Thermal expansion along the NaAlSi2O6–NaFe3+Si2O6 and NaAlSi2O6–CaFe2+Si2O6 solid solutions

The high temperature volume and axial parameters for six C2/c clinopyroxenes along the NaAlSi₂O₆–NaFe³⁺Si₂O₆ and NaAlSi₂O₆–CaFe²⁺Si₂O₆ joins were determined from room T up to 800°C, using integrated diffraction profiles from in situ high temperature single crystal data collections. The thermal expansion coefficient was determined by fitting the experimental data according to the relation: ln(V/V ₀) = α(T − T ₀). The thermal expansion coefficient increases by about 15% along the jadeite–hedenbergite join, whereas it is almost constant between jadeite and aegirine. The increase is related to the Ca for Na substitution into the M2 site; the same behaviour was observed along the jadeite–diopside solid solution, which presents the same substitution at the M2 site. Strain tensor analysis shows that the major deformation with temperature occurs in all samples along the b axis; on the (010) plane the higher deformation occurs in jadeite and aegirine at a direction almost normal to the tetrahedral–octahedral planes, and in hedenbergite along the projection of the longer M2–O bonds. The orientation of the strain ellipsoid with temperature in hedenbergite is close to that observed with pressure in pyroxenes. Along the jadeite–aegirine join instead the high-temperature and high-pressure strain are differently oriented.     

Stability of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticle Agglomerates in Transitional Waters and Their Effects Towards Plankton from Lagoon of Venice (Italy)

The present study explores the effect of salinity and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) gradients on the stability and reactivity of titanium dioxide nanoparticle (TiO₂-NP) agglomerates in ambient water from the Lagoon of Venice and their possible effect on nauplii sampled at the same locations. In all ambient water samples, TiO₂-NPs formed rapidly micrometre-sized agglomerates. The increase in the salinity and concomitant decrease in DOC content induced the formation of larger agglomerates, with z-average hydrodynamic diameter increasing with TiO₂-NP concentration and exposure duration. Under the studied conditions, ζ-potential exhibited negative values. In line with agglomeration results, enhancement of the salinity and lower DOC resulted in less negative ζ-potential with close to 0 values in the dispersions of 100 mg L^?1 TiO₂-NPs in sea water. Two-hour exposure to micrometre-sized agglomerates of TiO₂-NPs resulted in an increase in the fluorescence of propidium iodide (PI) stained nauplii in comparison with unexposed controls, but had no effect at 24-h exposure. The increase in nauplii-associated PI fluorescence was more noticeable in dispersions containing 100 mg L^?1 than those containing 10 mg L^?1 TiO₂-NPs, suggesting membrane permeability alteration in a concentration-dependent manner. However, the PI staining results have to be interpreted with caution because of the possible dye binding to the nauplii surface without penetration of cellular membrane. The effect of TiO₂-NPs on nauplii was more pronounced at higher salinity and decreased with increasing DOC concentrations at 2 h, while no trends were found at 24-h exposure, as well as exposure to 100 mg L^?1 TiO₂-NPs.     

Deriving vulnerability curves using Italian earthquake damage data

The concerted effort to collect earthquake damage data in Italy over the past 30 years has led to the development of an extensive database from which vulnerability predictions for the Italian building stock can be derived. A methodology to derive empirical vulnerability curves with the aforementioned data is presented herein and the resulting curves have been directly compared with mechanics-based vulnerability curves. However, it has been found that a valid comparison between the empirical and analytical vulnerability curves is not possible mainly due to a number of shortcomings in the database of surveyed buildings. A detailed discussion of the difficulties in deriving vulnerability curves from the current observed damage database is thus also presented.     

Antigorite equation of state and anomalous softening at 6 GPa: an in situ single-crystal X-ray diffraction study

The compressibility of antigorite has been determined up to 8.826(8) GPa, for the first time by single crystal X-ray diffraction in a diamond anvil cell, on a specimen from Cerro del Almirez. Fifteen pressure–volume data, up to 5.910(6) GPa, have been fit by a third-order Birch–Murnaghan equation of state, yielding V ₀ = 2,914.07(23) Å³, K _T0 = 62.9(4) GPa, with K′ = 6.1(2). The compression of antigorite is very anisotropic with axial compressibilities in the ratio 1.11:1.00:3.22 along a, b and c, respectively. The new equation of state leads to an estimation of the upper stability limit of antigorite that is intermediate with respect to existing values, and in better agreement with experiments. At pressures in excess of 6 GPa antigorite displays a significant volume softening that may be relevant for very cold subducting slabs.     

Evaluation of the influence of experimental conditions on H/V results from ambient noise recordings

The H/V-noise technique is now widely used to estimate site effect parameters (fundamental frequency and sometimes the associated soil amplification), and many surveys using this technique have provided convincing results. However, a general agreement on a methodology for data acquisition, data processing and result interpretation has yet to be found. H/V measurements from ambient noise recordings imply both reliability of the results and rapidity of data collection. It is therefore important to understand which experimental conditions (1) influence data quality and reliability, and (2) can help speeding up the recording process. Within the framework of the SESAME European project, a specific task was defined to investigate the reliability of the H/V spectral ratio technique in assessing the site effects. The aim of WP02, one specific Work Package of the SESAME project, is to study the effects of experimental conditions on both stability and reproducibility of H/V results. This study has been conducted in a purely experimental way, by testing the possible influence of various experimental conditions on H/V results both on the frequency peak value and on its amplitude. WP02 results help setting up the experimental conditions under which ambient noise recordings have to be performed in order to provide reproducible, reliable and meaningful H/V results. In this paper we present the results of the WP02 SESAME project concerning the evaluation of the influence of experimental conditions of ambient noise recording on H/V results.     

Light hydrocarbons in hydrothermal and magmatic fumaroles: hints of catalytic and thermal reactions

Volcanic gaseous mixtures emitted from active volcanoes frequently show variable amounts of saturated (alkanes), unsaturated (alkenes) and aromatic volatile hydrocarbons. Three major patterns of distributions can be recognized, apparently related to the chemical-physical environment of formation of the gas exhalations: alkane-rich, low-temperature gas emissions from recently active volcanic areas; aromatic-rich hydrothermal manifestations; and alkene-rich, magmatic fumaroles on active volcanoes. Thermodynamic data, together with theoretical and practical findings from the petroleum industry, point to two main types of reactions occurring in these volcanic environments: cracking and reforming. Cracking processes, mainly caused by thermal effects, occur when hydrocarbon-bearing hydrothermal fluids enter and mix with a hot and dry, rapidly rising magmatic gas phase. The most probable products are light alkenes with carbon numbers decreasing with increasing reaction temperatures. The presence of aromatic species in hydrothermal fluids can be linked to reforming processes, catalysed by several possible agents, such as smectites and zeolites, generally present in the hydrothermally altered volcanic terranes, and facilitated by long residence times in a hydrothermal envelope.     

Integrated stratigraphy (cyclostratigraphy and biochronology) of late Middle Miocene deposits in the Mediterranean area and comparison with the North and Equatorial Atlantic Oceans: synthesis of the major results

The stratigraphic correlation of North and Equatorial Atlantic Ocean records with Mediterranean astronomically tuned sections reveals the diachrony of several planktonic foraminiferal bioevents, but shows the possibility to adopt the Mediterranean biostratigraphy in North Atlantic records. These data provide new tools for biostratigraphic correlation, mainly between the Mediterranean and the North Atlantic areas. Quantitative analyses carried out on planktonic foraminifera reveal the occurrence at Site 982-HoleB (ODP Leg 162) of some bioevents in the same order as those recorded in Mediterranean sequences. In addition, Neogloboquadrina atlantica praeatlantica first occurrence (FO) [within the short range of Paragloborotalia mayeri, sensuRiv. Ital. Paleontol. Stratigr. 108 (2002) 257] occurs in levels older than its FO in the Mediterranean area where it first appears at the same level as N. acostaensis s.s. coinciding with the last occurrence of P. partimlabiata. In agreement with the findings of Poore [Init. Rep. Deep Sea Drilling Proj. 49 (1979) 447] and the hypothesis of Zachariasse and Aubry [Paleobios 16 (1994) 68], the first representative of the neogloboquadrinids originated north of Iceland and migrated towards the southern latitudes at different times, first in the Mediterranean and mid-latitude Atlantic Ocean, then in low-latitudes (Site 397).     

Coastal deformation between the Versilia and the Garigliano plains (Italy) since the last interglacial stage

The opening of the north‐central Tyrrhenian Sea is the result of the Cretaceous–Paleogene alpine collision, which triggered a series of regional uplift, subsidence and transcurrent tectonic mechanisms along the coastal Tyrrhenian sectors of peninsular Italy. These tectonic processes, in conjunction with the effects of glacio‐ and hydro‐isostasy during the Quaternary, produced substantial crustal responses that, in some cases, reached metres in extent. In the study of coastal neotectonics, geomorphological markers of the last interglacial maximum, corresponding to marine isotope stage 5.5, are generally used to quantify the magnitude of the vertical crustal displacements that have occurred since 125 kyr. Through altimetrical, palaeoenvironmental and chronological reinterpretation of the most significant works published since 1913, combined with an additional set of data reported here, a detailed reconstruction of the shoreline displacements evident along 500 km of coast between northern Tuscany and southern Latium is presented. The reconstruction was carried out by quantifying the vertical movement since the last interglacial period and by identifying the tectonic behaviour of different coastal sectors. This has been done by carefully choosing the eustatic marker, among those available at each study site, in order to minimize the margin of error associated with the measurements. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta (Linnaeus) preying on the invading gastropod Rapana venosa (Valenciennes) in the Río de la Plata Estuary

Here we report the first observations of loggerhead turtles Caretta caretta preying on a conspicuous molluscan invader, the rapa whelk Rapana venosa. An average number of 136 opercula were found in stomach contents of five turtles, the curved carapace length ranging in from 51 to 112 cm. No other alimentary items were found in the turtles analyzed. We suggest that the rapa whelk may constitute up to 100% of the diet for immature and mature loggerheads in the Río de la Plata estuary (Uruguay), highlighting the plastic nature of the foraging behavior of loggerheads.     

Role of the backstop-to-cover thickness ratio on vergence partitioning in experimental thrust wedges

The ratio between the thickness of the sedimentary sequences offscraped from the subducting plate ( H _c) and the average thickness of the backstop ( H _b) is expected to significantly influence vergence partitioning in thrust wedges. A series of simple sandbox experiments was performed to study the role of the H _c/ H _b ratio in model thrust wedges. The results obtained show that thrust wedges with H _c/ H _b values lower than 1 are essentially pro-ward verging, with minor retro-ward faulting; H _c/ H _b values greater than 1 imply an increase of vergence partitioning. When a threshold value is exceeded, fully partitioned, doubly vergent thrust wedges develop. Comparison with natural submarine thrust wedges suggests that these experimental results may provide useful insights on the evolution of structural architecture at convergent margins.