New gravity maps of the Eastern Alps and significance for the crustal structures

The deep seismic profile Transalp crosses, from north to south, Germany, Austria and Italy. The gravity measurements for each country were made by national agencies with different reference systems and data reduction methods. Within the frame of the Transalp-project a comprehensive database of the Eastern Alps was compiled covering an area of 3.5° by 4° in longitude and latitude (275 by 445 km), respectively. To increase the data coverage in the south Alpine area two gravity surveys were carried out, resulting in 469 areally distributed new stations, of which 215 have been measured with the intent to improve the geoid in the area of the planned Brenner Basistunnel (BBT). The resulting gravity database is the best in terms of resolution and data quality presently available for the Eastern Alps. Here the free air, Bouguer and isostatic gravity fields are critically discussed. The spatial density of existing gravity stations in the three countries is discussed. On the Italian side of the Alps the spatial density is rather sparse compared to the Austrian side. The Bouguer-gravity field varies between − 190 * 10^− 5 m/s² and + 25 * 10^− 5 m/s², with the minimum located along the Alpine high topographic chain, but with a small offset (a few tens of km) to the greatest topographic elevation, showing that the Airy-type local isostatic equilibrium does not fully apply here. The maximum of the Bouguer anomaly has an elongated shape of 100 by 50 km located between the towns of Verona and Vicenza and covers the Venetian Tertiary Volcanic Province (VTVP), a feature not directly related to the plate collision in the Eastern Alps. The gravity high is only partly explainable by high-density magmatic rocks and requires also a deeper source, like a shallowing of the Moho. The isostatic residual anomalies (Airy model) are in the range ± 50 * 10^− 5 m/s², with the greatest positive anomaly corresponding to the location of the VTVP, indicating here under-compensation of masses. At last a discussion of a 2D density model based on reflection seismic data and receiver functions is made.     

Migration and accumulation of ultra-depleted subduction-related melts in the Massif du Sud ophiolite (New Caledonia)

The Massif du Sud is a large ophiolitic complex that crops out in the southern region of New Caledonia (SW Pacific). It is dominated by harzburgite tectonite that locally shows a transitional gradation to massive dunite up section. Clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene and plagioclase progressively appear in dunite up to the transition to layered wehrlite and orthopyroxene–gabbro. The dunite–wehrlite and wehrlite–gabbro contacts are parallel and the latter defines the paleo-Moho.Highly depleted modal, mineral and bulk rock compositions indicate that harzburgites are residues after high degrees (20–30%) of partial melting mainly in the spinel-stability field. Their relative enrichment in HFSE, LREE and MREE is due to re-equilibration of melting residues with percolating melts. Dunite formed in the Moho transition zone by reaction between residual mantle harzburgite and olivine-saturated melts that led to pyroxene dissolution and olivine precipitation. Rare clinopyroxene and plagioclase crystallized in interstitial melt pores of dunite from primitive, low-TiO₂, ultra-depleted liquids with a geochemical signature transitional between those of island arc tholeiites and boninites.Ascending batches of relatively high-SiO₂, ultra-depleted melts migrated through the Moho transition zone and generated wehrlite by olivine dissolution and crystallization of clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene and plagioclase in variable amounts. These liquids were more evolved and were produced by higher degrees of melting or from a more depleted source compared with melts that locally crystallized clinopyroxene in dunite. Ultra-depleted magmas, non-cogenetic with those that formed the Moho transition zone, ascended to the lower crust and generated gabbroic cumulates with subduction-related affinity. Thus, the ultramafic and mafic rocks in the Moho transition zone and lower crust of the Massif du Sud ophiolite are not products of fractional crystallization from a single magma-type but are the result of migration and accumulation of different melts in a multi-stage evolution.The record of high partial melting in the mantle section, and migration and accumulation of ultra-depleted subduction-related melts in the Moho transition zone and lower crust support that the Massif du Sud ophiolite is a portion of forearc lithosphere generated in an extensional regime during the early phases of the subduction zone evolution. Our results show the existence of different types of ultra-depleted melt compositions arriving at the Moho transition zone and lower crust of an infant intraoceanic paleo-arc. Ultra-depleted melts may thus be a significant component of the melt budget generated in oceanic spreading forearcs prior to aggregation and mixing of a large range of melt compositions in the crust.     

The restricted planar isosceles three-body problem with non-negative energy

We consider a restricted three-body problem consisting of two positive equal masses m ₁ = m ₂ moving, under the mutual gravitational attraction, in a collision orbit and a third infinitesimal mass m ₃ moving in the plane P perpendicular to the line joining m ₁ and m ₂. The plane P is assumed to pass through the center of mass of m ₁ and m ₂. Since the motion of m ₁ and m ₂ is not affected by m ₃, from the symmetry of the configuration it is clear that m ₃ remains in the plane P and the three masses are at the vertices of an isosceles triangle for all time. The restricted planar isosceles three-body problem describes the motion of m ₃ when its angular momentum is different from zero and the motion of m ₁ and m ₂ is not periodic. Our main result is the characterization of the global flow of this problem.     

Late Pleistocene depositional cycles of the Lapis Tiburtinus travertine (Tivoli, Central Italy): Possible influence of climate and fault activity

The depositional and erosional history of the Lapis Tiburtinus endogenic travertine located circa 25 km to the east of Rome, Central Italy, near the Colli Albani quiescent volcano, is interpreted through three-dimensional stratigraphy and uranium-series geochronology. Analyses of large exposures located in active quarries and of cores obtained from 114 industrial wells reveal that the travertine deposit is about 20 km² wide and 60 m thick on average. The travertine thickness is over 85 m toward its western N–S-elongated side, where thermal springs and large sinkholes occur aligned over a seismically-active N-striking fault. The travertine age was calculated using the U/Th isochron method. Results constrain the onset and conclusion of travertine deposition at about 115 and 30 ka, respectively. The three-dimensional study of the travertine shows that this deposit is characterized by a succession of depositional benches grown in an aggradational fashion. The benches are separated by five main erosional surfaces, which are associated with paleosols, conglomerates, and karstic features. This evidence shows that the travertine evolution was mostly controlled by water table fluctuations. Chronological correlations between travertine evolution and paleoclimate indicators suggest that the travertine deposition was partly modulated by climate conditions. Other influencing factors may have been fault-related deformation and volcanic events.     

A hypoplastic macroelement model for shallow foundations under monotonic and cyclic loads

In this work, a macroelement for shallow foundations on sands has been developed based on the theory of hypoplasticity. The incrementally nonlinear constitutive equations of the macromodel are defined in terms of generalized forces and displacements and are constructed based on the general approach proposed by Niemunis (Extended Hypoplastic Models for Soils. Habilitation Thesis, Bochum University, 2002). A suitable vectorial internal variable—mimicking the concept of intergranular strain introduced by Niemunis and Herle (Mech Cohes Frict Mater 2:279–299, 1997) for continuum hypoplasticity—is employed to provide the model sufficient memory of past displacement history to be able to reproduce the observed behavior under cyclic loading paths. As compared to similar macroelements formulated within the framework of the theory of elastoplasticity, the proposed approach has the advantage of a much simpler mathematical structure, which allows a straightforward implementation in existing structural analysis FE codes. The model performance has then been evaluated by comparing the model predictions with available experimental results from a series of small-scale model tests reported by Nova and Montrasio (Géotechnique 41:243–256, 1991). Overall, the model captures reasonably well the observed response under nonproportional, complex loading paths. A series of simulations reproducing the tests performed by di Prisco et al. (Shallow footing under cyclic loading: experimental behaviour and constitutive modelling. Patron, Bologna, 2003) has also demonstrated the potential of the proposed model to simulate the observed behavior of footings under cyclic loading paths, at least from a qualitative point of view.     

A probabilistic model for rainfall—induced shallow landslide prediction at the regional scale

This paper presents a new probabilistic physically-based computational model (called PG_TRIGRS) for the probabilistic analysis of rainfall-induced landslide hazard at a regional scale. The model is based on the deterministic approach implemented in the original TRIGRS code, developed by Baum et al. (USGS Open File Report 02–424, 2002) and Baum et al. (USGS Open File Report 08–1159, 2008). Its key innovative features are: (a) the application of Ordinary Kriging for the estimation of the spatial distributions of the first two statistical moments of the probability density functions of the relevant soil properties over the entire area, based on limited available information gathered from available information from limited site investigation campaigns, and (b) the use of Rosenblueth’s Point Estimate method as a more efficient alternative to the classical Monte Carlo method for the reliability analysis performed at the single-cell level to obtain the probability of failure associated to a given rainfall event. The application of the PG_TRIGRS code to a selected study area located in the Umbria Region for different idealized but realistic rainfall scenarios has demonstrated the computational efficiency and the accuracy of the proposed methodology, assessed by comparing predicted landslide densities with available field observations reported by the IFFI project. In particular, while the model might fail to identify all individual landslide events, its predictions are remarkably good in identifying the areas of higher landslide density.     

Repeated glacial-lake outburst floods in Patagonia: an increasing hazard?

Five similar glacial-lake outburst floods (GLOFs) occurred in April, October, December 2008, March and September 2009 in the Northern Patagonia Icefield. On each occasion, Cachet 2 Lake, dammed by the Colonia Glacier, released circa 200-million m³ water into the Colonia River. Refilling has occurred rapidly, such that further outbreak floods can be expected. Pipeflow calculations of the subglacial tunnel drainage and 1D hydraulic models of the river flood give consistent results, with an estimated peak discharge surpassing 3,000 m³ s^?1. These floods were larger in magnitude than any flood on record, according to gauged data since 1963. However, geomorphological analysis of the Colonia valley shows physical evidence of former catastrophic outburst floods from a larger glacial-lake, with flood discharges possibly as high as 16,000 m³ s^?1. Due to potential impacts of climate change on glacier dynamics in the area, jökulhlaups may increase future flood risks for infrastructure and population. This is particularly relevant in view of the current development of hydropower projects in Chilean Patagonia.     

Putting science into practice: the Second World Landslide Forum,Rome, 3–9 October, 2011

The World Landslide Forum is a triennial mainstream conference aimed at gathering scientists, stakeholders, policy makers and industry members dealing with the management of landslide risk. The First World Landslide Forum, organised by the International Consortium of Landslides, UNESCO, WMO, FAO, UNISDR, UNU, UNEP, IBRD, UNDP, ICSU, WFEO, KU and the Japan Landslide Society, was held in 2008 at the United Nations University, Tokyo. The First World Landslide Forum adopted the 2008 Tokyo Declaration ‘Strengthening the International Programme on Landslides with UNISDR’. The numerous recent disasters due to landslides show that there is an urgent need to translate science into practical applications to assist communities, governments and disaster-relief organisations avert and mitigate future landslide disasters. For this reason, the explicit theme of the Second World Landslide Forum, being organised for Rome, Italy, for 3–9 October 2011, is to connect landslide scientists with landslide stakeholders in a special landslide forum to align future innovations in landslide science and technology with the future needs of humanity and the environment.     

A Europe–South America network for climate change assessment and impact studies

The goal of the CLARIS project was to build an integrated European–South American network dedicated to promote common research strategies to observe and predict climate changes and their consequent socio-economic impacts taking into account the climate and societal peculiarities of South America. Reaching that goal placed the present network as a privileged advisor to contribute to the design of adaptation strategies in a region strongly affected by and dependent on climate variability (e.g. agriculture, health, hydro-electricity). Building the CLARIS network required fulfilling the following three objectives: (1) The first objective of CLARIS was to set up and favour the technical transfer and expertise in earth system and regional climate modelling between Europe and South America together with the providing of a list of climate data (observed and simulated) required for model validations; (2) The second objective of CLARIS was to facilitate the exchange of observed and simulated climate data between the climate research groups and to create a South American high-quality climate database for studies in extreme events and long-term climate trends; (3) Finally, the third objective of CLARIS was to strengthen the communication between climate researchers and stakeholders, and to demonstrate the feasibility of using climate information in the decision-making process.