The impact of dredge-fill on Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows: regression and patterns of recovery

Posidonia oceanica meadows can be severely damaged by dredge-fill operations. We report on the construction of gas pipelines that occurred between 1981 and 1993 in SW Sicily, Italy. A large portion of the meadow was mechanically removed, and the excavated trench was filled with a mosaic of substrates, ranging from sand to consolidated rock debris. Meadow loss and recovery were quantified over 7 years after the end of operations. We recorded an overall loss of 81.20 ha of meadow. Substrate strongly affected recovery as the percent cover by P. oceanica consistently increased on calcareous rubble, reaching values of 44.37 ± 3.05% in shallow sites after 7 years, whereas no significant increase occurred on other substrates. As in the Mediterranean Sea exploitation of coastal areas continues to grow with consequent impacts on P. oceanica meadows, this case study illustrates how artificial rubble-like materials could be employed to support the restoration of damaged meadows.     

Effects of air temperature on the cyclic behavior of elastomeric seismic isolators

The mechanical properties of elastomers can change significantly due to air temperature variations. In particular, prolonged exposure to subzero temperatures can result in rubber crystallization, with a considerable increase in the shear stiffness of the material. As a result, the seismic response of structures with elastomeric isolators can be strongly influenced by air temperature. Current seismic codes, indeed, require an upper and lower bound analysis, using suitable modification factors, to account for the changes in the cyclic behavior of elastomeric isolators due to air temperature variations. In this study, the sensitivity of the cyclic behavior of elastomeric isolators to air temperature variations is investigated based on the experimental results of an extensive test program on six different elastomeric compounds for seismic isolators, characterized by a shear modulus ranging from 0.5 to 1.2 MPa at 100% shear strain and 20°C. The cyclic tests have been performed on small-size specimens, subjected to shear strain amplitudes and frequency of loading typical for elastomeric seismic isolators, at seven different air temperatures, ranging from 40 to −20°C. The effects of rubber crystallization due to prolonged exposure to low-temperatures have been also investigated. A finite element model for the evaluation of the temperature contour map inside a full-size elastomeric isolator exposed to low air temperatures has been also developed. In the paper, the experimental outcomes are compared with the modification factors provided by the current seismic codes to account for the temperature effects on the mechanical properties of elastomeric isolators.     

Mass transport triggered by heavy rainfall: the role of endorheic basins and epikarst in a regional karst aquifer

This study aims at recognizing the mechanisms of mass transport between the karst surface and the saturated zone in a morphostructural relief of the Mesozoic karst carbonate platform of Murgia (Puglia, Southern Italy). The large dimension of the karst aquifer, the regional scale of the flow system, the boundary condition constituted by the sea, and the lack of freshwater springs constrain to the use of wells as monitoring points and limit the study area to the recharge area comprising 986 endorheic basins. The concentrations of non‐reactive tracers (nitrates) in the waters of autogenic recharge (from endorheic basins) have been modeled through the evaluation of effective infiltration, land use, and nitrogen surplus, with reference to a time window, which includes a low precipitation period followed by significant rainfall events. The comparison between the modeled nitrate concentrations and the nitrate concentrations measured in ground waters, coupled with the analysis of groundwater chemograms and records of hydraulic heads (all referred to the same time window), allows inferring the mechanism of mass transport between the karst surface and the groundwater table. The mass transport conceptual model requires the presence of the epikarst. The infiltration of significant rainfall in the endorheic basins after a low precipitation period displaces waters stored in the epikarst toward the saturated zone. Ground waters in the post‐event period show higher concentrations of nitrates, lower concentrations of total organic carbon, and higher Mg/Ca ratios than both those of the pre‐event period and the autumn‐winter recharge period. The post‐event recharge from epikarst storage determines a transient hazard of groundwater pollution with a time lag from the occurrence of the heavy rainfall.     

The first absolute gravity measurements in Indonesia

For the purposes of the calibration of the superconducting gravimeter (SG) in Bandung and the establishment of the absolute gravity (AG) points, we carried out AG measurements for the first time in Indonesia in November 2002. The measurements in Bandung were conducted between November 15th and 20th by means of a FG5 (#210), and 14,520 effective drops were obtained. The gravity value newly determined at the AG point in Bandung is 977976701.2 μgal (1 μgal = 10⁻⁸ ms⁻²) and the scale factor for the SG is −52.22 μgal/V. We also established another AG point in Yogyakarta near Merapi volcano and carried out AG measurements in Yogyakarta between November 22nd and 26th. The gravity value determined for this station is 978203093.5 μgal.     

Magma-clustering and galaxy-clustering: a comparison

The analogies between clustering processes in magmas and clustering ones in galaxies are pursued. By using reasonable assumptions about the properties of the fluids in magmas and in the Earth's mantle, it is shown that: (1) in both processes instabilities are formed by density fluctuations; (2) in both phenomena the process of clusters is of the hierarchical kind; (3) magmas and galaxies both exhibit a simultaneous superposition of mass, momentum and energy transports; (4) coalescence occurring in magmas can be considered the corresponding phenomenon to the close encounters in the galactic groups; and (5) vorticity of the Taylor Proudman type in magmatic systems can be regarded as the corresponding phenomenon to cannibalism in the galaxies. It is suggested that there is a single transport mechanism that may be universally applicable.     

Implicit integration under mixed controls of a breakage model for unsaturated crushable soils

This paper discusses a series of stress point algorithms for a breakage model for unsaturated granular soils. Such model is characterized by highly nonlinear coupling terms introduced by breakage‐dependent hydro‐mechanical energy potentials. To integrate accurately and efficiently its constitutive equations, specific algorithms have been formulated using a backward Euler scheme. In particular, because implementation and verification of unsaturated soil models often require the use of mixed controls, the incorporation of various hydro‐mechanical conditions has been tackled. First, it is shown that the degree of saturation can be replaced with suction in the constitutive equations through a partial Legendre transformation of the energy potentials, thus changing the thermomechanical state variables and enabling a straightforward implementation of a different control mode. Then, to accommodate more complex control scenarios without redefining the energy potentials, a hybrid strategy has been used, combining the return mapping scheme with linearized constraints. It is shown that this linearization strategy guarantees similar levels of accuracy compared with a conventional strain–suction‐controlled implicit integration. In addition, it is shown that the use of linearized constraints offers the possibility to use the same framework to integrate a variety of control conditions (e.g., net stress and/or water‐content control). The convergence profiles indicate that both schemes preserve the advantages of implicit integration, that is, asymptotic quadratic convergence and unconditional stability. Finally, the performance of the two implicit schemes has been compared with that of an explicit algorithm with automatic sub‐stepping and error control, showing that for the selected breakage model, implicit integration leads to a significant reduction of the computational cost. Such features support the use of the proposed hybrid scheme also in other modeling contexts, especially when strongly nonlinear models have to be implemented and/or validated by using non‐standard hydro‐mechanical control conditions. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Conditioning clayey soils with a dispersant agent for Deep Soil Mixing application: laboratory experiments and artificial neural network interpretation

Acta Geotechnica - Plasticity of clays makes Deep Soil Mixing (DSM) problematic due to the tendency of the material to congest the rotating blades, reduce mixing efficiency and remain...     

Constitutive modeling of structured granular materials with anisotropic grain skeleton and cement bonds

Acta Geotechnica - Structured granular materials exhibit strongly anisotropic mechanical behaviours resulting from the directional properties of their microstructural components such as grain...     

Solar constant and sunspots

Summary The relationship, already found by the authors, between sunspot numbers and the solar constant, as deduced from the highest global irradiance values at noon, is here reexamined and confirmed. Some attempts at explanation and further inferences are presented.