34 research outputs found
Disentangling the stratigraphic architecture of the Rivoli-Avigliana end moraine system (Western Alps, NW Italy)
Tackling Strategies for Thriving Geoscience Departments
Special sessions on thriving geosciences departments and on cyberinfrastructure in the geosciences highlighted the recent 5th AGU Meeting of Heads and Chairs of Earth and Space Science Departments. The meeting was held in conjunction with the 14th meeting of the Heads and Chairs of Programs in Atmospheric, Oceanic, Hydrologic and Related Sciences, sponsored by the American Meteorological Society (AMS),and the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research (UCAR).
“From Surviving to Thriving: Strategies for Advancing University Geoscience Programs in Times of Change” was a topic that drew intense interest. This panel discussion, led by Don Wuebbles (University of Illinois), included panelists Eric Betterton (University of Arizona), Judy Curry (Georgia Institute of Technology), Heather MacDonald (College of William and Mary), and Jim Kirkpatrick (University of Illinois)
Seismotectonic investigations in the inner Cottian Alps (Italian Western Alps): An integrated approach
This work integrates the results of recent geological–structural studies with new seismological data for the
inner Cottian Alps to investigate the connection between faults and seismicity. The major post-metamorphic
tectonic feature of this sector is represented by a N–S structure, named Lis–Trana Deformation Zone (LTZ).
Since the Late Oligocene, this structure accommodated right-lateral (Late Oligocene–Early Miocene) and
subsequently normal (post-Early Miocene) displacements. In the Pleistocene, the activity of the LTZ seems to
have caused the development of lacustrine basins inside the valleys that drain this sector of Western Alps. The
present-day seismicity joins the northern part of the LTZ and, southwards, other minor sub-parallel
structures. In transversal cross-section hypocentres highlight steep surfaces. Focal mechanisms calculated
along this structure show both extensional and strike–slip solutions, mostly with one roughly N–S striking
nodal plane. Both sub-horizontal (with NE–SW to ENE–WSW trend) and steeply dipping P axes with N–S to
NW–SE sub-horizontal T axes are observed.
Even if clear evidence of Quaternary tectonic activity in the area is missing, on the basis of the available
seismological and geological data we propose that in the inner Northern Cottian Alps the present-day seismic
activity may be connected to the LTZ, interpreted as minor sub-parallel fault strand of the Canavese Line. The
kinematics of this structure is consistent with the focal mechanisms calculated in this area. Structural and
seismological data indicate that LTZ is active under a bulk dextral–transtensive regime since the late
Oligocene in the inner Cottian Alps, in agreement with the data published for the adjacent domain of the
chain.Published1-163.3. Geodinamica e struttura dell'interno della TerraJCR Journalrestricte
Current tectonic activity and differential uplift along the Cottian Alps/Po Plain boundary (NW Italy) as derived by PS-InSAR data
IT applications for sharing geoheritage information: the example of the geological and geomorphological trail in the Monviso massif (NW Italy)
Towards a map of the Upper Pleistocene loess of the Po Plain Loess Basin (Northern Italy)
Upper Pleistocene (MIS 4-2) loess sequences occur in most of continental Europe and in Northern Italy along the Po Plain Loess Basin. Loess is distributed along the flanks of the Po Plain and was deposited on glacial deposits, fluvial terraces, uplifted isolated hills, karst plateaus, slopes and basins of secondary valleys. Loess bodies are generally tiny and affected by pedogenesis, being locally slightly reworked by slope processes and bioturbation. Notwithstanding, loess in the Po Plain is an important archive of paleoenviron-mental record and its mapping provides new insights in paleoenvironmental and palaeoseismic reconstructions of Northern Italy