Evaluation of lindane diffusion along the southeastern Adriatic coastal strip (Mediterranean Sea): a case study in an Albanian industrial area

This study aimed to analyze the impact at sea of a pesticide factory located 7 km north of Durres (Albania) by investigating a lowland area under the sea situated 0.7 km from the shoreline. The main product of this factory was lindane. Production ceased in 1991 during the Albanian civil war, and a large amount of industrial waste was dispersed over the ground surrounding the factory, resulting in a high level of lindane pollution. A water-scoop channels the ground water accumulated around the disused factory directly into the sea. The concentrations of lindane in sediments collected along the coasts of the region ranged from 0.60 to 22.55 ng g(-1). The average concentration in the muscles of fish did not exceed the limits specified by European Commission legislation, whereas the concentration in the liver did exceed these limits; consequently, liver is not recommended for consumption.     

SMART-1 mission description and development status

SMART-1 is the first of the Small Missions for Advanced Research in Technology of the ESA Horizons 2000 scientific programme. The SMART-1 mission is dedicated to testing of new technologies for future cornerstone missions, using Solar-Electric Primary Propulsion (SEPP) in Deep Space. The chosen mission planetary target is the Moon. The target orbit will be polar with the pericentre close to the South-Pole. The pericentre altitude lies between 300 and 2000 km, while the apocentre will extend to about 10,000 km. During the cruise phase, before reaching the Moon, the spacecraft thrusting profile allows extended periods for cruise science. The SMART-1 spacecraft will be launched in the spring of 2003 as an auxiliary passenger on an Ariane 5 and placed into a Geostationary Transfer Orbit (GTO). The expected launch mass is about 370 kg, including 19 kg of payload. The selected type of SEPP is a Hall-effect thruster called PPS-1350. The thruster is used to spiral out of the GTO and for all orbit maneuvers including lunar capture and descent. The trajectory has been optimised by inserting coast arcs and the presence of the Moon's gravitational field is exploited in multiple weak gravity assists.The Development Phase started in October 1999 and is expected to be concluded by a Flight Acceptance Review in January 2003. The short development time for this high technology spacecraft requires a concerted effort by industry, science institutes and ESA centres. This paper describes the mission and the project development status both from a technical and programmatic standpoint.     

Hydrogeological Changes Related to the Umbria–Marche Earthquake of 26 September 1997 (Central Italy)

Evidences of variations of the hydrologic regime have been observed after the Umbria–Marche seismic sequence, started on September 26th 1997, at the boundary between Umbria and Marche regions, central Italy. In order to quantify the hydrological variations, several data regarding groundwater level, spring discharge and river flow rates, have been collected from local authorities and mineral water companies. They allowed to confine the area affected by anomalies and to quantify the hydrological variations by a comparison with the average yearly regime, estimated from the data referring to previous years. An attempt to identify precursor phenomena has also been carried out. The results of the analysis sustain the close connection of two water reservoirs, the Umbria–Marche ridge and the Valnerina unit, that have both been affected by changes of the hydrologic regime. Two of the river gauge stations registered anomalies several months before the crisis started, acting as earthquake precursors.     

Intrusive Mechanisms at Mt. Etna Forerunning the July-August 2001 Eruption from Seismic and Ground Deformation Data

In this work we present seismological and ground deformation evidence for the phase preparing the July 18 to August 9, 2001 flank eruption at Etna. The analysis performed, through data from the permanent seismic and ground deformation networks, highlighted a strong relationship between seismic strain release at depth and surface deformation. This joint analysis provided strong constraints on the magma rising mechanisms. We show that in the last ten years, after the 1991–1993 eruption, an overall accumulation of tension has affected the volcano. Then we investigate the months preceding the 2001 eruption. In particular, we analyse the strong seismic swarm on April 20–24, 2001, comprising more than 200 events (M_max = 3.6) with prevalent dextral shear fault mechanisms in the western flank. The swarm showed a ca. NE-SW earthquake alignment which, in agreement with previous cases, can be interpreted as the response of the medium to an intrusive process along the approximately NNW-SSE volcano-genetic trend. These mechanisms, leading to the July 18 to August 9, 2001 flank eruption, are analogous to ones observed some months before the 1991–1993 flank eruption and, more recently, in January 1998 before the February-November 1999 summit eruption.     

SMART-1 after lunar capture: First results and perspectives

SMART-1 is a technology demonstration mission for deep space solar electrical propulsion and technologies for the future. SMART-1 is Europe’s first lunar mission and will contribute to developing an international program of lunar exploration. The spacecraft was launched on 27th September 2003, as an auxiliary passenger to GTO on Ariane 5, to reach the Moon after a 15-month cruise, with lunar capture on 15th November 2004, just a week before the International Lunar Conference in Udaipur. SMART-1 carries seven experiments, including three remote sensing instruments used during the mission’s nominal six months and one year extension in lunar science orbit. These instruments will contribute to key planetary scientific questions, related to theories of lunar origin and evolution, the global and local crustal composition, the search for cold traps at the lunar poles and the mapping of potential lunar resources     

Structure of the lithosphere beneath the Eastern Alps (southern sector of the TRANSALP transect)

The interpretation of the seismic Vibroseis and explosive TRANSALP profiles has examined the upper crustal structures according to the near-surface geological evidences and reconstructions which were extrapolated to depth. Only the southern sector of the TRANSALP transect has been discussed in details, but its relationship with the whole explored chain has been considered as well. The seismic images indicate that pre-collision and deep collision structures of the Alps are not easily recognizable. Conversely, good records of the Neo-Alpine to present architecture were provided by the seismic sections.Two general interpretation models (“Crocodile” and “Extrusion”) have been sketched by the TRANSALP Working Group [2002]. Both illustrate the continental collision producing strong mechanical interaction of the facing European and African margins, as documented by giant lithosphere wedging processes. Arguments consistent with the “Extrusion” model and with the indentation of Adriatic (Southalpine) lithosphere underneath the Tauern Window (TW) are:

– According to the previous DSS reconstructions, the Bouguer anomalies and the Receiver Functions seismological data, the European Moho descends regularly attaining a zone south of the Periadriatic Lineament (PL). The Moho boundary and its geometry appear to be rather convincing from images of the seismic profile;

– the Tauern Window intense uplift and exhumation is coherent with the strong compression regime, which acted at depth, thus originating the upward and lateral displacement of the mobile and ductile Penninic masses according to the “Extrusion” model;

– the indentation of the Penninic mobile masses within the colder and more rigid Adriatic crust cannot be easily sustained. Wedging of the Adriatic stiffened lower crust, under high stresses and into the weaker Penninic domain, can be a more suitable hypothesis. Furthermore, the intrusion of the European Penninic crustal wedge underneath the Dolomites upper crust is not supported by any significant uplifting of the Dolomites. The total average uplift of the Dolomites during the Neogene appears to be 6−7 times smaller than that recognized in the TW. Markedly the northward dip of the PL, reaching a depth of approximately 20 km, is proposed in our interpretation;

– finally, the Adriatic upper crustal evolution points to the late post-collision change in the tectonic grow-up of the Eastern Alps orogenic chain. The tectonic accretion of the northern frontal zone of the Eastern and Central Alps was interrupted from the Late Miocene (Serravallian–Tortonian) onward, as documented by the Molasse basin evolution. On the contrary, the structural nucleation along the S-vergent tectonic belt of the eastern Southern Alps (Montello–Friuli thrust belt) severely continued during the Messinian and the Plio–Pleistocene. This structural evolution can be considered to be consistent with the deep under-thrusting and wedge indentation of the Adriatic lithosphere underneath the southern side of the Eastern Alps thrust-and-fold belt.

Similarly, the significance of the magmatic activity for the construction of the Southern Alps crust and for its mechanical and geological differentiation, which qualified the evolution of the thrust-and-fold belt, is highlighted, starting with the Permian–Triassic magmatism and progressing with the Paleogene occurrences along the Periadriatic Lineament and in the Venetian Magmatic Province (Lessini–Euganei Hills).     

Aquatic macrophyte diversity assessment: Validation of a new sampling method for circular-shaped lakes

We propose and validate a new sampling method to assess the presence, abundance and distribution of macrophytes in circular-shaped lakes according to the requirements of the Water Framework Directive (WFD2000/60/EC). The results of the macrophyte survey, and in particular of macrophyte diversity, obtained using this method are also discussed.The sampling is based on randomly selected transects homogeneously distributed around the perimeter of the lake. The number of transects is proportional to the lake's size. The method was validated on six Italian volcanic lakes using computational resampling procedures on a total of 126 transects.Using resampling procedures, we show that the proposed approach identifies more than 75% of the overall species richness through a moderate sampling effort. According to our results, Charophytes dominate aquatic vegetation in Italian volcanic lakes. Species diversity is highest at shallow depths, whereas the most abundant species, such as Chara polyacantha, are located at an intermediate depth between the shoreline and the maximum growing depth.     

Two‐dimensional nonlinear diffusive numerical simulation of geomorphic modifications to cinder cones

The temporal evolution of simple landforms such as cinder cones by nonlinear diffusive processes is studied through the use of a new 2D numerical model using well‐established and accurate numerical mathematics and high‐resolution digital elevation models (DEMs). Extending 1D (profile) nonlinear diffusion analyses used in cinder cone, hillslope and fault scarp evolution studies, we have implemented a 2D numerical model with a spatially and temporally varying sediment transport rate coefficient scaled nonlinearly by the ratio of local slope to critical slope. The high accuracy and efficient numerical implementation are documented in the paper and the MATLAB toolkit developed is used to solve for the developmentof an initial 2D cone form. First, we examine the nonlinear transport rule and suggest a refinement that accounts explicitly for flux at threshold slopes. We find that the maximum diffusion (necessarily introduced in the numerical model to avoid infinite rates) at the critical slope controls the final morphology, especially approaching steady state. Secondly, solving the landscape evolution problem in 2D enables a natural accounting for sediment flux convergence or divergence in the profile. Thirdly, the boundary behavior of a given landscape element controls much of what happens in that domain and so we allow for arbitrary flux magnitude or elevation boundary conditions. Fourthly, landscapes are heterogeneous in their surface cover and so we allow for spatially and temporally varying transport rate k and we permit an arbitrary vertical displacement field within the model domain. To test the new formulation for the nonlinear term, the effect of variable diffusivity k and the numerical schemes implemented, we apply the model to cinder cones built on the flanks of Mount Etna in 2001 and 2002–2003. We explore the effects of DEM resolution with data from the 2001 cone and the utility of spatially variable diffusivity to explain the variation in erosion measured by differencing repeat light detection and ranging (LIDAR) surveys gathered in 2004 and 2007 over the 2002–2003 cone complex. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Database of geo-hydrological disasters for civil protection purposes

This paper presents the results of a research concerning available historical information about natural hazards (landslides and floods) and consequent disasters in the Consortium of Mountain Municipalities of Valtellina di Tirano, in Northern Italy. A geo-referenced database, collecting information till 2008, was designed with the aim of using available data of historical events for hazard estimation and the definition of risk scenarios as a basis for Civil Protection planning and emergency management purposes. This database and related statistics about landslides and floods are shown, and a brief overview of historical disasters caused by natural hazards in the study area is presented. A case study showing how useful the database can be to define a simple but realistic scenario is described. Information availability and reliability is discussed and possible uncertainties are underlined. The study shows that collecting and making use of historical information for the definition of hypothetical scenarios and the evaluation of territorial threats is a fundamental source of knowledge to deal with future emergencies.