A new version of the USLE‐MM for predicting bare plot soil loss at the Sparacia (South Italy) experimental site

Improving empirical prediction of plot soil erosion at the event temporal scale has both scientific and practical importance. In this investigation, 492 runoff and soil loss data from plots of different lengths, λ (11 ≤ λ ≤ 44 m), and steepness, s (14.9 ≤ s ≤ 26.0%), established at the Sparacia experimental station, in Sicily, South Italy, were used to derive a new version of Universal Soil Loss Equation (USLE)‐MM model, by only assuming a value of one for the topographic length, L, and steepness, S, factors for λ = 22 m and s = 9%, respectively. An erosivity index equal to (Q_REI₃₀)^b1, Q_R and EI₃₀ being the runoff coefficient and the event rainfall erosivity index, respectively, with b₁ > 1 was found to be an appropriate choice for the Sparacia area. The specifically developed functions for L and S did not differ appreciably from other, more widely accepted relationships (maximum differences by a factor of 1.22 for L and 1.09 for S). The new version of the USLE‐MM performed particularly well for highly erosive events, because predicted soil loss differed by not more than a factor of 1.19 from the measured soil loss for measured values of more than 100 Mg ha^?1. The choice of the relationships to predict topographic effects on plot soil loss should not represent a point of particular concern in the application of the USLE‐MM in other environments. However, tests of the empirical approach should be carried out in other experimental areas in an attempt to develop analytical tools, usable at the event temporal scale, reasonably simple and of wide validity. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Measuring rill erosion at plot scale by a drone‐based technology

The traditional direct method (i.e. metric ruler and rillmeter) of monitoring rill erosion at plot scale is time consuming and invasive because it modifies the surface of the rilled area. Measuring rill features using a drone‐based technology is considered a non‐invasive method allowing a fast field relief. In the experimental Sparacia area a survey by a quadricopter Microdrones md4‐200 was carried out, and this relief allowed the generation of a Digital Elevation Model (DEM), with a mesh size of 1 cm and a resolution elevation equal to 2 mm, for three plots (L, G and C) affected by rill erosion. At first for the experimental L plot, which is 44 m long, the rill features were surveyed by a ‘manual’ method which was carried out by drawing on the PC screen the rill paths obtained by a visual orthophoto interpretation. This manual method was not applicable for the plots in which rills of limited depth occurred and were not detectable. Then, for both L plot and the other experimental plots having a length ranging from 22 to 44 m, an ‘automatic’ extraction method of rills from DEM was applied. Using an appropriate calculation routine, a vector coverage of transects orthogonal to the main flow direction (i.e. the maximum slope steepness path) was generated. The intersection of each plot DEM with the transect coverage allowed to obtain both the cross sections and the main rill morphological features. For the L plot the comparison between the rill morphological features obtained by the two different methods (manual, automatic) was carried out. Finally, the length–volume relationship and a dimensionless relationship proposed in literature were tested for all studied experimental plots. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A shell model for anisotropic magnetohydrodynamic turbulence

Abstract

In this paper, starting from the spectral DIA equations obtained by Veltri et al. (1982), describing the spectral dynamical evolution of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) turbulence in the presence of a background magnetic field B ₀, we have derived an approximate form of these equations (shell model) more appropriate for numerical integration at high Reynolds numbers.

We have studied the decay of an initially isotropic state, with an initial imbalance between the energies for the two signs of the cross-helicity. Reynolds numbers up to 10⁵ have been considered.

Numerical results show that the nonlinear energy cascade behaves anisotropically in the k-space, i.e. in the spectra there is a prevalence of the wavevectors perpendicular to B ₀ with respect to the parallel wavevectors. This anisotropic effect, which is due to the presence of the background magnetic field, can be understood in terms of the so-called ‘‘Alfvén effect''.

A different source of anisotropy, due to the difference of the energy transfer for the two polarizations perpendicular to k, is recovered, but its effect is found to be mainly concentrated in the injection range.

Only little differences have been found, in the inertial range, in the spectral indices from the Kraichnan 3/2 value, which is valid for an isotropic spectrum. A form for the anisotropic spectrum can be recovered phenomenologically from our results. Values of the spectral indices quite different from the Kraichnan 3 2 value are obtained only when we consider stationary states with different forcing terms for the two modes of Alfvén wave propagation.

The comparison of our results with the observations of the v and B fluctuations in the interplanatery space shows that the anisotropy found in interplanetary fluctuations might be attributed only partially to the result of a nonlinear energy cascade.     

Self-standing bent silicon crystals for very high efficiency Laue lens

Silicon mono-crystals have been bent thanks to a series of parallel superficial indentations on one of the largest faces of the crystals. This technique relies on irreversible compression of the crystal beneath and beside the indentations. This latter causes deformation with no need for external device, resulting in a uniform self-standing curvature within the crystal. Indented Si crystals have been characterized at European Synchrotron Radiation Facility using a monochromatic beam ranging from 150 to 700 keV. Crystals exhibited very high diffraction efficiency over a broad range of energy, peaking 95% at 150 keV. Measured angular spread of the diffracted beam was always very close to the morphological curvature of the sample under investigation, proving that the energy passband of bent crystals can be controlled by simply imparting a selected curvature to the sample. The method of superficial indentations was found to offer high reproducibility and easy control of diffraction properties of the crystals. Moreover the method is cheap and simple, being based on mass production tools. A Laue lens made of crystals bent by superficial indentations can provide high-efficiency concentration of hard x-ray photons, leading significant improvement in many astrophysical applications.     

Public perception of climate change and disaster preparedness: Evidence from the Philippines

The Philippines is highly susceptible to both geophysical and climate-related disasters. This article explores Filipinos knowledge and perception of climate change and their association with what action Filipinos take to prepare for rapid onset natural hazards such as typhoons. Data for this study were collected from a nationally representative random survey of 5,184 adults conducted between March and April of 2017. Filipinos self-report relatively low levels of knowledge of climate change and cited increased temperatures, shifts in seasons, and heavier rains as the most likely consequences. Levels of disaster preparedness in the Philippines differ widely by region. Although most Filipinos perceive that natural hazards are a risk to them, only a third of Filipinos undertake measures to prepare for disasters. Filipinos who perceive climate-related changes directly impacting their households report taking greater action to prepare for disasters. Filipinos who believe they have been directly impacted by climate-related changes are also more likely to prepare for disasters, take planning actions, and undertake material actions to prepare, such as dwelling improvements. Other factors associated with disaster preparedness include gender, membership in an association, wealth, risk perception, and prior exposure to and losses due to disasters. The findings imply that, while posing different challenges and requiring different responses, adaptation to climate change and disaster preparedness are inherently associated and potentially mutually reinforcing. Policies and programs would arguably benefit from a more unified intervention framework that links climate change adaptation and disaster preparedness.     

Stratigraphy,age and petrography of the Beni Issef successions (External Rif; Morocco): Insights for the evolution of the Maghrebian Chain

In the Beni Issef Massif, nearly 30 km west of Chefchaouen (Morocco), the thickest post-nappe succession within the Rifian sector of the Maghrebian Chain seals the tectonic contact between the Intrarifian External Tanger and Loukkos Units, related to the Rifian External Domain. This succession is very important for the reconstruction of the deformation timing of the Rifian Maghrebids. The age of its base, in fact, is an important constraint for defining an upper boundary to the stacking of both the Intrarifian and Maghrebian Flysch Basin Units, because clasts fed by the Melloussa and Numidian Flysch Nappes are abundant in the conglomerate layers. Field and biostratigraphic analyses pointed out the presence of a Lower Beni Issef Fm, unconformable on the Intrarifian External Tanger and Loukkos Units, and an Upper Beni Issef Fm, unconformable on both the Intrarifian Units and the Lower Beni Issef Fm. The Lower Beni Issef Fm, 150 m thick, consists of lenticular conglomerates with huge blocks in a marly-clayey matrix, followed by marls and minor sandstones. It deposited in a siliciclastic platform, shows a fining upward trend and is affected by metre- to hectometre-sized, locally reversed, folds. Samples collected 45–50 m above the base of the formation resulted not older than Late Tortonian in age, but an older age for the base of the formation cannot be excluded. The Upper Beni Issef Fm, up to 550 m thick, starts with coarse conglomerates followed by medium- to coarse-grained well-bedded sandstones and by grey-blue marls and mudrocks. It indicates deposition in a channelized marine delta, with evolution towards pro-delta pelites, and shows sub-horizontal or gently dipping beds towards the east. Biostratigraphic data indicate a probable Messinian age for this formation. The composition of the arenites of both Lower Beni Issef and Upper Beni Issef Fms is quartzolithic and all samples show a notable content of monocrystalline well-rounded quartz and sedimentary lithic fragments. Detrital modes, all falling in the Quartzose Recycled and Transitional Recycled fields, suggest a provenance from recycling of sedimentary successions, easily recognizable in the Flysch Basin and External Units, mainly the Numidian Nappe sandstones. A Tortonian age of the Lower Beni Issef Fm would agree with the Late Serravallian age of the uppermost beds of the External Tanger Unit and indicate that the most probable age for the stacking of the Intrarifian Units falls in the Late Serravallian-Middle Tortonian time span. The Lower Beni Issef Fm was involved in a compressive tectonic phase testified by north-south striking folds. Later, probably during Messinian, the Upper Beni Issef Fm deposited in a younger intramontane basin, resting on both the Intrarifian Units and the Lower Beni Issef Fm. Successively, the Upper Beni Issef Fm was passively transported piggyback on top of the fold and thrust belt during later tectonic evolution of the Rifian Maghrebids. This tectonic evolution results quite similar to that recognized in the Tellian and Sicilian Maghrebids and also in the southern Apennines.     

Digitization and Scientific Exploitation of the Italian and Vatican Astronomical Plate Archives

There is a widespread interest to digitize the precious information contained in the astronomical plate archives, both for the preservation of their content and for its fast distribution to all interested researchers in order to achieve their better scientific exploitation. This paper presents the first results of our large-scale project to digitize the archive of plates of the Italian Astronomical Observatories and of the Specola Vaticana. Similar systems, composed by commercial flat-bed retro-illuminated scanners plus dedicated personal computers and acquisition and analysis software, have been installed in all participating Institutes. Ad-hoc codes have been developed to acquire the data, to test the suitability of the machines to our scientific needs, and to reduce the digital data in order to extract the astrometric, photometric and spectroscopic content. Two more elements complete the overall project: the provision of high quality BVRI CCD sequences in selected fields with the Campo Imperatore telescopes, and the distribution of the digitized information to all interested researchers via the Web. The methods we have derived in the course of this project have been already applied successfully to plates taken by other Observatories, for instance at Byurakan and at Hamburg.     

Study of magnetic contrasts applied to hydrocarbon exploration in the Maturín Sub-Basin (eastern Venezuela)

We have studied near-surface magnetic contrasts in nine oil wells from an oil prospective area in eastern Venezuela (compressive deformation front of the northeastern Maturín Sub-Basin). Samples are drill cuttings taken at intervals of about 15 m within approximately the first 1200 m of most of these wells. Rock magnetic experiments, electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), extractable organic matter (EOM), X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) are used to discriminate between two anomalies in magnetic susceptibility (MS), related to either a reducing environment caused by the underlying reservoir (Type A), or to primary lithological contrasts (Type B). Contour maps of MS, S-ratio and organic-matter-free radical concentrations (OMFRC), for the A-like depth levels, show a major central zone of anomalous high values. This area is probably associated with either maximum accumulation of hydrocarbons in the reservoir or with their southerly migration from the northern petroleum source towards the deformation front. We argue that such a result could be used, for future exploration and production ventures in the region, as a preliminary characterization of the reservoir. We also show in a Day plot, that saturation remanence — saturation magnetization ratio (M_rs/M_s) and coercivity of remanence — coercive force ratio (H_cr/H_c) stand as additional criteria to discriminate between these two types of magnetic contrasts. In fact, for the area of study, hysteresis ratios show three distinct trends corresponding to samples from A-like, B-like and non-anomalous depth levels.