Application of X-Band Wave Radar for Coastal Dynamic Analysis: Case Test of Bagnara Calabra (South Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy)

Sea state knowledge has a key role in evaluation of coastal erosion, the assessment of vulnerability and potential in coastal zone utilization, and development of numerical models to predict its evolution. X-band radar measurements were conducted to observe the spatial and temporal variation of the sea-state parameters along a 3 km long sandy-gravelly pocket beaches forming a littoral cell on Bagnara Calabra. We produced a sequence of 1000 images of the sea state extending offshore up to 1 mile. The survey has allowed monitoring the coastline, the directional wave spectra, the sea surface current fields, and the significant wave heights and detecting strong rip currents which cause scours around the open inlets and affect the stability of the submerged reef-type breakwaters. The possibility to validate the data acquired with other datasets (e.g., LaMMA Consortium) demonstrates the potential of the X-band radar technology as a monitoring tool to advance the understanding of the linkages between sea conditions, nearshore sediment dynamics, and coastal change. This work proves the possibility to obtain relevant information (e.g., wave number, period, and direction) for evaluation of local erosion phenomena and of morphological changes in the nearshore and surf zone

Mesodermal fate decisions of a stem cell: the Wnt switch

Stem cells are a powerful resource for cell-based transplantation therapies in osteodegenerative disorders, but before some kinds of stem cells can be applied clinically, several aspects of their expansion and differentiation need to be better controlled. Wnt molecules and members of the Wnt signaling cascade have been ascribed a role in both these processes in vitro as well as normal development in vivo. However some results are controversial. In this review we will present the hypothesis that both canonical and non-canonical signaling are involved in mesenchymal cell fate regulation, such as adipogenesis, chondrogenesis and osteogenesis, and that in vitro it is a timely switch between the two that specifies the identity of the differentiating cell. We will specifically focus on the in vitro differentiation of adipocytes, chondrocytes and osteoblasts contrasting embryonic and mesenchymal stem cells as well as the role of Wnts in mesenchymal fate specification during embryogenesis

Cyclic steps at the head of channelized features along the calabrian margin (Southern Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy)

High-resolution multibeam bathymetry enabled to identify coaxial trains of crescent-shaped bedforms within the heads of channelized features lying in shallow-water sectors along the tectonically-controlled Calabrian Margin. These bedforms have wavelengths of tens or few hundreds of meters and wave heights of some meters, and their crest-lines trend perpendicular to the maximum slope gradients. Repeated multibeam surveys realized in 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2013 showed a rapid and significant morphological evolution of the channel’s floors, with the generation or upslope migration of the bedforms. Based on their size, upslope migration and similarities with crescent-shaped bedforms recognized in other active canyon's heads, these features can be interpreted as cyclic steps. The bedforms are, in fact, formed or modified by frequent slope failures and related sedimentary flows, whose occurrence is favored by the concurrent presence of several predisposing and triggering mechanisms, such as high sedimentary rate due to steep coastal creek, severe storms and seismic events

Geological, stratigraphic and hydrostratigraphic setting of the lower Crati valley reconstructed by geophysical and well data and relationship with the land subsidence detected

Scuola "Archimede" in Scienze , Comunicazionee e Tecnologie, Dottorato di Ricerca in Scienze della Terra, Ciclo XXVII, a.a. 2014Università della Calabri

Stima della produzione solida in bacini idrografici con differenti caratteristiche mediante l'applicazione del modello EPM

Dottorato di Ricerca in Scienze ed Ingegneria dell'Ambiente, delle Costruzioni e dell'Energia. Ciclo XXIXIn order to increase the knowledge of sediment production and transport at the river basin scale, the research aims at the creation of a GIS project based on the multiparametric equation related to the potential erosion model EPM (Gavrilovic, 1988). The GIS allows the remote sensing data (DEM, satellite images, aerial photos etc.) to be associated with the informations detected on field. The interaction between different thematic layers allows to obtain, in an analytical way, a cartographic and a numeric output as database. These data storage are easily consulted and implemented, making the use of GIS essential for proper spatial planning. Starting from this methodological assumption, the EPM Model was applied for a certain number of catchment areas, in different geographic contexts, to better characterize the input data as a function of the output data. The output model has been calibrated and validated by comparing the experimental data obtained with real estimates of sediment transport, suspend load and bed load, of an Alpine Basin (Rio Cordon) and a Chilean Basin (Estero Morales), and with estimates of silting of dams, located in the Alpine Arc and along the Southern Apennines. The implementation of a connectivity index (degree of linkage between sediment sources and downstream areas) has led to the individuation of the volume of material that can feed an hypothetical coastal physiographic unit or can cause problems to an artificial reservoir. This more efficient model was applied to three test basin located in the Ionian (F.ra Saraceno e Stilaro) and Tyrrhenian (F.ra Sfalassà) Calabria areas. The versatility of GIS platforms and the data obtained from the EPM Model enable us to obtain a connective tool easily developable through the time, which permits the interaction between individuals and institutions in order to perform a proper management of the areas particularly vulnerable from the hydrogeological point of viewUniversità della Calabria

A Messinian Gypsum Deposit in the Ionian Forearc Basin (Benestare, Calabria, Southern Italy): Origin and Paleoenvironmental Indications

This study reports the first accurate record of the Messinian Resedimented Gypsum in the forearc and back-arc basins connected to the Calabrian-Peloritan orogen. A multidisciplinary approach has been used to investigate a gypsum deposit located in the Benestare’s area (Calabria, Southern Italy). Such deposit is made of bedded gypsrudites displaying clastic selenite with chaotical textures. On the top, the gypsrudites are interspersed with gypsum lenses belonging to the branching-like facies. Despite these two facies seem different macroscopically, they show petrographic features, fluid inclusions, organic matter and Strontium isotopic values very similar to each other. On the other hand, both facies show fractured and folded crystals. Crystals are only locally corroded and preserve primary structure relict as well as allochthonous (organic debris) and autochthonous putative microbial remains. All crystals are rich in fluid inclusions but these are visibly affected by stretching and leaking (re-equilibration processes) suggesting a moderate plastic deformation during re-sedimentation and subsequent burial. Minimal transport of the deposit is testified by subangular shapes of the gypsum crystals. The gypsrudite and branching-like facies reveal an 87Sr/86Sr average value of 0.709045 and 0.709082, respectively. These values suggest a strong connection with the global Ocean and reduced freshwater input. The Benestare’s deposit originated from the partial to complete dismantling of selenite crystals related to the first stage (5.97–5.60 Ma) of the Messinian Salinity Crisis through gravitational collapse due to local controlling factors

Compositional and Geochemical Signatures for the Sedimentary Evolution of the Middle Triassic–Lower Jurassic Continental Redbeds from Western-Central Mediterranean Alpine Chains

Compositional and chemical analyses suggest that Middle Triassic–Lower Liassic continental redbeds (in the internal domains of the Betic, Maghrebian, and Apenninic chains) can be considered a regional lithosome marking the Triassic-Jurassic rift-valley stage of Tethyan rifting, which led to the Pangaea breakup and subsequent development of a mosaic of plates and microplates. Sandstones are quartzose to quartzolithic and represent a provenance of continental block and recycled orogen, made up mainly of Paleozoic metasedimentary rocks similar to those underlying the redbeds. Mudrocks display K enrichments; intense paleoweathering under a hot, episodically humid climate with a prolonged dry season; and sediment recycling. Redbeds experienced temperatures in the range of 100°–160°C and lithostatic/tectonic loading of more than 4 km. These redbeds represent an important stratigraphic signature to reconstruct a continental block (Mesomediterranean Microplate) that separated different realms of the western Tethys from Middle-Late Jurassic to Miocene, when it was completely involved in Alpine orogenesis.This work was funded by the Ministero dell’Universtità e della Ricerca Scientifica–Progetto di Ricerca Nazionale (MIUR-PRIN) 2001–2003 Project (“Age and Sedimentary Characters of the Mesozoic Continental Redbeds [Verrucano] from Northern Apennines to the Betic Cordillera: Implications for Paleogeographic and Tectonic Evolution of the Central-Western Mediterranean Alpine Belts,” S. Critelli, G. Mongelli, V. Perrone), MIUR-ex60% Projects (“Paleogeographic and Paleotectonic Evolution of the Circum-Mediterranean Orogenic Belts, 2001–2005” and “Relationships between Tectonic Accretion, Volcanism, and Clastic Sedimentation within the Circum-Mediterranean Orogenic Belts, 2006,” S. Critelli), the 2006–2008 MIUR-PRIN Project 2006.04.8397 (“The Cenozoic Clastic Sedimentation within the Circum-Mediterranean Orogenic Belts: Implications for Paleogeographic and Paleotectonic Evolution,” S. Critelli, G. Mongelli, V. Perrone), and Research Project CGL2005-03887 MEC (A. Martin-Algarra)

Holocene sediments of the Messina Strait (southern Italy). Relationships between source area and depositional basin

The Messina Strait, situated along the southern sector of the Italian peninsula, provides a good setting to study the source-to-basin relationships and, thus, the complete transect from continental to deepmarine environments. This work concerns the chemical and mineralogical composition of the finegrained sediments collected along the Messina Strait, since the distribution of major and trace elements related to the mineralogical assemblages allow us the reconstruction of sedimentary evolution and geological processes affecting the studied sediments and, thus, the relationships developed between source area and sedimentary basin. Studied sediments are very-fine sand, silt and clay mainly phyllosilicates and quartz-bearing. Specifically, sediments located on submerged Calabrian and Sicilian slopes generally show high quartz content, whereas samples of the Calabrian and Sicilian continental slopes generally show high phyllosilicates content. Calcite and feldspars (plagioclase and K-feldspar) occur in different amounts. Few samples contain Fe-oxides. The geochemical signatures of the sediments reflect a provenance from felsic lithotypes. The A-CN-K diagram shows a linear trend parallel to A-CN join reflecting, primarily, weathering from granitoid rocks. This trend may result from non-steady state weathering conditions where active tectonism and uplift, as shown by morpho-structural conditions of the Messina Strait and its complex tectonic network, enhance mechanical erosion of mineralogical zones differentiated along weathering profiles developed on source rocks. Weathering efficiency at source area suggests weak intensity, related to a temperate Mediterranean climate similar to that characterizing the present-day study area