Dynamics and mass balance of the 2007 Cima Una rockfall (Eastern Alps, Italy)

On October 12th, 2007 about 40,000 m³ of dolomitic rock detached from the northern wall of the peak known as “Cima Una” (Val Fiscalina, Sesto Dolomites, Bolzano, Italy), and fell 900 m to Fiscalina Valley below. The event generated a dense dust cloud, which traveled up to 4 km from the source area. The failure surface was formed by two near-vertical surfaces, almost perpendicular to each other. The orientation of these surfaces is consistent with two of the main regional tectonic sets. Only a small portion of the fallen material appeared to be preserved as blocks deposited at the base of the rock wall. About a fifth of the fallen mass was deposited on a colluvial cone. The missing mass, estimated to be about 80 %, may be represented by highly fragmented rock in part deposited as sand on the valley floor and in part dispersed as a dense dust cloud generated during the rockfall. There appears to be a deficit of deposited material, which could lead underestimation in the calculation of rock–cliff recession rates. The dynamics of the rockfall, strongly conditioned by the local topography, partially explains the intense rock breakage and the generation of the dust cloud. The rockfall was not caused by an external trigger, such as an earthquake or heavy rainfall; the failure was most likely progressive due to mechanical and physical degradation along highly stressed failure surfaces, possibly promoted by permafrost degradation and freeze and thaw processes.     

Remote sensing techniques using Landsat ETM+ applied to the detection of iron ore deposits in Western Africa

Remote sensing methods enable the rapid and inexpensive mapping of surface geological and mineralogical features. This capability proves highly useful when working on isolated or inaccessible areas. In this study, several enhancements of Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper plus (i.e. band ratios, false colour composites and principal component analysis) were used and evaluated to obtain the best possible visualisation of iron deposits hosted in the Devonian sedimentary rocks of northwestern Africa. In particular, two test sites were chosen: southern Algeria (Djebilet area), where the literature mineralogical and geological data on iron mine fields were already available, and the Western Sahara (the southern flank of Tindouf Basin), which was investigated during a field campaign and was where the occurrence of an analogous sedimentary succession led us to hypothesise the possible presence of exploitable iron deposits. This work demonstrates the usefulness of multispectral imagery in the detection of iron-rich areas and establishes a full remote sensing procedure, which can be profitably applied to a wider region of Western Sahara and can provide interesting perspectives on the possibility of detecting new exploitable iron ore deposits in arid environments.     

Notes on Hori Method for Non-Canonical Systems

In this paper the new approach for the integration theory of the canonical version of Hori method recently proposed is extended to the non-canonical one. It will be shown that the non-homogeneous ordinary differential equation with an auxiliary parameter t* associated with the mth order equation of the algorithm can also be replaced by a non-homogeneous partial differential equation in the time t. Using a generalized canonical approach, the general algorithm proposed by Sessin is then revised; as well as the Lagrange variational equations for the non-canonical version of Hori method. A simplified algorithm derived from Sessin's algorithm is presented for non-linear oscillations problem.     

Counts, Sizes and Colours of Faint Infrared-Selected Galaxies

Deep J- and K _s-band images covering a 5 × 5 arcmin area centred on the NTT Deep Field have been obtained during the Science Verification of SOFI at the NTT. These images were made available via the Web in early June, 1998. The preliminary results we have obtained by the analysis of these data are the following: (i) the counts continue to rise with no evidence of a turnover or of a flattening down to the limits of the survey (K _s = 22.5 and J = 24 mag); (ii) we find a slope d log(N)/dm≈ 0.37, in agreement with most of the faintest surveys but much steeper than the Hawaii survey; (iii) fainter than K _s ≈ 19and J ≈ 20 mag, the median J-K colour of galaxies shows a break in its reddening trend turning toward bluer colours; (iv) faint bluer galaxies also display a larger compactness index, and a smaller apparent size. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

List of papers from other journals

List of papers from other journals     

List of papers from other journals

List of papers from other journals     

Lithium speciation in aqueous fluids at high P and T studied by ab initio molecular dynamics and consequences for Li-isotope fractionation between minerals and fluids

Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations are performed to study the speciation changes in lithium bearing aqueous fluids at high temperature (T = 1000 K) and high pressures, P, between about 0.3 and 6.0 GPa. The simulations show a linear increase in Li coordination with fluid density, from 3.2 to about five in the considered pressure range. Towards low densities, associated LiF complexes are becoming increasingly stable, which is quantified by evaluating the dynamic behavior of the respective species. In the high-density region, HF complexes are observed. The differences in speciation may be related to structural changes of the solvent under compression. At a fluid density of 1.2 g/cm³, kinks in the pressure dependences of the oxygen–oxygen nearest neighbor distance and the oxygen–oxygen coordination are observed, which indicates a change in compaction mechanism. Assuming that the Li coordination difference between crystal and fluid is a major determinant for the isotopic fractionation between minerals and fluids, we expect only a small pressure dependence of the Li isotopic fractionation between Li bearing fluids and minerals. Our simulation results are consistent with experimental data that show reverse fractionation of ⁷Li between fluid and mineral, when Li is in tetrahedral instead of octahedral coordination in the crystal.     

The strongest cosmic magnets: soft gamma-ray repeaters and anomalous X-ray pulsars

Two classes of X-ray pulsars, the anomalous X-ray pulsars and the soft gamma-ray repeaters, have been recognized in the last decade as the most promising candidates for being magnetars: isolated neutron stars powered by magnetic energy. I review the observational properties of these objects, focussing on the most recent results, and their interpretation in the magnetar model. Alternative explanations, in particular those based on accretion from residual disks, are also considered. The possible relations between these sources and other classes of neutron stars and astrophysical objects are also discussed.     

Future projections of the surface heat and water budgets of the Mediterranean Sea in an ensemble of coupled atmosphere–ocean regional climate models

Within the CIRCE project “Climate change and Impact Research: the Mediterranean Environment”, an ensemble of high resolution coupled atmosphere–ocean regional climate models (AORCMs) are used to simulate the Mediterranean climate for the period 1950–2050. For the first time, realistic net surface air-sea fluxes are obtained. The sea surface temperature (SST) variability is consistent with the atmospheric forcing above it and oceanic constraints. The surface fluxes respond to external forcing under a warming climate and show an equivalent trend in all models. This study focuses on the present day and on the evolution of the heat and water budget over the Mediterranean Sea under the SRES-A1B scenario. On the contrary to previous studies, the net total heat budget is negative over the present period in all AORCMs and satisfies the heat closure budget controlled by a net positive heat gain at the strait of Gibraltar in the present climate. Under climate change scenario, some models predict a warming of the Mediterranean Sea from the ocean surface (positive net heat flux) in addition to the positive flux at the strait of Gibraltar for the 2021–2050 period. The shortwave and latent flux are increasing and the longwave and sensible fluxes are decreasing compared to the 1961–1990 period due to a reduction of the cloud cover and an increase in greenhouse gases (GHGs) and SSTs over the 2021–2050 period. The AORCMs provide a good estimates of the water budget with a drying of the region during the twenty-first century. For the ensemble mean, he decrease in precipitation and runoff is about 10 and 15% respectively and the increase in evaporation is much weaker, about 2% compared to the 1961–1990 period which confirm results obtained in recent studies. Despite a clear consistency in the trends and results between the models, this study also underlines important differences in the model set-ups, methodology and choices of some physical parameters inducing some difference in the various air-sea fluxes. An evaluation of the uncertainty sources and possible improvement for future generation of AORCMs highlights the importance of the parameterisation of the ocean albedo, rivers and cloud cover.