The June 4th 1999 severe weather episode in San Quirino, Italy: a tornado event?

On the morning of June 4th 1999, a severe weather event took place in San Quirino, a small village of Friuli-Venezia Giulia in the northeast of Italy. This village is located near the piedmont of the Alps, 40 km west from Udine and 60 km north from Venice.Around 0900 UTC (1100 local time), a thunderstorm with an intense hail fall affected the area of San Quirino. A few minutes later (around 0920 UTC, source: a farmer), a funnel cloud from a cumulonimbus touched the ground, producing damages to houses, trees and sheds. The damaged area was quite narrow (about 300 m) and short (less than 10 km). No injuries to people were reported.In spite of the smallness of the area interested by the phenomenon, this storm is studied here starting from the synoptic scale, moving to the mesoscale and finishing with the storm scale, trying to underline its characteristics. These analyses, especially those coming from the Doppler radar images, bring us to the conclusion that the San Quirino episode was produced by a supercell storm.     

Carbonate slope re-sedimentation in a tectonically-active setting (Western Sicily Cretaceous Escarpment,Italy)

Tectonic processes are widely considered as a mechanism causing carbonate platform margin instabilities leading to the emplacement of mass transport deposits and calciturbidites. However, only few examples establishing a clear link between tectonics and re-sedimentation processes are known from the literature. The two-dimensional and three-dimensional wire-cut walls of hundreds of quarries extracting ornamental limestones (for example, Perlato di Sicilia) from the Western Sicily Cretaceous Escarpment in Italy expose a series of mass transport deposits. The depositional architecture, spatial facies distribution and sedimentary features of these deposits were studied in detail. Thin section analysis was used to define the microfacies characteristics and to determine the age of the re-sedimented limestones. Eleven facies types grouped into four facies associations were recognized that defined specific depositional processes and environments. The stratigraphic architecture of the slope was reconstructed using four composite facies successions based on the detailed analysis and correlation of the field sections. The palaeoslope orientation was reconstructed based on the analysis of synsedimentary faults, slump scars and pinch-out geometries. The Western Sicily Cretaceous Escarpment was strongly influenced by synsedimentary transtensional tectonics in combination with magmatic processes, as suggested by the presence of tuffites and pillow lava intercalations within the re-sedimented carbonate series. These volcanics point to a major role of crustal shear as a trigger for mass transport deposit emplacement. The facies distribution along the Western Sicily Cretaceous Escarpment delivers new insights into the deformation processes accompanying the crustal extension of the Cretaceous western Tethys realm.     

Exploring the impact of diagenesis on (isotope) geochemical and microstructural alteration features in biogenic aragonite

For the Quaternary and Neogene, aragonitic biogenic and abiogenic carbonates are frequently exploited as archives of their environment. Conversely, pre‐Neogene aragonite is often diagenetically altered and calcite archives are studied instead. Nevertheless, the exact sequence of diagenetic processes and products is difficult to disclose from naturally altered material. Here, experiments were performed to understand biogenic aragonite alteration processes and products. Shell subsamples of the bivalve Arctica islandica were exposed to hydrothermal alteration. Thermal boundary conditions were set at 100°C, 175°C and 200°C. These comparably high temperatures were chosen to shorten experimental durations. Subsamples were exposed to different ¹⁸O‐depleted fluids for durations between two and twenty weeks. Alteration was documented using X‐ray diffraction, cathodoluminescence, fluorescence and scanning electron microscopy, as well as conventional and clumped isotope analyses. Experiments performed at 100°C show redistribution and darkening of organic matter, but lack evidence for diagenetic alteration, except in Δ₄₇ which show the effects of annealing processes. At 175°C, valves undergo significant aragonite to calcite transformation and neomorphism. The δ¹⁸O signature supports transformation via dissolution and reprecipitation, but isotopic exchange is limited by fluid migration through the subsamples. Individual growth increments in these subsamples exhibit bright orange luminescence. At 200°C, valves are fully transformed to calcite and exhibit purple‐blue luminescence with orange bands. The δ¹⁸O and Δ₄₇ signatures reveal exchange with the aqueous fluid, whereas δ¹³C remains unaltered in all experiments, indicating a carbonate‐buffered system. Clumped isotope temperatures in high‐temperature experiments show compositions in broad agreement with the measured temperature. Experimentally induced alteration patterns are comparable with individual features present in Pleistocene shells. This study represents a significant step towards sequential analysis of diagenetic features in biogenic aragonites and sheds light on reaction times and threshold limits. The limitations of a study restricted to a single test organism are acknowledged and call for refined follow‐up experiments.     

On the propagation of topographically trapped waves

Abstract

In the context of ageostrophic theory in a homogeneous ocean, a nondimensional number is determined which corresponds to the Ursell number for long gravity waves. It is defined as Q = NL ²/h ³, where N is the amplitude of the wave travelling along the long length-scale direction, L is its length and h (which for gravity waves is the water depth) is given by h=(l ⁴ f ²/g)^1/3. where l is the short length-scale, f the Coriolis parameter and g the acceleration due to gravity. The physical meaning of Q is as follows: if Q? O(1) the free evolution of the wave is linear and weakly dispersive, if Q = O(1) nonlinear and dispersive effects balance out and finally if Q ?O(1) the evolution is nonlinear and non-dispersive. Expressions for the time scales for the development of dispersive and nonlinear effects are also determined. These results apply to topographically trapped waves, namely barotropic continental shelf and double Kelvin waves travelling along a rectilinear topographic variation.     

Robust numerical implementation of a 3D rate-dependent model for reservoir geomechanical simulations

A 3D elasto-plastic rate-dependent model for rock mechanics is formulated and implemented into a Finite Element (FE) numerical code. The model is based on the approach proposed by Vermeer and Neher (A soft soil model that accounts for creep. In: Proceedings of the International Symposium “Beyond 2000 in Computational Geotechnics,” pages 249-261, 1999). An original strain-driven algorithm with an Inexact Newton iterative scheme is used to compute the state variables for a given strain increment.The model is validated against laboratory measurements, checked on a simplified test case, and used to simulate land subsidence due to groundwater and hydrocarbon production. The numerical results prove computationally effective and robust, thus allowing for the use of the model on real complex geological settings.     

Biosedimentary record of postglacial coastal dynamics: high‐resolution sequence stratigraphy from the northern Tuscan coast (Italy)

Integrating analysis of the benthic palaeoecological record with multivariate ordination techniques represents a powerful synergy able to provide an improved characterization of coastal depositional facies in a sequence stratigraphical perspective. Through quantitative analysis of benthic foraminifer, ostracod and mollusc associations from the postglacial succession of Core M3 (Arno coastal plain, Tuscany, Italy), and application of detrended correspondence analysis (DCA) to the mollusc sub‐data set, we offer a refined picture of stratigraphical variations in faunal content from a paralic depositional setting, and reconstruct the palaeoenvironmental gradients that account for such variations. Despite distinct ecological behaviours, and taphonomic and sedimentological constraints, a strong ecological control on meio‐ and macrofaunal biofacies and taxa turnover is documented across the study succession. Amongst all possible mechanisms that may play a role in ‘shaping’ fossil distribution, the ecological signal driven by salinity represents the most prominent factor controlling the composition of fossil associations in the cored succession. Molluscs can even provide outstanding quantitative estimates of palaeosalinity along the sampled core. When plotted stratigraphically, the three fossil sub‐data sets show consistent patterns of vertical evolution that enable prompt identification of the key surfaces for sequence stratigraphical interpretation in otherwise lithologically indistinguishable deposits. The concomitant maximum richness of species with strong marine affinity, paralleled by the highest DCA salinity estimates, allows recognition of the maximum flooding zone, dated to ～7.7 cal. ka BP, within a homogeneous succession of outer lagoon clays. These clays are sandwiched between early transgressive, swamp to inner lagoon deposits and overlying prograding coastal?alluvial plain facies.     

Rock grade control structures and stepped gabion weirs: Scour analysis and flow features

Rock and stepped gabion weirs are peculiar hydraulic structures that received relatively little attention in technical literature. Nevertheless, they can be successfully used for river restoration instead of traditional hydraulic structures. They have the advantage of being elastic structures and to preserve the natural environment. They can easily adapt to the in situ conditions and can be effortlessly modified according to the different hydraulic or geometric conditions which can occur in a natural river. The present study aims to analyze the effects of their presence on flow pattern and on the scour hole occurring downstream. The analysis involved scour processes, hydraulic jump types, stilling basin morphology and flow patterns. Two different hydraulic jump types were distinguished and classified. It was shown that the flow regime deeply influences the scour process, which evolves much more rapidly when a Skimming Flow regime takes place. Empirical relationships are proposed to evaluate maximum scour depth, maximum axial length, and non dimensional axial profiles.     

Snow model sensitivity analysis to understand spatial and temporal snow dynamics in a high‐elevation catchment

In this paper, we addressed a sensitivity analysis of the snow module of the GEOtop2.0 model at point and catchment scale in a small high‐elevation catchment in the Eastern Italian Alps (catchment size: 61 km²). Simulated snow depth and snow water equivalent at the point scale were compared with measured data at four locations from 2009 to 2013. At the catchment scale, simulated snow‐covered area (SCA) was compared with binary snow cover maps derived from moderate‐resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Landsat satellite imagery. Sensitivity analyses were used to assess the effect of different model parameterizations on model performance at both scales and the effect of different thresholds of simulated snow depth on the agreement with MODIS data. Our results at point scale indicated that modifying only the “snow correction factor” resulted in substantial improvements of the snow model and effectively compensated inaccurate winter precipitation by enhancing snow accumulation. SCA inaccuracies at catchment scale during accumulation and melt period were affected little by different snow depth thresholds when using calibrated winter precipitation from point scale. However, inaccuracies were strongly controlled by topographic characteristics and model parameterizations driving snow albedo (“snow ageing coefficient” and “extinction of snow albedo”) during accumulation and melt period. Although highest accuracies (overall accuracy = 1 in 86% of the catchment area) were observed during winter, lower accuracies (overall accuracy < 0.7) occurred during the early accumulation and melt period (in 29% and 23%, respectively), mostly present in areas with grassland and forest, slopes of 20–40°, areas exposed NW or areas with a topographic roughness index of ?0.25 to 0 m. These findings may give recommendations for defining more effective model parameterization strategies and guide future work, in which simulated and MODIS SCA may be combined to generate improved products for SCA monitoring in Alpine catchments.