Growth, interaction and seismogenic potential of coupled active normal faults (Isernia Basin, central-southern Italy)

The inception and growth of the active Carpino-Le Piane Basin Fault System (CLPBFS; central-southern Apennines, Italy) was analysed with respect to the neighbouring Isernia and Surrounding (ISFS) and Boiano Basin (BBFS) extensional Fault Systems. ³⁹Ar–⁴⁰Ar dating showed that the BBFS was already active 649 ± 21 ka bp and that the ISFS was active at least 476 ±10 ka bp , whereas the activity of the CLPBFS started certainly later than 253 ± 22 ka bp , and very probably as recently as <28 ka bp . These ages, combined with structural data (geometry and kinematics of the fault systems), indicate that the inception and development of the CLPBFS could be strictly related to the stress changes caused by earthquakes occurring on the BBFS.     

Does the gravitational “constant” increase?

The possibility that the gravitational coupling constantG is an increasing function of the cosmic timet is discussed.In Section 1 the Maximal Power Hypothesis (MPH) stating that no power in Nature can exceed the upper boundc ⁵/G (Gunn's luminosity) is advocated.In Sections 2, 3, and 4 the MPH is employed on the cosmological scale to support the idea of an increasingG. In Section 2 the increasingG is obtained by two assumptions - the MPH and the energy conservation law - and by nothing else.In Section 3 the increasingG follows naturally from the MPH in the Einstein-Cartan theory of gravity. The arguments proposed in Sections 2 and 3 lead todG(t)/dt > 0 but cannot specify the form ofG(t). In Section 4 the MPH is applied to the energy of the vacuum and leads to a relation betweenG and the cosmological term,G S ³, valid in a matter-dominated universe (S =S(t) is the expansion factor). This relation plus the time-dependence law (suggested by many authors) t ² = constant, plustH > 2/3 (suggested by observations on the age of globular clusters;H is the Hubble parameter) implies an increasingG. One finds also GU, whereU is the mass density of the universe, in agreement with other studies.     

Decision-support systems for groundwater protection: innovative tools for resource management

Governmental authorities are forced by law to make decisions within the framework of European, national and regional directives in the fields of spatial planning, groundwater and environmental protection. These tasks can be supported by a decision-support system, which integrates data from various sources and helps to make decision processes more effective and transparent. Basic work for such a decision support system has been done in a transnational and interdisciplinary project (Interreg II C: KATER), including metadata definition, metadata system, cartographic tools and GIS tools. The direct integration of these tools and information in the decision process will be implemented in the next few years (project KATER II).     

Exhumation patterns along shallow low‐angle normal faults: an example from the Altotiberina active fault system (Northern Apennines,Italy)

A multi‐method approach (palaeothermal and thermochronological analyses; thermal modelling) is applied to reconstruct the exhumation history of the Altotiberina Fault (ATF), a representative example of crustal‐scale active low‐angle normal faulting in the Northern Apennines (Italy). Thermal maturity and thermochronological data yield similar burial histories but different exhumation patterns for the sedimentary successions in the hangingwall and the footwall of the ATF. Since 3.8 Ma, the ATF footwall has exhumed at rates of 0.90 mm a^?1. Exhumation led to bending and deactivation of the ATF uppermost portion as a result of tectonic unloading and isostatic adjustment, followed by migration of extension and the development of a set of domino‐like, east‐dipping normal faults, rooting on the buried portion of the ATF. ATF activity and isostatic rebound exhumed Triassic rock units from depths of about 4 km. We suggest that isostatic instability is accommodated at shallow crustal levels, in a similar way to what is observed on larger structures at mid‐low crustal levels.     

A late Early Pleistocene pollen record from Fontana Ranuccio (central Italy)

A pollen record from a sediment core drilled underneath the Acheulian site of Fontana Ranuccio provides new data on the vegetation characters in central Italy during the late Early Pleistocene, in a forest phase possibly corresponding to a substage of Marine Isotope Stage 21. A number of tree taxa nowadays extinct in Europe (Cathaya, Tsuga, Taxodium type, Carya and Pterocarya) are present at Fontana Ranuccio in a temperate phase characterised by dense forest conditions, dominated by Alnus and Pterocarya. The comparison of the Fontana Ranuccio record with other dated sites distributed along the Italian peninsula indicates that the floristic and vegetational characters of the Mid Pleistocene revolution present a rather distinct succession of biostratigraphic events. Compared to other Early Pleistocene pollen records from southern Europe, the Italian Peninsula shows greater floristic similarities with the Eastern Mediterranean regions than with the Iberian Peninsula. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Detecting the stepwise propagation of the Eastern Sicily thrust belt (Italy): insight from thermal and thermochronological constraints

An extensive dataset of vitrinite reflectance, FTIR parameters on organic matter, illite content in mixed layers illite‐smectite, apatite fission tracks and U‐Th/He dating has been used to reconstruct the stepwise propagation of the Eastern Sicily fold‐and‐thrust belt during Late Palaeogene and Neogene times. The results indicate that the fold‐and‐thrust belt is divisible into two levels of thermal maturity. These levels consist of a less evolved level of thermal maturity that records limited sedimentary burial and minor heating, and a more evolved level of thermal maturity that indicates tectonic burial and exhumation at different times. Deformation and exhumation of shallowly buried units are linked to wedge forward propagation by low‐angle thrusts, whereas the evolution of deeply buried units is associated with tectonic imbrications by duplex formation and steep thrusts. The two tectonic styles alternate during evolution of the fold‐and‐thrust belt under low erosion rates.     

Simulation of the direct runoff hydrograph at basin outlet

A simple model describing the transformation of effective rainfall to direct runoff through the overland flow mechanism is presented. The model is based on the classical representation of a watershed by a combination of planes and channels. The dynamics of overland flow in each plane is simulated by the non-linear kinematic wave, but the outflow from a given plane is concentrated in the middle of the corresponding drainage channel. The water routing in the channels is carried out by a piece-wise linearized formulation in space of the kinematic wave approximation. Using synthetic events on 10 watersheds, the model was tested by comparing it with results obtained by applying the non-linear kinematic wave to all the elements of the watershed. The model was found to be adequate, even in a form that simplifies the geometric features of the planes through an averaging procedure based on the Horton–Strahler ordering scheme of the watershed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Concentrations of PCBs,BHCs and DDTs residues in seaweeds of the east coast of Sicily

The levels of PCBs, DDT and BHC residues have been determined in thalli of 12 species of marine algae harvested along the east coast of Sicily. The results are discussed in comparison with those obtained earlier with animal species sampled in the same area.     

Levels of chlorinated hydrocarbons in marine animals from the central Mediterranean

Concentrations of chlorinated hydrocarbons (DDT and metabolites, PCBs, aldrin, dieldrin, HCB and BHCs) have been determined in the tissues of five species of marine animals sampled in selected areas of the central Mediterranean.     

Inflation and microearthquake activity of phlegraean fields,Italy

The Phlegraean Fields are a densely inhabited volcanic area which includes part of the city of Napoli. During the past 2,000 years it has been subject to slow vertical movements (bradyseisms). A rapid uplift was observed in early 1970, which caused alarm in the population. Ground deformation started to be monitored by means of tide gauge observations and topographic levelling, making it possible to define the area interested in the phenomenon and to outline the pattern of deformation. Vertical deformation data are well fitted by radially symmetric sources, such as the Mogi’s model, while horizontal deformation data are best fitted by a linear source model. Contemporaneously, a tight seismic network was installed in the area. The frequency of seismic events and the released energies have shown that the seismicity of the volcanic area is very low. Seismic activity evolved both with regard to the relative occurrence rate of various kinds of shock and to the distribution of epicentres. The values of the Ishimoto-Iida coefficient, calculated for three kinds of shock, show that the focal medium is very heterogeneous down to a depth of a few kilometres. Observations suggest that the origin of the ground uplift can be attributed to the intrusion of magmatic masses. This hypothesis is coherent with data and is supported by structural information. Available data allow a rough estimation of the maximum magnitude possible for an earthquake with epicenter in the Phlegraean Fields.