671 research outputs found
Slab disruption, mantle circulation, and the opening of the Tyrrhenian basins
Plate tectonic history, geological, geochemical (element and isotope ratios), and
seismological (P-wave tomography and SKS splitting) data are combined with laboratory
modeling to present a three-dimensional reconstruction of the subduction history
of the central Mediterranean subduction. We fi nd that the dynamic evolution
of the Calabrian slab is characterized by a strong episodicity revealed also by the
discrete opening of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The Calabrian slab has been progressively
disrupted by means of mechanical and thermal erosion leading to the formation of
large windows, both in the southern Tyrrhenian Sea and in the southern Apennines.
Windows at lateral slab edges have caused a dramatic reorganization of mantle convection,
permitting infl ow of subslab mantle material and causing a complicated pattern
of magmatism in the Tyrrhenian region, with coexisting K- and Na-alkaline igneous
rocks. Rapid, intermittent avalanches of large amounts of lithospheric material at
slab edges progressively reduced the lateral length of the Calabrian slab to a narrow
(200 km) slab plunging down into the mantle and enhancing the end of the subduction
process
Numerical modelling of gas-water-rock interactions in volcanic-hydrothermal environment: the Ischia Island (Southern Italy) case study.
Hydrothermal systems hosted within active volcanic systems represent an excellent opportunity to investigate the
interactions between aquifer rocks, infiltrating waters and deep-rising magmatic fluids, and thus allow deriving
information on the activity state of dormant volcanoes. From a thermodynamic perspective, gas-water-rock
interaction processes are normally far from equilibrium, but can be represented by an array of chemical reactions,
in which irreversible mass transfer occurs from host rock minerals to leaching solutions, and then to secondary
hydrothermal minerals. While initially developed to investigate interactions in near-surface groundwater environments,
the reaction path modeling approach of Helgeson and co-workers can also be applied to quantitative
investigation of reactions in high T-P environments.
Ischia volcano, being the site of diffuse hydrothermal circulation, is an ideal place where to test the application
of reaction-path modeling. Since its last eruption in 1302 AD, Ischia has shown a variety of hydrothermal
features, including fumarolic emissions, diffuse soil degassing and hot waters discharges. These are the superficial
manifestation of an intense hydrothermal circulation at depth. A recent work has shown the existence of several
superposed aquifers; the shallowest (near to boiling) feeds the numerous surface thermal discharges, and is
recharged by both superficial waters and deeper and hotter (150-260° C) hydrothermal reservoir fluids.
Here, we use reaction path modelling (performed by using the code EQ3/6) to quantitatively constrain the
compositional evolution of Ischia thermal fluids during their hydrothermal flow. Simulations suggest that
compositions of Ischia groundwaters are buffered by interactions between reservoir rocks and recharge waters
(meteoric fluids variably mixed - from 2 to 80% - with seawater) at shallow aquifer conditions. A CO2 rich
gaseous phase is also involved in the interaction processes (fCO2 = 0.4-0.6 bar). Overall, our model calculations
satisfactorily reproduce the main chemical features of Ischia groundwaters. In the model runs, attainment of
partial to complete equilibrium with albite and K-feldspar fixes the Na/K ratios of the model solutions at values
closely matching those of natural samples. Precipitation of secondary phases, mainly clay minerals (smectite and
saponite) and zeolites (clinoptilolite), during the reaction path is able to well explain the large Mg-depletions
which characterise Ischia thermal groundwaters; while pyrite and troilite are shown to control sulphur abundance
in aqueous solutions. SiO2(aq) contents in model simulations fit those measured in groundwaters and are being
buffered by the formation of quartz polymorphs and Si-bearing minerals. Finally, our simulations are able to
reproduce redox conditions and Fe-depletion trends of natural samples. We conclude that reaction path modelling is an useful tool for quantitative exploration of chemical process within volcano-hosted hydrothermal systems
Data trustworthiness and user reputation as indicators of VGI quality
ABSTRACTVolunteered geographic information (VGI) has entered a phase where there are both a substantial amount of crowdsourced information available and a big interest in using it by organizations. But the issue of deciding the quality of VGI without resorting to a comparison with authoritative data remains an open challenge. This article first formulates the problem of quality assessment of VGI data. Then presents a model to measure trustworthiness of information and reputation of contributors by analyzing geometric, qualitative, and semantic aspects of edits over time. An implementation of the model is running on a small data-set for a preliminary empirical validation. The results indicate that the computed trustworthiness provides a valid approximation of VGI quality
Increasing the bandwidth of resonant gravitational antennas: The case of Explorer
Resonant gravitational wave detectors with an observation bandwidth of tens
of hertz are a reality: the antenna Explorer, operated at CERN by the ROG
collaboration, has been upgraded with a new read-out. In this new
configuration, it exhibits an unprecedented useful bandwidth: in over 55 Hz
about its frequency of operation of 919 Hz the spectral sensitivity is better
than 10^{-20} /sqrt(Hz) . We describe the detector and its sensitivity and
discuss the foreseable upgrades to even larger bandwidths.Comment: 4 pages- 4 figures Acceted for publication on Physical Review Letter
Search for Periodic Gravitational Wave Sources with the Explorer Detector
We have developped a procedure for the search of periodic signals in the data
of gravitational wave detectors. We report here the analysis of one year of
data from the resonant detector Explorer, searching for pulsars located in the
Galactic Center (GC). No signals with amplitude greater than , in the range 921.32-921.38 Hz, were observed using data
collected over a time period of 95.7 days, for a source located at
hours and degrees. Our
procedure can be extended for any assumed position in the sky and for a more
general all-sky search, even with a frequency correction at the source due to
the spin-down and Doppler effects.Comment: One zipped file (Latex+eps figures). 33 pages, 14 figures. This and
related material also at http://grwav3.roma1.infn.it
Links between the three-dimensional movements of whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) and the bio-physical environment off a coral reef
Funding: This research was supported by funding from Santos Ltd and The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS).Background Measuring coastal-pelagic prey fields at scales relevant to the movements of marine predators is challenging due to the dynamic and ephemeral nature of these environments. Whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) are thought to aggregate in nearshore tropical waters due to seasonally enhanced foraging opportunities. This implies that the three-dimensional movements of these animals may be associated with bio-physical properties that enhance prey availability. To date, few studies have tested this hypothesis. Methods Here, we conducted ship-based acoustic surveys, net tows and water column profiling (salinity, temperature, chlorophyll fluorescence) to determine the volumetric density, distribution and community composition of mesozooplankton (predominantly euphausiids and copepods) and oceanographic properties of the water column in the vicinity of whale sharks that were tracked simultaneously using satellite-linked tags at Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. Generalised linear mixed effect models were used to explore relationships between the 3-dimensional movement behaviours of tracked sharks and surrounding prey fields at a spatial scale of ~ 1 km. Results We identified prey density as a significant driver of horizontal space use, with sharks occupying areas along the reef edge where densities were highest. These areas were characterised by complex bathymetry such as reef gutters and pinnacles. Temperature and salinity profiles revealed a well-mixed water column above the height of the bathymetry (top 40 m of the water column). Regions of stronger stratification were associated with reef gutters and pinnacles that concentrated prey near the seabed, and entrained productivity at local scales (~ 1 km). We found no quantitative relationship between the depth use of sharks and vertical distributions of horizontally averaged prey density. Whale sharks repeatedly dove to depths where spatially averaged prey concentration was highest but did not extend the time spent at these depth layers. Conclusions Our work reveals previously unrecognized complexity in interactions between whale sharks and their zooplankton prey.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
Search for correlation between GRB's detected by BeppoSAX and gravitational wave detectors EXPLORER and NAUTILUS
Data obtained during five months of 2001 with the gravitational wave (GW)
detectors EXPLORER and NAUTILUS were studied in correlation with the gamma ray
burst data (GRB) obtained with the BeppoSAX satellite. During this period
BeppoSAX was the only GRB satellite in operation, while EXPLORER and NAUTILUS
were the only GW detectors in operation.
No correlation between the GW data and the GRB bursts was found. The
analysis, performed over 47 GRB's, excludes the presence of signals of
amplitude h >=1.2 * 10^{-18}, with 95 % probability, if we allow a time delay
between GW bursts and GRB within +-400 s, and h >= 6.5 * 10^{-19}, if the time
delay is within +- 5 s. The result is also provided in form of scaled
likelihood for unbiased interpretation and easier use for further analysis.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures. Latex file, compiled with cernik.cls (provided
in the package
IGEC2: A 17-month search for gravitational wave bursts in 2005-2007
We present here the results of a 515 days long run of the IGEC2 observatory,
consisting of the four resonant mass detectors ALLEGRO, AURIGA, EXPLORER and
NAUTILUS. The reported results are related to the fourfold observation time
from Nov. 6 2005 until Apr. 14 2007, when Allegro ceased its operation. This
period overlapped with the first long term observations performed by the LIGO
interferometric detectors. The IGEC observations aim at the identification of
gravitational wave candidates with high confidence, keeping the false alarm
rate at the level of 1 per century, and high duty cycle, namely 57% with all
four sites and 94% with at least three sites in simultaneous observation. The
network data analysis is based on time coincidence searches over at least three
detectors: the four 3-fold searches and the 4-fold one are combined in a
logical OR. We exchanged data with the usual blind procedure, by applying a
unique confidential time offset to the events in each set of data. The
accidental background was investigated by performing sets of 10^8 coincidence
analyses per each detector configuration on off-source data, obtained by
shifting the time series of each detector. The thresholds of the five searches
were tuned so as to control the overall false alarm rate to 1/century. When the
confidential time shifts was disclosed, no gravitational wave candidate was
found in the on-source data. As an additional output of this search, we make
available to other observatories the list of triple coincidence found below
search thresholds, corresponding to a false alarm rate of 1/month.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figures Accepted for publication on Phys. Rev.
The future of Cybersecurity in Italy: Strategic focus area
This volume has been created as a continuation of the previous one, with the aim of outlining a set of focus areas and actions that the Italian Nation research community considers essential. The book touches many aspects of cyber security, ranging from the definition of the infrastructure and controls needed to organize cyberdefence to the actions and technologies to be developed to be better protected, from the identification of the main technologies to be defended to the proposal of a set of horizontal actions for training, awareness raising, and risk management
Notulae to the Italian flora of algae, bryophytes, fungi and lichens: 5
In this contribution, new data concerning bryophytes, fungi, and lichens of the Italian flora are presented. It includes new records and confirmations for the bryophyte genera Diplophyllum and Ptychostomum, the fungal genera Arrhenia, Gymnosporangium, and Sporidesmium and the lichen genera Arthonia, Coenogonium, Flavoplaca, Gyalolechia, Parmotrema, Peltigera, Pterygiopsis, Squamarina, Tornabea, and Waynea
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