Evaluation of heavy metal bio-availability from Almagrera pyrite-rich tailings dam (Iberian Pyrite Belt,SW Spain) based on a sequential extraction procedure

The beginning of polymetallic sulphide ore exploitation at Almagrera, Iberian Pyrite Belt, SW Spain, has been dated back to pre-Roman times; mining activity lasted until 2001 when it was definitely halted. The Almagrera sulphide tailings dam was built at the Sotiel–Coronada mine, where Cu, Zn and Pb concentrates were obtained by flotation processes, and sulphide (mainly pyrite) wastes formed. The dam was built as a water-reservoir, on a tectonic fault; its hazard is currently documented by the released wastes after a strong storm in the region, then, its stability is not monitored by the owner.     

Evidence of weathering stages of phyllosilicates from biotite/muscovite to kaolinite, probed by EPR spectroscopy

We report on a paramagnetic anisotropy study of three layered phyllosilicates. The mineral samples were characterized through X-ray powder diffraction (XRPD), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). Based on EPR measurements of samples oriented parallel or perpendicular to the magnetic field lines, we show how the substitutional iron is transformed from Fe(II) (biotite) into Fe(III) (muscovite and kaolinite) species and from axial Fe(III) coordination sites (muscovite) to rhombic (kaolinite) sites in response to weathering.     

A Grid platform for the European Civil Protection e-Infrastructure: the Forest Fires use scenario

During the full cycle of the emergency management, Civil Protection operative procedures involve many actors belonging to several institutions playing different roles. In this context the sharing of information is a vital requirement to make correct and effective decisions. Therefore a European-wide technological infrastructure providing a distributed and coordinated access to different kinds of resources (data, information, services, expertise, etc.) could enhance existing Civil Protection applications and even enable new ones. In the recent years Grid technologies have reached a mature state providing a platform for secure and coordinated resource sharing between the participants in the so-called Virtual Organizations. Moreover the Earth and Space Sciences Informatics provide the conceptual tools for modelling the geospatial information shared in Civil Protection applications during its entire life cycle. Therefore a European Civil Protection e-infrastructure could be based on a Grid platform enhanced with Earth Sciences specific services. However Civil Protection applications stress the requirements of Earth Sciences research applications, for example in terms of real-time support. Therefore a set of high-level services specifically tailored for such applications must be built on top of the Grid platform. As a result of a requirement analysis, the FP6 project CYCLOPS has proposed an architectural framework for the future European Civil Protection e-Infrastructure. In this architecture a layer of high-level services tailored to Civil Protection applications is built on top of the EGEE Grid middleware. This architectural approach has been tested implementing a prototype of a grid-enabled RISICO, the application for wild fire risk assessment used by the Italian Civil Protection.     

Mineralogical Characteristics and Cationic Exchange Properties of a Zeolite Mineral from Romana, NW Sardinia, Italy

An investigation was conducted into the Tertiary ignimbrite formations in the Romana area in NW Sardinia. Scanning electron microscopy–energy-dispersive spectrometry indicated the presence of clinoptilolite and subordinate smectite, quartz, mordenite and calcite. Laboratory analyses of representative samples collected from the deposit indicated a cation exchange capacity ranging from 85 to 135 mEq per 100 g. Ion exchange experiments conducted in flasks containing different initial cation concentrations and in columns supplied with solution having constant cation concentration, showed different selectivity towards the cations examined, in the order: NH₄⁺> Pb²⁺> Cd²⁺> Cu²⁺> Zn²⁺> Mn²⁺> Ni²⁺. Compared to the untreated material, under the experimental conditions used and considering the eluate, and the Italian regulatory limits for discharge into surface waters, the zeolite treated with a 1-N NaCl solution yielded a 1.3–5-fold increase in the volume of treated water, depending on the cation examined. The experimental results obtained show that the cationic exchange properties of the zeolite rock from the Romana deposit are comparable with the average quality of zeolites currently imported into Italy from non-European countries.     

Late Oligocene–Miocene mantle upwelling and interaction inferred from mantle signatures in gabbroic to granitic rocks from the Urumieh–Dokhtar arc,south Ardestan,Iran

The south Ardestan plutonic rocks constitute major outcrops in the central part of Iran’s Cenozoic magmatic belt and encompass a wide compositional spectrum from gabbro to granodiorite. U–Pb laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) dating of zircon three granodiorites yielded ages of 24.6 ± 0.1, 24.6 ± 0.1, and 24.5 ± 0.1 Ma. For tonalitic rocks, internal Rb–Sr isochron ages (biotite, feldspars) indicate cooling ages of 20.4 ± 0.1, 20.5 ± 0.1, and 22.3 ± 0.1 Ma, which are slightly younger than the zircons’ ages. The limited variations in their Sr–Nd isotope ratios indicate derivation from an asthenospheric mantle source. A geodynamic model is presented in which late Oligocene–Miocene rollback of the Neotethyan subducting slab triggered asthenospheric upwelling and partial melting in the south Ardestan. These melts were subsequently modified through fractional crystallization and minor crustal contamination en-route to the surface. Plagioclase + orthopyroxene-dominated fractional crystallization accounts for differentiation of gabbro to gabbroic diorite, whereas fractionation of clinopyroxene, titanomagnetite, and orthopyroxene led to differentiation of gabbroic diorite to diorite. Amphibole fractionation at deeper levels led to the development of tonalites.     

A simplified method for predicting rainfall-induced mobility of active landslides

This paper deals with the landslides that are reactivated by a groundwater level increase owing to rainfall. These landslides are usually characterized by low displacement rate with deformations essentially concentrated within a narrow shear zone above which the unstable soil mass moves like a rigid body (i.e., with a horizontal displacement profile that is essentially constant with depth). In view of this evidence, a new method based on a simple sliding block model is proposed in the present study for a preliminary evaluation of landslide mobility. Unlike other existing methods that provide an evaluation of landslide mobility on the basis of groundwater level measurements, the present method directly relates landslide movements to rain recordings. This possibility constitutes a significant advantage from a practical viewpoint because it allows future displacement scenarios to be predicted from expected rainfall scenarios. In addition, the present method requires a limited number of parameters as input data, many of which can be obtained from conventional geotechnical tests. To evaluate the other parameters involved, an efficient calibration procedure is also proposed. Four case studies documented in the literature are analyzed to assess the capability of the present method to reproduce the main features of the slope response to rainfall. In all these case studies, both groundwater level variations and landslide displacements observed in field are well approximated by the method.     

A multi-method approach for the characterization of landslides in an intramontane basin in the Andes (Loja,Ecuador)

In the last several decades, population growth in the cities of the Andes has caused urban areas to expand into landslide-prone areas. Fatal landslides affecting urban settlements are especially frequent in cities located in the Neogene intramontane basins of the Andes. These basins have similar situations and include geographical and geological features that frequently generate ground instabilities. We studied the characteristics of the mass movements observed in these basins by carrying out a detailed analysis of four landslides that have occurred in the Loja Basin (Ecuador). This multi-method study integrated geophysical, geotechnical methods, mineralogical studies and analyses of precipitation time series. Our study characterizes the slope movements as active, slow-moving, complex earthslide earthflows. According to Differential GPS measurements, these landslides move at velocities of up to several metres per year. Electrical resistivity tomography profiles show that most of the landslides are mainly surficial. Time-series analyses of precipitation reveal that rainfall events that are not exceptionally intensive can reactivate these landslides. This characteristic and the development of these landslides on low-gradient slopes are explained using the results obtained from the geotechnical and mineralogical analyses. We find that the smectite clay minerals detected in the mobilized geological formations, combined with the tropical climate of the northern Andean region, induce the observed weak slope stability conditions. The conceptual model for the studied landslides may aid in assessing landslide-prone areas in Loja and other Neogene intramontane basins of the Andes and can help to mitigate the associated risks.     

Numerical study of partially drained penetration and pore pressure dissipation in piezocone test

The piezocone penetration test (CPTU) is commonly used as a fast and economical tool to identify soil profile and to estimate relevant material properties in soils ranging from fine to coarse-grained. Moreover, in the case of fine-grained soils (clays and silts), the consolidation coefficient and the permeability can be estimated through the dissipation test. Undrained conditions are commonly assumed for the interpretation of CPTU in fine-grained soils, but in soils such as silts, penetration may occur in partially drained conditions. This aspect is often neglected in data interpretation thus leading to an inaccurate estimate of soil properties. This paper investigates numerically the effect of partial drainage during penetration on the measured tip resistance and the subsequent pore pressure dissipation response contributing to a more accurate interpretation of field data. A realistic simulation of the cone penetration is achieved with the two-phase Material Point Method, modelling the soil response with the modified Cam-Clay model. The approach takes into account large soil deformations induced by the advancing cone, soil–water, and soil–structure interactions, as well as nonlinear soil behavior.     

Interannual variations in length of day with respect to El Niño - Southern Oscillation’s impact (1962–2015)

The objective of research done in this study is to examine the variability of the length of day (LOD) and to investigate its correlation with ENSO (El Niño-Southern oscillation) episodes. For this purpose, the LOD time series (1962–2015), from the International Earth Rotation and Reference Systems Service (IERS), is investigated using the Singular Spectrum Analysis (SSA) technique. The results show that the LOD time series is very complex and is composed of several components: the long-term trend explains 95.97% of the original series, the annual harmonic 1.76% and the semi-annual 1.35%. Considering sea surface temperature anomalies (SSTA) index over the Niño3, Niño4 and Niño3.4 regions, Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) and Multivariate ENSO Index (MEI), the residuals signal, that represents only 0.92% of the initial LOD series, indicate a significant correlation with ENSO occurred during 1965–66, 1972–73, 1982–83 and 1997–98 El Niño events and 1970–71, 1973–74, 1988–89, 2007–08, 2010–11 La Niña ones. This is a pertinent result that suggests that LOD variability is at least partly related to ENSO phenomena.     

Geometrical feature analysis and disaster assessment of the Xinmo landslide based on remote sensing data

At 5:39 am on June 24, 2017, a landslide occurred in the village of Xinmo in Maoxian County, Aba Tibet and Qiang Autonomous Prefecture(Sichuan Province, Southwest China). On June 25, aerial images were acquired from an unmanned aerial vehicle(UAV), and a digital elevation model(DEM) was processed. Landslide geometrical features were then analyzed. These are the front and rear edge elevation, accumulation area and horizontal sliding distance. Then, the volume and the spatial distribution of the thickness of the deposit were calculated from the difference between the DEM available before the landslide, and the UAV-derived DEM collected after the landslide. Also, the disaster was assessed using high-resolution satellite images acquired before the landslide. These include Quick Bird, Pleiades-1 and GF-2 images with spatial resolutions of 0.65 m, 0.70 m, and 0.80 m, respectively, and the aerial images acquired from the UAV after the landslide with a spatial resolution of 0.1 m. According to the analysis, the area of the landslide was 1.62 km2, and the volume of the landslide was 7.70 ± 1.46 million m3. The average thickness of the landslide accumulation was approximately 8 m. The landslide destroyed a total of 103 buildings. The area of destroyed farmlands was 2.53 ha, and the orchard area was reduced by 28.67 ha. A 2-km section of Songpinggou River was blocked and a 2.1-km section of township road No. 104 was buried. Constrained by the terrain conditions, densely populated and more economically developed areas in the upper reaches of the Minjiang River basin are mainly located in the bottom of the valleys. This is a dangerous area regarding landslide, debris flow and flash flood events Therefore, in mountainous, high-risk disaster areas, it is important to carefully select residential sites to avoid a large number of casualties.