Steady-state operation of Stromboli volcano,Italy: constraints on the feeding system

Stromboli volcano has been in continuous eruption for several thousand years without major changes in the geometry and feeding system. The thermal structure of its upper part is therefore expected to be close to steady state. In order to mantaim explosive activity, magma must release both gas and heat. It is shown that the thermal and gas budgets of the volcano lead to consistent conclusions. The thermal budget of the volcano is studied by means of a finite-element numerical model under the assumption of conduction heat transfer. It is found that the heat loss through the walls of an eruption conduit is weakly sensitive to the dimensions of underlying magma reservoirs and depends mostly on the radius and length of the conduit. In steady state, this heat loss must be balanced by the cooling of magma which flows through the system. For the magma flux of about 1 kg s^-1 corresponding to normal Strombolian activity, this requires that the conduits are a few meters wide and not deeper than a few hundred meters. This implies the existence of a magma chamber at shallow depth within the volcanic edifice. This conclusion is shown to be consistent with considerations on the thermal effects of degassing. In a Strombolian explosion, the mass ratio of gas to lava is very large, commonly exceeding two, which implies that the thermal evolution of the erupting mixture is dominated by that of the gas phase. The large energy loss due to decompression of the gas phase leads to decreased eruption temperatures. The fact that lava is molten upon eruption implies that the mixture does not rise from more than about 200 m depth. To sustain the magmatic and volcanic activity of Stromboli, a mass flux of magma of a few hundred kilograms per second must be supplied to the upper parts of the edifice. This represents either the rate of magma production from the mantle source feeding the volcano or the rate of magma overturn in the interior of a large chamber.     

Geomorphological study of the Fadalto landslide, Venetian Prealps, Italy

This research deals with the Fadalto landslide (Lapisina Valley, Venetian Prealps), which took place in the Lateglacial and has continued its activity until today. Our aim is to recognize how the landslide failed, the causes of such failure and the activity of this landslide. The study of this landslide is important not only to understand the geomorphological history of this alpine area, and why the Piave River modified its course in the Late Pleistocene, but also the links with human activities, and specifically with the road and rail network.The geomorphological study, carried out by the interpretation of aerial photos and by a detailed field survey, has been integrated with a geological survey, geophysical investigations and a morphometric analysis (DTM). The Fadalto landslide is considered to be a rockslide reactivated in various phases, with different dimensions and with different characters (slides, slumps and flows). The landslides have been provoked by natural causes, both external and internal; the fundamental external causes are the retreat of the Würmian glacier and tectonic activity; the internal factors that decrease the shear resistance are the bedding planes and joints of the bedrock, the attitude of the rocks dipping towards the valley bottom and, as regards more recent failures, the presence of glacial deposits underlying the landslide debris. Besides, in recent times, we must also consider human activity as a cause of slope instability.As to the activity, the Fadalto landslide is defined “dormant”. This means that in this area there is a geomorphological risk connected with the important road and rail network of the Lapisina Valley.     

Il terremoto delle Prealpi carniche dell'8 giugno 1934 e sua profondita' ipocentrale

Riassunto Nel riesaminare i risultati cui sono pervenuti altri studiosi nella determinazione della profondità alla quale furono originati alcuni terremoti, l'A. ha dovuto riconoscere che le conclusioni dei loro calcoli non sono attendibili. Lo stesso è avvenuto recentemente per il terremoto veneto dell'8-6-1934, pel quale il prof. P. Caloi aveva trovato 37 km, basati su dati sismografici. Adoperando invece il metodo della decrescenza dell'intensità con la distanza, l'A. ha ottenuto ca. 10 km. Tale grave disaccordo lo ha indotto a riesaminare i vari metodi adottati dal Caloi — specie quello dell'angolo di emergenza delle onde sismiche — ed è giunto alla conclusione che la profondità di 37 km, in apparenza assai lusinghiera tanto da presentare un errore medio di soli 0,4 km, è ben lontana da raggiungere tanta esattezza.

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Summary The methods for estimate the depth of a earthquake are examined again by the Author, who come to the conclusion that some results of calculation are unreliable. This is explain for the earthquake of 8th June 1934 (Veneto), already examined by P. Caloi, who found a depth of 37 km, by means of elements deduced from seismological diagrams only. Instead, the A., using the method grounded on the decreasing of the intensity with the distance, has obtained 10 km. The analysis of this great discrepance show that some methods, as that of the angle of emergency, should be applied with prudence and limitation to assure reliable results.

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Zusammenfassung Der Verf. überprüft die Ergebnisse erhalten in der Tiefe-Bestimmung eines Bebens und zeigt wie einige Schlussfolgerungen unzulässig sind. Das wird ausführlich für das Erdbeben vom 8. Juni 1934 (Venetien) gezeigt, welches P. Caloi schon untersucht hat, erhaltend eine Tiefe von 37 km und zwar allein auf Grund von mikroseismischen Elementen. Dagegen, mit Anwendung des Verfahrens der Intensität-Abnahme mit dem Abstand, hat der Verf. eine Tiefe von nur 10 km erhalten. Diese grosse Verschiedenheit wird da me stesso studiato (1): di Costantinopoli del 1894 dal franceseLacoine (4) e (5); dei Colli Laziali del 1911, 1927 e 1928 dall'Oddone (2) e (34); dell'Istria del 29-VIII-1931, del Friuli del 25-XII-1931, di Belluno del 27-XII-1933, tutti studiati dalCaloi (14), (21), (23); quello Calabro-Siculo del 1938 dal rumenoDemetrescu (6) e (7).

     

Sulla costituzione interna terrestre

Riassunto L'A., ricordata la classica equazione di Clairaut sulla costituzione interna terrestre ed accennate le varie ipotesi sulla variazione continua della densità escogitate per integrare l'equazione di Clairaut, riporta i dati numerici ottenuti da Bullen per una distribuzione discontinua di densità. Determina in base ai dati di Bullen i coefficienti di quattro funzioni atte a fornire la densità a qualsiasi profondità e istituisce notevoli confronti fra le ipotesi di Roche, Helmert, Legendre, De Chaurand, Helmert generalizzata e Bullen. — Da ultimo studia il problema della variazione della gravità nell'interno della terra prendendo a base dei calcoli la ipotesi sulla variazione discontinua della densità di Bullen e qualla sulla variazione continua dovuta all'A. e da lui denominata ipotesi di Helmert generalizzata.

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Summary The Author, having summarized the classical equation of Clairaut on the internal structure of the earth and having touched upon the sundry hypotheses on the continual variation of density devised for the integration of Clairaut's equation, reports the numerical data obtained by Bullen for a discontinual distribution of density. The Author determines, after bullen's data, the coefficients of four functions apt to furnish the density at any dept whatever and makes some remarkable comparisons among the hypotheses of Roche, Helmert, Legendre, De Chaurand, Helmert generalized and Bullen. Lastly the Author studies the problem of the variation of gravity in the interior of the errth taking as a foundation of his calculations the hypothesis on the discontinual variation by Bullen and his own hypothesis on the continual variation that he calls Helmert's generalized hypothesis.

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Zusammenfassung Der Verf. erinnert zuerst die Gleichung von Clairaut betreffs der innere Beschaffenheit der Erde, sowie die verschiedenen Annahmen über die Veränderungen seiner Dichte. Auf Grund der Verteilung von Bullen bestimmt er die Koeffizienten von vier Funktionen durch welche möglich ist die Dichte in von Roche, Helmert, Legender, De Chaurand, Helmert verallgem. und Bellen. Ausserdem untersucht er das Problem der Schwere-Verteilung im Innern der Erde für die Annahme von Bullen sowie für die stetige Verteilung nach einer Formel des Verf. welche eine Verallgemeineung der Helmertschen Formel darstellt.

     

Su un programma di ricerche geofisiche in Toscana per l'individuazione di giacimenti metalliferi

Riassunto L'A., premessi brevi cenni sulle caratteristiche fisiche di alcuni minerali metallici (di piombo, zinco ed antimonio) e richiamate le condizioni geo-minerarie della Toscana, segnala l'opportunità di misure gravimetriche specialmente nella zona del Bottino allo scopo di individuare giaciture, spessori e pendenze di nuovi filoni e dove possono essere applicati i procedimenti di Jung sui rilievi eötvössiani relativi a figure bidimensionali.

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Summary The Author, after some hints on the physical characters of sundry metallic minerals (such of lead, zinc and antimony) and having summarized the geominerary conditions of Tuscany, points out the necessity of gravimetrical measurements particularly in the zone of Bottino in order to find out the layers, the thickness and inclination of new veins and the place where the methods of Jung on the eötvössian reliefs cancerning bidimensional figures may be applied.

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Zusammenfassung Bezugsnehmend auf die physik. Eigenschaften einiger Erzen (besonders von Blei, Zink und Antimon) und auf die geologischen Verhältnisse von Toskana, hebt der Verf. die Zweckmässigkeit gravimetrischer Messungen hervor und vor allem in der Zone des Bottino um die Erzmassen in der betreffenden Lage zu bestimmen.

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Pisa, 14 aprile 1940-XVIII     

Spectroscopic Investigation on Hydrophobic and Hydrophilic Fractions of Dissolved Organic Matter Extracted from Soils at Different Salinities

Organic matter can be considered one of the most important indicators of the extent of soil desertification processes. Among the causes of desertification, salinization induced by different factors is raising the greatest concern in the Mediterranean area. In the present research, hydrophilic (HI) and hydrophobic (HO) fractions of dissolved organic matter (DOM) extracted from soils at different degrees of salinization have been investigated by means of spectroscopic techniques such as tridimensional fluorescence spectroscopy in the mode of emission excitation matrix (EEM) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT‐IR). The FT‐IR spectra were distinctive in differentiating HI from HO fractions and each DOM fraction as a function of soil salinity. The EEM spectra of HO fractions exhibited a shift toward longer emission wavelengths and higher fluorescence intensity (FI) values as compared to that of the HI fractions. These results could be ascribed to the different molecular complexities of HI and HO fractions. Further, a marked quenching effect was observed in the FI of both the DOM fractions with increasing soil salinity, which allowed to obtain immediate information on the soil salinity degree by comparing the fluorescence intensity.     

Dynamics and driving factors of late Holocene gullying in the Main Ethiopian Rift (MER)

The issue of determining the driving factors in gullying, apart from land use, is somewhat lagging in comparison with the study of their physical modelling and control technology. Available information focuses on the basic ideas of climatic control, anthropic determinism and internal “authigenic” dynamics. High resolution chronology of cyclic systems, common in extensively gullied areas, can provide a clue to the weight of each factor. This paper reports a study of this kind, focusing on two gully catchments in the Main Ethiopian Rift (MER), but backed by an extensive regional survey. By integrating tracing and correlation of unconformity-bounded stratigraphic units and soils with radiocarbon dating, a detailed chronology was obtained for the last 5000 years. This could be compared with proxy climate reconstructions of similar detail. Clear evidence of climatic control emerged; gully filling is triggered by decreased stream transport capacity and increased sediment supply during transitions towards drier climate phases, while gully entrenchment appears to take place at the start of moist intervals, for the reverse reasons. A broader consideration of geological setting, however, puts forward a more general interpretation. These gullies actually formed, in the beginning, as part of the land surface response to sudden, very recent tectonic events, which created accommodation space for temporary sediment stores. They should then be seen in the frame of the Discontinuous Ephemeral Stream (DES) concept; as such, they are intrinsically non-linear and complex phenomena, whose response is linearized by a strong climatic–vegetational forcing, acting on both channel flow and sediment supply.     

Curvature analysis as a tool for subsidence-related risk zones identification in the city of Tuzla (BiH)

Shallow Miocene salt deposits located below the city of Tuzla (BiH) have been exploited during the last 60 years by means of wells extracting salt-saturated groundwater brines. The massive extraction activities have led to severe subsidence accommodated by collapse and strain localization. Surface topography and geomorphology have been influenced and modified by several faults and fractures.A series of sequential topographical survey data collected during the last 50 years have been used to obtain the total subsidence envelope surface. In order to analyze the salt dissolution-related morphological development of the Tuzla topography and to identify the location of faults and fractures in the deformed area, we applied curvature analysis to the subsidence surface by means of two different analytical methods: the directional, two-dimensional curvature and the analytic Gaussian curvature. The comparison of the curvature maps with those of surface fractures visible in the area shows a good spatial agreement between the directional curvature and fracture intensity, whereas the subsurface normal faults are more evident in the Gaussian curvature maps.     

The relationship between chromophoric dissolved organic matter and dissolved organic carbon in the European Atlantic coastal area and in the West Mediterranean Sea (Gulf of Lions)

The absorption coefficient of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (aCDOM) has been found to be correlated with fluorescence emission (excitation at 355 nm). In the coastal European Atlantic area and in the Western Mediterranean Sea (Gulf of Lions), a significant statistical dependence has been found between aCDOM and fluorescence with dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration. The relationship shows that, in the river plume areas (Rhine in the North Sea and Rhône in the Gulf of Lions), a consistent fraction of DOC (from 40% to 60% of the average of the DOC measured) is non-absorbing in visible light range, where the dissolved organic matter (DOM) is typically absorbent. In comparison, in the open sea, apparently not affected by the continental inputs, the entire DOC belongs to the chromophoric DOM whose specific absorption is lower (5 to 10 times) than that found in the river plume areas.