Assessing the volcanic hazard for Rome. 40Ar/39Ar and In-SAR constraints on the most recent eruptive activity and present-day uplift at Colli Albani Volcanic District

We present new 40Ar/39Ar data which allow us to refine the recurrence time for the most recent eruptive activity occurred at Colli Albani Volcanic District (CAVD) and constrain its geographic area. Time elapsed since the last eruption (36 kyr) overruns the recurrence time (31 kyr) in the last 100 kyr. New interferometric synthetic aperture radar data, covering the years 1993–2010, reveal ongoing inflation with maximum uplift rates (>2 mm/yr) in the area hosting the most recent (<200 ka) vents, suggesting that the observed uplift might be caused by magma injection within the youngest plumbing system. Finally, we frame the present deformation within the structural pattern of the area of Rome, characterized by 50 m of regional uplift since 200 ka and by geologic evidence for a recent (<2000 years) switch of the local stress-field, highlighting that the precursors of a new phase of volcanic activity are likely occurring at the CAVD

Major explosive activity in the Monti Sabatini Volcanic District(central Italy) over the 800-390ka interval: Geochronological-geochemical overview and tephrostratigraphic implications

A review of the existing chronological, stratigraphic and chemo-petrologic data of the major eruptive units from the early phase of activity (800-390ka) in the Monti Sabatini Volcanic District (MSVD), belonging to the ultra-potassic magmatic region of central Italy, is presented along with new radioisotopic age determinations and geochemical analyses. Through the combined use of electron microprobe glass compositions, selected trace-element compositions, and single-crystal 40Ar/39Ar age determinations, we provide a new chrono- and chemo-stratigraphic classification of the products emplaced in the 800-390ka time interval. Besides giving insights on the petrologic evolution of the Roman Comagmatic Region, the large dataset provides fundamental information that is applicable to tephrostratigraphic studies in the wide region encompassing the Tyrrhenian Sea margin to the Adriatic Sea basin. Distal tephras from this volcanic activity also act as important geochronologic markers for the coastal sedimentary successions deposited in response to glacio-eustatic fluctuations, as well as for successions in the Quaternary tectonic basins of the Central and Southern Apennines. An innovative approach based on the use of discrimination diagrams of Zr/Y vs Nb/Y ratios for fingerprinting altered volcanic rocks - recently developed and successfully employed in archaeometric studies - is here combined to the glass compositions for classifying the MSVD deposits and tested on two distal tephra layers, showing its potentiality for tephrostratigraphic correlation. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd

Mid-distal occurrences of the Albano Maar pyroclastic deposits and their relevance for reassessing the eruptive scenarios of the most recent activity at the Colli Albani Volcanic District, Central Italy

The Late Pleistocene Albano Maar hosted the most recent volcanic activity of the Colli Albani Volcanic District, represented at nearvent sections by a thick pyroclastic succession of seven units clustered in two main eruptive cycles dated at around 70–68 and 41–36 ka B.P., respectively. Recent stratigraphic investigations allowed us to recognise a pyroclastic succession comprising four eruptive units widely spread in the northeastern sectors of the Colli Albani volcano, up to 15km eastward from the Albano Maar. Integrated tephrostratigraphic, morpho-pedostratigraphic, archaeological, petrological and geochemical analyses enable us to recognise them as distal deposits of the first, third, fifth and seventh Albano Maar eruptions, enlarging significantly their previously supposed dispersion area. Further tephrostratigraphic studies in central Apennine area, allowed us to identify the Albano Maar products in Late Pleistocene deposits of several intermountain basins, extending still further the dispersion area of distal ash fallout as far as 100–120km from the vent. On the basis of the identification and the study of these previously unrecognised mid-distal Albano Maar deposits, a reappraisal of the eruptive scenarios and related energetic parameters is proposed

Time intervals to assess active and capable faults for engineering practices in Italy

The time span necessary to define a fault as ‘active and capable’ can mainly be derived from the framework of the regulations and the literature produced since the 1970s on risk estimation in engineering planning of strategic buildings. Within this framework, two different lines of thought can be determined, which have mainly developed in the USA. On the one side, there is a tendency to produce ‘narrow’ chronological definitions. This is particularly evident in the regulatory acts for the planning of nuclear reactors. The much more effective second line of thought anchors the chronological definitions of the terms ‘active’ and, therefore ‘capable’, to the concept of ‘seismotectonic domain’. As the domains are different in different regions of the World, the chronological definition cannot be univocal; i.e., different criteria are needed to define fault activity, which will depend on the characteristics of the local tectonic domain and of the related recurrence times of fault activation. Current research on active tectonics indicates that methodological aspects can also condition the chronological choice to define fault activity. Indeed, this practice implies the use of earth science methods, the applications of which can be inherently limited. For example, limits and constraints might be related to the availability of datable sediments and landforms that can be used to define the recent fault kinematic history. For the Italian territory, we consider two main tectonic domains: (a) the compressive domain along the southern margin of the Alpine chain and the northern and northeastern margins of the Apennines, which is characterised by the activity of blind thrusts and reverse faults; and (b) the extensional domain of the Apennines and the Calabria region, which is often manifest through the activity of seismogenic normal and normal-oblique faults. In case (a), the general geomorphic and subsurficial evidence of recent activity suggests that a reverse blind fault or a blind thrust should be considered active and potentially capable if showing evidence of activity during the Quaternary (i.e., over the last 2.6 Myr), unless information is available that documents its inactivity since at least the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) (ca. 20 ka). The choice of the LGM period as the minimum age necessary to define fault inactivity is related to practical aspects (the diffusion of the LGM deposits and landforms) and to the evidence that ca. 20 kyr to assess fault inactivity precautionarily includes a number of seismic cycles. In the extensional domains of the Apennines and Calabria region, the general geological setting suggests that the present tectonic regime has been active since the beginning of the Middle Pleistocene. Therefore, we propose that a normal fault in the Italian extensional domain should be considered active and capable if it displays evidence of activation in the last 0.8 Myr, unless it is sealed by deposits or landforms not younger than the LGM. The choice of the LGM as the minimum age to ascertain fault inactivity follows the same criteria described for the compressive tectonic domain

The Paganica Fault and surface coseismic ruptures caused by the 6 april 2009 earthquake (L’Aquila, central Italy)

On 6 April 2009, at 01:32 GMT, an Mw 6.3 seismic event hit the central Apennines, severely damaging the town of L’Aquila and dozens of neighboring villages and resulting in approximately 300 casualties (Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, http://www.ingv.it; MedNet, http://mednet.rm.ingv.it/proce- dure/events/QRCMT/090406_013322/qrcmt.html). This earth- quake was the strongest in central Italy since the devastating 1915 Fucino event (Mw 7.0). The INGV national seismic net- work located the hypocenter 5 km southwest of L’Aquila, 8–9 km deep. Based on this information and on the seismotectonic framework of the region, earthquake geologists traveled to the field to identify possible surface faulting (Emergeo Working Group 2009a, 2009b). The most convincing evidence of pri- mary surface rupture is along the Paganica fault, the geometry of which is consistent with seismological, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and GPS data. Investigation of other known nor- mal faults of the area, i.e., the Mt. Pettino, Mt. San Franco, and Mt. Stabiata normal faults suggested that these structures were not activated during the April 6 shock (Emergeo Working Group 2009a, 2009b). In this report, we first describe the seismotectonic frame- work of the area, and then we present the field information that supports the occurrence of surficial displacement on the Paganica fault.Published940-9503.2. Tettonica attivaJCR Journalope

Mid-to-late Holocene upper slope contourite deposits off Capo Vaticano (Mediterranean Sea): High-resolution record of contourite cyclicity, bottom current variability and sandy facies

none13noThe upper continental slope offshore Capo Vaticano (southern Tyrrhenian Sea) is characterized by a contourite depositional system with well-developed elongated sediment drifts. This system is related to a northward paleo-bottom current, similar to the present-day modified-Levantine Intermediate Water (modified-LIW) flowing from the Messina Strait. In this work, we show results from an integrated analysis of descriptive oceanography, high-resolution seismic profiles and core data (i.e., grain size, foraminiferal assemblages, tephrostratigraphy and AMS radiocarbon dating) collected from the crest and moat sectors of drift deposits. The studied succession formed since the mid Holocene, under the action of the modified-LIW and the stratigraphic architecture indicates an upslope migration of the moat and rather stable position of the crest sector. Grain-size features recorded from two sediment cores indicate the occurrence of a succession of complete bi-gradational sand-rich contourite sequences. Sandy facies were observed both as lag deposits formed in active moat channel and as coarser intervals of bi-gradational sequences forming drift deposits close to its crest. Their occurrence would highlight that upper slope environments impacted by intermediate water masses and proximal to sandy sources may represent favorable settings for accumulation of sandy sediment. The moat sector is characterized by a more complex stratigraphic record, where either moat sedimentation or lateral deposition of finer sediment occur, suggesting that further investigation is required to better understand this complex element of contourite systems. Based on available age information, some of the bi-gradational sequences probably formed during the Dark Age Cold Period, providing example of a small-scale cyclicity of contourite deposition, likely related to short-term (possibly multicentennial scale) fluctuations of the paleo modified-LIW. According to age constraints and analysis of foraminiferal assemblages, these fluctuations were likely governed by climate variations, with a weaker activity during warmer periods and faster currents during colder events.openMartorelli E., Bosman A., Casalbore D., Chiocci F., Conte A.M., Di Bella L., Ercilla G., Falcini F., Falco P., Frezza V., Gaglianone G., Giaccio B., Mancini M.Martorelli, E.; Bosman, A.; Casalbore, D.; Chiocci, F.; Conte, A. M.; Di Bella, L.; Ercilla, G.; Falcini, F.; Falco, P.; Frezza, V.; Gaglianone, G.; Giaccio, B.; Mancini, M

Central Mediterranean tephrochronology between 313 and 366 ka. New insights from the Fucino paleolake sediment succession

Thirty-two tephra layers were identified in the time-interval 313–366 ka (Marine Isotope Stages 9–10) of the Quaternary lacustrine succession of the Fucino Basin, central Italy. Twenty-seven of these tephra layers yielded suitable geochemical material to explore their volcanic origins. Investigations also included the acquisition of geochemical data of some relevant, chronologically compatible proximal units from Italian volcanoes. The record contains tephra from some well known eruptions and eruptive sequences of Roman and Roccamonfina volcanoes, such as the Magliano Romano Plinian Fall, the Orvieto–Bagnoregio Ignimbrite, the Lower White Trachytic Tuff and the Brown Leucitic Tuff. In addition, the record documents eruptions currently undescribed in proximal (i.e. near-vent) sections, suggesting a more complex history of the major eruptions of the Colli Albani, Sabatini, Vulsini and Roccamonfinavolcanoes between 313 and 366 ka. Six of the investigated tephra layers were directly dated by single-crystal-fusion 40Ar/39Ar dating, providing the basis for a Bayesian age–depth model and a reassessment of the chronologies for both already known and dated eruptive units and for so far undated eruptions. The results provide a significant contribution for improving knowledge on the peri-Tyrrhenian explosive activity as well as for extending the Mediterranean tephrostratigraphical framework, which was previously based on limited proximal and distal archives for that time interval

The Paganica Fault and surface coseismic ruptures caused by the 6 april 2009 earthquake (L’Aquila, central Italy)

On 6 April 2009, at 01:32 GMT, an Mw 6.3 seismic event hit the central Apennines, severely damaging the town of L’Aquila and dozens of neighboring villages and resulting in approximately 300 casualties (Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, http://www.ingv.it; MedNet, http://mednet.rm.ingv.it/proce- dure/events/QRCMT/090406_013322/qrcmt.html). This earth- quake was the strongest in central Italy since the devastating 1915 Fucino event (Mw 7.0). The INGV national seismic net- work located the hypocenter 5 km southwest of L’Aquila, 8–9 km deep. Based on this information and on the seismotectonic framework of the region, earthquake geologists traveled to the field to identify possible surface faulting (Emergeo Working Group 2009a, 2009b). The most convincing evidence of pri- mary surface rupture is along the Paganica fault, the geometry of which is consistent with seismological, synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and GPS data. Investigation of other known nor- mal faults of the area, i.e., the Mt. Pettino, Mt. San Franco, and Mt. Stabiata normal faults suggested that these structures were not activated during the April 6 shock (Emergeo Working Group 2009a, 2009b). In this report, we first describe the seismotectonic frame- work of the area, and then we present the field information that supports the occurrence of surficial displacement on the Paganica fault

The Campanian Ignimbrite and Codola tephra layers: Two temporal/stratigraphic markers for the Early Upper Palaeolithic in southern Italy and eastern Europe

Tephra layers from archaeological sites in southern Italy and eastern Europe stratigraphically associated with cultural levels containing Early Upper Palaeolithic industry were analysed. The results confirm the occurrence of the Campanian Ignimbrite tephra (CI; ca. 40 cal ka BP) at Castelcivita Cave (southern Italy), Temnata Cave (Bulgaria) and in the Kostenki–Borshchevo area of the Russian Plain. This tephra, originated from the largest eruption of the Phlegrean Field caldera, represents the widest volcanic deposit and one of the most important temporal/stratigraphic markers of western Eurasia. At Paglicci Cave and lesser sites in the Apulia region we recognise a chemically and texturally different tephra, which lithologically, chronologically and chemically matches the physical and chemical characteristics of the Plinian eruption of Codola; a poorly known Late Pleistocene explosive event from the Neapolitan volcanoes, likely Somma–Vesuvius. For this latter, we propose a preliminary age estimate of ca. 33 cal ka BP and a correlation to the widespread C-10 marine tephra of the central Mediterranean. The stratigraphic position of both CI and Codola tephra layers at Castelcivita and Paglicci help date the first and the last documented appearance of Early Upper Palaeolithic industries of southern Italy to ca. 41–40 and 33 cal ka BP, respectively, or between two interstadial oscillations of the Monticchio pollen record – to which the CI and Codola tephras are physically correlated – corresponding to the Greenland interstadials 10–9 and 5. In eastern Europe, the stratigraphic and chronometric data seem to indicate an earlier appearance of the Early Upper Palaeolithic industries, which would predate of two millennia at least the overlying CI tephra. The tephrostratigraphic correlation indicates that in both regions the innovations connected with the so-called Early Upper Palaeolithic – encompassing subsistence strategy and stone tool technology – appeared and evolved during one of the most unstable climatic phases of the Last Glacial period. On this basis, the marked environmental unpredictability characterising this time-span is seen as a potential ecological factor involved in the cultural changes observed

Retención de glifosato y nutrientes en vías de flujo preferencial

Las franjas de vegetación ribereña (RVS) reducen el volumen del flujo de escorrentía superficial y retienen los sedimentos, los pesticidas y los nutrientes que esas aguas transportan desde los campos de cultivo (CF) adyacentes. La capacidad de estas franjas para retener el glifosato se demostró por medio de parcelas experimentales, aunque se desconoce la variabilidad espacial de ese proceso. En este trabajo se analizó la influencia de la microtopografía dentro de las RVS en la retención de glifosato (y su metabolito principal, AMPA), fósforo y nitrógeno dentro de las RVS de paisajes agropecuarios. Se compararon los niveles de retención dentro y fuera de las vías de flujo preferencial (PFP), en presencia y ausencia de un estrato arbóreo. La concentración de glifosato + AMPA en los suelos dentro de las PFP fue 88 veces mayor que fuera de la PFP. Las concentraciones de fósforo y nitrógeno, el contenido de arcilla y la densidad aparente también fueron más altos dentro que fuera de las PFP. La presencia del estrato arbóreo no modificó las concentraciones de glifosato + AMPA, ni de fósforo, ni de nitrógeno, ni el contenido de arcilla, como tampoco la morfometría de las PFP. La densidad aparente y el contenido de arcilla, registrados en los CF y en las PFP, junto con las concentraciones más altas de glifosato, fósforo y nitrógeno en los suelos de las PFP, son consistentes con una conexión hidráulica entre los CF y las PFP. Estos resultados contrastan con algunas conclusiones obtenidas a partir de estudios experimentales en parcelas uniformes y ponen en evidencia la importancia de tomar en cuenta génesis y estructura de las PFP en el diseño, evaluación y manejo de la función de filtrado de las RVS.Riparian vegetation strips (RVS) reduce surface runoff volume and retain sediments, pesticides and nutrients that are transported across them from adjacent crop-fields (CF). The ability of these strips to retain glyphosate has been demonstrated using experimental plots, but the spatial variability of that process is unknown. In this work, the influence of microtopography inside the RVS on the retention of glyphosate (and its major metabolite, AMPA), phosphorus and nitrogen were analyzed within a RVS of agricultural landscapes. Retention levels inside and outside preferential flow pathways (PFP) were compared under presence and absence of a tree stratum. Soil glyphosate + AMPA concentration within PFP was 88-fold higher than outside. Phosphorus and nitrogen soil concentrations, clay and bulk density were also higher inside than outside the PFP. The tree stratum did not modify soil concentration of glyphosate + AMPA, phosphorus, nitrogen, clay content, nor the morphometry of the PFP. Bulk density and clay content recorded in adjacent CF and in PFP, in addition to the high glyphosate, phosphorus and nitrogen concentrations in PFP soil, are consistent with a hydraulic connection between the CF and the PFP. These results contrast with some conclusions obtained from experimental studies under uniform plots and emphasize the importance of taking into account the genesis and structure of PFP in the design, evaluation and management of the filtering function of RVS.Fil: Giaccio, Gustavo C. M.. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Buenos Aires Sur. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Barrow; ArgentinaFil: Laterra, Pedro. Fundacion Bariloche. Departamento de Energia.; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; ArgentinaFil: Aparicio, Virginia Carolina. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Buenos Aires Sur. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce. Agencia de Extensión Rural Balcarce; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata; ArgentinaFil: Costa, Jose Luis. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Buenos Aires Sur. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce. Agencia de Extensión Rural Balcarce; ArgentinaFil: Puricelli, Marino Marcelo. Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria. Centro Regional Buenos Aires Sur. Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Balcarce. Agencia de Extensión Rural Balcarce; Argentin