Seismic refraction, isotropic anisotropic seismic tomography on an ancient monument (Antonino and Faustina temple ad 141)

This paper describes the results of using geophysical techniques to investigate three columns of the Pronaos of the Antonino and Faustina temple ( AD  141) in Rome, Italy; the columns are of cipollino marble which shows alternate sequences of mica and calcite beds. We applied seismic refraction using traditional interpretation, and seismic transmission tomography. The comparison between the results of the refraction study and the 2D and 3D isotropic tomographic analyses suggested anisotropic characteristics for the marble, and this prompted us to perform a further tomographic experiment, taking into account these characteristics of the material. Assuming an elliptical model, the main directions of anisotropy were detected. Two velocity fields corresponding to the main directions of the anisotropy were measured and anomalies such as cracks and fractures were noted. The conjugate-gradient algorithm was used to invert the data. The results of the isotropic and anisotropic models were compared. The correlation between the methods highlighted the characteristics of the marble, i.e. anisotropy, depth of the weathering, fractures and small cracks. The results show that the material of the columns is in reasonable condition, with the exception of a surface area 6 cm to 15 cm deep that we estimate has been weathered for 2000 years, and that has been particularly affected by pollution in the last century.     

Streamline method for resolving sharp fronts for complex two-phase flow in porous media

In this paper, we present a fast streamline-based numerical method for the two-phase flow equations in high-rate flooding scenarios for incompressible fluids in heterogeneous and anisotropic porous media. A fractional flow formulation is adopted and a discontinuous Galerkin method (DG) is employed to solve the pressure equation. Capillary effects can be neglected in high-rate flooding scenarios. This allows us to present an improved streamline approach in combination with the one-dimensional front tracking method to solve the transport equation. To handle the high computational costs of the DG approximation, domain decomposition is applied combined with an algebraic multigrid preconditioner to solve the linear system. Special care at the interior interfaces is required and the streamline tracer has to include a dynamic communication strategy. The method is validated in various two- and three-dimensional tests, where comparisons of the solutions in terms of approximation of flow front propagation with standard fully implicit finite-volume methods are provided.     

Potential vorticity estimates of absolute velocities on the Ross Sea shelf

We analyze absolute velocities on the continental shelf off Cape Adare, in the western sector of the Ross Sea (Antarctica). Such a velocity field is here inferred by using a novel inverse method of absolute velocity determination, namely the tracer PV method, related to potential vorticities of temperature and salinity. This theoretical choice allows us to directly use in situ temperature and salinity data. Moreover, it avoids high-order derivatives, which can give large uncertainties that affect estimates made using previous approaches. The tracer PV method also allows us to separately estimate the steady and non-diffusive component and the unsteady and diffusive components of the flow. The western sector of the Ross Sea is characterized by a surface layer of Antarctic Surface Water over layers of Low Salinity Shelf Water and High Salinity Shelf Water, flowing northward with average velocities ～6–7 cm/s. At ～200 m depth an intrusion of warmer and saltier Circumpolar Deep Water is also evident in our data. The steady absolute velocities are in good agreement with those obtained from the classical Margules equation, in particular regarding the northward flux of the High Salinity Shelf Water. Furthermore, velocities due to diffusive processes and mesoscale activity are discussed. Finally, a steady “thermal” approximation is discussed; it allows for a qualitative check of the results by means of temperature horizontal sections only.     

Italian accelerometric archive: geological, geophysical and geotechnical investigations at strong-motion stations

Geological, geophysical and geotechnical investigations, for the characterization of the strong-motion recording sites managed by the Italian Civil Protection, have been carried out in the framework of the project “Italian strong-motion database in the period 1972–2004”. The project aimed at creating an updated database of strong-motion data acquired in Italy by different institutions in the time span 1972–2004, and at improving the quality of disseminated data. This article illustrates the state of the recording site characterization before the beginning of the project, explains the criteria adopted to select the sites where geophysical/geotechnical investigation have been performed and describes the results of the promoted field surveys.     

Late-type X-ray Emitting Binaries in the Solar Neighborhood and in Star Forming Regions

We present a spectroscopic and photometric follow-up of binary stars, discovered in a sample of X-ray sources, aimed at a deep characterization of the stellar X-ray population in the solar neighborhood and in Star Forming Regions (SFRs). The sources have been selected from the RasTyc sample, obtained by the cross-correlation between the ROSAT all-sky survey and Tycho catalogues (Guillout et al., 1999). Thanks to the high resolution spectroscopy, we have obtained good radial velocity curves, whose solutions provided us with the mass ratios and minimum masses of the components. We have also obtained an accurate spectral classification with codes specifically developed by us. In addition, we could obtain information on the age of the sources through the Lii-6708 line and on the chromospheric activity level through the Hα line.We show also some results on very young pre-main sequence (PMS) binaries discovered as optical counterparts of X-ray sources in SFRs. The spectroscopic and photometric monitoring has allowed us to determine the orbital and physical parameters and the rotation periods, that are of great importance for testing the models of PMS evolution.