Topographic signature of magmatic emplacement at depth: the case of the Larderello-Travale Geothermal area (Northern Apennines, Italy)

Magmatism is an important driver of topographic change. However, our understanding of its long-term impact on topographic evolution remains incomplete. We investigate the potential surface response to magmatic intrusions in the active Larderello-Travale geothermal field, in the northern Italian Apennines. Here, multiple igneous bodies have intruded since the Pliocene causing at least 500 m of large-wavelength surface uplift. We combine available stratigraphic information with a new set of morphological analyses and river inversion models to quantify, the magnitude, rate, and spatial distribution of uplift throughout the last 3.5 Ma. In describing the style of the uplift, we report a temporal and spatial correlation between rock uplift pulses and middle crust magma injections. For the first time in this area, we document the positive feedback between different magma injections and local surface responses (e.g., river incision). We use a surface evolution model to suggest a potential scenario of magma emplacement over time. In this sense, we suggest that at the very beginning, uplift rates were higher to the north of the current thermal anomaly, and only after the uplift migrated further south. This could indicate that the deep source of the Larderello-Travale geothermal field might not be precisely located underneath the current thermal anomaly. This would allow undocumented plutons (deep enough such that they are not evidenced by shallow thermal anomalies) to be tracked, leading to more conscious and effective strategies for geothermal exploration

Murmurings in the departmental corridor: excavating a history of Glasgow University’s student geographical society (1955–2005)

Despite their ubiquity, student societies of geography, and other subjects, in university departments have received relatively little consideration in historical and contemporary accounts of these departments. This is a grave oversight considering the potentially large part they play in the academic and social life of the department and discipline itself. Using the geography department at Glasgow University as a case study, this paper attempts to begin correcting this omission by excavating and tracing a history of their student geographical society through the pages of their student-run magazine, Drumlin. Focusing on student members’ social and academic interactions with their fellow members, with departmental staff, and with student-geographers beyond Glasgow, what emerges is a highly active and impactful society. A reading of this partial history reveals the benefits, and perhaps troubles, of the student geographical society in terms of disciplinary belonging, development of geographic identity, and the formation of wider networks and communities. Additionally, through its activities, the Society may have allowed students an opportunity to become active participants in the reproduction of their own discipline. This exploration highlights the importance of writing student-geographers and their student geographical societies into the histories of geography and the academic spaces in which it is practiced

Parties abroad and migrants’ representation in the country of origin

Some of the reasons for which political parties develop organizations abroad are to represent the emigrants, to mobilize them electorally and to provide support. So far, we know very little about how migrants think about and interpret these actions. To address this gap in the literature, our article aims to explain what drives migrants' perceptions that party organizations abroad represent their interests in their country of origin. We use individual-level data from an online survey conducted during the summer of 2022 among 1058 Romanian migrants. We find that the perceptions about parties as avenues of representation are a function of both the supply and the demand side. Political parties that are active and instill trust, people's interest in politics and perceived discrimination have strong effects

Trapping and remobilization during geological CO₂ storage: A pore-scale imaging and modeling study

CO₂ storage in geological formations is important in the reduction of CO₂ emissions. Residual trapping – CO₂ immobilized by capillary forces – contributes significantly to the overall storage. Earlier findings at field conditions have indicated a delayed remobilization – a safety enhancing phenomenon – of residually trapped CO₂ in conditions of pressure depletion. The present study investigates the underlying processes of this phenomenon by means of detailed pore-level analysis. We first compare our pore network model against experimental data from high-resolution 3D X-ray imaging. General agreement is found and in both the experiment and the model, remobilization occurs at a higher saturation value – called the critical saturation (Sgc) – than the residual saturation (Sgr). A significant reduction in the relative permeability of the gas is also predicted. The model is then applied to different rocks. The results show that the Sgc is not a simple function of porosity, permeability or residual saturation. Instead, complex pore scale phenomena related to pore connectivity governing the behavior and case-specific studies are required to determine the exact value. For practical purposes, the difference between residual saturation and critical saturation is approximately between 2-4%. The reduction in gas relative permeability varies between 60-90% compared to that for drainage with no expansion

Explanatory inquiry, achievement, and enhancement

What is the aim of inquiry? One notable answer in recent epistemology answers this question with “understanding,” rather than just with true belief or knowledge. A common rationale is that true belief and knowledge can be gained by “offloading” cognitive work to others, where offloading cognitive work prevents one from satisfying curiosity of the sort that is needed to properly “close” inquiry. If this is right, then it looks like the very idea that understanding is the aim of inquiry seems to fit closely with the related idea that the aim of inquiry is one we attain not through outsourcing or epistemic dependence, but just through our own efforts. This chapter challenges this association by bringing together work on the nature of understanding in epistemology with recent work on transactive memory and cognitive enhancement. It is shown that even if we grant the premise that only through the satisfaction of curiosity is the aim of a given inquiry properly closed, this aim can be attained through (even extensive) offloading; the argument develops appeals to (i) via offloading in the case of interactive cueing in the case of transactive memory systems and (ii) understanding via offloading in the case of biomedical cognitively enhanced understanding. The result is a new space for vindicating understanding as the aim of inquiry that is not essentially tied to the idea that to play this role understanding must stand in tension with (various kinds of) offloading, outsourcing, and dependence

Uncovering the secrets of the Sun’s magnetic field

Humans have admired the Sun for as long as they have existed because life simply would not be possible without it. Today, we know that the Sun is not just a blazing ball of light but an extremely complex space laboratory in our cosmic neighborhood. In this article, you will read about the mystery of the Sun—how it acts as a gigantic magnet through a process called the solar dynamo. We will also describe the methods scientists use to understand this mystery

Dubrovin duality and mirror symmetry for ADE resolutions

We show that, under Dubrovin’s notion of “almost” duality, the Frobenius manifold structure on the orbit spaces of the extended affine Weyl groups of type ADE is dual, for suitable choices of weight markings, to the equivariant quantum cohomology of the minimal resolution of the du Val singularity of the same Dynkin type. We also provide a uniform Lie-theoretic construction of Landau–Ginzburg mirrors for the quantum cohomology of ADE resolutions. The mirror B-model is described by a one-dimensional LG superpotential associated to the spectral curve of the ADE affine relativistic Toda chai

Observations of a faint nonthermal onset before a GOES C-class flare

We present an analysis of a GOES C1-class flare from 2022 September 6, which was jointly observed as occulted by Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope ARray (NuSTAR) and on-disk by Spectrometer/Telescope for Imaging X-rays (STIX). NuSTAR observed faint coronal nonthermal emission as well as plasma heating >10MK, starting 7 minutes prior to the flare. This onset emission implies that during this time, there is a continuous electron acceleration in the corona, which could also be responsible for the observed heating. The nonthermal model parameters remained consistent throughout the entire onset, indicating that the electron acceleration process persisted during this time. Furthermore, the onset coincided with a series of type III radio bursts observed by Long Wavelength Array-1, further supporting the presence of electron acceleration before the flare began. We also performed spectral analysis of the impulsive flare emission with STIX (thermal and footpoint emission). STIX footpoints and the onset coronal source were found to have similar electron distribution power-law indices, but with increased low-energy cut-off during the flare time. This could suggest that the nonthermal onset is an early signature of the acceleration mechanism that occurs during the main phase of the flare

Clinical case summary and presentation: a pilot study to address the gap and improve medical students’ performance in bedside teaching

Introduction: Bedside teaching is a well-known clinical teaching method that provides medical students with a real-life experience and patient interaction. As future doctors, medical students need to learn not only how to take a history and perform an examination but also how to present their findings. Providing a summary of a clinical case and presenting it back is an important non-technical skill that is often overlooked during bedside teaching. Objective: The aim of this prospective pilot study was to evaluate the outcome of teaching undergraduate medical students how to provide a verbal case summary and presentation. Methods: A total of 45 fourth-year medical students from the University of Glasgow (UOG) completed a pre-teaching survey in two groups: 25 students (group A) attended small group bedside teaching in a cardiac surgery ward only, while 20 students (group B) attended a large group tutorial prior to the bedside session. During the bedside sessions, each student undertook a history and examination and then provided a clinical summary of their encounter to the supervisor. The student and the supervisor then completed a post-teaching assessment. Results: Of the 45 students, 33 (73%) were “somewhat confident” with their presentation skills; only 28 (62%) had received previous teaching about clinical case summary, while 23 (51%) did not know which information to include or which to omit when summarising. The supervisor’s assessment demonstrated that 16 (84%) students’ presentations out of 19 in group A were “very good” or “excellent” in terms of being in chronological order, 11 (58%) in using medical terms, 10 (53%) in being concise, 15 (79%) in being clear, and 13 (68%) in being comprehensive. These numbers increased in group B to 18 (90%) out of 20, 16 (80%), 13 (65%), 16 (80%), and 15 (75%), respectively, with the greatest improvement being increased use of medical terms. Using the students' self-assessment, 20 (80%) out of 25 students in group A evaluated their case summary and presentation as being in chronological order, 20 (80%) used medical terms, 15 (60%) were concise, 15 (60%) were clear, and 12 (48%) were comprehensive. In group B, the evaluation of these parameters changed to 15 (75%) out of 20, 15 (75%), eight (40%), 11 (55%) and 13 (65%), respectively. The greatest reduction occurred in the conciseness of the presentations, while there was an increase in the comprehensiveness parameter. All students from group B evaluated both the tutorial and the bedside session positively across all parameters; 14 (65%) rated their confidence in providing a case summary and presentation after the teaching session between 4 and 5, while 18 (90%) expected their verbal communication skills to improve on a scale of 4-5. Conclusion: Group B showed improved performance in all parameters according to the supervisor’s assessment, whereas group A students rated their own performance higher than that of group B. More focused and structured teaching about clinical case summary and presentation is required to address the gap in undergraduate medical education

Inclusive and Meaningful Assessment and Measures to Protect Against AI Misuse

No abstract available