Climate-related variations in crustal trace elements in Dome C (East Antarctica) ice during the past 672 kyr

Cr, Fe, Rb, Ba and U were determined by inductively coupled plasma sector field mass spectrometry (ICP-SFMS) in various sections of the 3,270 m deep ice core recently drilled at Dome C on the high East Antarctic plateau as part of the EPICA program. The sections were dated from 263 kyr bp (depth of 2,368 m) to 672 kyr bp (depth of 3,062 m). When combined with the data previously obtained by Gabrielli and co-workers for the upper 2,193 m of the core, it gives a detailed record for these elements during a 672-kyr period from the Holocene back to Marine Isotopic Stage (MIS) 16.2. Concentrations and fallout fluxes of all elements are found to be highly variable with low values during the successive interglacial periods and much higher values during the coldest periods of the last eight climatic cycles. Crustal enrichment factors indicates that rock and soil dust is the dominant source for Fe, Rb, Ba and U whatever the period and for Cr during the glacial maxima. The relationship between Cr, Fe, Rb, Ba and U concentrations and the deuterium content of the ice appears to be similar before and after the Mid-Brunhes Event (MBE, around 430 kyr bp). Mean concentration values observed during the successive interglacials from the Holocene to MIS 15.5 appear to vary from one interglacial to another at least for part of the elements. Concentrations observed during the successive glacial maxima suggest a decreasing trend from the most recent glacial maxima (MIS 2.2 and 4.2) to the oldest glacial maxima such as MIS 14.2, 14.4 and 16.2, which could be linked with changes in the size distribution of dust particles transported from mid-latitude areas to the East Antarctic ice cap.     

The contribution of satellite SAR-derived displacement measurements in landslide risk management practices

Natural Hazards - Landslides are common phenomena that occur worldwide and are a main cause of loss of life and damage to property. The hazards associated with landslides are a challenging concern...     

Assessment of nitrate contamination risk: The Italian experience

The purpose of this study is to show the results of the Italian research project of national interest (PRIN) launched in 2006 and finished in 2008, concerning the “assessment of groundwater contamination risk by nitrates assessment”. The project verified the IPNOA method for nitrate groundwater contamination risk assessment in four test-sites of Italy. The IPNOA is a parametric index which assesses the potential hazard of nitrate contamination originating from agriculture on a regional scale. The method integrates two categories of parameters: the hazard factors (HF), which represent all farming activities that cause, or might cause, an impact on soil quality in terms of nitrate (use of fertilisers, application of livestock and poultry manure, food industry wastewater and urban sludge), and the control factors (CF) which adapt the hazard factors to the characteristics of the site (geographical location, climatic conditions and agronomic practices). Finally, the Potential Risk Map is obtained by coupling the potential hazard of nitrate pollution (IPNOA) and the aquifer Contamination Vulnerability Map. The project was carried out by five Research Units (RU) from the Politecnico di Torino, Universities of Piacenza, Florence, Naples and Palermo. The geochemistry of groundwaters from the four test-sites was studied to determine the distribution of nitrate, and to evaluate groundwater chemical facies. All the study areas are affected by groundwater nitrate contamination and often by hydrogeochemical peculiarities. In some cases isotopic study, δ¹⁸O–NO₃δ¹⁵N–NO₃, allowed to differentiate nitrates of chemical fertilisers from those of biological origin, as well as denitrification processes.     

Impact of event landslides on road networks: a statistical analysis of two Italian case studies

Despite abundant information on landslides, and on landslide hazard and risk, in Italy, little is known on the direct impact of event landslides on road networks and on the related economic costs. We investigated the physical and economic damage caused by two rainfall-induced landslide events in Central and Southern Italy, to obtain road restoration cost statistics. Using a GIS-based method, we exploited road maps and landslide event inventory maps to compute different metrics that quantify the impact of the landslide events on the natural landscape and on the road networks, by road type. The maps were used with cost data obtained from multiple sources, including local authorities, and specific legislation, to evaluate statistically the unit cost per metre of damaged road and the unit cost per square metre of damaging landslide, separately for main and secondary roads. The obtained unit costs showed large variations which we attribute to the different road types in the two study areas and to the different abundance of landslides. Our work confirms the long-standing conundrum of obtaining accurate landslide damage data and outlines the need for reliable, standardized methods to evaluate landslide damage and associated restoration costs that regional and local administrations can use rapidly in the aftermath of a landslide event. We conclude recommending that common standardized procedures to collect landslide cost data following each landslide event are established, in Italy and elsewhere. This will allow for more accurate and reliable evaluations of the economic costs of landslide events.     

Thermo-hydro-mechanical response of a large piled raft equipped with energy piles: a parametric study

This paper presents the results of a parametric study in which a series of fully coupled, 3-dimensional thermo-hydro-mechanical Finite Element (FE) analyses has been conducted to investigate the effects of the thermal changes imposed by the regular performance of a GSHP system driven by energy piles on a very large piled raft. The FE simulation program has been focused mainly on the evaluation of the following crucial aspects of the energy system design: the assessment of the soil–pile–raft interaction effects during thermal loading conditions; the quantification of the influence of the thermal properties of the soil and of the geometrical layout of the energy piles on the soil–foundation system response, and the evaluation of the influence of the active pile spacing on the thermal performance of the GSHP–energy pile system. The results of the numerical simulations show that the soil–pile–raft interaction effects can be very important. In particular, the presence of a relatively rigid raft in direct contact with the soil is responsible for axial load variations in inactive piles of the same order of those experienced by the thermo-active piles, even when the latter are relatively far and temperature changes in inactive piles are small. As far as the effect of pile spacing is concerned, the numerical simulations show that placing a high number of energy piles in a large piled raft with relatively small pile spacings can lead to a significant reduction of the overall heat exchange from the piles to the soil, thus reducing the thermal efficiency of the system.     

Hazard and population vulnerability analysis: a step towards landslide risk assessment

In this paper, an attempt to analyse landslide hazard and vulnerability in the municipality of Pahuatlán, Puebla, Mexico, is presented. In order to estimate landslide hazard, the susceptibility,magnitude(area-velocity ratio) and landslide frequency of the area of interest were produced based on information derived from a geomorphological landslide inventory; the latter was generated by using very high resolution satellite stereo pairs along with information derived from other sources(Google Earth,aerial photographs and historical information).Estimations of landslide susceptibility were determined by combining four statistical techniques:(i) logistic regression,(ii) quadratic discriminant analysis,(iii) linear discriminant analysis, and(iv)neuronal networks. A Digital Elevation Model(DEM)of 10 m spatial resolution was used to extract the slope angle, aspect, curvature, elevation and relief.These factors, in addition to land cover, lithology anddistance to faults, were used as explanatory variables for the susceptibility models. Additionally, a Poisson model was used to estimate landslide temporal frequency, at the same time as landslide magnitude was obtained by using the relationship between landslide area and the velocity of movements. Then,due to the complexity of evaluating it, vulnerability of population was analysed by applying the Spatial Approach to Vulnerability Assessment(SAVE) model which considered levels of exposure, sensitivity and lack of resilience. Results were expressed on maps on which different spatial patterns of levels of landslide hazard and vulnerability were found for the inhabited areas. It is noteworthy that the lack of optimal methodologies to estimate and quantify vulnerability is more notorious than that of hazard assessments.Consequently, levels of uncertainty linked to landslide risk assessment remain a challenge to be addressed.     

Exploiting spectral and spatial information in hyperspectral urban data with high resolution

Very high resolution hyperspectral data should be very useful to provide detailed maps of urban land cover. In order to provide such maps, both accurate and precise classification tools need, however, to be developed. In this letter, new methods for classification of hyperspectral remote sensing data are investigated, with the primary focus on multiple classifications and spatial analysis to improve mapping accuracy in urban areas. In particular, we compare spatial reclassification and mathematical morphology approaches. We show results for classification of DAIS data over the town of Pavia, in northern Italy. Classification maps of two test areas are given, and the overall and individual class accuracies are analyzed with respect to the parameters of the proposed classification procedures.