Use of multi-criteria decision analysis to define social resilience to disaster: the case of the EU LIFE PRIMES project

Abstract Community resilience to disaster is a concept that deals with different meanings depending on diverse disciplines and so far more attention has been given to its structural aspects. Only recently the social dimensions have sparked interests and its assessment is still a challenge dealing with the integration of quantitative variables and qualitative judgments. Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) can provide a consistent methodology to deal with this aspect, creating indeed, the background for ranking and evaluating the effect of potential decision and policy strategies aiming to enhance the social resilience. In this work, we proposed a study for defining social resilience through the application of the Promethee method. Five social macro-indicators, characterized by specific sub-indicators, were analyzed in ten Italian case study areas involved in the EU LIFE PRIMES Project. The information for the definition of the sub-indicators were carried out through the delivering of anonymous questionnaires to a sample of citizens in each interested area. The approach provided both a classification of communities in term of social resilience and the individuation of the most important indicators influencing the final ranking. This method can be suggested as an effective tool for studying the various dimensions characterizing social resilience

Ostreopsis cf. ovata abundances on different benthic substrata: how to compare them?

In the framework of benthic harmful algal bloom monitoring, the most common sampling strategy is based on the collection of macroalgae, and the abundance of epiphytic microalgae are mainly expressed as cells g−1 macroalgal fresh weight (fw). However, this methodology has some inherent problems, due to (i) the thallus-specific weights that markedly differ among algal species, (ii) the thallus architecture, and (iii) the production of allelopathic compounds that affects the epiphyte abundances among macroalgae, irrespective of the available colonizable surface. This study proposes a method to compare the abundances of Ostreopsis cf. ovata cells on different substrata, using a conversion factor that converts the abundances expressed as cells g−1 fw (or dry weight) to cells cm−2. Expressing abundances in terms of cells cm−2, the abundances can be compared (i) among different macroalgal species and (ii) between macroalgae and other substrata (such as rocks, pebbles, or shellfish shells). We also propose to normalize abundances when different macroalgae are sampled throughout the bloom period, considering the different epiphyte loads of different macroalgal species regardless of the available surface area

Use of a Raspberry-Pi Video Camera for Coastal Flooding Vulnerability Assessment: The Case of Riccione (Italy)

Coastal monitoring is strategic for the correct assessment of nearshore morphodynamics, to verify the effects of anthropogenic interventions for the purpose of coastal protection and for the rapid assessment of flooding vulnerability due to severe events. Remote sensing and field surveys are among the main approaches that have been developed to meet these necessities. Key parameters in the assessment and prevision of coastal flooding extensions, beside meteomarine characteristics, are the topography and slope of beaches, which can be extremely dynamic. The use of continuous monitoring through orthorectified video images allows for the rapid detection of the intertidal bathymetry and flooding threshold during severe events. The aim of this work was to present a comparison of different monitoring strategies and methodologies that have been integrated into repeated surveys in order to evaluate the performance of a new camera system. We used a low-cost camera based on Raspberry Pi called VISTAE (Video monitoring Intelligent STAtion for Environmental applications) for long-term remote observations and GNSS-laser tools for field measurements. The case study was a coastal tract in Riccione, Italy (Northern Adriatic Sea), which is the seat of nourishment interventions and of different types of underwater protection structures to combat coastal erosion. We performed data acquisition and analysis of the emerged beach and of the swash zone in terms of the intertidal bathymetry and shoreline. The results show a generally good agreement between the field and remote measurements through image processing, with a small discrepancy of the order of ≈0.05 m in the vertical and ≈1.5 m in the horizontal in terms of the root mean square error (RMSE). These values are comparable with that of current video monitoring instruments, but the VISTAE has the advantages of its low-cost, programmability and automatized analyses. This result, together with the possibility of continuous monitoring during daylight hours, supports the advantages of a combined approach in coastal flooding vulnerability assessment through integrated and complementary techniques

Nuevos biocidas para evitar el deterioro de sustratos pintados

La colonización fúngica de pinturas es un problema que, en las últimas décadas, atrajo la atención, debido a los problemas estéticos que causa, a la degradación de la pintura y a los problemas de salud que puede provocar. Una forma de evitarla es mediante el empleo de pinturas higiénicas, capaces de inhibir el crecimiento de microorganismos, y que permiten, además, la fácil limpieza de la superficie pintada. El objetivo de este trabajo fue evaluar la efectividad de dos biocidas en pinturas. Los biocidas estudiados fueron: salicilato de cinc y benzoato de cinc. Se utilizaron Chaetomium globosum y Alternaria alternate, aislados a partir de sustratos pintados contaminados con hongos, como especies indicadoras de la efectividad de las pinturas. Los resultados mostraron que los compuestos ensayados actúan como inhibidores del desarrollo de Chaetomium globosum y Alternaria alternate tanto puros como formando parte de pinturas acrílicas. La pintura con benzoato de cinc ejerció mayor inhibición que la pintura con salicilato de cinc sobre Alternaria alternate. En el caso de Chaetomium globosum el salicilato de cinc evidenció un mayor efecto inhibidor. Así mismo, los ensayos físicos demostraron que los inhibidores no difundieronde la pintura ni modificaron sus propiedades físicas o reológicas.Tópico 2: Conservación y restauración de pinturas, cueros, textiles, papel y metales. Técnicas de limpieza y restauración