Orbitally Paced Shifts in the Particle Size of Antarctic Continental Shelf Sediments in Response to Ice Dynamics during the Miocene Climatic Optimum

The AND-2A drill hole (ANDRILL [Antarctic Geological Drilling Program] Southern McMurdo Sound Project), ∼10 km from the East Antarctica coastline, records nearly 6 m.y. of sedimentation across the Miocene climatic optimum at a high-latitude site. Sedimentological studies of bedforms and particle size distributions indicate that the paleoenvironment was strongly affected by waves and currents, consistent with deposition in a glacially influenced neritic environment. We document abrupt shifts in mud percent within glacial-interglacial cycles ca. 17.8 Ma and between ca. 16.7 and 15.7 Ma that we attribute to the hydrodynamic effects of wave stirring tied to episodes of ice growth and decay. Although wave climate and geodynamic forcing of the paleobathymetry simultaneously affect wave stirring on a high-latitude shelf, both are ultimately controlled by the size of the ice sheet. The mud percent record displays cyclicity at short-eccentricity time scales (94–99 k.y.) and, unexpectedly, ice retreat phases interpreted from the particle size record coincide with eccentricity minima. We attribute the eccentricity-paced ice retreat phases during the late Early Miocene polythermal glacial conditions and the cool orbital parameters to marine ice sheet instability in response to changes in ocean circulation and heat transport. The particle size record of the AND-2A core provides unique near-field evidence for orbitally paced changes in high-latitude climate and ice volume during the Miocene climatic optimum and important insights into the mechanisms of ice sheet growth and decay in a period of global warmth

Neogene and Quaternary geodynamic evolution of the Italian peninsula: the contribution of paleomagnetic data

Paleomagnetism has played an important role in the development of geodynamic models for the Italian peninsula. Paleomagnetic data from this area have been increasingly reported since the late 1960s, placing important constraints on geodynamics. A brief outline of the main concepts underlying a paleomagnetic study is provided in the first part of this paper. We also discuss the criteiia for the assessment of the reliability of paleomagnetic data. Finally,the data collected over the past 25 years in peninsular and insular Italy are synthetically reviewed, discussing the main implications for the geodynamic evolution of the Tyrrhenian - Apennines foreland system

Appreciation of peer reviewers for 2015

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/133577/1/rog20102.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/133577/2/rog20102_am.pd

Dimensional analysis identifies contrasting dynamics of past climate states and critical transitions

While one can unequivocally identify past climate transitions, we lack comprehensive knowledge about their underlying mechanisms and timescales. Our study employs a dimensional analysis of benthic stable isotope records to uncover, across different timescales, how the climatic fluctuation of the Cenozoic are associated with changes in the number of effective degrees of freedom. Precession timescales dominate the Hothouse and Warmhouse states, while the Icehouse climate is primarily influenced by obliquity and eccentricity timescales. Notably, the Coolhouse state lacks dominant timescales. Our analysis proves effective in objectively identifying abrupt climate shifts and extremes. This is also demonstrated using high-resolution data from the last glacial cycle, revealing abrupt climate shifts within a single climate state. These findings significantly impact our understanding of the inherent stability of each climate state and the evaluation of (paleo-)climate models' ability to replicate key features of past/future climate states and transitions

Thank You to Our 2018 Peer Reviewers

On behalf of the authors and readers of Reviews of Geophysics, the American Geophysical Union (AGU), and the broader scientific community, the Editors wish to wholeheartedly thank those who reviewed the manuscripts for Reviews of Geophysics in 2018. Reviews of Geophysics is the top rated journal in Geophysics and Geochemistry and it could not exist without your investment of time and effort, lending your expertise to ensure that the papers published in this journal meet the standards that the research community expects for it. We sincerely appreciate the time spent reading and commenting on manuscripts, and we are very grateful for your willingness and readiness to serve in this role. Reviews of Geophysics published 20 review papers and an editorial in 2018, covering most of the AGU Section topics, and for this we were able to rely on the efforts of 85 dedicated reviewers from 20 countries. Many reviewers answered the call multiple times. Thank you again. We look forward to a 2019 of exciting advances in the field and communicating those advances to our community and to the broader public

Andic soils and catastrophic mudflows in Italy: morphological and hydropedological evidences

In Italy rapid landslides are the most frequently occurring natural disasters and, after earthquakes, cause the highest number of victims. In this contribution we attempt to prove that there exist a tight connection between the presence of a specific soil type, namely andic soils, and the occurrence of the main catastrophic mudflows and debris flows occurred in Italy in the last decades. The study was performed by means of an integrated pedological and hydrological analysis on the detachment crowns of some of the most important catastrophic mudflows and debris flows occurred in Italy in the last decades and involving/evolving surface soils. The results at both regional (Campania) and National (Italy) scale clearly show that despite the large variability of the environmental settings of the studied sites there are indeed some striking homogeneous soil features in the detachment crowns including (i) soil morphology, (ii) andic features ranging from high to moderate, (iii) high water retention throughout a large range of pressure heads. Results seem to reveal clear cause-effect evidences between andic soils and the investigated catastrophic mudflows/debrisflows; this must be related to the unique physical properties of these soils inducing high landslide vulnerability

Fontana Ranuccio (excavations 2019-2022) and Colle Marino (excavations 2020-2021): Middle Pleistocene chronostratigraphic evidence of the earliest inhabitants in the Anagni basin

Recent fieldwork of the Istituto Italiano di Paleontologia Umana in the Anagni basin (Latin Valley, southern Latium, central Italy) has provided new insights into the dynamics of human settlement and adaptation in this area during the Middle Pleistocene. This paper summarizes the still partially unpublished data on the chronostratigraphy of two important prehistoric sites: Fontana Ranuccio, dating from about 400,000 years ago, and Colle Marino, whose lithic industry has so far been attributed to an early stage of the Middle Pleistocene. At Fontana Ranuccio, stratigraphic studies highlighted the depositional dynamics and the processes involved in the formation of the archeological unit, consisting of partly reworked volcanic material, which can be now divided into distinct sub-units. At Colle Marino, a 35-meter-deep core drilling and an excavation campaign allowed us to verify the nature and provenance of lithic artifacts found on the surface in past decades. Radiometric analyses dated these artifacts from about 700,000 years ago

Appreciation of Peer Reviewers for 2017

On behalf of the authors and readers of Reviews of Geophysics, the American Geophysical Union, and the broader scientific community, the Editors wish to wholeheartedly thank those who reviewed the manuscripts for Reviews of Geophysics in 2017. The journal could not exist without your investment of time and effort, lending your expertise to ensure that the papers published in this journal meet the standards that the research community expects for it. We sincerely appreciate all that you do, and we are very grateful for your willingness and readiness to serve in this role.Plain Language SummaryOn behalf of the authors and readers of Reviews of Geophysics, the American Geophysical Union, and the broader scientific community, the Editors wish to wholeheartedly thank those who reviewed the manuscripts for Reviews of Geophysics in 2017. The journal could not exist without your investment of time and effort, lending your expertise to ensure that the papers published in this journal meet the standards that the research community expects for it. We sincerely appreciate all that you do, and we are very grateful for your willingness and readiness to serve in this role. Reviews of Geophysics published 29 review papers, a commentary and an editorial in 2017, covering most of the AGU Section topics, and for this we were able to rely on the efforts of 99 dedicated reviewers. Many reviewers answered the call multiple times. Thank you again. We look forward to a 2018 of exciting advances in the field and communicating those advances to our community and to the broader public.Key PointThe Reviews of Geophysics Editors thank all the peer reviewers from 2017Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/147789/1/rog20174.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/147789/2/rog20174_am.pd

The missed constitutional reform and its possible impact on the sustainability of the italian national health service

The rejection of the Constitutional Law Bill No.1429-D in the December 2016 referendum, has stimulated a cause for reflection on current health legislation and the future prospects of the Italian National Health Service; also in the context of the recent approval of the new Essential Levels of care (LEA) and other relevant laws approved by the Parliament. This article analyzes possible future legislative and organizational scenarios with particular regard to issues related to National health system’s sustainability