Study of flood hazard in the Castelfranco Emilia area (Modena Province, Northern Italy)

The Castelfranco Emilia area is located in the Po Plain. The Panaro River have periodically caused flooding in the studyarea. The more recent floods took place between 1966 and 1973 (3 events).In order to reduce flood hazards, several meander cuts were carried out along the river. As these interventions resultedto be ineffective, a flow-regulation system was constructed west of Castelfranco Emilia. It consists of a regulating dambuilt across the riverbed and a storage basin bordered by embankments. This structure is operating since 1985 but wasfinished in 1999: no flooding events have occurred since it is in operation.The paper illustrates some aspects of flood hazard induced by the Panaro River, related to the construction of a highvelocity railway in the study area, a tract of the connection between Milano and Bologna.The relationship between precipitation data and the occurrence of a number of flooding events is studied, in order toestablish whether or not a significant relationship between the two can be identified. Furthermore, a distributed dynamichydrological model is constructed for simulation of the spatial and temporal proceedings of a flood event.On the basis of merely precipitation no predictions can be made with respect to the occurrence of a flood event. Theinclusion of alternative routes for the proposed railway allows for the evaluation and comparison of the spatial effects ofa flood event. Critical points in the model are calibration and the calculation of soil saturation prior to the event

Bias Dependence of the Depletion Layer Width in Semi-Insulating GaAs by Charge Collection Scanning Microscopy

A procedure for the evaluation of the depletion region width of a Schottky barrier diode made on semi-insulating materials has been assessed and applied to gallium arsenide nuclear detectors. This procedure, which makes use of the optical beam induced current method of charge collection scanning microscopy, allows the direct measurement of the depletion layer width. By taking into account the high resistivity of the material under examination and measuring the diode reverse current, it is possible to evaluate the actual voltage applied at the depletion layer boundaries. It was found that, at low actual bias values, the voltage dependence of the depletion layer follows the usual square root power law, while at increasing voltages, it changes into a linear behavior. An explanation in terms of deep trap effect and trap field-enhanced capture cross-section is proposed even though further work must be done to explain the space charge width dependence on bias applied in terms of the deep trap influence

Impact of nitrogen fertilization and soil tillage on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungal communities in a Mediterranean agroecosystem

The impact of nitrogen (N) fertilization and tillage on arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) was studied in a Mediterranean arable system by combining molecular, biochemical and morphological analyses of field soil and of soil and roots from trap plants grown in microcosm. Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA) of PCR–DGGE banding patterns evidenced that AMF communities in the field are affected by N-fertilization and tillage. N-fertilization was also the main factor shaping AMF communities in Medicago sativa trap plant soil and roots. The overall sporulation pattern of the different AMF species showed a predominant effect of tillage on AMF communities, as shown by CCA analysis. Funneliformis mosseae was the predominant species sporulating in tilled soils, while Glomus viscosum and Glomus intraradices prevailed in no-tilled soils. Field glomalin-related soil protein content was reduced by tillage practices. Our multimodal approach, providing data on two main production factors affecting soil AMF communities, may help implementing effective agricultural management strategies able to support the beneficial relationship between crops and native AMF symbionts

The survey and mapping of sand-boil landforms related to the Emilia 2012 earthquakes: preliminary results.

Sand boils, which are also known as sand blows or sand volcanoes, are among the most common superficial effects induced by high-magnitude earthquakes. These generally occur in or close to alluvial plains when a strong earthquake (M >5) strikes on a lens of saturated and unconsolidated sand deposits that are constrained between silt-clay layers, where the sediments are converted into a fluid suspension. The liquefaction phenomena requires the presence of saturated and uncompacted sand, and a groundwater table near the ground surface. This geological\u2013geomorphological setting is common and widespread for the Po Plain (Italy). The Po Plain (ca. 46,000 km2) represents 15% of the Italian territory. It hosts a population of about 20 million people (mean density of 450 people/km2) and many infrastructures. Thus, the Po Plain is an area of high vulnerability when considering the liquefaction potential in the case of a strong earthquake. Despite the potential, such phenomena are rarely observed in northern Italy, because strong earthquakes are not frequent in this region; e.g., historical data report soil liquefaction near Ferrara in 1570 (M 5.3) and in Argenta 1624 (M 5.5). In the Emilia quakes of May 20 and 29, 2012, the most widespread coseismic effects were soil liquefaction and ground cracks, which occurred over wide areas in the Provinces of Modena, Ferrara, Bologna, Reggio Emilia and Mantov

Integrated GIS data set and 3d analysis for environmental impact assessment in the Castelfranco Emilia area (Modena Province, Northern Italy).

In this work is presented a database sets in order in order to analyse an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), Geographical Information System (GIS), Geomorphology, Castelfranco Emilia, Modena Provinc

Tests of silicon sensors for the CMS pixel detector

The tracking system of the CMS experiment, currently under construction at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN (Geneva, Switzerland), will include a silicon pixel detector providing three spacial measurements in its final configuration for tracks produced in high energy pp collisions. In this paper we present the results of test beam measurements performed at CERN on irradiated silicon pixel sensors. Lorentz angle and charge collection efficiency were measured for two sensor designs and at various bias voltages.Comment: Talk presented at 6th International Conference on Large Scale Applications and Radiation Hardness of Semiconductor Detectors, September 29-October 1, 2003, Firenze, Italy. Proceedings will be published in Nuclear Instr. & Methods in Phys. Research, Section

The survey and mapping of sand-boil landforms related to the Emilia 2012 earthquakes: preliminary results.

Sand boils, which are also known as sand blows or sand volcanoes, are among the most common superficial effects induced by high-magnitude earthquakes. These generally occur in or close to alluvial plains when a strong earthquake (M >5) strikes on a lens of saturated and unconsolidated sand deposits that are constrained between silt-clay layers, where the sediments are converted into a fluid suspension. The liquefaction phenomena requires the presence of saturated and uncompacted sand, and a groundwater table near the ground surface. This geological–geomorphological setting is common and widespread for the Po Plain (Italy). The Po Plain (ca. 46,000 km2) represents 15% of the Italian territory. It hosts a population of about 20 million people (mean density of 450 people/km2) and many infrastructures. Thus, the Po Plain is an area of high vulnerability when considering the liquefaction potential in the case of a strong earthquake. Despite the potential, such phenomena are rarely observed in northern Italy, because strong earthquakes are not frequent in this region; e.g., historical data report soil liquefaction near Ferrara in 1570 (M 5.3) and in Argenta 1624 (M 5.5). In the Emilia quakes of May 20 and 29, 2012, the most widespread coseismic effects were soil liquefaction and ground cracks, which occurred over wide areas in the Provinces of Modena, Ferrara, Bologna, Reggio Emilia and Mantov

The survey and mapping of sand-boil landforms related to the Emilia 2012 earthquakes: preliminary results

Sand boils, which are also known as sand blows or sand volcanoes, are among the most common superficial effects induced by high-magnitude earthquakes. These generally occur in or close to alluvial plains when a strong earthquake (M >5) strikes on a lens of saturated and unconsolidated sand deposits that are constrained between silt-clay layers [Ambraseys 1988, Carter and Seed 1988, Galli 2000, Tuttle 2001, Obermeier et al. 2005], where the sediments are converted into a fluid suspension. The liquefaction phenomena requires the presence of saturated and uncompacted sand, and a groundwater table near the ground surface. This geological– geomorphological setting is common and widespread for the Po Plain (Italy) [Castiglioni et al. 1997]. The Po Plain (ca. 46,000 km2) represents 15% of the Italian territory. It hosts a population of about 20 million people (mean density of 450 people/km2) and many infrastructures. Thus, the Po Plain is an area of high vulnerability when considering the liquefaction potential in the case of a strong earthquake. Despite the potential, such phenomena are rarely observed in northern Italy [Cavallin et al. 1977, Galli 2000], because strong earthquakes are not frequent in this region; e.g., historical data report soil liquefaction near Ferrara in 1570 (M 5.3) and in Argenta 1624 (M 5.5) [Prestininzi and Romeo 2000, Galli 2000]. In the Emilia quakes of May 20 and 29, 2012, the most widespread coseismic effects were soil liquefaction and ground cracks, which occurred over wide areas in the Provinces of Modena, Ferrara, Bologna, Reggio Emilia and Mantova (Figure 1). These were the causes of considerable damage to buildings and the infrastructure. The soil liquefaction and ground cracks were accompanied by sand boils, which are described in this report. The spatial distribution and geomorphological setting of sand boils and ground cracks are also described here. A detailed three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of these features is also presented, which was carried out using terrestrial photogrammetry. Since archeological times, fluvial ridges, and in general sandy deposits on low plains have been the preferred sites for human infrastructure, colonial houses, roads, etc. Therefore, it is very important to understand how the local topography/ morphology interacts in the liquefaction processes. Numerous distinctive seismic landforms were generated by the May 2012 strong earthquakes (seven with M >5), and in particular, sand boils and ground fractures. The sand-boil landforms, also known as sand craters or sand volcanoes, are formed by low mounds of sand that have been extruded from fractures [Tuttle 2001]. The cone is a generally shortlived structure that naturally collapses, starting from the center holes that mark the water retreat back into the fracture. Sand boils also occurred along larger cracks (with decimetric lateral and vertical displacements). Here, the upper scarps block the formation of craters and allow the deposition of a sandy layer several centimeters thick (e.g. ca. 4 cm in the San Carlo crack), on the lower side of the steep slope. These landforms are highly vulnerable to erosion. After a few weeks, they are washed out by rain, destroyed by human activity, or masked by growing crops. Thus, ground surveys that investigate these events have to be carried out as soon as possible [Panizza et al. 1981]. In this report, we present preliminary results using methods to map the detailed micro-morphology of some representative liquefaction features (Figure 2) that normally disappear for the aforementioned reasons, or that are recorded only in qualitative terms