Engineering ground motion record selection in the ITalian ACcelerometric Archive

This paper introduces REXELite, an internet version of REXEL, a software for automatic selection of ground motion suites for nonlinear dynamic analysis of structures. REXELite was developed with the aim of integrating an advanced earthquake records’ repository, such as the ITalian ACcelerometric Archive (ITACA), with a tool to define seismic input for engineering seismic analysis according to international standards (with priority to Europe). In fact, REXELite allows to define target design spectra according either to Eurocode 8 or to the Italian building code, and to search ITACA for suitable sets of seven records (comprised of one or two horizontal ground motion components) matching such target spectra: on average, in a user-specified period range, and with the desired tolerance. The records in the set also have, individually and according to some criteria, the most similar spectral shape with respect to that of the code. Selection options include magnitude, source-to-site distance, soil conditions and, if desired, linear scaling of records to reduce further record-to-record variability of the selected suite.     

Refractor velocity analysis: a signal processing procedure

This paper presents a signal processing procedure to perform refractor velocity analysis. The procedure enables one to obtain the seismic velocity from the refracted wavefield without the picking of refracted arrival times. Two processing procedures are derived, one starting from a seismic interferometric approach and another, from the conventional reciprocal method and generalized reciprocal method approaches. The theoretical equivalence of the two approaches is also demonstrated. The proposed processing procedure is applied to synthetic data in order to test the influence of some procedural parameters and its capability to reconstruct a known velocity model starting from refracted signals, without and with perturbations, in arrival times and noise; finally, it is applied to a field data set.     

Diatom quantification and their distribution with salinity brines in coastal sediments of Terra Nova Bay (Antarctica)

Benthic diatoms represent an important element of global nutritional productivity; to raise attention on their role, which is often neglected due to analytical difficulties, surface (1 cm top layer) coastal sediments from Gerlache inlet to Penguin Bay at Terra Nova Bay were collected and stored at -20 °C. DNA amplification by real-time PCR, based on diatom-specific oligonucleotide primers designed on small-subunit rRNA (SSU rRNA), was performed in addition to diatom conventional cell counting and spectrophotometric determination of photo-pigments. Moreover, cations and anions were determined in sediments with the aim to identify factors involved in the control of diatom abundance. Diatom distribution was found quite heterogeneous displaying significant differences from site to site. The salinity in sediments ranged from 45.1 at Gerlache inlet to 76.2 at Penguin Bay and it was correlated with cell abundance, biodiversity, amount of pigments and amplified DNA. The dominant species, Fragilariopsis curta, was associated to sediment salinity brines.     

Geotechnical characterization of a landslide in a Blue Clay slope

This paper describes the results of an experimental, as well as theoretical, analysis of a landslide in a clay slope at the margin of a small town of Southern Italy, whose reactivation of 1998 caused severe damages to some structures. To protect the upslope urban area, an anchored diaphragm wall and a drainage system were constructed in 2001. In the meantime, in order to understand the processes which caused the reactivation, a Department of the Basilicata Administrative Region provided financial support to a geotechnical investigation. Laboratory tests on undisturbed and reconstituted specimens, in situ pore pressure and deep displacement measurements were carried out. Both experimental and theoretical in situ water content (and porosity) profiles were determined. Theoretical analyses of pore pressure distribution and stability analyses were carried out. The influence of the drainage system on the slope safety factor was evaluated. Experimental and theoretical data suggest that a first time process occurred in the lower part of the landslide system. The upper part moved on pre-existing surfaces on which an average shear strength close to the residual strength was available. Noticeable water content increase was found around some of these surfaces. Erosion at the toe of the landslide was the probable cause of reactivation. The analysis of the drain system effectiveness suggests that drainage has not significantly influenced pore pressures on the considered slip surfaces yet, mainly because of the very low permeability of the clay.     

Hypogeal geological survey in the “Grotta del Re Tiberio” natural cave (Apennines, Italy): a valid tool for reconstructing the structural setting

As karst systems are natural windows to the underground, speleology, combined with geological surveys, can be useful tools for helping understand the geological evolution of karst areas. In order to enhance the reconstruction of the structural setting in a gypsum karst area (Vena del Gesso, Romagna Apennines), a detailed analysis has been carried out on hypogeal data. Structural features (faults, fractures, tectonic foliations, bedding) have been mapped in the ”Grotta del Re Tiberio” cave, in the nearby gypsum quarry tunnels and open pit benches. Five fracture systems and six fault systems have been identified. The fault systems have been further analyzed through stereographic projections and geometric-kinematic evaluations in order to reconstruct the relative chronology of these structures. This analysis led to the detection of two deformation phases. The results permitted linking of the hypogeal data with the surface data both at a local and regional scale. At the local scale, fracture data collected in the underground have been compared with previous authors’ surface data coming from the quarry area. The two data sets show a very good correspondence, as every underground fracture system matches with one of the surface fracture system. Moreover, in the cave, a larger number of fractures belonging to each system could be mapped. At the regional scale, the two deformation phases detected can be integrated in the structural setting of the study area, thereby enhancing the tectonic interpretation of the area (e.g., structures belonging to a new deformation phase, not reported before, have been identified underground). The structural detailed hypogeal survey has, thus, provided very useful data, both by integrating the existing information and revealing new data not detected at the surface. In particular, some small structures (e.g., displacement markers and short fractures) are better preserved in the hypogeal environment than on the surface where the outcropping gypsum is more exposed to dissolution and recrystallization. The hypogeal geological survey, therefore, can be considered a powerful tool for integrating the surface and log data in order to enhance the reconstruction of the deformational history and to get a three-dimensional model of the bedrock in karst areas.     

New model to determine forces at on-bottom slender pipelines

The present paper proposes a numerical model to determine horizontal and vertical components of the hydrodynamic forces on a slender submarine pipeline lying at the sea bed and exposed to non-linear waves plus a current. The new model is an extension of the Wake II type model, originally proposed for sinusoidal waves (Soedigdo et al., 1999) and for combined sinusoidal waves and currents (Sabag et al., 2000), to the case of periodic or random waves, even with a superimposed current. The Wake II type model takes into account the wake effects on the kinematic field and the time variation of drag and lift hydrodynamic coefficients. The proposed extension is based on an evolutional analysis carried out for each half period of the free stream horizontal velocity at the pipeline. An analytical expression of the wake velocity is developed starting from the Navier–Stokes and the boundary layer equations. The time variation of the drag and lift hydrodynamic coefficients is obtained using a Gaussian integration of the start-up function. A reduced scale laboratory investigation in a large wave flume has been conducted in order to calibrate the empirical parameters involved in the proposed model. Different wave and current conditions have been considered and measurements of free stream horizontal velocities and dynamic pressures on a bottom-mounted pipeline have been conducted. The comparison between experimental and numerical hydrodynamic forces shows the accuracy of the new model in evaluating the time variation of peaks and phase shifts of the horizontal and vertical wave and current induced forces.     

Association of phosphate with rhyolite glass in marine Neogene tuffs from Patagonia,Argentina

The precipitation/replacement of Ca‐phosphate is a complex process that commonly takes place during the early diagenesis in marine sediments. The unusual occurrence of shallow marine, early diagenetic phosphatic deposits associated with glassy tuffs in the Neogene Gaiman Formation, in the Chubut Province, Patagonia, Argentina, constitutes a good case example for the study of replacement and precipitation of Ca‐phosphate on an unstable substrate. Isocon diagrams illustrate that chemical changes during glass diagenesis include gains in loss on ignition and Ca, and losses of K. These changes are the result of glass hydration during sea water–glass interaction, together with adsorption and diffusion of ions into the bulk shard; combined, these represent an incipient process of volcanic glass replacement by Ca‐phosphate. Subsequent early diagenetic P enrichment in the pore solutions led to phosphate precipitation, associated with pitting on the glass shards and pumice. The associated development of a reactive surface promoted the incorporation of P and Ca into their margins. Lastly, precipitation of calcium phosphate filled the vesicles and other open cavities, inhibiting further glass dissolution. The high porosity and reactivity of the volcanic glass provided an appropriate substrate for phosphate precipitation, leading to the development of authigenic apatite concretions in the volcanic‐glass bearing strata of the Gaiman Formation. This research is of significance for those concerned with marine phosphatic deposits and sheds light on the processes of early diagenetic phosphate precipitation by replacement of an atypical, unstable substrate like hydrated volcanic glass.     

Weathering of ordinary chondrites from the Atacama Desert,Chile, by Mössbauer spectroscopy and synchrotron radiation X‐ray diffraction

Some terrestrial areas have climatic and geomorphologic features that favor the preservation, and therefore, accumulation of meteorites. The Atacama Desert in Chile is among the most important of such areas, known as DCA. This desert is the driest on Earth, one of the most arid, uninhabitable localities with semiarid, arid, and hyper‐arid conditions. The meteorites studied here were collected from within the DCA of San Juan and Pampa de Mejillones, located, respectively, in the Central Depression and the Coastal Range of the Atacama Desert. ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy was used for quantitative analysis of the degree of weathering of the meteorites, through the determination of the proportions of the various Fe‐bearing phases and in particular the amount of oxidized iron in terrestrial alteration products. The abundance of ferric ions in weathered chondrites can be related to specific precursor compositions and to the level of terrestrial weathering. The aim of the study was the identification, quantification, and differentiation of the weathering products in the ordinary chondrites found in the San Juan and the Pampa de Mejillones areas of the Atacama Desert. The ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy study was complemented by synchrotron radiation X‐ray diffraction and magnetic susceptibility measurements. The results allow a clear differentiation of the rate of weathering in meteorite samples collected from the San Juan versus the Pampa de Mejillones areas of the Atacama Desert.