spite of high concentrations of nitrates and sulphates. The relevant concentrations of Ca²⁺ and Mg²⁺ further suggests that these alkaline conditions might be due to the correspondingly significant concentrations of carbonates/bicarbonates in our dataset. While back-trajectories analysis suggests the stronger importance of local resuspension over long-range transport, statistical analyses on ion composition highlight the key role exerted by agricultural activity, especially in the case of NH₄ ⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺ and PO₄ ^3? (especially linked to fertilisation practices and soil resuspension due to mechanical operations). Apart from Na⁺ and Cl^? ions which correlate well as expected, indicating their likely common origin from marine salt, the identification of the origin of the other ions is very complex due to the contribution of diverse local sources, such as industrial and residential settlements.     

The altitudinal temperature lapse rates applied to high elevation rockfalls studies in the Western European Alps

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - Temperature is one of the most important aspects of mountain climates. The relationships between air temperature and rockfalls at high-elevation sites are very...     

Hydrological connectivity of alluvial Andean valleys: a groundwater/surface-water interaction case study in Ecuador

The Andean region is characterized by important intramontane alluvial and glacial valleys; a typical example is the Tarqui alluvial plain, Ecuador. Such valley plains are densely populated and/or very attractive for urban and infrastructural development. Their aquifers offer opportunities for the required water resources. Groundwater/surface-water (GW–SW) interaction generally entails recharge to or discharge from the aquifer, dependent on the hydraulic connection between surface water and groundwater. Since GW–SW interaction in Andean catchments has hardly been addressed, the objectives of this study are to investigate GW–SW interaction in the Tarqui alluvial plain and to understand the role of the morphology of the alluvial valley in the hydrological response and in the hydrological connection between hillslopes and the aquifers in the valley floor. This study is based on extensive field measurements, groundwater-flow modelling and the application of temperature as a groundwater tracer. Results show that the morphological conditions of a valley influence GW–SW interaction. Gaining and losing river sections are observed in narrow and wide alluvial valley sections, respectively. Modelling shows a strong hydrological connectivity between the hillslopes and the alluvial valley; up to 92 % of recharge of the alluvial deposits originates from lateral flow from the hillslopes. The alluvial plain forms a buffer or transition zone for the river as it sustains a gradual flow from the hills to the river. Future land-use planning and development should include concepts discussed in this study, such as hydrological connectivity, in order to better evaluate impact assessments on water resources and aquatic ecosystems.     

Impact of coupled perturbations of atmospheric trace gases on Earth's climate and ozone

We have studied the effects on the ozone concentration and surface temperature, of perturbations in the atmospheric content of nitrous oxide, methane, carbon dioxide and chlorofluorocarbons (CFC). The sensitivity study has been carried out with a radiative-convective-photochemical model. The doubling of carbon dioxide concentration has the effect of warming the troposphere and cooling the stratosphere. As a result of this cooling, the change of ozone columnar density produced by 10 ppb of chlorine amount to 9.3% as compared to –10.9% obtained without temperature feedback. Perturbation in nitrous oxide correspond to an increase in NO _x of the stratosphere with consequent ozone reduction while doubling the methane concentration correspond to a slight increase in columnar density. The effect of the increased methane concentration in the stratosphere contributes to reduce the effect of CFC due to the enhanced formation of HCl. The perturbation of these two minor constituents appreciably increase the greenhouse effect to 2.30 from 1.67°, obtained when carbon dioxide alone is considered.     

Modal analysis of non-classically damped linear systems

A critical, textbook-like review of the generalized modal superposition method of evaluating the dynamic response of nonclassically damped linear systems is presented, which it is hoped will increase the attractiveness of the method to structural engineers and its application in structural engineering practice and research. Special attention is given to identifying the physical significance of the various elements of the solution and to simplifying its implementation. It is shown that the displacements of a non-classically damped n-degree-of-freedom system may be expressed as a linear combination of the displacements and velocities of n similarly excited single-degree-of-freedom systems, and that once the natural frequencies of vibration of the system have been determined, its response to an arbitrary excitation may be computed with only minimal computational effort beyond that required for the analysis of a classically damped system of the same size. The concepts involved are illustrated by a series of examples, and comprehensive numerical data for a three-degree-of-freedom system are presented which elucidate the effects of several important parameters. The exact solutions for the system are also compared over a wide range of conditions with those computed approximately considering the system to be classically damped, and the interrelationship of two sets of solutions is discussed.     

Application of Landsat-7 satellite data and a DEM for the quantification of thermokarst-affected terrain types in the periglacial Lena–Anabar coastal lowland

Extensive parts of Arctic permafrost-dominated lowlands were affected by large-scale permafrost degradation, mainly through Holocene thermokarst activity. The effect of thermokarst is nowadays observed in most periglacial lowlands of the Arctic. Since permafrost degradation is a consequence as well as a significant factor of global climate change, it is necessary to develop efficient methods for the quantification of its past and current magnitude. We developed a procedure for the quantification of periglacial lowland terrain types with a focus on degradation features and applied it to the Cape Mamontov Klyk area in the western Laptev Sea region. Our terrain classification approach was based on a combination of geospatial datasets, including a supervised maximum likelihood classification applied to Landsat-7 ETM+ data and digital elevation data. Thirteen final terrain surface classes were extracted and subsequently characterized in terms of relevance to thermokarst and degradation of ice-rich deposits. 78% of the investigated area was estimated to be affected by permafrost degradation. The overall classification accuracy was 79%. Thermokarst did not develop evenly on the coastal plain, as indicated by the increasingly dense coverage of thermokarst-related areas from south to north. This regionally focused procedure can be extended to other areas to provide the highly detailed periglacial terrain mapping capabilities currently lacking in global-scale permafrost datasets.     

Seismic risk assessment for the mega-city of Istanbul: Ductility, strength and maximum interstory drift demands

This study investigates the seismic demands due to the catastrophic 1999 M_w=7.4 Kocaeli and the M_w=7.1 Duzce earthquakes. The inelastic response spectra for the Kocaeli and Duzce earthquakes are investigated for systems with known strength and ductility. An analytical fiber element model is developed for a typical reinforced concrete building in Turkey. The interstory drifts are calculated from nonlinear dynamic analysis using 26 recorded strong-motion data from the 1999 Kocaeli and the Duzce earthquakes. In the dynamic analysis, the structural members are modeled by employing distributed plasticity fiber elements and both geometrical as well as material nonlinearities are taken into account. This study shows that the ductility and interstory drift demands due to the Kocaeli and the Duzce earthquakes were very severe (well above the code prescribed values) even for moderately inelastic structures. It is apparent from the results that the forward directivity effect is the most influential factor on the interstory drift demand. Both the distance to the fault rupture and the site conditions affect seismic demands, but the site conditions and the local topography are more influential than the distance from the fault rupture. This study shows that substantial damage should be expected in a future earthquake at all districts of Istanbul, but especially at Avcilar, Cekmece, Fatih, Bakirkoy and the Zeytinburnu districts. It is also shown that base isolation may substantially improve the performance of a structure in the inelastic domain and base isolated structures may be designed for lower minimum lateral strengths and higher strength reduction factors.     

Shrimp U–Pb zircon dating and palynology of bentonitic layers from the Permian Irati Formation, Paraná Basin, Brazil

This paper presents the first SHRIMP zircon age data from bentonitic ash fall layers intercalated with the Irati sedimentary rocks, as well as palynofossils retrieved from the PETROBRAS-Six mine, Paraná State, southern Brazil. The Permian Irati Formation is one the most important oil source horizons within the Paraná Basin, and consists mainly of siltstones, gray claystones, as well as organic-rich claystones intercalated with limestones. Zircon morphology based on cathodoluminescence images includes two different populations: a dominant population of euhedral, prismatic, elongate to acicular grains which are most likely related to an ash fall volcanism; and a population of rounded to large prismatic grains, that were interpreted as detrital grains. SHRIMP analysis performed on the euhedral and prismatic grains revealed an age of ca. 278.4 ± 2.2 Ma (7 points with 95% confidence) interpreted as the crystallization age of the volcanic eruption. Based on this new dating, the Irati Formation should be placed on the Lower Permian (Cisuralian), Artinskian in age, modifying substantially the traditional ages previously attributed to this unit. The palynofossils from this level include key species of the Lueckisporites virkkiae Zone (such as L. virkkiae, L. densicorpus, L. stenotaeniatus, Weylandites lucifer, Alisporites splendens). Typical species of this zone also occur in African and other South American (Argentina) Permian strata, allowing stratigraphical correlations. The origin of the ash falls is not clearly defined. It may be related either to calc-alkaline arc magmatism associated to the Sanrafaelica Orogeny (275 and 250 Ma) or to bimodal volcanic events associated to an early intracontinental rift developed within southwestern Gondwana at ca. 278 My. The dating of this unit is significative to calibrate biostratigraphic schemes along the Paraná Basin, as well as equivalent zones in Gondwana areas, mainly in its Occidental portion.