Source location of long period seismicity at Volcàn de Colima,México

This paper presents an analysis of seismicity associated with the volcanic activity of Volcàn de Colima (México) and recorded in the period November 2005–April 2006 during a field survey by the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV)–Osservatorio Vesuviano, the Observatorio Vulcanologico de Colima of Colima University and the Instituto Andaluz de Geofisica, University of Granada. Three different types of volcanic earthquakes have been identified on the basis of their spectral properties: Type A (0.3–1 Hz), Type B (1–5 Hz) and Type C (3–4 Hz). Results of polarization analysis applied to Type A events show a predominance of radial motion, indicating that the wavefield comprises compressional waves (P) and shear waves polarized in the vertical plane (SV), while the signal always begins with a negative polarity. Type A, B and C earthquakes have been located using both a flat layered model and a 3D model including topography. Hypocentre distributions indicate that the source of Type A signals is very shallow and confined to a small volume lying about 1 km below the crater. In contrast, the source of Type B and C events is significantly deeper, with most hypocentres located in a volume of about 1 km³ centred at 2.5–3 km depth. A cluster analysis based on the cross-correlation among the waveforms of different events recorded at the same station was applied to Type A earthquakes. Only two clusters, which include only a small percentage of events were found, indicating that earthquake families were uncommon during the period of our survey.     

Analysis of the liquefaction phenomena in the village of Vittorito (L��Aquila)

This paper describes a case-history of liquefaction occurred near the village of Vittorito after the April 6, 2009 L’Aquila earthquake (moment magnitude M_w = 6.3), approximately 45 km far from the epicentre. In the document, first, an estimation of the seismic motion in the area has been made. Thereafter, the performed geotechnical investigation is described, followed by the application of some fast assessment criteria for the occurrence of liquefaction, recently proposed by the new Italian Building Code. A careful assessment of all the parameters involved in conventional Seed and Idriss (1971) liquefaction analyses is considered. The cyclic resistance ratio CRR is evaluated by cone penetration tests CPT and by in situ seismic dilatometer tests SMDT; in the latter case CRR is evaluated by different empirical correlations with shear wave velocity V_s and horizontal stress index K_D. Analytical data confirmed the observed occurrence of the liquefaction in Vittorito, even if the acceleration field in the area, produced by the L’Aquila earthquake, was very low.     

Using Lightning Data to Better Understand and Predict Flash Floods in the Mediterranean

One of the costliest natural hazards around the globe is flash floods, resulting from localized intense convective precipitation over short periods of time. Since intense convective rainfall (especially over the continents) is well correlated with lightning activity in these storms, a European Union FP6 FLASH project was realized from 2006 to 2010, focusing on using lightning observations to better understand and predict convective storms that result in flash floods. As part of the project, 23 case studies of flash floods in the Mediterranean region were examined. For the analysis of these storms, lightning data were used together with rainfall estimates in order to understand the storms?? development and electrification processes. In addition, these case studies were simulated using mesoscale meteorological models to better understand the local and synoptic conditions leading to such intense and damaging storms. As part of this project, tools for short-term predictions (nowcasts) of intense convection across the Mediterranean and Europe, and long-term forecasts (a few days) of the likelihood of intense convection, were developed and employed. The project also focused on educational outreach through a special Web site http://flashproject.org supplying real-time lightning observations, real-time experimental nowcasts, medium-range weather forecasts and educational materials. While flash floods and intense thunderstorms cannot be prevented, long-range regional lightning networks can supply valuable data, in real time, for warning the public, end-users and stakeholders of imminent intense rainfall and possible flash floods.     

LusTRE: a framework of linked environmental thesauri for metadata management

The paper illustrates a Linked Thesaurus Framework for the Environment, named LusTRE, to facilitate data sharing across different environmental disciplines. It provides a knowledge infrastructure of multilingual thesauri and code lists, interlinking them so that they can be used as one integrated linked data source. This multilingual thesaurus is published according to the Linked Data Best Practices and supports metadata compilation and data discovery for describing and finding Environmental geodata. A human readable web interface is provided for the exploitation of LusTRE as well as a set of web services for programmatic access to the knowledge infrastructure. LusTRE has been exploited within the European directive INSPIRE and SEIS piloting testbeds implemented within the EU project eENVplus in order to support cross-border and cross-domain data sharing. It is aimed at supporting multilingual data search and query refinement. In order to show how interlinked content can help users to more easily express metadata within Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDI), LusTRE web services have been integrated within existing metadata editors and geoportals.     

The Son Poc rockfall (Mallorca,Spain) on the 6th of March 2013: 3D simulation

The Son Poc rockfall took place on the 6th of March 2013 in the municipality of Bunyola, on the southern side of the Tramuntana Range (Mallorca) and after a rainy and cold period on the region. A volume of rock of 4.000 m³ was detached from the cliff crowning the peak falling down by toppling. The impact of the boulder caused its fragmentation, and numerous boulders bounced and rolled downslope with volumes from 1 to 35 m³, following two trajectories: southwest (SW) and southeast (SE). The SE trajectory, with a larger runout (376 m), reached an urban area, where some of the boulders hit the roofs and walls of nearby houses, stopping others in their gardening areas. Fortunately, no fatalities occurred despite of the presence of some people at that moment, but the event caused great concern in a region which lives from and for tourism. The Son Poc rockfall has been simulated using RocPro3D software which uses GIS technology to produce 3D rockfall trajectories lines, estimated velocity and energy of falling blocks, as well as bounce heights, impacts, and stopping points. The results are in agreement with field observations and with a very good accuracy between real and modeled outcomes.     

Geometry and kinematics of the Roisan-Cignana Shear Zone,and the orogenic evolution of the Dent Blanche Tectonic System (Western Alps)

The Dent Blanche Tectonic System (DBTS) is a composite thrust sheet derived from the previously thinned passive Adriatic continental margin. A kilometric high-strain zone, the Roisan-Cignana Shear Zone (RCSZ) defines the major tectonic boundary within the DBTS and separates it into two subunits, the Dent Blanche s.s. nappe to the northwest and the Mont Mary nappe to the southeast. Within this shear zone, tectonic slices of Mesozoic and pre-Alpine meta-sediments became amalgamated with continental basement rocks of the Adriatic margin. The occurrence of high pressure assemblages along the contact between these tectonic slices indicates that the amalgamation occurred prior to or during the subduction process, at an early stage of the Alpine orogenic cycle. Detailed mapping, petrographic and structural analysis show that the Roisan-Cignana Shear Zone results from several superimposed Alpine structural and metamorphic stages. Subduction of the continental fragments is recorded by blueschist-facies deformation, whereas the Alpine collision is reflected by a greenschist facies overprint associated with the development of large-scale open folds. The post-nappe evolution comprises the development of low-angle brittle faults, followed by large-scale folding (Vanzone phase) and finally brittle extensional faults. The RCSZ shows that fragments of continental crust had been torn off the passive continental margin prior to continental collision, thus recording the entire history of the orogenic cycle. The role of preceding Permo-Triassic lithospheric thinning, Jurassic rifting, and ablative subduction processes in controlling the removal of crustal fragments from the reactivated passive continental margin is discussed. Results of this study constrain the temporal sequence of the tectono-metamorphic processes involved in the assembly of the DBTS, but they also show limits on the interpretation. In particular it remains difficult to judge to what extent pre-collisional rifting at the Adriatic continental margin preconditioned the efficiency of convergent processes, i.e. accretion, subduction, and orogenic exhumation.     

Potential effects of incoming climate changes on the behaviour of slow active landslides in clay

Today, a stimulating debate involves the scientific community about the impact of presumable future climate changes on the human life. One of the main question marks concerns their effects on hydrological hazards. Unfortunately, often such a debate is not based on reliable data. The paper proposes a methodology based on the coupling of climatic scenarios and geotechnical analyses accounting for the potential changes in climate parameters. Some analyses have been carried out to forecast the future behaviour of a slow landslide in clay. According to the adopted model, local climate effects should cause a slow decrease in the displacement rate.     

Desertification and erosion sensitivity. A case study in southern Italy: the Tusciano River catchment

The ESAs (Environmentally sensitive areas) procedure was recently developed in the framework of MEDALUS European project to identify desertification-sensitive areas and used in many Mediterranean countries (Greece, Portugal, Italy, Egypt). The identification of areas sensitive to desertification by using the ESAs model was carried out in the Tusciano River basin (261 km²) located in southern Italy (Campania region). All data characterizing the four groups of parameters related to soil quality, climate quality, vegetation quality and management quality were introduced in a geographical database, and superimposed using a GIS. A sensitivity analysis highlighted the impact of desertification on the river Tusciano catchment, highly diversified in terms of morphological, geological, climatic and land use features. The results of the ESAs model, showing that more than half of the area is sensitive to desertification, were compared with those related to soil loss, achieved by Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation, based approximately on the same environmental factors. Nevertheless, ESAs procedure considers a wider range of parameters, allowing to characterize in greater detail the catchment in terms of climate, geomorphology, vegetation cover and socio-economic features. The drawn map therefore characterizes the sensitivity to erosion/desertification of the Tusciano catchment and can be regarded as a synthesis-sensitivity map, showing the areas with higher vulnerability on which mitigation measures should be focused.