Isotope geochemistry (Sr–Nd–Pb) and petrogenesis of leucite-bearing volcanic rocks from “Colli Albani” volcano, Roman Magmatic Province, Central Italy: inferences on volcano evolution and magma genesis

The “Colli Albani” composite volcano is made up of strongly silica-undersaturated leucite-bearing rocks. Magmas were erupted during three main periods, but a complex plumbing system dominated by regional tectonics channelled magmas into different reservoirs. The most alkali-rich magmas, restricted to the caldera-forming period (pre-caldera), are extremely enriched in incompatible trace elements and display more radiogenic Sr (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr?=?0.71057–0.71067), with slightly less radiogenic Pb with respect to those of the post-caldera period. Post-caldera volcanic activity was concentrated in three different volcanic environments: external to the caldera, along the caldera edge and within the caldera. The post-caldera magmas produced melilite- to leucitite-bearing, plagioclase-free leucitites. In contrast to the pre-caldera lavas, they are characterised by lower incompatible trace element abundances and less radiogenic Sr (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr?=?0.71006–0.71039). Magmas evolved through crystal fractionation plus minor crustal assimilation in a large magma chamber during the pre-caldera period. The multiple caldera collapses dissected and partially obliterated the early magma chamber. During the post-caldera stage, magmas were channelled through several pathways and multiple shallow-level magma reservoirs were established. A lithospheric mantle wedge previously depleted in the basaltic component and subsequently enriched by metasomatic slab-derived component is suggested as the mantle source of Colli Albani parental magmas. Two different parental magmas are recognised for the pre- and post-caldera stages. The differences may be related to the interplay between smaller degrees of melting for the pre-caldera magmas and more carbonate-rich recycled subducted lithologies in the post-caldera magmas.     

River,Coastal and Estuarine Morphodynamics Selected papers from the 10th anniversary of the RCEM Symposium

This Special Issue collects 17 selected contributions from participants to the 10th edition of the RCEM (River, Coastal and Estuarine Morphodynamics) Symposium, organized in Padova-Trento (Italy) in September 2017. The series of biennial RCEM symposia has the key goal of enhancing interaction and promoting integration among the scientific communities focused on the morphological dynamics of river, coastal and estuarine environments, through various combinations of theoretical, observational, experimental and modelling approaches. The 17 contributions to this Special Issue contain four state-of-science reviews and overall offer a broad view of the cross-cutting perspective adopted when addressing morphodynamics. Such a perspective accounts for the mutual interplay between morphology, fluid dynamics and other environmental factors, and has presently become a widespread paradigm to address landscape evolution. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Free and forced morphodynamics of river bifurcations

Water and sediment distribution by river bifurcations is often highly unbalanced. This may result from a variety of factors, such as migration of bars, channel curvature and backwater effects, which promote an uneven partition of flow and sediment fluxes in the downstream branches, which we call ‘forcings’. Bifurcations also display an intrinsic instability mechanism that leads to unbalanced configurations, as occurs in the idealized case of a geometrically symmetric bifurcation, which we call ‘free’, provided the width-to-depth ratio of the incoming flow is large enough. Most frequently, these free and forced mechanisms coexist; however, their controlling roles in bifurcation dynamics have not been investigated so far. In this paper we address this question by proposing a unified free-forced modelling framework for bifurcation morphodynamics. Upstream channel curvature and different slopes of downstream branches (slope advantage) are specifically investigated as forcing effects typically occurring in bifurcations of alluvial channels. The modelling strategy is based on the widely used two-cell model of Bolla Pittaluga et al. (Water Resources Research, 2003, 39 (3), 1–13), here extended to account for the spatially non-uniform fluxes entering the bifurcation node. Results reveal that the relative role of free and forced mechanisms depends on the width-to-depth ratio falling above or below the resonant threshold that controls the stability of free bifurcations: when the main channel is relatively wide and shallow (super-resonant regime) the bifurcation invariably evolves towards unbalanced configurations, whatever the combination of curvature and slope advantage values, which instead control the bifurcation response under sub-resonant conditions. Detection of the resonant aspect ratio as a key threshold also releases the modelling approach from the need for parameter calibration that characterized previous approaches, and allows for interpreting under a unified framework the opposite behaviours shown by gravel-bed and sand-bed bifurcations for increasing Shields parameter values. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Google Earth as a data source for investigating river forms and processes: Discriminating river types using form-based process indicators

Google Earth provides potential for exploiting an enormous reservoir of freely-available remotely sensed data to support river science and management. In this paper, we consider how the platform can support investigation of river physical forms and processes by developing an empirically-based reach-scale classification of semi-natural European single thread to transitional rivers. Using strict reach and image selection criteria, we identified 194 reaches of 68 rivers for analysis. Measurements of channel dimensions and counts of in-channel and floodplain features, standardised for reach length and channel width where necessary, were used to derive a series of geomorphologically-relevant process indicators. A suite of multivariate analyses were then applied to this data set, resulting in the discrimination of five river types: laterally stable, laterally active sinuous-meandering; transitional (near-braided); bedrock; and cascade/step dominated. The results of the classification were tested by examining the characteristics and distribution of the river classes in relation to known independent controls of river form including reach-scale energy and valley confinement conditions. Our results show that if methods of data extraction are carefully developed, physically meaningful river reach discrimination can be achieved using Google Earth. Although there are limits to the types of information that can be extracted such that field investigations cannot always be avoided, there is enormous potential to mine Google Earth across different space and time scales, supporting the assembly of large, reliable data sets relevant to river forms and processes in a very cost-effective way. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Advanced frame element for seismic analysis of masonry structures: model formulation and validation

This paper presents a masonry panel model for the nonlinear static and dynamic analysis of masonry buildings suitable for the seismic assessment of new and existing structures. The model is based on an equivalent frame idealization of the structure and stems from previous research on force‐based frame elements. The element formulation considers axial, bending, and shear deformations within the framework of the Timoshenko beam theory. A phenomenological cyclic section law that accounts for the shear panel response is coupled, through equilibrium between shear and bending forces along the element, with a fiber‐section model that accounts for the axial and bending responses. The proposed panel model traces with a low computational burden and numerical stability the main aspects of the structural behavior of masonry panels and is suitable for analyses of multi‐floor buildings with a relatively regular distribution of openings and with walls and floors organized to grant a box‐like behavior under seismic loads. The model capabilities are validated though analyses of simple unreinforced masonry panels and comparisons with published experimental results. The model accuracy is strongly dependent on the fiber and shear constitutive laws used. However, the formulation is general, and laws different from those employed in this study are easily introduced without affecting the model formulation. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

GRIDA3—a shared resources manager for environmental data analysis and applications

GRIDA3 (Shared Resources Manager for Environmental Data Analysis and Applications) is a multidisciplinary project designed to deliver an integrated system to forge solutions to some environmental challenges such as the constant increase of polluted sites, the sustainability of natural resources usage and the forecast of extreme meteorological events. The GRIDA3 portal is mainly based on Web 2.0 technologies and EnginFrame framework. The portal, now at an advanced stage of development, provides end-users with intuitive Web-interfaces and tools that simplify job submission to the underneath computing resources. The framework manages the user authentication and authorization, then controls the action and job execution into the grid computing environment, collects the results and transforms them into an useful format on the client side. The GRIDA3 Portal framework will provide a problem-solving platform allowing, through appropriate access policies, the integration and the sharing of skills, resources and tools located at multiple sites across federated domains.     

Evidence of multiple thermokarst lake generations from an 11 800‐year‐old permafrost core on the northern Seward Peninsula,Alaska

Permafrost degradation influences the morphology, biogeochemical cycling and hydrology of Arctic landscapes over a range of time scales. To reconstruct temporal patterns of early to late Holocene permafrost and thermokarst dynamics, site‐specific palaeo‐records are needed. Here we present a multi‐proxy study of a 350‐cm‐long permafrost core from a drained lake basin on the northern Seward Peninsula, Alaska, revealing Lateglacial to Holocene thermokarst lake dynamics in a central location of Beringia. Use of radiocarbon dating, micropalaeontology (ostracods and testaceans), sedimentology (grain‐size analyses, magnetic susceptibility, tephra analyses), geochemistry (total nitrogen and carbon, total organic carbon, δ¹³C_org) and stable water isotopes (δ¹⁸O, δD, d excess) of ground ice allowed the reconstruction of several distinct thermokarst lake phases. These include a pre‐lacustrine environment at the base of the core characterized by the Devil Mountain Maar tephra (22 800±280 cal. a BP, Unit A), which has vertically subsided in places due to subsequent development of a deep thermokarst lake that initiated around 11 800 cal. a BP (Unit B). At about 9000 cal. a BP this lake transitioned from a stable depositional environment to a very dynamic lake system (Unit C) characterized by fluctuating lake levels, potentially intermediate wetland development, and expansion and erosion of shore deposits. Complete drainage of this lake occurred at 1060 cal. a BP, including post‐drainage sediment freezing from the top down to 154 cm and gradual accumulation of terrestrial peat (Unit D), as well as uniform upward talik refreezing. This core‐based reconstruction of multiple thermokarst lake generations since 11 800 cal. a BP improves our understanding of the temporal scales of thermokarst lake development from initiation to drainage, demonstrates complex landscape evolution in the ice‐rich permafrost regions of Central Beringia during the Lateglacial and Holocene, and enhances our understanding of biogeochemical cycles in thermokarst‐affected regions of the Arctic.     

Wind wave climate change: Impacts on the littoral processes at the Northern Buenos Aires Province Coast, Argentina

Several works reported wind-wave climate changes at Buenos Aires Province continental shelf. The aim of this work is to investigate the impact of these changes in the coastal processes of the region. This study is carried out by means of visual wave parameters gathered at the surf zone of Pinamar and by a conveniently implemented and validated numerical wave model (SWAN). Numerical results corresponding to a grid point located 30 km off Pinamar show a significant increase of wave heights from the S and SSE directions and in the frequency of occurrence of waves coming from the S, SSE and E. It is shown that these slight offshore appreciated trends would not have significant effects on the breaker heights observed at the surf zone at Pinamar. On the contrary, the slight positive trend observed offshore in the frequency of occurrence could be affecting the incidence of waves onshore, producing an increase in the number of cases of normal incidence at the surf zone and, consequently, a significant decrease in the alongshore wave energy flux assessed at Pinamar. This reduction in the alongshore wave energy flux could be responsible for some coastal changes detected in the region as, for instance, the remarkable shortening of Punta Rasa spit located 70 km northward Pinamar.     

Pingüino In-bearing polymetallic vein deposit,Deseado Massif,Patagonia, Argentina: characteristics of mineralization and ore-forming fluids

The Pingüino deposit, located in the low sulfidation epithermal metallogenetical province of the Deseado Massif, Patagonia, Argentina, represents a distinct deposit type in the region. It evolved through two different mineralization events: an early In-bearing polymetallic event that introduced In, Zn, Pb, Ag, Cd, Au, As, Cu, Sn, W and Bi represented by complex sulfide mineralogy, and a late Ag–Au quartz-rich vein type that crosscut and overprints the early polymetallic mineralization. The indium-bearing polymetallic mineralization developed in three stages: an early Cu–Au–In–As–Sn–W–Bi stage (Ps₁), a Zn–Pb–Ag–In–Cd–Sb stage (Ps₂) and a late Zn–In–Cd (Ps₃). Indium concentrations in the polymetallic veins show a wide range (3.4 to 1,184 ppm In). The highest indium values (up to 1,184 ppm) relate to the Ps₂ mineralization stage, and are associated with Fe-rich sphalerites, although significant In enrichment (up to 159 ppm) is also present in the Ps₁ paragenesis associated with Sn-minerals (ferrokesterite and cassiterite). The hydrothermal alteration associated with the polymetallic mineralization is characterized by advanced argillic alteration within the immediate vein zone, and sericitic alteration enveloping the vein zone. Fluid inclusion studies indicate homogenisation temperatures of 308.2–327°C for Ps₁ and 255–312.4°C for Ps₂, and low to moderate salinities (2 to 5 eq.wt.% NaCl and 4 to 9 eq.wt.% NaCl, respectively). δ³⁴S values of sulfide minerals (+0.76‰ to +3.61‰) indicate a possible magmatic source for the sulfur in the polymetallic mineralization while Pb isotope ratios for the sulfides and magmatic rocks (²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb ratios of 17.379 to 18.502; 15.588 to 15.730 and 38.234 to 38.756, respectively) are consistent with the possibility that the Pb reservoirs for both had the same crustal source. Spatial relationships, hydrothermal alteration styles, S and Pb isotopic data suggest a probable genetic relation between the polymetallic mineralization and dioritic intrusions that could have been the source of metals and hydrothermal fluids. Mineralization paragenesis, alteration mineralogy, geochemical signatures, fluid inclusion data and isotopic data, confirm that the In-bearing polymetallic mineralization from Pingüino deposit is a distinct type, in comparison with the well-known epithermal low sulfidation mineralization from the Deseado Massif.     

Oblique rifting in Salina, Lipari and Vulcano islands (Aeolian islands, southern Italy)

A structural analysis carried out on the volcanic products of the islands of Salina, Lipari and Vulcano (Aeolian archipelago) points out that the large-scale tectonic setting is dominated by NW-SE trending right-lateral extensional strike-slip faults and by N-S to NE-SW trending normal faults and fractures. This fault pattern generates pull-apart type structures, developing between different right-hand overlapping fault segments and a characteristic extensional imbricate fan geometry at the tip of the major strike-slip faults. All the structures, representing the surface expression of an active crustal discontinuity which controls the evolutionary history of the magmatism of the three islands, are kinematically compatible with a N100°E extension related to a rifting process affecting southern Italy.