The Breccia Museo formation, Campi Flegrei, southern Italy: geochronology, chemostratigraphy and relationship with the Campanian Ignimbrite eruption

The Breccia Museo is one of the most debated volcanic formations of the Campi Flegrei volcanic district. The deposit, made up of six distinctive stratigraphic units, has been interpreted by some as the proximal facies of the major caldera-forming Campanian Ignimbrite eruption, and by others as the product of several, more recent, independent and localized events. New geochemical and chemostratigraphical data and Ar–Ar age determinations for several units of the Breccia Museo deposits (~39 ka), correlate well with the Campanian Ignimbrite-forming eruption. The chemical zoning of the Breccia Museo deposits is interpreted here to be a consequence of a three-stage event that tapped a vertically zoned trachytic magma chamber. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Time evolution of complex networks: commuting systems in insular Italy

The aim of this paper is to study the dynamics of the commuting system of two insular regions of Italy, Sardinia and Sicily, inspected as complex networks. The authors refer to a 20-year time period and take into account three census data sets about the work and study-driven inter-municipal origin-destination movements of residential inhabitants in 1981, 1991 and 2001. Since it is likely that the number of municipalities (in this case, the vertices of the system) does not display sharp variations, the authors direct the study to the variation of the properties emerging through both a topological and a weighted network representation of commuting in the time periods indicated.     

Temperature and density of the Tyrrhenian lithosphere and slab and new interpretation of gravity field in the Tyrrhenian Basin

The gravity anomaly field of the Tyrrhenian basin and surrounding regions reflects the complex series of geodynamic events active in this area since the Oligocene–Miocene. They can resume in lithospheric thinning and asthenospheric rising beneath the Tyrrhenian Basin, coexisting with the roll-back subduction of the African plate margin westward sinking beneath the Calabrian Arc. The geographic closeness between these processes implies an intense perturbation of the mantle thermal regime and an interference at regional scale between the related gravity effects.A model of the litho-asthenospheric structure of this region is suggested, showing a reasonable agreement with both the evidences in terms of regional gravity anomaly pattern and the results concerning thermal state and petro-physical features of the mantle. The first phase of this study consisted of the computation of the isotherms in the crust–mantle system beneath the Tyrrhenian Basin and, afterwards, of the density distribution within the partially melted upwelling asthenosphere. The second phase consisted of a temperature/density modelling of the slab subducting beneath the Calabrian Arc. Finally, a 2^1 / 2 interpretation of gravity data was carried out by including as constraints the results previously obtained. Thus, the final result depicts a model matching both gravity, thermal and petrographic data. They provide (a) a better definition of the thermal regime of the passive mantle rise beneath the Tyrrhenian basin by means of the estimation of the moderate asthenospheric heating and (b) a model of lithospheric slab subducting with rates that could be smaller than generally suggested in previous works.     

Applicazione della teoria di Chandrasekhar alle misure di polarizzazione atmosferica

Riassunto E'stato calcolato il valore medio dello spessore ottico dell'atmosfera () in funzione degli elementi meteorologici al suolo, riconoscendo che esso può ritenersi praticamente indipendente da questi. Poichè i valori delle intensità delle radiazioni diffuse dall'atmosfera, ricavati dalla teoria delChandrasekhar, sono, per una data altezza del sole e per ogni direzione della visuale, funzioni soltanto di e dell'albedo, si deduce che queste intensità risultano indipendenti dalle condizioni meteorologiche. Il che porta a concludere che: 1^o) o effettivamente le intensità della luce diffusa dalle molecole d'aria non dipendono dai fattori meteorologici; 2^o) oppure la teoria delChandrasekhar, completa per quel che riguarda le diffusioni multiple, non risponde in pieno alle condizioni reali. — Il confronto delle curve teoriche della polarizzazione della luce-diffusa dalla volta celeste con quelle ottenute in base ad osservazioni eseguite all'Osservatorio Vesuviano, non dà un accordo accettabile. Pur non escludendo che il mancato accordo sia da attribuire, almeno in parte, alla diffusione non molecolare, si è portati verso la seconda alternativa.

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Summary The average optical atmospheric thickness () as a function of the meteorologic ground elements has been calculated, obtaining a result which shows its inependence from those elements. The intensity of the radiations scattered by the atmosphere, as deduced fromChandrasekhar's theory for a given hight of the suns and for every direction, being a function only of and of the albedo, it follows that these intensities are independent from the meteorologic conditions. Then it can be concluded that: 1st) either the intensity of the light scattered by the air molecules does not depend from the meteorologic factors, 2nd) orChandrasekhar's theory, adequate for the computation of the effect of multiple scattering, does not entirely represents the real phenomenon. — Comparing the theoretic patterns for the polarization of sky scattered light with the experimental data obtained in the Vesuvian Observatory, an acceptable agreement has not be found. Although taking into account the scattering of other than molecular origin, the second hypothesis seems more probable.

     

Historical analysis of heavy metal pollution in three estuaries on the north coast of Galicia (NW Spain)

This research focuses on the development of metal pollution in sediment cores from three estuaries in Northwest Spain: Viveiro, Ortigueira and Barqueiro. Pb, Cu, Co, Cr, Cd and Zn and total organic carbon were assessed using principal component analysis (PCA) in order to obtain background values, measure pollution levels and identify pollution sources. Results were interpreted by considering the local industrial history, grain size and C/N relationship. The pollution levels obtained bear a strong resemblance to those documented for of a moderately industrialised area. PCA identifies factors that reflect mainly temporal associations with metals. Sedimentation rates between 0.9 and 1.1 cm/year were determined. In Viveiro core levels of Cr pollution are associated with tanneries. In Ortigueira, high core levels of Cu and Co are linked to mining, and Cr levels to adjacent ultramafic rocks. Erosion of Holocene sediment causes high values of Co and Cr in the Barqueiro core. Cu increase in the three estuaries is related to fungicide use since 1910. Sea level rise appears to be affecting the marine characteristics of the sediments in Barqueiro. In Viveiro, the nature of the sediment reflects engineering work and land reclamation.     

Petrology of an ophiolitic cumulate sequence from Pindos,Greece

The ophiolitic sequence which crops out along the Aspropotamos Valley, Northern Pindos, Greece is composed from the bottom to the top of cumulates, dolerites, basaltic lavas, upper pillow lavas with basaltic/andesitic composition, and scarce basaltic dykes. The intrusive sequence, which is the subject of the present paper, exhibits magmatic layering more pronounced at the bottom than at the top where isotropic gabbros occur; they grade into the overlying dolerites. Troctolites with rare ultramafites prevail in the lower section and olivine gabbros in the upper section; at the top two-pyroxene gabbros appear. The rocks are mainly adcumulates and mesocumulates with subordinate heteradcumulates. The cumulus phases separated in the order: olivine and Cr-spinel, plagioclase, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene. Olivine, plagioclase and pyroxenes frequently exhibit adeumulus overgrowth. Intercumulus phases may be plagioclase, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, pale brown amphibole and magnetite. Where pore material is present, it is composed of plagioclase, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, hornblende and ores. Cr-spinel occurs mainly at the bottom of the sequence (Cr₂O₃ between 30·5 and 39·8 per cent), while magnetite appears as a very rare phase in the upper section. Olivine, orthopyroxene, clinopyroxene exhibit slight cryptic variation (Mg × 100/(Mg + Fe) in the range 90–79, 90–70, 93–72 respectively). The investigated dolerites are non-cumulus rocks where clinopyroxene may be more magnesian than in the uppermost gabbros. The cumulate sequence and dolerites underwent variable but generally slight spilitization, in contrast to the overlying lavas. The sequence was generated through crystal accumulation probably from periodic pulses of tholeiitic magma; newly injected magma batches mixing with magma fractions already differentiated in the magma chamber. The high fluid pressure evidenced by the fluid inclusions in plagioclase and the whole chemical trend of the cumulate sequence are consistent with a genesis above a subduction zone, as already hypothesized for the overlying lavas.     

Heat flow and geodynamics in the Tyrrhenian Sea

The present heat flow in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea appears as a transient thermal wave that has migrated eastward in time. The higher heat flow in the south‐eastern side of the basin confirms the suggestion of an eastward‐migrating rift. Punctuation of the Tyrrhenian backarc extension in lithospheric boudins is accompanied by a concentrated increase in heat flow generated by asthenospheric intrusions and related magmatism progressively moving eastward. The migration of the asthenosphere in the same direction could explain these phenomena.     

A simulation experiment for optimal design hyetograph selection

The aim of this work is to assess the accuracy of literature design hyetographs for the evaluation of peak discharges during flood events. Five design hyetographs are examined in a set of simulations, based upon the following steps: (i) an ideal river basin is defined, characterized by a Beta distribution shaped unit hydrograph (UH); (ii) 1000 years of synthetic rainfall are artificially generated; (iii) a discharge time‐series is obtained from the convolution of the rainfall time‐series and the UH, and the reference T‐years flood is computed from this series; (iv) for the same return period T, the parameters of the intensity–duration–frequency (IDF) curve are estimated from the 1000 years of synthetic rainfall; (v) five design hyetographs are determined from the IDF curves and are convolved with the discrete UH to find the corresponding design hydrographs; (vi) the hydrograph peaks are compared with the reference T‐years flood and the advantages and drawbacks of each of the five approaches are evaluated. The rainfall and UH parameters are varied, and the whole procedure is repeated to assess the sensitivity of results to the system configuration. We found that all design hyetographs produce flood peak estimates that are consistently biased in most of the climatic and hydrologic conditions considered. In particular, significant underestimation of the design flood results from the adoption of any rectangular hyetograph used in the context of the rational formula. In contrast, the Chicago hyetograph tends to overestimate peak flows. In two cases it is sufficient to multiply the result by a constant scaling factor to obtain robust and nearly unbiased estimates of the design floods. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fault plane orientations of microearthquakes at Mt. Etna from the inversion of P-wave rise times

A crucial point in the analysis of tectonic earthquakes occurring in a volcanic area is the inference of the orientation of the structures along which the ruptures occur. These structures represent zones of weakness which could favor the migration of melt toward the surface and the assessment of their geometry is a fundamental step toward efficient evaluation of volcanic risk. We analyzed a high-quality dataset of 171 low-magnitude, tectonic earthquakes that occurred at Mt. Etna during the 2002–2003 eruption. We applied a recently developed technique aimed at inferring the source parameters (source size, dip and strike fault) and the intrinsic quality factor Q_p of P waves from the inversion of rise times. The technique is based on numerically calibrated relationships among the rise time of first P waves and the source parameters for a circular crack rupturing at a constant velocity. For the most of the events the directivity source effect did not allow us to constrain the fault plane orientation. For a subset of 45 events with well constrained focal mechanisms we were able to constrain the “true” fault plane orientation. The level of resolution of the fault planes was assessed through a non linear analysis based on the random deviates technique. The significance of the retrieved fault plane solutions and the fit of the assumed source model to data were assessed through a χ-square test. Most of the retrieved fault plane solutions agree with the geometrical trend of known surface faults. The inferred source parameters and Q_p are in agreement with the results of previous studies.