P-wave and surface wave survey for permafrost analysis in alpine regions

We discuss the results of seismic survey to delineate temporal and spatial changes of frozen layer in Alpine environments. The seismic characterization allows us to detect changes of soil deformability properties related to the temperature effect on subsoi

Geotechnical and Geophysical Characterization of Frozen Granular Material

Degrading or thawing permafrost has been identified as being an issue of national importance with respect to its potential for causing severe damage or even loss of life in densely populated Alpine regions due to climatic change (Gruber, 2004, 2007). On this basis, a joint study has been initiated by the Safe Mountain Foundation (Fondazione Montagna Sicura, Cormayeur, Italy) and some Universities to investigate variations in the geotechnical behaviour of Alpine permafrost caused by changes in temperature. Permafrost is found in Alpine regions at elevations higher than about 2500 m above sea level, depending on the location and exposure of the slope. Its mechanical features are determined by the coupled contribution of the soil particles and of the ice. The water content can have an important influence on the resistance of the frozen soil: if the water content is low, the ice will not be able to include the soil particles, however, if it is too high the resistance will be determined above all by the ice itself (Andresland, 1987). Temperature is another driving factor that can influence the mechanical behaviour of ice (Fish, 1997). On this basis this work has been dedicated to analysing the geotechnical and geophysical behaviour of the widespread morainic deposits found in Alpine areas, subjected to different climatic conditions when the temperature increases. The work is dedicated, in particular, to the geotechnical and geophysical characterization of two different glacial deposits present in the Aosta Valley region: the first one generated by Tsanteleina glacier (Rhêmes Valley, 2690 m a.s.l.) and the second one surrounding the Blu lake (Ayas Valley, 2214 m a.s.l.). The characterization has been carried out at different scales: at a laboratory scale, on the thinner components of the granular material and at an in situ scale, through geotechnical measurement and geophysical testing. The geotechnical measurement were performed through photographical dimension analysis of the deposit and geophysical measurement by means of seismic and electrical surveys. Specimens have been reconstructed, saturated, and frozen in the laboratory and subjected to laboratory tests to evaluate whether both the mechanical (mono-axial compressive strength and Young modulus) and geophysical (P and S wave velocities) behaviour of this kind of soils are affected by temperature variations under 0°C (-35/-5 °C). This work has been realized and funded in the framework of the project GlaRiskAlp (2007–2013 Operational programme for cross-border cooperation Italy – France, Alps – ALCOTRA

Emoções e política: primeiras aproximações Emotions and politics: first approximations

Grande parte das pesquisas históricas tem se furtado a abordar do papel das emoções na construção das atividades políticas e sociais; um tipo de estudo a que muitas vezes rechaçam, acusando-o de produzir determinismos psicológicos. Mesmo várias vertentes da História Política fizeram das emoções um objeto estranho às suas discussões, ao optarem pelo estudo exclusivo dos aspectos cognitivos da política, e ao pressuporem serem os sujeitos plenamente conscientes e racionais, orientando-se apenas pelo impulso de satisfazer seus interesses, ou pela fidelidade a suas idéias. Contudo, novas perspectivas historiográficas apontam para a possibilidade de se agregar as dimensões simbólicas e afetivas ao estudo da política. Alinhando-se ao projeto de uma História Social das Emoções Políticas, esse ensaio avalia esses novos procedimentos, centrando-se na abordagem dos sentimentos que teriam regido a adesão política no período moderno, bem como aos repertórios retóricos e expressivos a eles associados. Para tanto, parte-se do exame da expressão das emoções, e seus usos, presentes nos textos de um pensador que é, ao mesmo tempo, ator e arguto observador do cenário pol ítico de sua época: Tocqueville. Fundindo o pensamento analítico à sua própria experiência, Tocqueville não limitou sua visão da política à gestão racional dos interesses, afirmando que ela se dava na interação de três elementos: paixões, interesses, e normas sociais. Idéia que fundamenta sua hipótese da existência de uma correlação dinâmica entre cada regime político (a democracia, em particular) e as paixões.<br>A great part of historical research has been remiss in studying the role of the emotions in the construction of political and social activity, a type of study that is often opposed under the accusation of producing psychological determinisms. Various trends in political history made of the emotions a strange object in their discussions, by choosing the exclusive study of the cognitive aspects of politics and by presupposing that subjects are fully conscious and rational, guided only by the impulse of satisfying their interests or through faithfulness to their ideas. And yet, new historiographical perspectives point to the possibility of joining the symbolic and affective dimensions to the study of politics. Aligning itself with the project of a social history of the political emotions, this essay evaluates these new procedures, concentrating on the approach to the sentiments that have ruled political adhesion in the modern period, as well as the rhetorical and expressive repertories associated with them. For this purpose, it begins with the examination of the expression of emotions and their uses present in the texts of a thinker who is both an actor and astute observer of the political scenario of his time: Tocqueville. Fusing analytical thought with his own experience, Tocqueville did not limit his vision of politics to the rational management of interests, arguing that that took place in the interaction among three elements: passions, interests, and social norms, an idea that bases his hypothesis on the existence of a dynamic correlation between each political regime (democracy, in particular) and the passions