Possible Micrometeorological Anomalies Induced by Volcanic Activity Recorded at Stromboli Island (Aeolian Archipelago, Italy)

Hourly values of atmospheric pressure and air temperature have been acquired at the top of two volcanic islands, Stromboli and Salina in the Aeolian Archipelago (Italy), very similar in height and morphology but completely different with regard to their volcanic activity state: the former is permanently active, whereas the latter is extinguished. During the last four years Stromboli experienced normal activity, volcanic unrests, and an effusive eruption (August–November 2014). The comparative analysis of the recorded data, both in the time and frequency domains, evidenced a peculiar micrometeorological regime at Stromboli, more turbulent during unrests with respect to the quieter periods, but showing an apparent paradox during eruptions, characterized by a lower atmospheric turbulence. These observations suggest that the studied volcanic-micrometeorological system is chaotic, due to contemporary opposite transients generated in the atmosphere by volcanic activity changes, and that micrometeorological conditions in volcanic areas are controlled both by exogenous processes and volcanic activity

Quand Philippe Vilain raconte la vengeance d’une femme (La Malédiction de la Madone)

Recensione al romanzo di Philippe Vilain, "La Malédiction de la Madone"Review of Philippe Vilain's novel "La Malédiction de la Madone"Compte-rendu du romand de Philippe Vilain, "La Malédiction de la Madone

Un intellectuel exilé dans la tourmente du Risorgimento : Antonio Ronna, lexicographe et professeur

Antonio Ronna (1801-1866), lexicographe et professeur, représente un de ces exemples d’intellectuel engagé qui participèrent au Risorgimento et s’exilèrent pour ne pas se plier au joug du régime autrichien. En 1836, il complète, grâce aux fiches laissées par Biagioli, le Dictionnaire italien-français, français-italien : c’est le début d’une activité qui en fera l’un des lexicographes à grand succès du XIXe siècle. La même année, à la suite d’une révision plutôt sommaire, il publie aussi une reprise du Dictionnaire de Barberi ; il faudra par contre attendre 1858 pour que son propre Dictionnaire, inspiré de celui de Biagioli, voie le jour. À l’activité de lexicographe, Ronna joint celle de professeur : l’enseignement de la langue italienne dans un souci de rapprochement constant avec la langue française lui donnera l’envie d’écrire des ouvrages pédagogiques, parmi lesquels le Guide de la conversation français-italien (1840 et éditions successives jusqu’en 1873) se taille la part du lion. Les deux voies de la production pédagogique de Ronna semblent toutefois ne pas se croiser : si l’on excepte la reprise du Dictionnaire de Biagioli et son propre Dictionnaire, l’auteur semble nourrir un intérêt modeste envers ses ouvrages pédagogiques, qui lui servent essentiellement de gagne-pain.The lexicographer and teacher Antonio Ronna (1801-1866) is one of those examples of committed intellectuals who took part in the Risorgimento and left their countries not to bend to the Austrian regime. In 1836, thanks to the records left by Biagioli, he completed the Dictionnaire italien-français, français-italien : this was the beginning of an activity that would make him one of the best-known lexicographers of the 19th century. In the same year, after a quite brief revision, he resumed the Dictionary of Barberi and published it. It was only in 1858 that, inspired by Biagioli’s works, he published his own dictionary. Not only was Ronna a lexicographer, but also a teacher : his teaching the Italian language together with his constant interest for the French language led him to write educational books, including the Guide de la conversation français-italien (1840 and further editions until the 1873 edition) which is his most important work in this field. Ronna paid great attention to his lexicographical works, mainly Biagioli’s and his own, and had little interest in the other pedagogical works that he published only to earn his living

Anna M. Mandich. L’Archive et la langue, enquêtes sur l’enseignement du français.

Après l’extinction de la maison Farnèse, le duché de Parme est gouverné par don Carlos, fils d’Elisabeth Farnèse et de Philippe V, roi d’Espagne, puis par la maison de Habsbourg qui en est chassée par la paix d’Aix-la-Chapelle (1748). L’enquête menée par Anna M. Mandich commence juste après les événements historiques cités, quand le duché de Parme est confié à don Philippe et à sa femme, Louise-Elisabeth, fille de Louis XV. Celle-ci, en effet, aidée par le ministre Du Tillot, parviendra à fai..

Discrimination between effects induced by microbial activity and water-rock interactions under hydrothermal conditions according to REE behaviour

Rare earth elements (REE) were investigated in siliceous stromatolites forming in the Specchio di Venere Lake on Pantelleria Island. Chondrite-normalised patterns show significant La enrichments and Eu depletions suggesting that fluids involved in stromatolite growth experienced strong rock-water interactions under hydrothermal conditions. At the same time, enrichments in heavy REE (HREE) with respect to intermediate REE (MREE) suggest that hydrothermal fluids interacted with microbial mats during deposition of the stromatolites. The above-mentioned features suggest that rock-water interactions and bacterial activity were simultaneously recorded in the REE patterns of stromatolites, and can be discriminated in terms of amplitudes of the La anomaly, and the HREE/MREE ratio

Geochemistry and mineralogy of a complex sedimentary deposit in the alkaline volcanic Lake Specchio di Venere (Pantelleria Island, south Mediterranean)

Specchio di Venere is a peculiar, ambient temperature, geothermal, alkaline lake, with lake water oversaturated in carbonate phase where siliceous stromatolites actively grow despite the undersaturation of silica phases. The most of the main sedimentary structures of this lake have been investigated in recent years, with the exception of the carbonate bank running along the south-western margin of the lake, which is the object of this study. Here we report on the mineralogical and geochemical characterisation of the carbonate bank, based on the study of two cores taken in the area mostly affected by the circulation of fluids of different origin. The ultimate results of our study suggest that silica gel deposits form inside the carbonate bank, following an Alkali-Silica Reaction. These new findings complete the general overview on the sedimentary processes acting in a Lake Specchio di Venere, whose origin is sometimes chemico-physical and sometimes strongly conditioned by microbial activity

Low-Thrust Reconfiguration Strategy for Flexible Satellite Constellations

Flexible and responsive space systems are needed to satisfy changing mission requirements and react to unforeseen challenges. Reconfigurable constellations are a promising approach to overcome limitations of the current design philosophy, offering operators the ability to actively adapt the constellation configuration to future needs, promptly modifying their pattern to focus the available resources towards dynamic objectives. This work introduces a low-thrust reconfiguration strategy to optimize these constellations through a multiobjective Genetic Algorithm able to trade-off between observation performance over a desired target area and maneuvering cost to reach the new pattern. The presented approach is validated in a LEO scenario, considering the reconfiguration from a global coverage to a regional one. The obtained results are compared with the ones available in literature to show the suitability of the proposed solution

Geochemical and Isotopic Characterisation of Actual Lacustrine Sediments from the Hydrothermal Lake Specchio di Venere, Pantelleria Island (Italy)

Hydrothermal lakes are a very common feature in volcanic environments, and among these lake Specchio di Venere (Pantelleria island, Italy) has attracted the interest of several researchers due to its peculiar characteristics. With the aim of improving the knowledge of its mineralogy, our work pointed out the characterisation of the bottom lake sediments. We collected and analysed 5 sediments cores around the shoreline, determining the mineralogical phases, concentration of major, minor, and trace elements, and the isotopic composition of carbon and oxygen in the carbonate phases. Our findings remarked a general compositional homogeneity in both the vertical and horizontal distribution of mineral phases, with the exception of peculiar geological niches connoted by biological and hydrothermal activities. We wish to dedicate this paper to the memory of our colleague and friend Nancy Romengo, who shared with us the passion for the magic Pantelleria islan

Preliminary geochemical characterization of the Mts. Simbruini karst aquifer (Central Italy)

Mts. Simbruini karst aquifer feeds important springs whose capture contributes to the water supply of Rome City. To improve the geochemical characterization of this aquifer, we analyzed 36 groundwater samples, 29 from springs and 7 from shallow wells, collected in 1996 and 2019. Atomic adsorption spectroscopy, tritration, ionic chromatography and mass spectrometry were the used analytical methods. Ground waters are bicarbonate alkaline-earth type and HCO3 dominance confirms that the aquifer is hosted in carbonate rocks. Total alkalinity vs. cations plot indicates that CO2 driven weathering controls the water chemistry. The probability plots of HCO3, cations and Ca2+ +Mg2+ indicate four groundwater populations with the less represented one (9 samples) characterized by the highest PCO2 values (>0.3 atm). Most anomalous values of the dissolved PCO2 are from springs located near the center of the studied area. Four samples have negative values of d13CCO2 (about -22‰ vs. PDB), indicating its organic origin, but two other samples have positive values (1.6 and 2.6 ‰ vs. PDB), similar to those observed in the CO2 of deep origin discharged at the close Colli Albani volcano. Therefore, geochemical evidence indicates that the Mts. Simbruini aquifer is locally affected by the input of deep originated CO2, likely rising up along fractures, interacting with a recharge of meteoric origin, as evidenced by its d2H and d18O isotopic signatures

UNA NUOVA STAZIONE A VULCANO PER IL MONITORAGGIO DEL FLUSSO DI CALORE DAL SUOLO

Una stazione per il monitoraggio delle variazioni del flusso di calore dal suolo è stata installata all’isola di Vulcano sul cono attivo di La Fossa, all’esterno del campo fumarolico di alta temperatura. La stazione misura i valori di temperatura del suolo a sei differenti profondità, lungo uno stesso profilo verticale. Le misure consentono di ottenere il gradiente di temperatura (°C/m) nel suolo ed il coefficiente di correlazione lineare (R2) delle temperature registrate lungo il profilo. Tali parametri (R2 e °C/m) consentono di determinare il flusso di calore nei periodi in cui la componente conduttiva è la principale forma di trasporto del calore. La stazione è stata progettata ed assemblata nel laboratorio di elettronica della sezione di Palermo dell’INGV e utilizza un programma di acquisizione ed un sistema di trasmissione interamente progettati e sviluppati dallo stesso personale. Dopo un primo periodo di osservazione dei dati e di verifiche tecniche la stazione, denominata Bordosud, è entrata nel sistema di monitoraggio geochimico dell’attività di Vulcano gestito dalle Sezione di Palermo dell’INGV. L’energia termica rilasciata da un sistema vulcanico è un parametro di primaria importanza per la sorveglianza dell’attività vulcanica. Durante i periodi intereruttivi, il calore rilasciato attraverso la circolazione dei fluidi idrotermali e l’energia termica associata all’emissione di vapore attraverso i campi fumarolici costituiscono una buona parte dell’energia totale rilasciata dal vulcano