One year after on Tyrrhenian coasts: The ban of cotton buds does not reduce their dominance in beach litter composition

In January 2019, Italy banned the sale of plastic cotton buds, which is one of the most abundant litter items entering the sea and then washing ashore. However, since the ban came into force, no studies have been carried out to assess whether the measure has actually led to the reduction of plastic cotton buds accumulating on Italian coasts. Here we aim at evaluating the effectiveness of the ban in reducing the amount of cotton buds reaching sandy beaches of the Tyrrhenian coast. Specifically, we monitored the accumulation of beach litter for one year since the ban came into force. By surveying eight coastal sites from winter 2019 to winter 2020, we collected a total of 52,824 items mostly constituted by plastic debris (97.6%). We found that cotton buds were the most abundant item (42.3% of total litter), followed by plastic (28.5%) and polystyrene (5.43%) fragments. Our preliminary assessment suggests that the ban has so far not led to a sensible reduction in the amount of cotton buds entering the marine ecosystem. This was to be expected since implementation strategies are still lacking (i.e. no economic sanctions can be imposed in case of non-compliance) and bans are differently implemented among countries facing the Mediterranean Sea, calling for law enforcement and implementation at the national and international levels

A Large Fault Partially Reactivated During Two Contiguous Seismic Sequences in Central Italy: the Role of Geometrical and Frictional Heterogeneities

Several seismic sequences have occurred in the normal fault system of Central Italy over the past few years. In particular, in the Campotosto area, the Gorzano fault with a dip of about 50° and a length of about 25 km, potentially capable of hosting events of magnitude about 6.5 was partially reactivated by two major sequences. On 18 January 2017, the Amatrice- Visso-Norcia (AVN) sequence, located north of the Campotosto area, partially reactivated the northernmost portion of Gorzano fault with four events of 5.0 < Mw < 5.5 in three hours. Similarly, the 2009 L'Aquila sequence, south of the Campotosto area, reactivated the southernmost part of the Gorzano fault with three events of 5.0 < Mw < 5.5. To study the behavior of this fault more in detail, and to constrain its geometry, kinematics and stress field, in this work we recalculated the tensor moments (TDMT) of 136 events with M > 3 occurring in this area since 2009. By integrating these solutions with high-resolution seismicity catalogs of the two sequences and with the slip distribution on the fault derived from strong motion and GPS data available in the literature, we have seen how the seismicity distribution of recent years has reactivated the whole structure at seismogenic depths between 2 and 10-12 km depth. In particular, the listric geometry evidenced by seismicity in the southernmost part of the Gorzano fault is consistent with the geometry obtained from TDMT solutions. The presence of slip at shallower depths and seismicity at greater depths is compatible with a different slip behaviors of the rocks due to a variation of the friction properties. Also the stress field inversion of the M > 5 events that occurred in the whole area of the two sequences shows great compatibility with the regional stress field and great consistency with the TDMT solutions of even the smallest events along the Gorzano fault. In this paper we merge the seismological data with the inferred friction properties of the fault to develop a mechanical model that we use to discuss the possible slip behavior of the Gorzano fault

Educazione sanitaria allo sport. Proposta di intervento nell’età evolutiva.

Viene proposto un Programma di educazione sanitaria allo sport nella età evolutiva. Obiettivo finale è la divulgazione di norme sanitarie (di allenamento, alimentari, comportamentali) da seguire affinchè la pratica di attività sportiva risulti un fattore di promozione della salute. Il Programma richiede la collaborazione fra operatori sanitari e operatori sportivi, basati su momenti di formazione dei giovani, sulla attuazione degli interventi e la verifica degli stessi

Rheological heterogeneities at the roots of the seismogenic zone

Although rheological heterogeneities are invoked to explain differences in fault-slip behavior, case studies where an interdisciplinary approach is adopted to capture their specific roles are still rare. In this work, we integrated geophysical, geological, and laboratory data to explain how rheological heterogeneities influence the earthquake activity at the roots of the seismogenic zone. During the 2016–2017 Central Italy sequence, following the major earthquakes, we observed a deepening of seismicity within the basement associated with a transient stress change. Part of this seismicity was organized in clusters of events, with similar sizes and waveforms. The structural study of exhumed basement rocks highlighted a heterogeneous fabric made of strong, quartz-rich lenses (up to 200 m) surrounded by a weak, interconnected phyllosilicate-rich matrix. Laboratory experiments simulating the main shock–induced increase in loading rate showed that the matrix lithology experienced an ac- celerating and self-decelerating aseismic creep, whereas the lens lithology showed dynamic instabilities. Our results suggest that the post–main shock loading rate increases favored accelerated creep within the matrix, which promoted, as a consequence, seismic instabilities within the lenses in the form of clustered seismicity. Our findings emphasize the strong connection between seismicity and the structural and frictional properties of the seismogenic zone

The M. Tancia regional thrust: geometric, kinematic and mechanical characterization within the Structural Geology course at La Sapienza

Within the Structural Geology course of the BSC degree at La Sapienza University we have studied the geometry, kinematics and mechanics of a regional thrust fault exposed near Rieti (Lazio) and deformed during the Apenninic compressional phase. The fault is a km-scale displacement structure trending N-S and gently (10-20°) westward dipping. The thrust superposes the Maiolica (Early Cretaceous) over the Scaglia Variegata (Eocene) Formations and it is represented by a 6-8 m thick foliated (SCC’ tectonites) shear zone. Small displacement normal faults showing cataclastic fault rocks, cut the foliated fabric. We have used SCC’ tectonites to characterize the kinematic evolution of the fault zone. We have detected two sets of SCC’ fabric: one set shows a top to the east sense of shear that is consistent with the compressional phase, the second set overprints the first one and is characterized by a top the west kinematics likely due to the quaternary extensional phase of the area. The fault zone is characterized by two main types of fault rocks: principal slipping zones are affected by cataclastic processes, producing grain size reduction and localization; fluid assisted dissolution and precipitation processes promote the development of a distributed foliation within the entire fault zone. During the compressional phase the fault accumulated kilometers of displacement as a well-oriented structure within an Andersonian compressional regime. In the following Quaternary extension, some portions of the shear zone were reactivated via optimally oriented small normal faults, other portions of the fault zone were reactivated as misoriented structures (gently dipping planes) within the Andersonian extensional regime. This misoriented reactivation was likely promoted by clay concentration within the fault planes following pressure-solution processes