Seismic characterization of rigid sites in the ITACA database by ambient vibration monitoring and geological surveys

The problem of seismic characterization of rock-mass or stiff-soil outcrops by the use of passive seismic prospecting techniques is discussed. Difficulties in the application of this kind of procedure in the presence of rugged morphology, high surface wave velocities and low ambient vibration powers, typical of stiff-soil/rock-mass sites are examined. A methodology to face these problems is here proposed, which is based on the strict synergy of detailed geologic surveys and application of robust seismic prospecting techniques, jointly considering single-station and multi-station tools. The application of this approach for the characterization of a number of sites belonging to the Italian Accelerometric Network is described, focusing on two representative case histories.     

The sagging deep-seated gravitational movements on the eastern side of Mt. Amiata (Tuscany,Italy)

The eastern side of the Mt. Amiata volcano is affected by a series of deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DsGSDs). The San Piero and the Podere Mezzavia DsGSDs affect the lower part of the slope. The main escarpments are located on the outer edges of the lava flows, but the landslides mostly affect the pre-volcanic Ligurian Terrains. A deeper movement, possibly exceeding 100 m in thickness, is evidenced by a long trench at the base of the main escarpment that indicates a sagging type movement. This deeper movement is responsible for the activation of a series of superficial rock and mud flows that show evidence of ongoing activity. The most likely location of the sliding surface is the tectonized contact between the Santa Fiora and Argille a Palombini Fms within the Ligurian units, although the superficial landslides prevent our determining with certainty if a clear-cut sliding surface already developed connecting the upper and the lower parts of the slope. These DsGSDs were activated along the flanks of a larger movement that affects the lava flow units cropping out in the middle slope of the volcano. A long main escarpment, secondary escarpments, trenches and borehole data suggest that the thickness could locally exceed 200 m and generate another sagging type movement. Up-slope and up-movement-facing counterscarps indicate the existence of a listric elongated spoon-shaped compound embryonic sliding surface. This sagging, which hosts the towns of Abbadia San Salvatore and Piancastagnaio, appears to be in a quiescent stage, according to preliminary monitoring with a global positioning system (GPS) network. The downcutting of the river network along the softer Pliocene terrains of the Radicofani basin is enhanced by the general uplift of the Apennines and seems to be the major factor in the activation of these DsGSDs.     

Mixed nonlinear regression for modelling historical temperatures in Central–Southern Italy

This paper has exploited, for Central and Southern Italy (Mediterranean Sub-regional Area), an unprecedented historical dataset as an attempt to model seasonal (winter and summer) air temperatures in pre-instrumental time (back to 1500). Combining information derived from proxy–documentary data and large-scale simulation, a statistical downscaling approach in the form of mixed regression model was developed to adapt larger-scale estimations (regional component) to the sub-regional temperature pattern (local component). It interprets local temperature anomalies by means of monthly based Temperature Anomaly Scaled Index in the range ?5 (very cold conditions in June) to 2 (very warm conditions). The modelled response agrees well with the independent data from the validation sample (Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient, >0.60). The advantage of the approach is not merely increased accuracy in estimation. Rather, it relies on the ability to extract (and exploit) the right information to replicate coherent temperature series in historical times.     

Reclamation influence and background geochemistry of neutral saline soils in the Po River Delta Plain (Northern Italy)

Reclaimed neutral saline sulphate soils constitute a large part of the eastern part of Po Plain lowlands, where intensive agricultural activities take place. The knowledge of their geochemical features is essential to develop the best management practices capable to preserve this threatened environment. With this aim, three boreholes were drilled in an agricultural field and a typical reclaimed soil profile has been characterized for major and trace element, pH, electrical conductivity, redox conditions and water-soluble anions and ammonium. Statistical analysis (cluster analysis and principal component analysis) has been used to understand the relationship between elements and grain size. The soil profile is characterized by high salinity and high organic matter contents responsible for high chloride, sulphate, and ammonium concentrations. Heavy metal content is naturally high, since Po Plain sediments are the result of ultramafic rocks erosion; in addition, organic matter tends to concentrate heavy metals by adsorption, mainly in peaty horizons. As a consequence of chemical and zootechnical fertilization, high NO₃ ^? contents have been found in the top soil, thus enhancing the risk of nitrate discharge in the water system, especially in relation to extreme climatic events.     

COCHISE: the first light of the Italian millimetre telescope at Concordia (Dome C, Antarctica)

COCHISE (Cosmological Observations at Concordia with High-sensitivity Instrument for Source Extraction) is a 2.6 m telescope located on the high Antarctic Plateau near the Italian–French Concordia Base. The telescope is mainly devoted to Cosmological observations, able to operate between 200 μm and 3 mm of wavelength. In this paper we describe the main characteristics of the instrument. We also report on the first light, obtained during summer 2010–2011: this result marks the beginning of millimetre astrophysical observations at Concordia. Responsivity, noise equivalent temperature and field of view of the instrument are reported. At present COCHISE is the largest telescope located at Concordia. Beside the scientific expectations, the use of this kind of instrument in the Antarctic environment poses technological aspects of relevant interest: thus COCHISE can be considered as a pathfinder for future Antarctic telescopes.     

Ruinon landslide (Valfurva, Italy) activity in relation to rainfall by means of GBInSAR monitoring

The active Ruinon rockslide is located on the left bank of the Frodolfo River valley (Valfurva, Italian Alps) and is developed on the Confinale deep-seated gravitational slope deformation. Ruinon landslide is a major hazard for valley inhabitants in that rapid movement might dam the stream and create a debris flow. The landslide is strongly controlled by preexisting structural features and is believed to have been triggered by postglacial debuttressing. Ground-based radar interferometry has been used to map surface deformation over time of the entire unstable zone of Ruinon landslide with high spatial resolution and at a very high temporal acquisition rate (about five images per hour). The activity of the landslide shows strong periodicity, with summer and autumn accelerations and winter deceleration. From a correlation between the landslide acceleration and a class of rainfall event, we deduce the specific rainfall conditions that accelerate the instability of the landslide area. The study results suggest an improved tool for early warning of events of potentially catastrophic landslide instability.     

Monitoring of soil subsidence in urban and coastal areas due to groundwater overexploitation using GPS

The global positioning system (GPS) is widely used for determining the three-dimensional position of points on earth surface. In the last few years, its use has also been increasingly employed for obtaining vertical geometric coordinates, which associated with the orthometrical altitude of the point can be employed in various civil engineering applications, as has been seen in diverse localities throughout the world. The satisfactory performance of this technology for obtaining excellent precision in vertical coordinates demands some conditions, related to the satellites, such as transmission of signals and, principally, in the case of urbanized areas, the presence of obstructions in the proximity of the equipment, which interferes with the quality and quantity of the information collected. GPS is an efficient technique for the detection of small movements, including the monitoring of soil subsidence. The present article describes adequate forms of the use of GPS in such a way as to guarantee good precision of the resulting vertical coordinates, even under unfavorable situations, such as in coastal areas, where the reference networks for monitoring are implanted in only one of the sides of the point?Cobject region, which makes the situation more difficult and requires careful planning so that the use of GPS reaches the desired precision.     

Leucogranite intruding the South Tibetan Detachment in western Nepal: implications for exhumation models in the Himalayas

The most popular models regarding the exhumation of the Greater Himalayan Sequence (GHS), such as extrusion, channel flow, critical taper and wedge extrusion, require prolonged activity of the two bounding shear zones and faults, the Main Central Thrust (MCT) and the South Tibetan Detachment (STD). We present the crystallization age of an undeformed leucogranite that intrudes both the GHS and the Tethyan Himalaya Sequence (THS). Zircon and monazite U‐Pb ages in the leucogranite give ages between 23 and 25 Ma constraining, at that time, the end of shearing along the STD. Our results limit the contemporaneous activity of the MCT and STD to a short period of time (~1–2 Ma) and thus argue against exhumation models requiring prolonged contemporaneous activity of the MCT and STD.     

Sedimentary record of Late Paleozoic rift and break-up in Northern Gondwana: a case history from the Thini Chu Group and Tamba-Kurkur Formation (Dolpo Tethys Himalaya,Nepal)

The Gottero unit of the Northern Apennines, Italy, is representative of the sedimentary cover of the Ligure-Piemontese oceanic lithosphere. This unit consists of a thick sedimentary sequence that includes Valanginian-Santonian pelagic deposits and Campanian-early Paleocene turbiditic deposits. The latter are overlain by early Paleocene trench deposits related to frontal tectonic erosion of the accretionary wedge slope. This sequence is interpreted as recording trenchward motion of the oceanic lithosphere.

The Gottero unit records a pre-Late Oligocene, complex deformation history related to subduction and accretion events. This deformation history has developed through underthrusting (D1a), underplating (D1b and D1c) and later exhumation (D2a and D2b) episodes. The folding phase related to the main underplating sub-phase (D1b) is predated by a sub-phase (D1a) connected to rapid fluid escape and followed by a sub-phase dominated by the development of shear zones (D1c). The D1b sub-phase is characterized by similar folds and a slaty cleavage developed under P/T conditions of 0.4GPa/210°-270 °C. The D1c sub-phase, characterized by west-verging thrusts, is particularly signficative in understanding the dynamics of the Ligure-Piemontese accretionary wedge because it testifies active shortening of the Gottero unit also after its transfer to the prism. In addition, sub-phase D1c represents the transition from the sub-phases connected to accretion and the tectonics dominated by extension, characterized by parallel folds and low-to high-angle normal faults. The gravity driven extension is represented by the D2a and D2b sub-phases and can be interpreted as the result of the thicknening of the Ligure-Piemontese accretionary wedge, produced by continuous underplating at its base but also by shortening of the previously underplated units. These final tectonic events resulted in the exhumation of the Gottero unit to the surface during the Early Oligocene, when this Unit became one of the source areas of the conglomerates deposited in the Tertiary Piedmont basin.

This deformation history suggests the occurrence of a complex sequence of deformations during the transition from accretion to exhumation, even in the intermediate levels of the accretionary wedge.     

Bayesian Gaussian Mixture Linear Inversion for Geophysical Inverse Problems

A Bayesian linear inversion methodology based on Gaussian mixture models and its application to geophysical inverse problems are presented in this paper. The proposed inverse method is based on a Bayesian approach under the assumptions of a Gaussian mixture random field for the prior model and a Gaussian linear likelihood function. The model for the latent discrete variable is defined to be a stationary first-order Markov chain. In this approach, a recursive exact solution to an approximation of the posterior distribution of the inverse problem is proposed. A Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm can be used to efficiently simulate realizations from the correct posterior model. Two inversion studies based on real well log data are presented, and the main results are the posterior distributions of the reservoir properties of interest, the corresponding predictions and prediction intervals, and a set of conditional realizations. The first application is a seismic inversion study for the prediction of lithological facies, P- and S-impedance, where an improvement of 30% in the root-mean-square error of the predictions compared to the traditional Gaussian inversion is obtained. The second application is a rock physics inversion study for the prediction of lithological facies, porosity, and clay volume, where predictions slightly improve compared to the Gaussian inversion approach.