A metrologic method of anomaly field amplitude bottom reduction in undersampled geomagnetic marine surveys

We show the results obtained by means of a seabed reduction technique on the intensity of geomagnetic anomaly fields applied to a synthetic case and then to the real case of a geomagnetic survey of eastern Ligurian Sea (Italy). The eastern Ligurian Sea has very intense short waves anomaly fields and a sea bed that varies greatly in depth. As a result the geomagnetic space signal is characterized by a very large spectral content; in these conditions it is not possible to obtain a full sampled marine survey and vertical continuation analytic procedures and standard numerical bottom reduction based on a single vertical incremental parameter, whichever is applicable, fails to give accurate results. The present technique, which has been fine-tuned over 4 years of experimentation in environmental researchs, aims to provide a simple and efficient means to reduce the distortion of geomagnetic anomalies field caused by the variation of distance between survey plane and magnetic outcrop source position. The compensation procedure is based on evaluation, by comparison of two measurements carried out at different altitudes, of the mean vertical increment typical of each anomaly field principal frequency component bands. The component anomaly fields are then corrected by application of the corresponding vertical increments and lastly, the anomaly geomagnetic field reduced to the sea-bed is computed as Inverse Fourier Transform of a spectrum built as synthesis of the component anomaly fields' spectra. The results obtained have shown a notable increase in definition of anomaly field intensity without the production of appreciable distortions or false geomagnetic echoes. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Web Geoservices and Ancient Cadastral Maps: The Web C.A.R.T.E. Project

In the State Archive of Como, Northern Italy, about 15,000 historical maps belonging to different national cadastral productions are preserved. The Web C.A.R.T.E. project was started to enhance the accessibility of this valuable cartographic heritage using FOSS (Free and Open Source Software) technologies. The system, which implements specific web geoservices for cataloguing and visualization, should assist the State Archive of Como in the digital management of its cartographic resources and related information. After the high‐resolution digitization step, maps undergo a georeferencing operation. A special statistical procedure for choosing the best mathematical model was developed, verifying also strengths and weaknesses of georeferencing with a common free and Open Source GIS. Next, metadata consistent with current Italian standards were added to the georeferenced maps using an ad hoc localized version of GeoNetwork Opensource (recently provided as the official Italian version of the software). A dedicated WebGIS system was built for publishing the georeferenced cadastral maps. This system is capable of navigating large raster data in a georeferenced framework and easily retrieving their metadata. The WebGIS system for the State Archive of Como is an important contribution for the preservation of the original historical paper maps and also a great modernization and simplification of the end user's access to this archive.     

A topographic surface reduction of aeromagnetic anomaly field over the Tyrrhenian sea area (Italy)

This paper shows the results of a detailed reprocessing of aeromagnetic data, obtained by the downward projection to the seabed. The area of interest is centered over the Tyrrhenian Basin, whose bathymetric–topographic lay-out is characterized by a somewhat irregular trend. The origin of the intense depth variations depends on the Tyrrhenian structural setting, that is associated with the presence of several tectonic lineaments, seamounts or volcanic islands. The data were characterized by good quality and dense sampling, but they have been reprocessed in order either to solve some problems in the original compilation, and to reduce the distortion of the geomagnetic anomaly field caused by the difference of distance between the survey level and the magnetic source. The reprocessed magnetic map is proposed as an effective analysis tool for the Tyrrhenian area that is characterized by high susceptibility lithotypes. Downward projection of the aeromagnetic data by BTM algorithm increases the definition of the anomalous magnetic signal without distortions in the geometric pattern of the field, thus showing a more stable and effective association between the magnetic anomalies and their geological sources. This effect is particularly true for high frequency anomalies that are directly comparable after the topographic projection because the depth filtering effect is attenuated. Moreover, the BTM method has been applied for the first time to a regional scale survey that shows substantial advantages because no fictitious anomalies in the high frequency sector of the spectrum were generated. This has been a typical effect of the traditional downward projection methods widely used before. The final result is a BTM anomaly map that is able to show the structural connections between the geological magnetic sources of the Tyrrhenian Sea area.     

Implementation of a Stable PBL Turbulence Parameterization for the Mesoscale Model MM5: Nocturnal Flow in Complex Terrain

The difficulties associated with the parameterization of turbulence in the stable nocturnal planetary boundary layer (PBL) have been a great challenge for the nighttime predictions from mesoscale meteorological models such as MM5. As such, there is a general consensus on the need for better stable boundary-layer parameterizations. To this end, two new turbulence parameterizations based on the measurements of the Vertical Transport and Mixing (VTMX) field campaign were implemented and evaluated in MM5. A unique aspect of this parameterization is the use of a stability-dependent turbulent Prandtl number that allows momentum to be transported by the internal waves, while heat diffusion is impeded by the stratification. This improvement alleviates the problem of over-prediction of heat diffusion under stable conditions, which is a characteristic of conventional atmospheric boundary-layer schemes, such as the Medium Range Forecast (MRF) and Blackadar schemes employed in MM5. The predictions made with the new PBL scheme for the complex terrain airshed of Salt Lake City were compared with those made with a default scheme of MM5, and with observations made during the VTMX campaign. The new schemes showed an improvement in predictions, particularly for the nocturnal near-surface temperature. Surface wind predictions also improved slightly, but not to the extent of temperature predictions. The default MRF scheme showed a significantly higher surface temperature than observed, which could be attributed to the enhanced vertical heat exchange brought about by its turbulence parameterization. The modified parameterizations reduced the surface sensible heat flux, thus enhancing the strength of the near-surface inversion and lowering the temperature towards the observed values.