Environmental and geostrategic effects of raw materials supply supporting the energy transition and electric mobility: a focus on the “lithium triangle” in South America

Electric vehicles (EVs) are breaking through, new incentives and new targets come to light to get the numbers that allow to reduce greenhouse gases over the next 30 years. On the current market, the automotive sector mainly make use of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) as energy storage systems. The paper examines the distribution of raw materials useful for the realization of LIBs. The availability of the world reserves of these elements is analyzed by presenting an index that highlights the risk of exhaustion of a resource based on economic trends, future objectives and recycling capabilities state-of-the-art. The focus is then on the South American “Lithium Triangle” where the metal is extracted through brine mining and where the environmental and social problems as the geostrategic aspects have been analyzed

Experimental analysis of seasonal processes in shallow landslide in a snowy region through downscaled and in situ observation

The frequency and intensity of heavy precipitation events increased since the mid-20th century and, considering the climate crisis, it is important also to analyze the effects of processes and events that lead to faster snow mantle melting cycles in mountain areas. Shallow landslides are induced by extreme hydrological events such as the occurrence of short and intense rainfall or by events of medium intensity but prolonged over time. Such slips involve generally reduced portions of land both in area and in thickness, however, they are dangerous due to the absence of warning signals and the lack of knowledge regarding their possible evolution. This work deals with the experimental study of these landslides through the laboratory simulations on a small-scale slope, reproduced at the LIMAG Lab - Laboratory of mountain hydraulics and applied geology of the Lecco Campus and in situ seasonal processes observation at a mountain closed basin nearby Champoluc village in Aosta Valley region. The central objective is to study the evolution of shallow landslides in reduced scale caused by external factor as snowmelt and rainfall and to compare the observations done in laboratory with the ones in situ. In order to investigate the behaviour of shallow landslides in these critical conditions, a series of sensors have been installed on the simulator. This technology includes three modified pressure transmitters for the pore water pressure evaluation which have been accompanied by other support instrumentation consisting of GoPro’s cameras, TDR (Time Domain Reflectometry) and georesistivimeter; all of them provide a cross check of phenomena processes. Throughout the downscaled simulations with snow cover it was possible to observe several processes. The direct interaction between snow and ground does not favor the infiltration of a large amount of water. The protective role of snow lies in keeping the first film of soil at 0 degrees and loading the soil by decreasing its infiltrative capacity; this no longer occurs when the water melted by the snow flows downstream and begins to infiltrate into uncovered and warmer soils. Without thermal or overload barriers, the water pours into the ground. Therefore, a potential susceptible area can be the subject of different filtering and infiltrative contributions from upstream, saturating quickly and collapsing. These laboratory experiments are the starting point for the in-situ analyses and provide a comparison with the observations made by means of ad hoc instrumentation set up at the Champoluc station. Highly detailed information is obtained concerning the density and thickness of the snowpack during seasonal processes. These contribute to defining the hydrogeological processes within the terrain, already studied in the laboratory, and to establishing the water balance

Cutting-edge tools for spring monitoring and groundwater system characterization in mountain environments

Mountain aquifers represent one of the largest and most valuable water sources, necessary to meet the population's water needs. Over time, they have been threatened by huge anthropogenic exploitation activities, which are currently leading to the depletion of aquifers in many regions worldwide. Furthermore, the vulnerability of groundwater resources is rapidly increasing due to climate change, urbanization, massive industry production, intensive agriculture, and breeding. Knowledge and forecasting about groundwater flow systems are required to guarantee proper management and territorial planning strategies, according to the mountain environmental evolution taking place. Besides, examining how groundwater storage mechanisms in different regions have changed in response to both climate-driven and anthropogenic effects is becoming increasingly crucial. In remote alpine areas, continuous monitoring and data collection of springs’ hydrogeological parameters is still often hampered by technical and logistical problems. In these contexts, new automated techniques and tools need to be applied to monitor springs’ hydrogeological parameters, punctually understanding the dynamics of exhausting of the available groundwater resources. The instrumentation and sensors complex, installed in correspondence with the Mascognaz spring basin (Aosta Valley, Italy) allows detailed analyses of the surface and underground groundwater system, recording continuously hydrogeological variables entering and leaving the spring recharge system. A cutting-edge weather station was here combined with a spring monitoring system through snowpack-hydrometeorological sensors installation. This setup, composed of a snow scale, ultrasonic and laser sensors for snow weight and snow depth reading, provides the possibility of a detailed study of the snow layer evolution during each season. Besides, a multiparametric probe allows water discharge, temperature and electric conductivity values detection. The high quality of the data provided and the small-size basin features have permitted highlighting the variables affecting the system and standing out those are evolving in time. Besides, the relationship between changes in weather conditions and water availability can be defined by performing correlations between different hydrogeological and meteorological available data series. The Mascognaz spring’s pilot site could be helpful as an example for other researchers and authorities who need to identify suitable instruments, sensors and methods to reconstruct the groundwater flow system and hydrogeological structure of a mountain basin

Aosta Valley Mountain Springs: A Preliminary Analysis for Understanding Variations in Water Resource Availability under Climate Change

The availability of freshwater resources in mountain areas has been affected by climate change impacts on groundwater storage mechanisms. As a web of complex interactions characterizes climate systems, understanding how water storage conditions have changed in response to climatedriven factors in different Italian contexts is becoming increasingly crucial. In order to comprehend the relationship between changes in weather conditions and water availability in the Aosta Valley region and how their trends have changed over the last decade, a 7-year discharge series of different Aosta Valley springs (Promise, Alpe Perrot, Promiod, Cheserod) and precipitation data are analysed. Precipitation and flow rate trends using the Mann–Kendall and Sen’s slope trend detection tests were also performed. Not all of the Aosta Valley mountain springs detected seem to respond to the climate variation with a decrease in their stored water resources. Unlike Promiod, Alpe Perrot, Cheserod, and Promise springs have experienced an increase in water discharged amount during the detected 7-year period. This behavior occurs despite the available precipitation data for the associated Sant Vincent, Aymaville-Viayes, La Thuile-Villaret, Champdepraz meteorological stations revealing an overall decreasing trend in annual rainfall (mm), with a slight increase in intensity (mm/day) as a result of the reduction in rainfall events (number of rainy days)

Role of Snowpack-Hydrometeorological Sensors for Hydrogeological System Comprehension inside an Alpine Closed-Basin

Groundwater resource assessment and forecasting in mountain areas requires the monitoring of two conditions, local meteorological conditions, and springs’ groundwater parameters. The reliability of the monitoring data and conditions are linked to the technical instrumentation, multiparametric probes, and sensors. This paper presents a set of attractive tools and sensors for springs’ groundwater resource monitoring and assessment in mountain basins. Data from the combination of weather station sensors with spring flow-rate instruments, installed in the alpine Mascognaz basin, can guarantee an entire understanding of how one set of parameters can affect other results, defining consequential cause-and-effect relationships. Since a large part of the Alpine groundwater bodies are exploited for drinking purposes, understanding the evolution of their rechange processes requires making the right economic and instrumental investments aimed at using them according to forecast predictions and sustainable development goals

MOBILITY ACROSS CRIMES: STATISTICALLY VALIDATED NETWORKS AND TEMPORAL PATTERN RECOGNITION

Criminal careers can be categorised as either general or specialised. A key challenge in studying crime specialisation is determining which crimes should be considered similar and which should be considered distinct from the criminal’s perspective. We conducted an empirical study involving a large group of Swedish suspects to address this issue. The primary objective was to investigate generalist and specialist behaviour in crime. By employing directed network analysis, our study aimed to uncover temporal patterns of criminal specialisation. Specifically, we examined the temporal connections between different types of crimes to reveal distinct patterns in criminal behaviour. The findings indicate that individuals who were suspected of at least two crime types within each of the five communities throughout their criminal careers demonstrated varying patterns of specialisation evolution. In contrast, some individuals consistently maintained high levels of generalism. These results highlight the diverse paths individuals take in their criminal behaviour and contribute to our understanding of the dynamics of criminal specialisation over time

The use of temporary, permeable structures in the lower Burdekin River: A novel approach to river-level management

A review of in-channel structures finds a wide range of purposes, including enhancement of the storage capacity of rivers to improve water supply reliability and/or flood protection, and various other hydro-ecological, water quality, geomechanical and sediment transport functions. The installation of in-channel structures is typically intended to be permanent, or at least semi-permanent. The purpose of this note is to document the novel use of temporary in-channel structures in the lower reaches of the Burdekin River, within the Australian dry tropics. Their application reduces freshwater discharge to the sea during low-flow periods thereby enhancing the sustainability of irrigated agriculture within the Lower Burdekin Delta. Temporary structures are constructed in the Burdekin River to enhance the reliability of pumping stations by raising the river level locally and preventing sea water from reaching extraction points. The structures are designed to restrict river flow only partially during low-flow periods and to wash away during high-flow events, which provides several benefits, including the passage of riverine fauna and reduced river siltation. The long-term utilisation (1950s to present) of temporary structures in the Burdekin River is testament to their successful implementation, which may offer benefits over permanent structures for other dry-tropical regions.</p

Deep brain stimulation for Parkinson's disease in practice: results of the survey by the Italian Neurosurgery Society

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a safe ad effective treatment for patients with advanced Parkinson's disease (PD) and many centers of Neurosurgery in Italy have a DBS program. Considering the prevalence of PD and criteria for DBS implantation, about 3200-10350 PD patients may benefit from DBS in Italy. The global management of patients underwent DBS is complex and it can be supposed that many differences exist between centers in clinical practice. The Italian Neurosurgery Society (SINch) designed this survey to investigate the state of the art of DBS for PD in Italy