Metal fluxes to the sediments of the northern Venice Lagoon

Eighteen short cores were analyzed for major and trace metals (Al, Fe, Ca, Mg, Mn, Si, K, Ti, Pb, Zn, Cu, Ni, Cr), ²¹⁰Pb, ¹³⁷Cs, and other sediment characteristics, so as to describe the chronology of pollution and calculate metal concentration factors and fluxes. Substantial evidence was found that trace metal profiles are influenced by anthropogenic sources and by changes in sediment composition. Only Zn presents concentrations (up to 13.1 μmol g⁻) and concentration factors (1.3 to 13.2) that can be attributed to heavy contamination. Pb, Cu and Ni, in this order, are less significant. The areal distribution of concentrations and inventories reflects the importance of direct sources, in particular the industrial area of Porto Marghera and the Dese river. The inventories of excess metals, above pre-industrial levels, were determined for each core and the three different parts of the study area, the amounts of Zn accumulated in sediments are 11.0 Mmol, 5.1 Mmol and 0.37 Mmol in the Campalto, S. Erasmo, and Palude di Cona areas, respectively. Ruxes were also calculated and compared with those suggested for the atmospheric delivery by Cochran et al. [(1995)b. Atmospheric fluxes of heavy metal contaminants to the Venice Lagoon, Rapp. Comm. Int. Mer Médit., 34, 136.], the atmospheric contribution is predominant or significant in many cases, especially at sites far from the major local inputs. Concentrations and fluxes show a significant increase in the anthropogenic metal supply starting from the second decade of this century, with maximum inputs in the period between the (1930)s and the (1970)s. At some stations a decrease in heavy metal contamination of surficial sediments was found and this could be ascribed to a reduced input of pollutants in recent years.     

Decadal Climatic Anomalies in the Northern Adriatic Sea Inferred from a New Oceanographic Data Set

Abstract. In 1997, Artegiani et al. depicted for the first time the seasonal climatology of the Adriatic Sea; they used the ATOS data set, formed by 5540 oceanographic stations sampled over this continental basin from 1911 to 1980. Lately, two Italian institutes working on the Adriatic Sea for long time, IBM and IRPEM, merged their recent data sets for the northernmost part of the basin. This yielded 3600 new oceanographic stations, concentrated in an area where 809 ATOS stations were located. The new data were quality checked, and then a seasonal climatology was drawn up as a first analysis step. The new climatology differed significantly from the ATOS results; this could be explained, at least partially, by the climatic changes that have occurred on this area. For example, air temperature increased significantly over northern Italy starting from 1988. Variations of the observed air temperature and Po River runoff qualitatively agree with sea surface temperature and salinity variations. A preliminary computation of heat fluxes based on ECMWF reanalysis confirms an increased heat flux to the Northern Adriatic Sea starting from 1988.     

Bioaccumulation and depuration of Zn and Cd in mangrove oysters (Crassostrea rhizophorae, Guilding, 1828) transplanted to and from a contaminated tropical coastal lagoon

In order to study Zn and Cd accumulation and depuration, a set of oysters, Crassostrea rhizophorae, were transplanted to a metal contaminated coastal lagoon and another one was harvested there and transplanted to a non-polluted site. C. rhizophorae oysters and Perna perna mussels native from both sites were collected in order to monitor variability of metal concentration in resident populations. After three months exposure, oysters transplanted to the polluted site accumulated fourfold Zn (307-1319 microgg(-1)) without reaching the concentration level of resident oysters (9770 microgg(-1)). Cadmium concentrations had a slight but significant decrease during the same period (1.25-0.54 microgg(-1)). Oysters transplanted to the non-polluted site, showed threefold Zn depuration (6727-2404 microgg(-1)), while Cd had no significant variation (0.90-1.45 microgg(-1)). Results showed that transplanted oysters do not reach heavy metal concentrations in indigenous populations suggesting transplanted organisms would be better used to evaluate bioavailability instead of environmental concentrations.     

Meiofauna of the deep Eastern Mediterranean Sea: distribution and abundance in relation to bacterial biomass, organic matter composition and other environmental factors

Quantitative information on the abundance and biomass of metazoan meiofauna was obtained from samples collected at 15 deep-sea stations in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea (533–2400m). Meiofaunal abundance was compared to bacterial biomass and other environmental factors such as the total sedimentary organic matter content, the concentrations of the main biochemical classes of organic compounds (i.e. proteins, carbohydrates and lipids) and to ATP. To estimate the sedimentation potential of primary organic matter, sediment bound chloroplastic pigment equivalents (CPE) were assayed. Meiofaunal density was very low ranging from 4 ind.10cm⁻² (Station A4, 1658m depth) to 290 ind.10cm⁻² (Station A12, 636m depth). Nematodes were the numerically dominant taxon (68% of total meiofauna) and were usually confined to the top 6cm of the sediments. Total meiofaunal biomass ranged from 2.78μgC 10cm⁻² (Station A4) to 598.34μgC 10cm⁻² (Station 15A). There was a significant decrease in the density of metazoan meiofauna with water depth. Bacterial biomass largely dominated the total biomass (as the sum of bacterial and meiofaunal biomass) with an average of 73.2% and accounted for 35.8% of the living biomass (as ATP carbon) whereas meiofaunal biomass accounted only for 6.56%. Bacterial biomass was significantly related to the DNA concentrations of the sediment. A significant correlation between ATP concentration and CPE content was also found. No correlations were found between meiofauna, ATP and CPE, or between meiofauna and bacterial parameters. The significant relationship between meiofaunal density and the ratio of labile organic matter/total organic matter indicates that deep-sea meiofauna inhabiting an extremely oligotrophic environment (such as the Eastern Mediterranean) may be more nutritionally dependent upon the quality than on the quantity of sedimentary organic matter.     

Comparison of different methods describing the peak runoff contributing areas during floods

In the last few years, the scientific community has developed several hydrological models aimed at the simulation of hydrological processes acting at the basin scale. In this context, the portion of peak runoff contributing areas represents a critical variable for a correct estimate of surface runoff. Such areas are strongly influenced by the saturated portion of a river basin (influenced by antecedent conditions) but may also evolve during a specific rainfall event. In the recent years, we have developed 2 theoretically derived probability distributions that attempt to interpret these 2 processes adopting daily runoff and flood‐peak time series. The probability density functions (PDFs) obtained by these 2 schematisations were compared for humid river basins in southern Italy. Results highlighted that the PDFs of the peak runoff contributing areas can be interpreted by a gamma distribution and that the PDF of the relative saturated area provides a good interpretation of such process that can be used for flood prediction.     

Faulting on the western flank of Mt Etna and magma intrusions in the shallow crust

Surface deformations on the western flank of Mt Etna volcano, spanning 1980–2004, have been analysed as they pertain to stress interactions between magma intrusions within the shallow crust along the S–SE Rift and faulting sensitivity. During this period, an accurate analysis of strain parameters, computed by inversion of SW electro‐optical distance data, suggested that the observed strong displacements on this flank of the edifice can also be related to dextral shear movements along a roughly NE–SW buried fault crossing the area covered by this network, as supported by seismic observations of the 20–24 April 2001 swarm. Moreover, Coulomb stress change model analysis confirms that the displacement along this fault, heralding the July–August 2001 eruption 2 months earlier can be related to major stresses applied by a dike intrusion at depth along the S–SE Rift, as testified by the microseismicity occurring between November 2000 and 19 April 2001.     

The use of iron chemical analysis of podzols to date the Late Pleistocene–Holocene deglaciation history of the Central Italian Alps

Podzols that have developed on glacial and periglacial features provide the opportunity to reconstruct glacial evolution after the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) using different soil indices. Analysing 17 soils classified as podzol, we used the crystallinity ratio of free iron oxides (CRF) on both the A and Bs horizons, and absolute ages for the same landforms containing the soil profile, to create dating curves. Two equations were generated: age = 4566.9 × ln (CRF) + 1760 (1), and age = 3907 × ln (CRF) + 3508.2 (2). The reliability of the curves was evaluated with the Fe_o/Fe_d ratio, and with the difference of ages calculated using both equations. Equation (2) is considered more reliable because the A horizon may be influenced by new pedogenesis on the pre-existing podzol, leading to the development of a new type of soil. By dating the soils, we reconstructed the glacial history of the three main upper branches of the LGM Adda Glacier in the Central Italian Alps, specifically the Stelvio Pass area (ST), Gavia Pass area (GV), and the Val Viola valley (VV). Seven glacial advances were identified at 16.7–14.7 ka (phase I), 12.3 ka (phase II), 11 ka (phase III), 10–9.7 ka (phase IV), 9 ka (phase V), 7.5 ka (phase VI) and 5.3 ka (phase VII). The first five phases are chronologically similar to the main Late Pleistocene–Early Holocene phases recorded in the Central European Alps. The last two Holocene phases, which are both longer in duration than the Little Ice Age, are recorded in ST and GV. Interestingly, these phases generally are not recorded in the rest of the Central European Alps, where the late Holocene glaciers were smaller than their present size.     

Exploring a landslide inventory created by automated web data mining: the case of Italy

Landslides - Nowadays, several systems to set up landslide inventories exist although they rarely rely on automated or real-time updates. Mass media can provide reliable info about natural hazard...