Rapid evaluation of an indicator of seismic vulnerability in small urban nuclei

The expected fraction of buildings lost in the event of an earthquake of a given intensity can be considered as a useful indicator of the seismic vulnerability of a small urban nucleus and can be used for the evaluation of seismic risk on a regional scale. This work describes a procedure for quantifying this indicator through data obtained from the buildings which constitute the nucleus during rapid on-site surveys. The knowledge on which the procedure is based is that given by the observed vulnerability of old Italian centres.     

First Ar/Ar age of the Ceprano man (central Italy)

The Ceprano calvarium, found in 1994 in Italy and attributed to Homo cepranensis, is one of the most celebrated hominin remains of Europe. It was considered at least 700 ka-old until a recent investigation incorporating magnetostratigraphy and K-Ar ages from the literature assigned to the calvarium an age of ∼450 (+50, −100) ka. Here we pin down the age of the Ceprano calvarium to 353 ± 4 ka (±1σ external) by means of new ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating on K-feldspars retrieved from the sediments that hosted the skull. In absence of evidence of reworking, this refined age sinks the conviction that H. cepranensis belonged to human evolution at the Brunhes–Matuyama boundary (c.a. 781 ka). Our refined age indicates that H. cepranensis lived in central Italy probably during the cold period of marine isotope stage (MIS) 10, and that despite his archaic morphology and lack of Neanderthal traits, he was contemporaneous with more advanced species such as H. heidelbergensis.     

A baroclinic coastal trapped wave event in the Gulf of Naples (Tyrrhenian Sea)

In this study, a baroclinic coastal trapped wave, with period ~?4.5 days and cross-shore scale ~?3 km, is identified in the outputs of a very-high-resolution ocean circulation model of the Campania coastal system (central Tyrrhenian Sea; including the Gulfs of Salerno, Naples, and Gaeta). The outputs are from a simulation spanning June 2003, a month in which the surface winds were always weak, except for a strong northeasterly wind event that lasted 1 day (20 June). This event is found to generate a strong upwelling along the Campania coasts, whose relaxation—virtually free, because of the weakness of the winds—produces coastal current fluctuations that propagate to the north, spanning the three gulfs. The dynamics (analyzed with a focus on the Gulf of Naples) is found to share important features with baroclinic Kelvin waves in a two-layer model, such as the sharp cross-shore decrease of the perturbation amplitude and the vertical reversal of the long-shore current velocities. The simulated phase speed, cross-shore extension, and wavelength of the perturbation are also close to those obtained using a two-layer approximation of the dynamics. Moreover, the propagation described by the models is shown to be compatible with current measurements that were made in June 2003 at the southern entrance of the Gulf of Naples. Experimental implications related to the specific oceanographic problem are finally discussed, and an experimental strategy—inspired by our modeling approach—aimed at identifying the phenomenon is proposed.     

Analysing the influence of upslope bedrock outcrops on shallow landsliding

A model for the prediction of topographic and climatic control on shallow landsliding in mountainous terrain is enhanced to analyse the impact of upslope rocky outcrops on downslope shallow landsliding. The model uses a ‘generalised quasi-dynamic wetness index’ to describe runoff propagation on bare rock surfaces connected to downslope soil-mantled topographic elements. This approach yields a simple enhanced model capable of describing the influence of upslope bedrock outcrops on the pattern of downslope soil saturation. The model is applied in both diagnostic and predictive modes to a small catchment in the eastern Italian Alps for which a detailed inventory of shallow landslides in areas dominated by rocky outcrops is available. In the diagnostic mode, the model is used with satisfactory results to reproduce the pattern of instability generated by an intense short-duration storm occurred on 14 September 1994, which triggered a large percentage of the surveyed landslides. In the predictive mode, the model is used for hazard assessment, and the return time of the critical rainfall needed to cause instability for each topographic element is determined. Modelling results obtained in the predictive mode are evaluated against all the surveyed landslides. It is revealed that the generalised quasi-dynamic model offers considerable improvement over the non-generalised quasi-dynamic model and the steady-state model in predicting existing landslides as represented in the considered landslide inventory.     

Joint analysis of Rayleigh- and Love-wave dispersion: Issues, criteria and improvements

Joint analysis of Rayleigh- and Love-wave dispersion is performed with the aim of evaluating how their joint use can improve retrieved vertical V_S profiles. In fact, non-uniqueness of the solution and complex energy distribution among different modes represent problems which, if not properly considered, can eventually lead to ambiguous or erroneous subsurface models.Some tests performed on synthetic datasets show that for the deepest layers the improvements obtained by the joint inversion cannot be considered as fully decisive in terms of ultimate solution of non-uniqueness. Nevertheless joint analysis of dispersive properties of Rayleigh and Love waves reveals as a highly valuable tool able to clarify possible interpretation issues of the single components. Under some stratigraphical circumstances, velocity spectra of Rayleigh waves can in fact be extremely complex in terms of energy distribution among different modes and erroneous interpretations of dispersion curves can thus occur. Beneficial aspects of the joint analysis is shown in the light of possible inconsistencies of the Pareto front, since major interpretative errors can be revealed in the outcomes of the proposed inversion procedure. Two field datasets are analysed also suggesting some improvements in the field acquisition procedures aimed at the acquisition of both Rayleigh and Love waves.     

Thermohaline variability and Antarctic bottom water formation at the Ross Sea shelf break

We use hydrological and current meter data collected in the Ross Sea, Antarctica between 1995 and 2006 to describe the spatial and temporal variability of water masses involved in the production of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW). Data were collected in two regions of known outflows of dense shelf water in this region; the Drygalski Trough (DT) and the Glomar-Challenger Trough (GCT). Dense shelf water just inshore of the shelf break is dominated by High Salinity Shelf Water (HSSW) in the DT and Ice Shelf Water (ISW) in the GCT. The HSSW in the northern DT freshened by ∼0.06 in 11 y, while the ISW in the northern GCT freshened by ∼0.04 in 8 y and warmed by ∼0.04 °C in 11 y, dominated by a rapid warming during austral summer 2001/02. The Antarctic Slope Front separating the warm Circumpolar Deep Water (CDW) from the shelf waters is more stable near GCT than near DT, with CDW and mixing products being found on the outer DT shelf but not on the outer GCT shelf. The different source waters and mixing processes at the two sites lead to production of AABW with different thermohaline characteristics in the central and western Ross Sea. Multi-year time series of hydrography and currents at long-term moorings within 100 km of the shelf break in both troughs confirm the interannual signals in the dense shelf water and reveal the seasonal cycle of water mass properties. Near the DT the HSSW salinities experienced maxima in March/April and minima in September/October. The ISW in the GCT is warmest in March/April and coolest between August and October. Mooring data also demonstrate significant high-frequency variability associated with tides and other processes. Wavelet analysis of near-bottom moored sensors sampling the dense water cascade over the continental slope west of the GCT shows intermittent energetic pulses of cold, dense water with periods from ∼32 h to ∼5 days.     

Intra‐messinian gypsum palaeokarst in the Northern Apennines and its palaeogeographic implications

A short intra‐Messinian continental period has been recognised in some North Italian gypsum areas, mostly under the form of palaeokarst deposits. This emersion appears to have occurred only locally, and is explained as caused by the intra‐Messinian tectonic phase and a major sea level lowering. Evidences of this palaeokarst are mostly small, although at some places the palaeontological content of its fillings is of great importance. The discovery near Zola Predosa (Bologna) of a new intra‐Messinian extensive karst system and of its infilling sheds new light on the importance of this karst episode.     

Human influence on seagrass habitat fragmentation in NW Mediterranean Sea

Habitat fragmentation in meadows of Posidonia oceanica, the most important and abundant seagrass in the Mediterranean Sea, was investigated at a region-wide spatial scale using a synthetic ecological index, the Patchiness Index (PI). We tested the hypothesis that human impacts are the major factor responsible for habitat fragmentation in P. oceanica meadows contrasting fragmentation of meadows located in “anthropized” areas with that of meadows located in areas with low anthropization and considered as virtually “natural”. We also related fragmentation of meadow with the morphodynamic state of the submerged beach (i.e. distinctive types of beach produced by the topography, the wave climate and the sediment composition) in order to investigate the influence of one natural component on the seagrass meadow seascape. Results demonstrated that fragmentation in the P. oceanica meadows is strongly influenced by the human component, being lower in natural meadows than in anthropized ones, and that it is little influenced by the morphodynamic state of the coast. The use of landscape approaches to discriminate natural disturbance from human impacts that affect seagrass meadows is thus recommended for the proper management of coastal zones.