Implementation of the European Water Framework Directive: Natural variability associated with the CARLIT method on the rocky shores of the Ligurian Sea (Italy)

The Water Framework Directive (WFD) 2000/60/EC, adopted by the European Community in 2000 with the goal of maintaining and improving the aquatic environments, requires that member states achieve and maintain a good ecological status of all water bodies by 2015. In the marine context, the ecological status has to be quantified applying indexes based on appropriate key biological elements, which allow the categorization of water bodies into five Ecological Status (ES) classes. The CARLIT index is a cartographic monitoring tool enabling the Ecological Quality Ratio (EQR) to be calculated using macroalgae in coastal hard bottoms as a key biological element; at present it is being applied in Spain, France and Italy. To detect actual changes of water quality and, consequently, rely on the application of indexes for the assessment of the ecological status in the marine environment, it is necessary to evaluate their sensitivity to natural variability at different temporal and spatial scales. In this study we present a first quantification of natural (spatial and temporal) variability of EQR‐CARLIT quality assessment in 2006 and 2007 along the Ligurian coast (North‐Western Mediterranean, Italy). The EQR‐CARLIT values recorded along the Ligurian coastline show that natural variability of EQR‐CARLIT is low and that it does not affect the attribution of a given stretch of coast to a particular ES class, in agreement with the major human pressures acting in the area (urbanization, river load, sea‐farming). A small‐scale variability was detected, strengthening the use of cartography of the whole rocky shore, whenever possible, or, alternatively, the assessment of the ecological status for long stretches of coast, to encompass the small‐scale variability due to local factors.     

The amphipod Talitrus saltator as a bioindicator of human trampling on sandy beaches

The present paper assesses the use of the supralittoral amphipod Talitrus saltator as a bioindicator of the effects of human trampling on the supralittoral sandy band. Samplings in delimited areas were carried out at sites subjected to different human impact. The results showed a strong negative correlation between the number of swimmers and the sandhopper population density, while there was no clear relationship between sandhopper abundance and the other factors considered: granulometry, compactness and organic carbon content of the sand, and trace metal contents in the sand and sandhoppers. A field test of trampling conducted in a confined space showed its direct negative effect on sandhopper survival. However, trace metal analysis confirmed the ability of T. saltator to bioaccumulate some elements (Hg, Zn, Cu, Cd). Our study demonstrates that T. saltator is a good bioindicator of human impact in the supralittoral zone of sandy shores.     

Crystal structure refinement of chromites from two achondrites,their T‐f(O2) conditions,and implications

Six Cr‐spinel grains from NWA 6077 brachinite‐like and NWA 725 winonaite achondrites have been studied by single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction and structural refinement. From a chemical point of view, spinels from NWA 6077 show Cr/(Cr + Al) (i.e., Cr#) and Mg/(Mg + Fe²⁺) (i.e., Mg#) values similar to other brachinites, while the Cr# of NWA 725 is lower than that of literature winonaites. Spinels from NWA 6077 and NWA 725 meteorites show similar cell edges, while the oxygen positional parameter is rather different being about 0.2629 for NWA 6077 and 0.2622 for NWA 725. Considering both parameters, NWA 725 shows structural features that are close to some terrestrial spinel occurrences as in komatiites, kimberlites, or included in diamonds; those from NWA 6077 show values that have no terrestrial analogs. Olivine‐chromite closure temperature ranges from ~737 to ~765° C for NWA 725, being similar to that of literature winonaites and ~846 to ~884° C for NWA 6077. The logfO₂ ranges from ?19.8 to ?20.5 and ?17.0 to ?17.9 for the two meteorites, respectively. The u values for terrestrial samples can give information about the cooling history of the samples. For the extraterrestrial samples, it seems that it can give information about the cooling only for spinels where it is lower than 0.2625. For higher values, it appears related only to the chemistry of the spinels.     

Physicochemical characteristics and levels of microbial activity in some florida peat swamps

Although microorganisms are certainly present in swamp and marsh peats, their geochemical role has not been demonstrated, in spite of their importance in determining the input to coalification processes. In order to obtain information on the gross level of microbial activity in the natural habitats, a broad-spectrum test for a type of enzyme important in the respiration of all organisms has been applied to cores of peat from a number of different environments in the Florida Everglades. In most cases, the respiratory activity in the upper layer is comparable to that in a fertile mineral soil, and this level of activity is found also at greater depths in several cores. In addition, some properties of the peat that tend to define their character as habitats for microorganisms were determined. pH values close to neutrality were observed at all sites. Chlorinity and total ionic strength naturally were high in the coastal swamps; seasonal variations in profiles in the brackish areas somewhat away from the coast suggested that some bulk flow of water through the peat into the porous limestone bedrock occurs in the rainy season. Eh profiles, regarded as empirical characterizations of environments, did differ considerably between saline and fresh water peats, though on a graphite indicator electrode were more positive than might have been expected in systems in which sulfate reduction was active. However, in these non-equilibrium systems, the potential recorded apparently depends on the nature of the electrode material used.     

Sulfur in peat-forming systems of the Okefenokee Swamp and Florida Everglades: origins of sulfur in coal

Six sulfur forms were investigated in profiles of freshwater- and marine-derived peat-forming systems of the Okefenokee Swamp, Georgia and Everglades Swamp, Florida. Total sulfur levels of 0.1–10% were found, thus indicating a major incorporation of sulfur in the very early stages of coal formation. The quantities of hydrogen sulfide and elemental sulfur observed appeared to be indicative of whether marine or freshwater conditions prevailed at the site of deposition. Carbon-bonded sulfur accounted for 70% of the total sulfur in the freshwater peat and 50% of the total sulfur in the marine peat. Over 15% of the total sulfur was in pyritic combination in the marine environment, while levels of pyrite in the freshwater peats were an order of magnitude lower. An ester-sulfate fraction represented 25% of the total sulfur in both freshwater and marine peats. The levels of sulfur forms in the peat profiles are compared to those observed in living plants and to various coals; levels of pyrite and organic sulfur in the peat are similar to those found by other investigators in freshwater-derived and marine-derived coals.     

Generation of homologous porphyrins under simulated geochemical conditions

Crude oils generally contain at least one symmetrical homologous series of porphyrins, which is usually centered at m/e 476 (DPEP) or m/e 478 (etioporphyrin). Simulated geochemical conditions in the present study resulted in decarboxylations and alkylations which ultimately led to the synthesis of homologous porphyrins from a single porphyrin. In several series of closed tube experiments, mesoporphyrin IX dimethylester (MPDME) was mixed with a variety of constituents including benzene, acetic acid, propionic acid, water and clay; the experiments were performed at temperatures between 135°C and 400°C at time intervals up to 80 days. Dealkylation, alkylation, hydrolysis, decarboxylation and metallation products were observed. An unsymmetrical homologous series of porphyrins was produced from MPDME. The dominant mass was m/e 478 (corresponding to a double deoarboxylation). Dealkylation products in multiples of 14 amu below the m/e 478 peak comprised the other members of the series. Cu-MPDME also produced homologous porphyrins. These, however, exhibited symmetry about the dominant members, similar to the symmetry found for the porphyrins of most petroleums and oil shales.     

Estimation of rainfall thresholds triggering shallow landslides for an operational warning system implementation

The Piemonte regional warning system service, managed by the Environmental Protection Agency of Piemonte (“ARPA Piemonte” as official Italian acronym), is based on an advanced meteo-hydrological automatic monitoring system, and it is integrated with forecasting activities of severe weather-related natural hazards. At present, a meteo-hydrological chain is operated to provide flood forecasting on the main river pattern. The development of a forecasting tool for shallow landslides triggered by heavy rainfall is presented. Due to the difficulties in modelling shallow landslides triggering in a large and complex area like the Piemonte region, an empirical model is developed on the basis of the correlation between rainfall and previous landslides in historical documents. The research focuses on establishing rainfall thresholds for landslides triggering, differentiating the critical rainfall values through a geological characterisation of the different territories. The period from 1990 to 2002 is considered. A total number of 160 landslides with hourly information and time of triggering are used to calibrate the system. As a first outcome, two different zones have been identified: (1) zones in alpine environments, principally characterised by a bedrock composed of metamorphic rocks, igneous rocks, dolostones or limestones that require high values of critical rainfall and (2) zones in hilly environments, principally characterised by sedimentary bedrock that require low values of critical rainfall. Verification has been performed on a total number of 429 landslides with known date of occurrence. The results show a good agreement with the model with no missed alarms and a very low number of false alarms, thus suggesting an effective operational implementation.     

Predictive Power Evaluation of a Physically Based Model for Shallow Landslides in the Area of Oltrepò Pavese,Northern Italy

The use of real-time landslide early warning systems is attracting the attention of the scientific community, since it allows to assess “where” and “when” a shallow rainfall-induced landslide might occur by coupling rainfall amounts, hydrological models and slope-stability analysis. The paper deals with the main results of a back analysis, which refers to the application of a physically based stability model [Shallow Landslides Instability Prediction (SLIP)] on regional scale. The analysis concerns the occurrence of some recent rainfall-induced shallow landslides in the municipal territory of Broni, in the area of Oltrepò Pavese (Northern Italy). The study area is a hilly region 2.4 km² wide, where more than 40 % of the territory has slopes steeper than 15° and altitudes are between 90 and 250 m a.s.l. As regards the geologic setting, clayey-silty shallow colluvial deposits, with a maximum thickness of about 3 m, overlap a bedrock made of clayey shales, calcareous flysch and marls. The SLIP model is based on the limit equilibrium method applied to an infinite slope and on the Mohr–Coulomb strength criterion for the soil. By assuming that the main hydro-geotechnical process that leads to failure is the saturation of parts of the soil, the model allows to take into account the condition of partial saturation of the soil. The safety factor (F _S ) of a slope is also function of previous rainfalls. After the implementation of the model at territory scale, the input data have been introduced through a geographic information systems platform. In the current paper we mainly intend to evaluate the performance of SLIP at catchment scale, by comparison to (1) observed landslide events and (2) another well-established physically based model (TRIGRS). Further, we want to assess the suitability of the model as early warning tool. The results produced by the model are analyzed both in terms of safety factor maps, corresponding to some particular rainfall events, and in terms of the time-varying percentage of unstable areas over a 2-year span period. The paper shows the comparison between observed landslide localizations and model predictions. A quantitative comparison between the SLIP model and TRIGRS is presented, only for the most important event that occurred during the analyzed period. Overall, the results of the stability analyses based on observed rainfalls show the capability of the SLIP model to predict, in real-time and on a wide area, the occurrence of the analyzed phenomena.     

Methods for the analysis of data from the Planetary Fourier Spectrometer on the Mars Express Mission

This work presents an algorithm for the scientific analysis of individual calibrated measurements from the Planetary Fourier spectrometer (PFS).The instrument, included in the scientific payload of the ESA Mars Express mission to Mars, acquires spectra in the range between 250 and 8200 cm⁻¹, with a sampling step of ∼1 cm⁻¹ and an effective resolution of ∼2 cm⁻¹. The observed radiance depends on several parameters of the atmosphere and surface of Mars as described by the radiative transfer equation. Adopting the very general formalism of Bayesian analysis, we determined which quantities are actually retrievable from individual measurements. Namely, they are: the surface temperature, the column density of dust and water ice aerosols in the atmosphere, the air temperature as a function of altitude (in the indicative range 5-45 km above the surface), the surface pressure, and the column density of water vapor and carbon monoxide. These evaluations are carried out taking into account the noise equivalent radiance (NER) of the instrument and the natural variabilities of the investigated parameters in the Martian environment, as estimated from the expectations of the European Martian Climate Dataset v3.1 (EMCD). Other parameters included in the radiative transfer equation shall be assumed as known, because they are not retrievable from individual measurements due to the instrumental NER or an underconstrained inverse problem: the surface emissivity in the thermal infrared, the optical properties of suspended dust and the analytical shape of dust concentration vs. altitude.During the development of the algorithm devoted to these studies, different approaches were evaluated on the basis of formal, computational and scientific considerations, with the aim to develop the general design of an integrated software package.The resulting code was extensively tested on a wide set of simulated PFS spectra. These spectra were computed from the atmospheric and surface conditions extracted from the EMCD, assumed to be representative of the Martian environment for different values of latitude, local time and season. Their comparison with the retrievals from simulated observations allowed us to evaluate the systematic and random errors affecting the procedures with respect to the different quantities involved. The code evaluates the surface temperature with an error in the order of 1 K, while the vertical air temperature profile is computed with an uncertainty less than 2 K from in the region between 5 and 20 km above the surface, increasing up to 7 K at 50 km. The column opacity of dust, measured in terms of integrated optical thickness at 1100 cm⁻¹, is computed with an error of around 0.13. The surface pressure determination is carried out with a typical uncertainty of 0.2-0.3 millibar. Several auxiliary tests allowed us to study the correlations between the different retrieval errors and the possible causes of incorrect PFS data interpretation. The choice of a suitable model for the dust optical properties is demonstrated to be particularly critical.This paper also presents the first discussion about application of the procedure to actual PFS Martian data. Despite the calibration issues still affecting the determination of absolute radiance in the near-infrared, the algorithm is able to achieve a satisfactory modeling of observations in a wide range of situations.