Temporal Coherence Estimators for GBSAR

Many Ground-Based Synthetic Aperture Radar (GBSAR) applications demand preliminary analysis to select areas with high-quality signal. That is, areas in which the phase can be processed to extract the desired information. The interferometric coherence and the amplitude dispersion index are important tools widely used in the literature to assess the quality of GBSAR images. So far, no direct relation has been found between the two. Indeed, they are parameters of different natures: amplitude dispersion index is calculated with only amplitude values, while coherence provides information also on the signal phase. The purpose of this article is to find a relation between the two parameters. Indeed, the amplitude dispersion index provides some practical advantages if compared to coherence estimators, especially to perform fast preliminary analysis. In this article, a theoretical relation between amplitude dispersion index and coherence is retrieved. GBSAR measurements acquired in different scenarios, at different working frequencies are presented and used to validate such a relation

Multi-Monostatic Interferometric Radar with Radar Link for Bridge Monitoring

In recent years, interferometric radars have been extensively used as sensors for static and dynamic monitoring of bridges. Generally speaking, a radar can only detect the displacement component along its view direction. As the movement of a real bridge or a large structure can be rather complex, this limitation can be a significant drawback in engineering practice. In order toovercome this limitation, in this article, a multi-monostatic interferometric radar with radio link is proposed. This radar is able to detect a second component of displacement using a transponder. The transponder is connected to the radar through a radio link. The radio link allows the installation of the transponder far away from the radar, and even in the opposite direction. The equipment is based on a MIMO radar, two transceivers for the radio link, and a transponder. The transceivers and the transponder are essentially two antennas and an amplifier system. The equipment is experimentally tested in controlled scenarios and in the case study of Indiano Bridge, Florence, Italy

Occurrence of Natural and Synthetic Micro-Fibers in the Mediterranean Sea: A Review

Among microplastics (MPs), fibers are one of the most abundant shapes encountered in the aquatic environment. Growing attention is being focused on this typology of particles since they are considered an important form of marine contamination. Information about microfibers distribution in the Mediterranean Sea is still limited and the increasing evidence of the high amount of fibers in the aquatic environment should lead to a different classification from MPs which, by definition, are composed only of synthetic materials and not natural. In the past, cellulosic fibers (natural and regenerated) have been likely included in the synthetic realm by hundreds of studies, inflating “micro-plastic” counts in both environmental matrices and organisms. Comparisons are often hampered because many of the available studies have explicitly excluded the micro-fibers (MFs) content due, for example, to methodological problems. Considering the abundance of micro-fibers in the environment, a chemical composition analysis is fundamental for toxicological assessments. Overall, the results of this review work provide the basis to monitor and mitigate the impacts of microfiber pollution on the sea ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea, which can be used to investigate other basins of the world for future risk assessment

Occurrence of Natural and Synthetic Micro-Fibers in the Mediterranean Sea: A Review

Among microplastics (MPs), fibers are one of the most abundant shapes encountered in the aquatic environment. Growing attention is being focused on this typology of particles since they are considered an important form of marine contamination. Information about microfibers distribution in the Mediterranean Sea is still limited and the increasing evidence of the high amount of fibers in the aquatic environment should lead to a different classification from MPs which, by definition, are composed only of synthetic materials and not natural. In the past, cellulosic fibers (natural and regenerated) have been likely included in the synthetic realm by hundreds of studies, inflating “micro-plastic” counts in both environmental matrices and organisms. Comparisons are often hampered because many of the available studies have explicitly excluded the micro-fibers (MFs) content due, for example, to methodological problems. Considering the abundance of micro-fibers in the environment, a chemical composition analysis is fundamental for toxicological assessments. Overall, the results of this review work provide the basis to monitor and mitigate the impacts of microfiber pollution on the sea ecosystems in the Mediterranean Sea, which can be used to investigate other basins of the world for future risk assessment

Le nuove minacce per la salute respiratoria: il fumo elettronico

Il fenomeno dello svapo si sta diffondendo moltissimo soprattutto tra i giovanissimi. Il Pediatra Pneumologo riveste un ruolo cruciale per tentare di invertire questa tendenza, avendo un duplice compito: prevenire il tabagismo, educando i propri pazienti sui rischi e le conseguenze del fumo, e individuare i pazienti che già fumano o che sono esposti a fumo, per fornire aiuto e supporto nel trattamento della dipendenza

Surface ruptures following the 26 December 2018, Mw 4.9, Mt. Etna earthquake, Sicily (Italy)

We present a 1:10,000 scale map of the coseismic surface ruptures following the 26 December 2018 Mw 4.9 earthquake that struck the eastern flank of Mt. Etna volcano (southern Italy). Detailed rupture mapping is based on extensive field surveys in the epicentral region. Despite the small size of the event, we were able to document surface faulting for about 8 km along the trace of the NNW-trending active Fiandaca Fault, belonging to the Timpe tectonic system in the eastern flank of the volcano. The mapped ruptures are characterized in most cases by perceivable opening and by a dominant right-oblique sense of slip, with an average slip of about 0.09 m and a peak value of 0.35 m. It is also noteworthy that the ruptures vary significantly in their kinematic expression, denoting locally high degree of complexity of the surface faulting.Published831-8372T. Deformazione crostale attivaJCR Journa

Surface ruptures database related to the 26 December 2018, MW 4.9 Mt. Etna earthquake, southern Italy

We provide a database of the surface ruptures produced by the 26 December 2018 Mw 4.9 earthquake that struck the eastern flank of Mt. Etna volcano in Sicily (southern Italy). Despite its relatively small magnitude, this shallow earthquake caused about 8 km of surface faulting, along the trace of the NNW-trending active Fiandaca Fault. Detailed field surveys have been performed in the epicentral area to map the ruptures and to characterize their kinematics. The surface ruptures show a dominant right-oblique sense of displacement with an average slip of about 0.09 m and a maximum value of 0.35 m. We have parsed and organized all observations in a concise database, with 932 homogeneous georeferenced records. The Fiandaca Fault is part of the complex active Timpe faults system affecting the eastern flank of Etna, and its seismic history indicates a prominent surface-faulting potential. Therefore, this database is essential for unravelling the seismotectonics of shallow earthquakes in volcanic areas, and contributes updating empirical scaling regressions that relate magnitude and extent of surface faulting.Publishedid 422T. Deformazione crostale attivaJCR Journa

Hard X -Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (HAXPES) characterisation of electrochemical passivation oxide layers on Al-Cr-Fe Complex Metallic Alloys (CMA).

A Hard X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (HAXPES) characterisation of the passivation layers formed by electrochemical polarisation of Al–Cr–Fe complex metallic alloys is presented. By employing X-ray excitation energies from 2.3 to 10.0 keV, the depth distributions of Al- and Cr-oxide and hydroxide species in the (Al,Cr)-containing passive layers could be determined. Simultaneous analyses of the shallow Al 2s and deep Al 1s core level lines (respectively, more bulk- and surface-sensitive) provided complementary information to effectively determine the depth-resolved contributions of hydroxide and oxide species within the passivation layer. A Cr threshold concentration of 18 (at.%) was found for effective passivation at pH 1

Il terremoto di Fleri (Etna) del 26 dicembre 2018 Mw 4.9. Parte II: rilievo degli effetti di fagliazione cosismica superficiale

Il terremoto del 26 dicembre 2019, ore 02:19 UTC, che ha colpito il basso versante sud-orientale dell’Etna, ha prodotto non solo danni gravi e distruzioni nell’area epicentrale, pari al grado 8 EMS (Azzaro et al., in questo volume), ma anche vistose rotture superficiali lungo la faglia di Fiandaca, che è la struttura più meridionale del sistema tettonico delle Timpe (Fig. 1a). Gli effetti di fagliazione cosismica in area etnea sono storicamente piuttosto frequenti in occasione di terremoti superficiali (< 2-3 km), anche per valori di magnitudo relativamente modesti (M ≥ 3.5, vedi Azzaro, 1999). Con una magnitudo Mw 4.9 (Regional Centroid Moment Tensors, https://doi.org/10.13127/rcmt/italy), il terremoto in questione rappresenta l’evento più significativo, in termini di entità e complessità della fagliazione associata, verificatosi nell’area etnea negli ultimi 70 anni, con una estensione della rottura superiore rispetto a quelle storiche (< 6.5 km). Il gruppo di emergenza per il rilievo degli effetti geologici cosismici EMERGEO (http://emergeo.ingv.it) dell’INGV, si è pertanto attivato effettuando quattro campagne di misura con squadre che si sono alternate sul terreno (per un totale di 60 gg/persona), supportate da personale del proprio Centro Operativo per l’organizzazione dei dati e il popolamento del database (43 gg/persona). Il rilievo ha consentito la raccolta e catalogazione di circa 900 punti di misura relativi a posizionamento, geometria, rigetto e cinematica delle fratture cosismiche.UnpublishedRoma2T. Deformazione crostale attiv