Note su Ludwig Karl Moser, Carlo Marchesetti e le indagini di fine ‘800 - inizi ‘900 nelle grotte del Carso triestino

Nel 2008 fu organizzata a Trieste una Giornata Internazionale di Studi dedicata a L. K. Moser, studioso di fine ‘800-inizi ‘900 che, con C. Marchesetti, contribuì significativamente alla nascita della ricerca paletnologica nelle regioni del Litorale austriaco. Gli interventi raccolti nel volume degli Atti (2012) ne ricostruiscono per la prima volta in modo oggettivo vita e attività, portando dati importanti, usati qui per focalizzare l’attenzione sulle indagini in grotta e sul confronto fra Moser e Marchesetti.In 2008 an International Meeting was organized in Trieste to focus on L. K. Moser, a researcher of the late XIXth-beginning of the XXth century who, as well as C. Marchesetti, gave a significant contribution to the outset of the palethnological research in the regions of the Austrian Littoral. The articles included in the Proceedings (2012) shed light, for the first time with objectivity, on Moser’s life and activities, and contain important data, used here to start analyzing his investigations in caves, in comparison with those carried out by Marchesetti

Salinization of Permafrost Terrain Due to Natural Geomorphic Disturbance, Fosheim Peninsula, Ellesmere Island

Efflorescences (surface salt accumulations) are common on the Fosheim Peninsula and elsewhere in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, especially at elevations below the Holocene marine limit, and cover up to 9% of the terrain in the vicinity of lower Hot Weather Creek. They are most extensive on naturally disturbed slopes and in floodplain locations. More than 75% of efflorescences are related to geomorphic disturbances (active-layer detachment sliding, retrogressive thaw slumping, and gullying), which initiate the causal chain of (1) surface erosion; (2) local degradation of permafrost; (3) contact between supra-permafrost groundwater and soluble ions previously held within frozen sediments; (4) increase in total dissolved-solids concentrations in slope surface runoff; and (5) depending on the degree of channelization of drainage and the slope profile, transport of dissolved solids directly to the stream system or their redistribution and accumulation downslope. Concentrations of Na+ in surface runoff reached almost 5 g/l during summer 1996 at a recent (1988) detachment slide scar in marine sediments. These concentrations are sufficiently high to negatively affect most terrestrial arctic plant species. Soluble Na+ levels within the active layer suggest that concentrations in slope runoff will remain elevated for several decades. Climatic warming, if it causes an increase in annual thaw depths or in the frequency and extent of geomorphic disturbances, could also result in active layer salinization within areas of salt-rich permafrost, such as in marine surficial deposits.On trouve couramment des efflorescences (accumulations de sel en surface) dans la presqu'île de Fosheim et à d'autres endroits dans l'archipel Arctique canadien, en particulier à des hauteurs situées sous la limite marine de l'holocène. Ces efflorescences couvrent jusqu'à 9 p. cent du terrain aux environs du cours inférieur de Hot Weather Creek. On les trouve en grande quantité sur des pentes ayant subi une perturbation naturelle et dans des zones où sont situées des plaines d'inondation. Plus de 75 p. cent des efflorescences sont reliées à des perturbations géomorphiques (glissement d'un décollement de la couche active, décrochement dû à la fonte régressive et ravinement), qui sont à l'origine de la chaîne causale suivante: 1) érosion de surface; 2) dégradation locale du pergélisol; 3) contact entre la nappe d'eau du suprapergélisol et les ions solubles contenus précédemment dans les sédiments gelés; 4) augmentation de la concentration totale de solides en suspension dans l'eau de ruissellement de surface sur les pentes; et 5), dépendant du degré de canalisation du drainage et du profil de la pente, transport direct des solides en suspension dans l'eau des ruisseaux ou leur redistribution et accumulation plus bas sur la pente. Les concentrations en Na+ dans l'écoulement de surface atteignaient presque 5 g/l durant l'été 1996 sur une niche de décollement récente (1988) dans des sédiments marins. Ces concentrations sont suffisamment élevées pour affecter de façon négative la plupart des espèces végétales terrestre de l'Arctique. Les niveaux de Na+ en suspension au sein de la couche active suggèrent que les concentrations dans l'écoulement de la pente resteront élevées pendant encore plusieurs dizaines d'années. Le réchauffement climatique, s'il est responsable de l'augmentation de la profondeur du dégel annuel ou de la fréquence et de l'étendue des perturbations géomorphiques, pourrait aussi amener une salinisation de la couche active dans des régions où le pergélisol est riche en sel, comme c'est le cas pour les dépôts marins superficiels

Environmental Conditions and Vegetation Recovery at Abandoned Drilling Mud Sumps in the Mackenzie Delta Region, Northwest Territories, Canada

Historical data from oil and gas exploration in the delta of the Mackenzie River, Northwest Territories, in the 1970s provided an opportunity to estimate decadal-scale impacts of exploratory oil and gas drilling on native plant communities in low Arctic tundra. We assessed changes in vegetation composition and associated environmental gradients across seven drilling mud sumps in the Kendall Island Bird Sanctuary, Mackenzie Delta. Three decades after disturbance, drilling sumps had developed vegetation coverage equivalent to that in undisturbed areas, although bare soil persisted in ponded areas and where a salt crust was present. Vegetation on sumps was composed of communities dominated by forbs, grasses, and tall shrubs that were distinct from adjacent, undisturbed sedge and low shrub communities. The area of altered vegetation around a sump was generally larger in upland or saline environments than in lowland areas. Pooled water observed around many sumps was likely associated with thaw subsidence that occurred following construction, which was subsequently compounded by snow drifting and increased soil temperatures along the margins of the sump mound. Changes in drainage, active-layer depth, and surface salt concentrations appear to be key environmental factors that have helped shape plant communities established on drilling sumps in the three decades after disturbance.Les données historiques relatives à l’exploration pétrolière et gazière réalisée dans le delta du fleuve Mackenzie, Territoires du Nord-Ouest, dans les années 1970 ont permis d’estimer les incidences décadaires des forages pétroliers et gaziers exploratoires sur les peuplements de végétaux régionaux de la basse toundra arctique. Nous avons évalué les changements caractérisant la composition de la végétation et les gradients environnementaux connexes relativement à sept bassins à boue du refuge d’oiseaux de l’île Kendall, dans le delta du Mackenzie. Trois décennies après la perturbation, la couverture végétale des bassins à boue était équivalente à celle des endroits non perturbés, bien qu’il restait toujours du sol dénudé dans les endroits en présence d’étangs et de croûtes salées. Le végétation se retrouvant sur les bassins était composée d’herbes non graminéennes, de graminées et de grands arbrisseaux différents des peuplements adjacents constitués de laiche et de petits arbrisseaux non perturbés. La zone caractérisée par la nouvelle végétation autour d’un bassin était généralement plus volumineuse dans les hautes terres ou les milieux salins que dans les basses terres. L’eau accumulée autour de nombreux bassins découlait vraisemblablement de la subsidence attribuable au dégel qui s’est manifesté après la construction, ce qui a été aggravé par la poudrerie et les températures du sol à la hausse le long des marges du monticule des bassins. Les changements en matière de ruissellement, de profondeur de la couche active et de concentrations de sel de surface semblent constituer d’importants facteurs environnementaux ayant aidé à façonner les peuplements de végétaux qui se sont établis sur les bassins de forage au cours des trois décennies ayant suivi la perturbation

Sulle tracce dei pastori-allevatori pre-protostorici nel Carso (e altrove): esempi di uso integrato di indicatori diversi

The Classical Karst is a plateau of low rounded hills and low mountains ranging from 100-200 m to 800-900 m above sea level, that covers the eastern most part of northern Italy and the southwestern part of Slovenia. The outcropping rocks are chiefly limestones, crossed by two flysch (marl and sandstone) belts, a dozen kilometres wide. The area is not suitable for agriculture, and since historical times pastoralism / herding of sheep and goats has been one of the main economic activities. Its importance also in prehistoric times – hinted at already at the end of the 19th century by Marchesetti – was confirmed in the late 1990s, when sedimentological and soil micro-morphological analyses of some cave deposits indicated that these sites, at least in the investigated areas, had been used by prehistoric shepherds for stabling their flocks. The re-examination of the archaeological materials found in the same caves suggested that the pastoral use presumably started in the Neolithic and continued till the Bronze or Iron Age. In the course of millennia the agents and the ways of using the caves would have clearly changed: on the grounds of the available data, and still referring to the models proposed by Brochier c. 20 years ago, at present the hypothesis that most of the Karst caves were basically used as “grottes-bergeries” – i.e. as stables almost without a contemporaneous human presence –, rather than “habitats-bergeries”, is likely, though not beyond doubt. Our interpretation combines direct and indirect indicators from different scientific fields: besides sedimentology, soil micromorphology and archaeology, at the basis of the renewed interest in pastoralism, archaeometry, geomorphology, archaeozoology, ethnohistory and ethnography. To test the potentiality of the use of data derived in particular from the last two fields, we have recently extended our research to other geographical areas, close to the Karst, immediately to the north, in the northeastern part of the region Friuli Venezia Giulia, and far away, in Sardinia

Web system for managing resources in laundry

Student dorms and similar accommodations where people stay for longer periods of time often have laundry machines, which inhabitants can use for washing clothes. Since there is usually insu�cient number of washing machines, the inhabitants have to reserve a term to use them. These reservations are often still managed manually, on paper. The aim of this thesis was to develop a solution that would enable washing machine users to make reservations online via a web app. The person responsible for managing these reservations would be an authorized person of the dorm. The users of the laundry are able to register into the web app, where they receive a username and a password, which they can later use to login into the web app. This web app then makes calls to the web service which is responsible for manipulating the data, which are stored the database. This solution enables a faster and more e�cient way to make reservations for the laundry and for calculating costs. The web app is currently in a testing environment , and after this testing period and the elimination of detected de�ciencies the web app Will be put into a production environment

Web system for managing resources in laundry

Student dorms and similar accommodations where people stay for longer periods of time often have laundry machines, which inhabitants can use for washing clothes. Since there is usually insu�cient number of washing machines, the inhabitants have to reserve a term to use them. These reservations are often still managed manually, on paper. The aim of this thesis was to develop a solution that would enable washing machine users to make reservations online via a web app. The person responsible for managing these reservations would be an authorized person of the dorm. The users of the laundry are able to register into the web app, where they receive a username and a password, which they can later use to login into the web app. This web app then makes calls to the web service which is responsible for manipulating the data, which are stored the database. This solution enables a faster and more e�cient way to make reservations for the laundry and for calculating costs. The web app is currently in a testing environment , and after this testing period and the elimination of detected de�ciencies the web app Will be put into a production environment