Validation of theoretical footprint models using experimental measurements of turbulent fluxes over maize fields in Po Valley

Representative source area of turbulent fluxes measured by eddy covariance stations is an important issue which has not yet been fully investigated. In particular, the validation of the analytical footprint models is generally based on the comparison with Lagrangian model predictions, while experimental results are not largely diffused in literature. In this work, spatial distribution of carbon dioxide, latent and sensible heat fluxes across two different maize fields in Po Valley, is used to validate two theoretical footprint models. Experiments are performed in two totally different scenarios at bare and vegetated soils using two eddy covariance systems: one fixed station which is located about in the middle of the field and a mobile station which is placed at various distances from the field edge to investigate the horizontal variation of the vertical scalar fluxes. The first objective of this work is to provide detailed information about the spatial distribution of turbulent fluxes across Po Valley characteristic fields at bare and vegetated soils, highlighting peculiarities and uniqueness. The second objective consists in the comparison between mobile measurements of carbon dioxide, latent and sensible heat fluxes and the predictions of two analytical footprint models widely used in literature. Contemporaneously, the latter objective will permit to understand what is the best footprint model which, under typical Po Valley atmospheric turbulent conditions, describes a representative source area compatible with the field dimensions and the turbulent flux distributions. The results show that both models are in good agreement with experimental measurements. The results also show that the spatial distribution of turbulent fluxes is strongly influenced by the presence of vegetation in the field. Moreover, the representative source area is different for different scalar fluxes. Another result is about 10:1 fetch-to-height obtained for both field situations.     

Using GB-SAR technique to monitor slow moving landslide

A Ground-Based SAR (GB-SAR) interferometer was employed to measure the surface displacements of a landslide occurring in the Carnian Alps, north-eastern Italy, which has affected a national road and seriously damaged a road tunnel still under construction. Moreover, since the landslide is located on the left bank of the Tagliamento River Valley, it is feared that this mass movement might dam the river, creating a basin that would increase natural hazard for the valley inhabitants. The data collected from December 2002 to July 2005 by a conventional monitoring system, consisting of a GPS network and boreholes equipped with inclinometric tubes, showed that the landslide was moving at a quasi-constant rate of about 3 cm per year. Due to the slow deformation rate of the landslide, a recently developed GB-SAR technique based on the analysis of a restricted ensemble of coherent points was used. Two surveys, each lasting two days, were planned in December 2004 and July 2005, in order to map and measure the surface displacements that occurred over time. The results from the radar were compared with the ones derived from the GPS monitoring network. An agreement was achieved among the data collected, showing the capability of the GB-SAR technique to measure displacements even within a time span of several months between the surveys.     

Optical satellite imagery for quantifying spatio-temporal dimension of physical exposure in disaster risk assessments

This work addresses the use of remote sensing imagery to quantify the built environment and its spatial and temporal changes. It identifies building footprint map, building location map and built-up area map as information products that can be used to quantify physical exposure, one of the variables required in disaster risk assessments. The paper also reviews urban land use maps and urban classes in land cover maps as potential source for deriving exposure information. The paper focuses on the latest generation of satellite-borne remote sensing imaging systems that deliver high-resolution optical imagery able to resolve buildings and other three-dimensional man-made constructions. This work also reviews the semantics, the spatial unit used to define physical exposure, image processing procedures and change techniques.     

Retrieving lateral variations from surface wave dispersion curves‡

Surface wave analysis is usually applied as a 1D tool to estimate V_S profiles. Here we evaluate the potential of surface wave analysis for the case of lateral variations. Lateral variations can be characterized by exploiting the data redundancy of the ground roll contained in multifold seismic data. First, an automatic processing procedure is applied that allows stacking dispersion curves obtained from different records and which retrieves experimental uncertainties. This is carried out by sliding a window along a seismic line to obtain an ensemble of dispersion curves associated to a series of spatial coordinates. Then, a laterally constrained inversion algorithm is adopted to handle 2D effects, although a 1D model has been assumed for the forward problem solution. We have conducted different tests on three synthetic data sets to evaluate the effects of the processing parameters and of the constraints on the inversion results. The same procedure, applied to the synthetic data, was then tested on a field case. Both the synthetic and field data show that the proposed approach allows smooth lateral variations to be properly retrieved and that the introduction of lateral constraints improves the final result compared to individual inversions.     

LIDAR monitoring of mass wasting processes: The Radicofani landslide, Province of Siena, Central Italy

The Radicofani Basin, stretching about 30 km NW–SE, is an intra-Central Apennine basin connected to Pliocene–Pleistocene extensional tectonics. It consists of an Early to Middle Pliocene succession including essentially shelf pelites. In the Radicofani area, province of Siena (Tuscany region), morphodynamic processes are very frequent with widespread badlands and rapidly evolving mudflows. In order to evaluate the general instability of the Radicofani area, geological and geomorphological surveys were carried out. The 1954, 1990 and 2003 aerial surveys allowed a comparison of the changes in the various morphological aspects of the study area, which suggested an increase in slope instability with time. A new complex translational landslide evolving into mudflows, activated during the winter of 2003, was monitored using an experimental system based on terrestrial LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) and GPS (Global Positioning System) technologies. This system allowed the monitoring of the morphologic and volumetric evolution of the landslide. A comparison of the monitoring data of October 2004, June 2005, May 2006 and May 2007 points out that the evolution is characterised by the sliding of displaced materials. A volume of about 1300 m³ of materials was removed during the period 2004–2005, 300 m³ for 2005–2006, and 400 m³ for 2006–2007. The greater initial mass movement probably reflects a greater static imbalance during the early period of landslide movement and increased rainfall. Therefore, the proposed monitoring system methodology allows the numerical evaluation of the landslide morphological evolution and to validate the landslide evolution model based on geological and geomorphological field surveys.     

Transformations of Benzene Photoinduced by Nitrate Salts and Iron Oxide

This paper reports the results of a study on the transformation of benzene in the presence of solid nitrate salts (NaNO₃, NH₄NO₃) under irradiation in a gas-solid photoreactor. Sodium and ammonium nitrate have been chosen as representative of the composition of atmospheric particulate, benzene as a model aromatic molecule. The purpose is to simulate the transformations that aromatic compounds undergo on the surface of dispersed particles in the atmosphere. Irradiation of sodium nitrate causes hydroxylation and nitration of benzene, yielding phenol and nitrobenzene. This is most likely due to the generation of ^•OH and ^•NO₂ radicals upon nitrate photolysis, with ^•OH + O₂ leading to the formation of phenol and ^•OH + ^•NO₂ yielding nitrobenzene. The percentage of oxygen in the reaction environment influences the transformation pathways, with phenol formation being favoured and nitrobenzene formation depressed by high O₂ concentration. In the presence of hematite (α-Fe₂O₃, another component of atmospheric particulate) very relevant formation of nitrobenzene takes place even with 21% oxygen (simulated air), indicating that the interaction between hematite and nitrate can lead to the formation of aromatic nitroderivatives on the surface of atmospheric particulate. The effect of hematite is possibly due to protonation of peroxynitrite, formed upon nitrate photoisomerisation, to peroxynitrous acid, a powerful nitrating agent. A similar effect leads to relevant formation of nitrobenzene under atmospheric conditions upon irradiation of the acid salt ammonium nitrate.     

Hydrological and biogeochemical features of the Northern Adriatic Sea in the period 2003–2006

This paper reports on the main biogeochemical properties of the Northern Adriatic Sea in the period May 2003–November 2006 within the framework of the European program INTERREG III Italy‐Slovenia. Spatial and temporal distributions of water density, dissolved oxygen, nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorous and silicon) and chlorophyll a are presented. Multivariate methods such as fuzzy k‐means, self‐organising maps and cluster analysis were used to identify the different water masses and to characterise the temporal and spatial variability of the main biogeochemical features present in the area. The results confirm that the Po River outflows and the meteorological forcing factors are the main components triggering the alternation of stratification and mixing of the water column and that strongly affect the trophic state of the basin. In general, oligotrophic conditions dominate, and were more pronounced offshore, but mesotrophy occurred episodically in May 2004 and July 2005, when phytoplankton blooms were observed concomitant with vertical stability of the water column. A marked interannual variability was also observed, supporting the importance of maintaining long‐term observations of the basin.     

Identification of a Holocene aquifer–lagoon system using hydrogeochemical data

The hydrogeochemical characteristics of the Cabo de Gata coastal aquifer (southeastern Spain) were studied in an attempt to explain the anomalous salinity of its groundwater. This detritic aquifer is characterised by the presence of waters with highly contrasting salinities; in some cases the salinity exceeds that of seawater. Multivariate analysis of water samples indicates two groups of water (G1 and G2). Group G1 is represented in the upper part of the aquifer, where the proportion of seawater varies between 10 and 60%, whilst G2 waters, taken from the lower part of the aquifer, contain 60−70% seawater. In addition, hydrogeochemical modelling was applied, which reveals that the waters have been subject to evaporation between 25 and 35%. There was a good agreement between the modelled results and the observed water chemistry. This evaporation would have occurred during the Holocene, in a coastal lagoon environment; the resulting brines would have infiltrated into the aquifer and, due to their greater density, sunk towards the impermeable base. The characteristics of this water enabled us to reconstruct the interactions that must have occurred between the coastal aquifer and the lagoon, and to identify the environmental conditions that prevailed in the study area during the Middle Holocene.     

Analysis of rockfall risk on mountainside roads: evaluation of the effect of protection devices

Many kilometres of roads are close to rock slopes that are prone to rockfalls. The fulfilment of safety requirements in such situations is a multidimensional design process involving public and private technicians in the assessment and management of the problem. In this paper, a rockfall risk management approach has been applied to the road infrastructure network of the Regione Autonoma Valle D’Aosta, in order to calculate the level of risk and of its reduction using rockfall protection devices. In order to better understand the methodology, a comparative analysis of road accidents in Aosta Valley has been discussed. The road risk assessment was developed taking into account the absence of rockfall protection devices, and when they are present, different levels of efficacy have been considered.     

SATLSim: a Semi-Analytic framework for fast GNSS tracking loop simulations

The analysis of tracking loops for global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) receivers is often confined to Monte Carlo approaches that can result in long simulation times and a limited number of simulation runs. A different approach based on Semi-Analytic principles is considered here. Matlab^® code implementing a Semi-Analytic framework for the fast simulation of GNSS digital tracking loops is presented. The code structure is detailed and two specific examples implementing a standard PLL and the Double Estimator for unambiguous binary offset carrier (BOC) tracking are provided. The code has been organized in a modular way, and can be easily modified for the simulation of different tracking loops.