Seismic source characterization of the Alpine foreland in the context of a probabilistic seismic hazard analysis by PEGASOS Expert Group 1 (EG1a)

Seismic source characterization is performed as part of the PEGASOS project for the assessment of the seismic hazard at the 4 sites of the Swiss Nuclear Power Plants. The analysis is performed according to the Level 4 procedures for expert elicitation defined in the guidelines of the US Nuclear Regulatory Committee whereby the quantification of uncertainties plays a crucial role. According to our analysis, which is one amongst four that were performed in the frame of PEGASOS, the most important epistemic uncertainty is related to the question as to weather basement-rooted faults at the margins of pre-existing Permo-Carboniferous troughs are prone for compressive or transpressive reactivation under the present-day stress field or not. The question after the present-day style of deformation in the Alpine foreland (thick-skinned versus thin-skinned) is closely related to this key question. Together with the consideration of uncertainties regarding the mapping of seismogenic zones and/or line sources alternative zonations are presented in form of a logic tree with 21 branches. Area sources play a predominant role in the working area located at the margin of a diffuse plate boundary. Earthquake recurrence relationships are discussed by taking into account a series of uncertainties. These concern the evaluation of b-values and the evaluation of a-values once the b-values were fixed. Both parameters in the Gutenberg-Richter law are based on non-perfect and incomplete catalogue data that were carefully analysed beforehand. Since PEGASOS demanded an analysis of annual probabilities down to one event in 107years, the question after the value of the maximum possible earthquake magnitude Mmax and related error in Mmax estimates plays a crucial role. We estimate Mmax by using geological as well as statistical methods. Mmax = 6.9 cannot be excluded in most areas, in the Basel area Mmax = 7.3 is possible. Uncertainties in a, b and Mmax are again discussed in form of a logic tree, this time with 18 branches. Hence the final logic tree has 378 branches and represents the seismic source characterization input into PSHA that takes account of all uncertainties we are aware o

Studi di tomografia locale per la definizione della struttura crostale e subcrostale del Friuli e del Veneto Orientale

English: CRUSTAL AND SUB-CRUSTAL STRUCTURE OF FRIULI AND VENETO REGIONS DERIVED FROM LOCAL EARTHQUAKE TOMOGRAPHY The Friuli region is one of the most hazardous area in Italy. Numerous earthquakes have shaken and damaged the region both in historical (1348, 1551) and recent times (1928, 1976). The most recent big earthquake, the M = 6.4 event in 1976, was the reason for starting an intensive study of the area from the geological and geophysical points of view but probably the main consequence of the earthquake was the establishment of a regional seismometric network to monitor the seismic activity in the Friuli enlarged area. West to Friuli is the Veneto region: it is characterized by a seismicity of lower energy but that still deserves a certain care, in particular in the Alpago and Cansiglio sectors where earthquakes of magnitude greater than 5.5 occurred in 1873 and 1936. With the aim to investigate the crustal (and possibly sub-crustal) structures of these regions, a local earthquake tomography has been carried out using data recorded in the period 1995-2002 by the Friuli - Venezia Giulia seismometric network. The obtained tomographic images add only a few details to the knowledge of the area, and resembles already published results, even if the current tomography is able to give images for deeper layers (down to 15 km). In practice, there is a good agreement between the surficial tomographic reconstruction and the shallow geology and it is confirmed the existence of a body with velocity 6.2-6.4 km/s deepening eastwards down to 12-15 km. Since this limit corresponds to the resolving power of the data, no interpretation can be done on whether this body has much deeper roots or not. One main evidence of the joint displaying of occurrence of events and velocity recostructions is that seismicity is strictly associated with, and probably dependent from, this body. Since it would be very important to extend the resolving power to deeper layers, a new tomography is planned for a larger area. In fact, deeper events may be considered when the studied area is larger and, since the rays of these events travel for longer distances, they consequently illuminate deeper layers. In this way some limits of the present tomographic runs could be overcome. Italian: Il Friuli è una delle zone a maggior pericolosità sismica del territorio nazionale. Numerosi terremoti hanno causato gravi distruzioni, infatti, nella regione sia in epoca storica (nel 1348 e nel 1511) sia recentemente (nel 1928 e nel 1976). Il terremoto del 1976, di magnitudo 6.4, ha dato l’avvio a tutta una serie di studi di carattere geologico e geofisico. Tra le iniziative più importanti va ricordata l’installazione delle rete sismometrica regionale. Contigua al Friuli si trova la regione del Veneto, di sismicità sicuramente minore di quella friulana, ma degna di attenzione specialmente nel suo settore orientale (Alpago, Cansiglio) in quanto nel 1873 e nel 1936 la violenza dei sismi superò la magnitudo 5,5. Allo scopo di indagare sulle strutture crostali (e possibilmente sub-crostali) è stata condotta una tomografia sismica con terremoti locali utilizzando un nutrito insieme di dati registrati dalla rete sismometrica regionale nel periodo 1995-2002 in un’area estesa intorno al confine tra Veneto e Friuli - Venezia Giulia, dove molti autori ipotizzano una struttura sismogenetica di svincolo trasversale alle strutture alpine contrapponendosi a quelli che invece propongono continuità nello stile tettonicosismogenetico. I risultati ottenuti aggiungono solo pochi dettagli alle immagini topografiche ottenute da altri lavori, ed in particolare essi sono relativi a profondità maggiori rispetto a quelle indagate nel passato. In pratica, viene confermata la buona coerenza tra immagini topografiche superficiali e le strutture geologiche e la presenza di un corpo con velocità dell’ordine di 6,2-6,4 km/s che, inclinato verso est, si estende fino a 12-15 km di profondità. Purtroppo questo valore coincide con il limite della risoluzione tomografica, e lascia aperta la questione sulla reale estensione in profondità della struttura individuata. Ciò che risulta particolarmente evidente è che la struttura, che è stata interpretata come un cuneo legato all’accorciamento crostale associato con le fasi alpine, è responsabile della sismicità dell’area, o comunque strettamente legata ad essa. Da un punto di vista strettamente metodologico, i risultati mostrano i limiti della inversione tomografica legati alla geometria degli eventi e soprattutto dalla scarsa profondità degli stessi. Malgrado non possa essere considerata soluzione definitiva al problema, la estensione della area da indagare potrebbe parzialmente migliorare le immagini topografiche inserendo terremoti più lontani (e quindi con raggi che si approfondiscono di più) avendo cura di definire la geometria ottimale di inversione

Thallium contamination in the Raibl Mine Site stream drainage system (Eastern Alps, Italy)

The Raibl mine (Cave del Predil village, northern Italy) belongs to the Pb–Zn minerogenetic district in the southeastern Alps, hosted in Middle Triassic carbonates. The drainage water quality reflects the high acid-buffering capacity of the carbonate rocks, which controls the mobility of most metals. In particular, Fe is non-detectable in solution, having formed hydrous-oxides precipitates. Molybdenum, Ni, Zn, Cd, Pb, and Tl are present, and the Pb, Tl, and Zn concentrations sometimes exceed the Italian regulatory thresholds. Thallium concentrations substantially exceed the 2 µg/L limit at some sampling stations, ranging between 12 and 30 µg/L in the mine drainage, and reaching 5 µg/L downstream of the mine site, despite strong dilution. The data indicate that Tl behaves almost conservatively and is not significantly scavenged by the Fe precipitates. The elevated Tl represents a potential risk for the stream ecosystem. Although Tl is not regulated in drinking water in Italy or the European Community, its distribution in natural waters may help to determine if health actions should be taken

Wireless Node for Smart Home

The transformation of an old house into a smart home can be time- and money-consuming, especially due to the integration of new sensors and modifications to the existing electrical wiring. However, this problem can be easily and effectively solved by installing wireless node devices in separate areas to enable monitoring and control of the whole building. The aim of this thesis is to develop a multisensor node connected to Wi-Fi network. The result of presented work is an electronic circuit board functioning as a wireless node. The main part is an ESP8266 microcontroller module programmed in C++ language. The node is connected to the central system using the Mqtt protocol. The central part of the system is implemented using program Home Assistant running on Raspberry PI computer. The node features the ability to measure temperature, humidity, movement, light level, and the ability to control a common household 220 V device. In addition to the hardware, the complete software was developed to support a complete node operation and setup procedure. Communication between the user and the node is carried through a user-friendly interface that allows the user to easily control the node’s operation and settings. Lastly, a complete practical case of the node’s integration in the home automation system is presented

Studi di tomografia locale per la definizione della struttura crostale e subcrostale del Friuli e del Veneto Orientale

English: CRUSTAL AND SUB-CRUSTAL STRUCTURE OF FRIULI AND VENETO REGIONS DERIVED FROM LOCAL EARTHQUAKE TOMOGRAPHY The Friuli region is one of the most hazardous area in Italy. Numerous earthquakes have shaken and damaged the region both in historical (1348, 1551) and recent times (1928, 1976). The most recent big earthquake, the M = 6.4 event in 1976, was the reason for starting an intensive study of the area from the geological and geophysical points of view but probably the main consequence of the earthquake was the establishment of a regional seismometric network to monitor the seismic activity in the Friuli enlarged area. West to Friuli is the Veneto region: it is characterized by a seismicity of lower energy but that still deserves a certain care, in particular in the Alpago and Cansiglio sectors where earthquakes of magnitude greater than 5.5 occurred in 1873 and 1936. With the aim to investigate the crustal (and possibly sub-crustal) structures of these regions, a local earthquake tomography has been carried out using data recorded in the period 1995-2002 by the Friuli - Venezia Giulia seismometric network. The obtained tomographic images add only a few details to the knowledge of the area, and resembles already published results, even if the current tomography is able to give images for deeper layers (down to 15 km). In practice, there is a good agreement between the surficial tomographic reconstruction and the shallow geology and it is confirmed the existence of a body with velocity 6.2-6.4 km/s deepening eastwards down to 12-15 km. Since this limit corresponds to the resolving power of the data, no interpretation can be done on whether this body has much deeper roots or not. One main evidence of the joint displaying of occurrence of events and velocity recostructions is that seismicity is strictly associated with, and probably dependent from, this body. Since it would be very important to extend the resolving power to deeper layers, a new tomography is planned for a larger area. In fact, deeper events may be considered when the studied area is larger and, since the rays of these events travel for longer distances, they consequently illuminate deeper layers. In this way some limits of the present tomographic runs could be overcome. Italian: Il Friuli è una delle zone a maggior pericolosità sismica del territorio nazionale. Numerosi terremoti hanno causato gravi distruzioni, infatti, nella regione sia in epoca storica (nel 1348 e nel 1511) sia recentemente (nel 1928 e nel 1976). Il terremoto del 1976, di magnitudo 6.4, ha dato l’avvio a tutta una serie di studi di carattere geologico e geofisico. Tra le iniziative più importanti va ricordata l’installazione delle rete sismometrica regionale. Contigua al Friuli si trova la regione del Veneto, di sismicità sicuramente minore di quella friulana, ma degna di attenzione specialmente nel suo settore orientale (Alpago, Cansiglio) in quanto nel 1873 e nel 1936 la violenza dei sismi superò la magnitudo 5,5. Allo scopo di indagare sulle strutture crostali (e possibilmente sub-crostali) è stata condotta una tomografia sismica con terremoti locali utilizzando un nutrito insieme di dati registrati dalla rete sismometrica regionale nel periodo 1995-2002 in un’area estesa intorno al confine tra Veneto e Friuli - Venezia Giulia, dove molti autori ipotizzano una struttura sismogenetica di svincolo trasversale alle strutture alpine contrapponendosi a quelli che invece propongono continuità nello stile tettonicosismogenetico. I risultati ottenuti aggiungono solo pochi dettagli alle immagini topografiche ottenute da altri lavori, ed in particolare essi sono relativi a profondità maggiori rispetto a quelle indagate nel passato. In pratica, viene confermata la buona coerenza tra immagini topografiche superficiali e le strutture geologiche e la presenza di un corpo con velocità dell’ordine di 6,2-6,4 km/s che, inclinato verso est, si estende fino a 12-15 km di profondità. Purtroppo questo valore coincide con il limite della risoluzione tomografica, e lascia aperta la questione sulla reale estensione in profondità della struttura individuata. Ciò che risulta particolarmente evidente è che la struttura, che è stata interpretata come un cuneo legato all’accorciamento crostale associato con le fasi alpine, è responsabile della sismicità dell’area, o comunque strettamente legata ad essa. Da un punto di vista strettamente metodologico, i risultati mostrano i limiti della inversione tomografica legati alla geometria degli eventi e soprattutto dalla scarsa profondità degli stessi. Malgrado non possa essere considerata soluzione definitiva al problema, la estensione della area da indagare potrebbe parzialmente migliorare le immagini topografiche inserendo terremoti più lontani (e quindi con raggi che si approfondiscono di più) avendo cura di definire la geometria ottimale di inversione

Engineering of colloidal nanocrystal thin films and their optoelectronic properties: A simple and effective route

This work investigates the effect of heat treatments on CdSe/CdS core\u2013shell nanocrystals assemblies with different sizes and capping ligands. Nanostructured thin films, consisting of an array of CdSe quantum dots embedded in a continuous matrix of CdS, have been obtained by mild thermal treatments of CdSe/CdS core\u2013shell nanocrystals deposited on glass substrates from colloidal solution. These materials are regarded as promising photon upconverters, or absorbers for high-efficiency photovoltaic devices. The treatments were conducted in the range 300\u2013550 \ub0C for up to 150 min. The nanoscale evolution during the heat treatment was investigated by monitoring optical properties of the films. Initially, the well-defined photoluminescence band, corresponding to the first quantum dots exciton state, rapidly shifts towards lower energy, indicating delocalization of the exciton and suggesting that nanocrystal CdS shells are merging by sintering mechanisms, thus forming a continuous matrix. Control over this phase of the heat treatment leads to the desired nanoscale morphology and properties. The kinetics of sintering has been characterized, and the procedure has been systemically applied to CdSe/CdS nanocrystals of different sizes and ligand types. This research provides novel values for the activation energy of the sintering process and strongly support the general applicability of such process to control and optimize optoelectronic properties of nanostructured thin films for applications like light-emitting diodes, tunable emitters and photoconductors among others

Prototype of a simple warehouse management system based on Android mobile devices and PHP server

This thesis presents an analysis of the competitive android applications, the process of planning and development of application system and android applications. The system will operate separately on android device and the application server, through which it will receive the information necessary for the operation. On the market there are many competing applications for storage management. Our contribution is the central storage of data and the ability to use multiple devices at once, where data is synchronized on all devices in real time

Wireless Node for Smart Home

The transformation of an old house into a smart home can be time- and money-consuming, especially due to the integration of new sensors and modifications to the existing electrical wiring. However, this problem can be easily and effectively solved by installing wireless node devices in separate areas to enable monitoring and control of the whole building. The aim of this thesis is to develop a multisensor node connected to Wi-Fi network. The result of presented work is an electronic circuit board functioning as a wireless node. The main part is an ESP8266 microcontroller module programmed in C++ language. The node is connected to the central system using the Mqtt protocol. The central part of the system is implemented using program Home Assistant running on Raspberry PI computer. The node features the ability to measure temperature, humidity, movement, light level, and the ability to control a common household 220 V device. In addition to the hardware, the complete software was developed to support a complete node operation and setup procedure. Communication between the user and the node is carried through a user-friendly interface that allows the user to easily control the node’s operation and settings. Lastly, a complete practical case of the node’s integration in the home automation system is presented