The abandoned Pb-Zn mine of Ingurtosu, Sardinia (Italy)

The Ingurtosu Pb-Zn mine, situated in the southwestern part of Sardinia, has been in production from the beginning of the last century up to 1968. The orebody consists of galena/sphalerite/barite/siderite veins in Ordovician arenaceous and phyllitic sediments, near the contact with a Hercynian batholith.

Abundant tailings were collected in a pond from which they were discharged during the winter months into the sea via the Rio Naracauli stream. Today this area of outstanding scenic beauty, is degraded by tailings and waste rock scattered all along the stream.

Material derived from mining activities was studied for grain size, mineralogical and geochemical composition. The Rio Naracauli was sampled over a length of ten kilometers at regular intervals.

The results can be summarized as follows: (a) tailings contain a varying, but often quite high, percentage of Pb; lower percentages were found for Zn and Cd; (b) a sharp increase in dissolved Zn, Cd and Pb was observed in the Rio Naracauli where it leached the tailings; and (c) tailings and waste rocks should be recycled or revegetated.     

PAssive COastal TOMography: an Innovative Approach for the Remote Monitoring of Sea Temperature

Abstract. This paper describes a new Ocean Acoustic Tomography (OAT) methodology - a passive tomography - presently in an advanced development phase. This technique has been developed for long-term, extensive, remote monitoring of the seawater temperature spatial distribution, which is estimated from the received noise emitted from ships of opportunity. To test the passive tomographic processor under controlled conditions, the components of the naval noise from different kinds of vessels was analysed and realistic naval noise was simulated. The feasibility of the proposed methodology was confirmed by test-runs on semi-synthetic data; its capability to resolve temperature profiles will be better assessed with the use of real acoustic and environmental data collected during the INTIMATE00 experiment performed in October 2000 in the Atlantic Ocean off the Portuguese coast. An analysis of the space and time variability of the Empirical Orthogonal Function (EOF) decomposition of the sound speed (SSP) in the Mediterranean Sea has been carried out to identify areas where acoustic tomography can be successfully applied. Results from simulations in the South Adriatic Sea, which was identified as a region with a high sound speed variability associated with the seasonal cycle and with the main oceanographic processes, are reported.     

Toward a radiometric ice clock: uranium ages of the Dome C ice core

Ice sheets and deep ice cores have yielded a wealth of paleoclimate information based on continuous dating methods while independent radiometric ages of ice have remained elusive. Here we demonstrate the application of (²³⁴U/²³⁸U) measurements to dating the EPICA Dome C ice core based on the accumulation of ²³⁴U in the ice matrix from recoil during ²³⁸U decay out of dust bound within the ice. Measured (²³⁴U/²³⁸U) activity ratios within the ice generally increase with depth while the surface areas of the dust grains are relatively constant. Using a newly designed device for measuring surface area for small samples, we were able to estimate reliably the recoil efficiency of nuclides from dust to ice. The resulting calculated radiometric ages range between 80 ka and 870 ka. Measured samples in the upper 3100 m fall on the previously published age-depth profile. Samples in the 3200–3255 m section show a marked change from 723–870 ka to 85 ka indicating homogenization of the deep ice prior to resetting of the (²³⁴U/²³⁸U) age in the basal layers. The mechanism for homogenization is likely enhanced lateral ice flow due to high basal melting and geothermal heat flux.     

GRIDA3—a shared resources manager for environmental data analysis and applications

GRIDA3 (Shared Resources Manager for Environmental Data Analysis and Applications) is a multidisciplinary project designed to deliver an integrated system to forge solutions to some environmental challenges such as the constant increase of polluted sites, the sustainability of natural resources usage and the forecast of extreme meteorological events. The GRIDA3 portal is mainly based on Web 2.0 technologies and EnginFrame framework. The portal, now at an advanced stage of development, provides end-users with intuitive Web-interfaces and tools that simplify job submission to the underneath computing resources. The framework manages the user authentication and authorization, then controls the action and job execution into the grid computing environment, collects the results and transforms them into an useful format on the client side. The GRIDA3 Portal framework will provide a problem-solving platform allowing, through appropriate access policies, the integration and the sharing of skills, resources and tools located at multiple sites across federated domains.     

Three-dimensional kinematic depth migration of converted waves: application to the 2002 Molise aftershock sequence (southern Italy)

Migration techniques, currently used in seismic exploration, are still scarcely applied in earthquake seismology due to the poor source knowledge and sparse, irregular acquisition geometries. At the crustal scale, classical seismological studies often perform inversions based on the arrival time of primary phases (P- and S-waves) but seldom exploit other information included in seismic records. Here we show how migration techniques can be adapted to earthquake seismology for converted wave analysis. As an example, we used data recorded by a dense local seismic network during the 2002 Molise aftershock sequence. In October and November 2002, two moderate magnitude earthquakes struck the Molise region (southern Italy), followed by an aftershock sequence lasting for about one month. Local earthquake tomography has provided earthquake hypocenter locations and three-dimensional models of P and S velocity fields. Strong secondary signals have been detected between first-arrivals of P- and S-waves and identified as SP transmitted waves. In order to analyse these waves, we apply a prestack depth migration scheme based on the Kirchhoff summation technique. Since source parameters are unknown, seismograms are equalized and only kinematic aspects of the migration process are considered. Converted wave traveltimes are calculated in the three-dimensional (3D) tomographic models using a finite-difference eikonal solver and back ray tracing. In the migrated images, the area of dominant energy conversion corresponds to a strong seismic horizon that we interpreted as the top of the Apulia Carbonate Platform and whose geometry and position at depth is consistent with current structural models from existing commercial seismic profiles, gravimetric and well data.     

A new passive rolling‐pendulum vibration absorber using a non‐axial‐symmetrical guide to achieve bidirectional tuning

A new, passive, vibroprotective device of the rolling‐pendulum tuned mass damper type is presented that, relying on a proper three‐dimensional guiding surface, can simultaneously control the response of the supporting structure in two mutually orthogonal horizontal directions. Unlike existing examples of ball vibration absorbers, mounted on spherical recesses and effective for axial‐symmetrical structures, the new device is bidirectionally tuneable, by virtue of the optimum shape of the rolling cavity, to both fundamental structural modes, even when the corresponding natural frequencies are different, in such a case recurring to an innovative non‐axial‐symmetrical rolling guide. Based on Appell's non‐holonomic mechanics, a non‐linear dynamic model is first derived for the bidirectional absorber mounted on a 1‐storey 3‐degrees‐of‐freedom linear structure translating under the effect of both imparted base motion and applied dynamic forces. A laboratory‐scaled prototype of the device is then tested to experimentally demonstrate the bidirectional tuning capability and to validate the mathematical model. The design procedure and the seismic performance of the absorber are finally exemplified through numerical simulation. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Morpho-structural setting of Stromboli volcano revealed by high-resolution bathymetry and backscatter data of its submarine portions

The first high-resolution bathymetric and backscatter maps of offshore Stromboli Island are presented, together with an interpretation of its volcanic, structural and sedimentary features. The volcanic edifice is characterized by a sub-conical shape with a quasi-bilateral symmetry with respect to a NE-SW axis. The dimensions of the Strombolicchio volcanic centre, to the NE of Stromboli, have been restored by redrawing its morphology before wave action that eroded it in Late Quaternary time. On the NE submarine flank of Strombolicchio, a N64°E structural trend controls the shape of Strombolicchio Canyon. On the southern side of Stromboli, the submarine flank has a radial structural trend, possibly reflecting a volcanic stress regime. Landslide scars at various scales are ubiquitous on the submarine slopes of Stromboli. Repeated large-scale lateral collapses have affected both the northwestern and southeastern unbuttressed flanks of the volcano, producing large debris avalanche deposits.     

Age and whole rock–glass compositions of proximal pyroclastics from the major explosive eruptions of Somma-Vesuvius: A review as a tool for distal tephrostratigraphy

A review of compositional data of the major explosive eruptions of Vesuvius is presented, comparing compositions (major elements) of whole rock with glass shards from the proximal deposits, hopefully useful for long-distance correlation. A critical review of published and new geochronological data is also provided. All available ¹⁴C ages are calibrated to give calendar ages useful for the reconstruction of the volcanological evolution of the volcanic complex. The pyroclastic deposits of the four major Plinian eruptions (22,000 yr cal BP “Pomici di Base”, 8900 yr cal BP “Mercato Pumice”, 4300 yr cal BP “Avellino Pumice”, and A.D. 79 “Pompeii Pumice”) are widely dispersed and allow a four-folded, Plinian to Plinian, stratigraphic division: 1. B–M (between Pomici di Base and Mercato); 2. M–A (between Mercato and Avellino); 3. A–P (between Avellino and Pompeii); 4. P–XX (from the Pompeii Pumice to the last erupted products of the XXth century). Within each interval, the age, lithologic and compositional features of pyroclastic deposits of major eruptions, potentially useful for tephrostratigraphic purposes on distal areas, are briefly discussed. The Vesuvius rocks are mostly high Potassic products, widely variable in terms of their silica saturation. They form three groups, different for both composition and age: 1. slightly undersaturated, older than Mercato eruption; 2. mildly undersaturated, from Mercato to Pompeii eruptions; 3. highly undersaturated, younger than Pompeii eruption. For whole rock analyses, the peculiar variations in contents of some major and trace elements as well as different trends in element/element ratios, allow a clear, unequivocal, easy diagnosis of the group they belong. Glass analyses show large compositional overlap between different groups, but selected element vs. element plots are distinctive for the three groups. The comparative analysis of glass and whole rock major element compositions provides reliable geochemical criteria helping in the recognition, frequently not obvious, of distal products from the different single eruptions.