ALBERT

Description: In recent years, new approaches for developing earthquake rupture forecasts (ERFs) have been proposed to be used as an input for probabilistic seismic hazard assessment (PSHA). Zone- based approaches with seismicity rates derived from earthquake catalogs are commonly used in many countries as the standard for national seismic hazard models. In Italy, a single zone- based ERF is currently the basis for the official seismic hazard model. In this contribution, we present eleven new ERFs, including five zone-based, two smoothed seismicity-based, two fault- based, and two geodetic-based, used for a new PSH model in Italy. The ERFs were tested against observed seismicity and were subject to an elicitation procedure by a panel of PSHA experts to verify the scientific robustness and consistency of the forecasts with respect to the observations. Tests and elicitation were finalized to weight the ERFs. The results show a good response to the new inputs to observed seismicity in the last few centuries. The entire approach was a first attempt to build a community-based set of ERFs for an Italian PSHA model. The project involved a large number of seismic hazard practitioners, with their knowledge and experience, and the development of different models to capture and explore a large range of epistemic uncertainties in building ERFs, and represents an important step forward for the new national seismic hazard model.

Description: Published

Description: SE220

Description: 6T. Studi di pericolosità sismica e da maremoto

Description: JCR Journal

Description: Of all the socio-economic changes caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the disruption to workforce organizations will probably leave the largest indelible mark. The way work will be organized in the future will be closely linked to the experience of work-ing under the same institution’s response to the pandemic. This paper aims to fill the gap in knowledge about smart working (SW) in public organizations, with a focus on the experience of the employees of two Italian research organizations, CNR and INGV. Analysing primary data, it explored and assessed how SW had been experi-enced following the implementation of governmental measures aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19

Description: Published

Description: 815–833

Description: 2TM. Divulgazione Scientifica

Description: JCR Journal

Description: Data visualization, and to a lesser extent data sonification, are classic tools to the scientific community. However, these two approaches are very rarely combined, although they are highly complementary: our visual system is good at recognizing spatial patterns, whereas our auditory system is better tuned for temporal patterns. In this article, data representation methods are proposed that combine visualization, sonification, and spatial audio techniques, in order to optimize the user’s perception of spatial and temporal patterns in a single display, to increase the feeling of immersion, and to take advantage of multimodal integration mechanisms. Three seismic data sets are used to illustrate the methods, covering different physical phenomena, time scales, spatial distributions, and spatio-temporal dynamics. The methods are adapted to the specificities of each data set, and to the amount of information that the designer wants to display. This leads to further developments, namely the use of audification with two time scales, the switch from pure audification to time-modulated noise, and the switch from pure audification to sonic icons. First user feedback from live demonstrations indicates that the methods presented in this article seem to enhance the perception of spatio-temporal patterns, which is a key parameter to the understanding of seismically active systems, and a step towards apprehending the processes that drive this activity.

Description: Published

Description: 125–142

Description: 7T. Variazioni delle caratteristiche crostali e "precursori"

Description: JCR Journal

Description: Il presente lavoro raccoglie alcune esperienze di Progetti di Alternanza Scuola Lavoro (d’ora in poi ASL) realizzati dall’INGV negli anni scolastici dal 2015 al 2019 e dedicati al rischio sismico, alle scienze polari ed agli strumenti per la divulgazione scientifica. Le esperienze descrivono il lavoro realizzato da un gruppo di ricercatori INGV con competenze in diversi ambiti disciplinari (sismologia, geologia, vulcanologia fisica dell’atmosfera, psicologia) e in alcuni casi le attività sono state svolte in collaborazione con ricercatori di altri enti. Il gruppo di lavoro è composto da ricercatori che da molti anni dedicano parte del loro tempo-lavoro alle attività di divulgazione scientifica, ai progetti educativi, alla didattica della scienza. In una parola a quella che oggi rappresenta, per gli enti di ricerca, la “Terza missione”, ovvero l’insieme di tutte le attività finalizzate a creare una connessione bidirezionale tra il mondo della ricerca e la società. Ciò che ha caratterizzato l’approccio dei ricercatori INGV ai progetti ASL, sia nella fase di progettazione che di realizzazione, è la finalità di consentire agli studenti di vivere un’esperienza reale ed immersiva in un contesto di lavoro. E quindi l’opportunità di sperimentare capacità e abilità che caratterizzano il contesto organizzativo (diritti, doveri, responsabilità, impegni, regole), diversamente dal mondo della scuola. Il secondo aspetto al quale ci si è riferiti nella realizzazione dei progetti è quello di consentire agli studenti di esplorare, in particolare il contesto delle attività lavorative connesse al mondo della ricerca. Da questo punto di vista gli studenti hanno potuto acquisire conoscenze in ambiti tematici specifici, hanno avuto modo di sperimentare metodi e tecniche proprie del mondo della ricerca e di acquisire capacità e abilità trasversali come il lavoro in gruppo. Il contributo è organizzato in tre capitoli in relazione ai temi affrontati nei progetti. Nel primo sono riportate le schede dei tre progetti dedicate al tema Terremoto; nel secondo vengono descritti i due progetti dedicati alla Divulgazione Scientifica e nel terzo un progetto sulle Scienze Polari. Per rendere maggiormente fruibile la lettura, ogni progetto viene descritto attraverso una scheda sintetica che evidenza le caratteristiche principali: titolo, referenti INGV, studenti partecipanti, periodo, descrizione delle attività, obiettivi e considerazioni sull’esperienza. Nel capitolo conclusivo viene proposto un bilancio delle esperienze realizzate, evidenziando punti di forza e aree di miglioramento dei progetti, con la finalità di condividere suggerimenti ed idee per tracciare percorsi formativi maggiormente efficaci nel futuro.

Description: Published

Description: 119-131

Description: 2TM. Divulgazione Scientifica

Description: N/A or not JCR

Description: We present the commented transcription of three rare articles published in 19091910 by Father Atto Maccioni o.f.m. This friar is one of the least known among the many ecclesiastics who cultivated seismology from the 18th century onwards. Maccioni, from 1908 to 1926, managed a seismic observatory at the Sienese convent of the Osservanza. He devised an “Avvisatore”: a device equipped with a modified coherer with respect to those adopted in radiotelegraphic communications, aimed to detect natural radio signals associated with earthquakes. From the few available results it seems that the scholar obtained positive feedback, but the most interesting aspect of the story is that until now it was generally believed that this kind of research began only quite recently [Warwick, 1982]. On the contrary Maccioni may have been the first ever to study a possible electromagnetic precursor, more than a century ago.

Description: Presentiamo la trascrizione commentata di tre rari articoli pubblicati nel 19091910 da padre Atto Maccioni o.f.m., uno dei meno noti tra i tanti ecclesiastici che si sono occupati di sismologia dal XVIII secolo in poi. Maccioni, che dal 1908 al 1926 gestì un osservatorio sismico presso il convento senese dell’Osservanza, aveva ideato l’Avvisatore, un dispositivo munito di un coherer diverso da quelli radiotelegrafici e destinato a rilevare segnali radio naturali associati ai terremoti. Dai pochi risultati disponibili sembra che lo studioso abbia avuto dei riscontri positivi ma l’aspetto più interessante della vicenda è che finora si era creduto che ricerche di questo tipo fossero iniziate solo molto di recente [Warwick, 1982]. Invece Maccioni potrebbe essere stato il primo al mondo a studiare, più di un secolo fa, un ipotetico precursore elettromagnetico.

Description: Published

Description: 1-32

Description: 7T. Variazioni delle caratteristiche crostali e "precursori"

Description: 2TM. Divulgazione Scientifica

Description: N/A or not JCR

Description: Short-term earthquake clustering properties in the Eastern Aegean Sea (Greece) area investigated through the application of an epidemic type stochastic model (Epidemic Type Earthquake Sequence; ETES). The computations are performed in an earthquake catalog covering the period 2008 to 2020 and including 2332 events with a completeness threshold of Mc = 3.1 and separated into two subcatalogs. The first subcatalog is employed for the learning period, which is between 2008/01/01 and 2016/12/31 (N = 1197 earthquakes), and used for the model’s parameters estimation. The second subcatalog from 2017/01/01 to 2020/11/10 (1135 earthquakes), in which the sequences of 2017 Mw = 6.4 Lesvos, 2017 Mw = 6.6 Kos and 2020 Mw = 7.0 Samos main shocks are included, and used for a retrospective forecast testing based on the constructed model. The estimated model parameters imply a swarm like behavior, indicating the ability of earthquakes of small to moderate magnitude above Mc to produce their own offsprings, along with the stronger earthquakes. The retrospective evaluation of the model is examined in the three aftershock sequences, where lack of foreshocks resulted in low predictability of the mainshocks, with estimated daily probabilities around 10– 5. Immediately after the mainshocks occurrence the model adjusts with notable resemblance between the expected and observed aftershock rates, particularly for earthquakes with M ≥ 3.5.

Description: Published

Description: 1085–1099

Description: 6T. Studi di pericolosità sismica e da maremoto

Description: JCR Journal

Description: The best chance to achieve a future disaster-resilient society is through risk education in School: it has a great potential to strengthen capacity of communities to mitigate risks. The KnowRISK (Know your city, Reduce seISmic risK through non-structural elements) project took this opportunity and implemented a risk communication campaign for schools in Portugal, Italy, and Iceland. The idea was that suitably changes in people’s knowledge and attitude can trigger best practices. Crucial to reach such target is the raise of awareness on meaningful issues. The main challenge of the campaign was how to effectively address the mitigation of the vulnerability to earthquakes of non-structural elements, which is an issue considered to be of low priority even in the building regulations of many countries around the world. The campaign stood on a communication strategy that was systematized within a protocol, for 13- 15 years old students, that specifies goals, contents, learning strategy, support material, and relies on face-to-face intervention of scientists in the classroom. This protocol had training sessions bounded by assessment sessions, ex-ante and ex-post, that allowed to validate its efficacy. The training made large use of flipped learning and Episode of Situated Learning (EAS) strategy to raise student’s motivation and increase achievements. To ensure its replicability, the protocol was tested in zones matching a wide range of seismic hazard in Italy. The assessment showed the protocol be effective and ready for a wide dissemination.

Description: Published

Description: SE325

Description: 2TM. Divulgazione Scientifica

Description: JCR Journal

Description: This work presents an up-to-date model for the simulation of non-stationary ground motions, including several novelties compared to the original study of Sabetta and Pugliese (Bull Seism Soc Am 86:337–352, 1996). The selection of the input motion in the framework of earthquake engineering has become progressively more important with the growing use of nonlinear dynamic analyses. Regardless of the increasing availability of large strong motion databases, ground motion records are not always available for a given earthquake scenario and site condition, requiring the adoption of simulated time series. Among the different techniques for the generation of ground motion records, we focused on the methods based on stochastic simulations, considering the time- frequency decomposition of the seismic ground motion. We updated the non-stationary stochastic model initially developed in Sabetta and Pugliese (Bull Seism Soc Am 86:337–352, 1996) and later modified by Pousse et al. (Bull Seism Soc Am 96:2103–2117, 2006) and Laurendeau et al. (Nonstationary stochastic simulation of strong ground-motion time histories: application to the Japanese database. 15 WCEE Lisbon, 2012). The model is based on the S-transform that implicitly considers both the amplitude and frequency modulation. The four model parameters required for the simulation are: Arias intensity, significant duration, central frequency, and frequency bandwidth. They were obtained from an empirical ground motion model calibrated using the accelerometric records included in the updated Italian strong-motion database ITACA. The simulated accelerograms show a good match with the ground motion model prediction of several amplitude and frequency measures, such as Arias intensity, peak acceleration, peak velocity, Fourier spectra, and response spectra.

Description: Published

Description: 3287–3315

Description: 5T. Sismologia, geofisica e geologia per l'ingegneria sismica

Description: JCR Journal

Description: Probabilistic earthquake locations provide confidence intervals for the hypocentre solutions such as errors encountered in the position, the origin time, and in magnitude. If the relationship of the parameters relative to the local arrangement of the seismic network is considered, such as the node distance, the number of stations, the seismic gap, and the quality of phase readings), the uncertainties can then provide insights on the location capability of the network. In this paper, we collect the earthquake data recorded from the Italian Seismic Network for a time span of 5 years. The data pertain to three different catalogues according to the progressive refinement phases of the location procedure: automatic location, revised location, and published location. By means of spatial analysis,we assess the distribution of the location-related and network-related estimators across the study area. These estimators are subsequently combined to assess the existence of spatial correlations at a local scale. The results indicate that the Italian network is generally able to provide robust locations at the national scale and for smaller earthquakes, and the elongated shape of Italy (and of its network) does not cause systematic bias in the locations. However, we highlight the existence of subregions in which the performance of the network is weaker. At present, a unique 2D, 3-layer velocity model is used for the earthquake location procedure, and this could represent the main limitation for the improvement of the locations. Therefore, the assessment of locally optimized velocity models is the priority for the homogenization and the improvement of the Italian Seismic Network performance.

Description: Published

Description: 1061–1076

Description: 1IT. Reti di monitoraggio e sorveglianza

Description: JCR Journal

Description: In aree di vulcanismo attivo e recente, oltre all’emissione di vapore e gas dai crateri centrali, si possono verificare emissioni di gas dal suolo che vengono rilasciati in modo diffuso o in mofete, o ancora che si disciolgono in acquiferi superficiali. Generalmente il gas più abbondante (fino al 99 vol.%) è l’anidride carbonica (CO2), ma in alcuni casi può essere anche il metano (CH4). La CO2 è un gas incolore e inodore che tende ad accumularsi in depressioni o scantinati dove ristagna in assenza di vento. Respirare aria con una concentrazione di anidride carbonica maggiore di 8 vol.% può condurre all’incoscienza o alla morte. Un esempio di quello che potrebbe accadere, anche se si tratta di un caso estremo, è rappresentato dal tragico evento avvenuto presso il lago Nyos in Camerun (un lago ospitato in un cratere vulcanico). Durante la notte del 21 agosto 1986 le acque del lago, sature di CO2, si rovesciarono improvvisamente e per decompressione si liberò una enorme quantità di gas che scese lungo i fianchi del cratere fino a raggiungere la valle sottostante dove vi era un villaggio. La nube di CO2, silenziosa e inodore, colse nel sonno gli abitanti e uccise circa 1700 persone e circa 3000 capi di bestiame [Barberi et al., 1986]. Numerosi incidenti dovuti all’inalazione di gas vulcanici sono avvenuti in varie altre parti del mondo, in particolare in Italia, Giappone, Nuova Zelanda [Hansell and Oppenheimer, 2004; Durand and Wilson, 2005] e nelle Isole Azzorre (Portogallo) [Viveiros et al., 2015]. Anche in Italia, purtroppo sono avvenuti diversi incidenti letali dovuti ad inalazione di CO2; si ricorda ad esempio che alla fine degli anni ’80 due bambini persero la vita nell’isola di Vulcano [Baubron et al., 1990] e ancora nel complesso vulcanico dei Colli Albani due uomini persero la vita, il primo a Cava dei Selci (frazione di Marino) nel 2000 e il secondo a Lavinio nel 2011 [Carapezza et al., 2003; Barberi et al., 2019]. Sempre in provincia di Roma, numerosi casi di intossicazione da CO2, che hanno altresì comportato l’evacuazione temporanea di alcune abitazioni, sono avvenuti per blowout (emissione incontrollata) di gas da pozzi d’acqua [Barberi et al., 2007; Carapezza et al., 2020]. La Campania ospita due dei vulcani quiescenti considerati tra i più pericolosi al mondo proprio per l’alta densità di popolazione che vive nelle zone esposte al pericolo: il Vesuvio e i Campi Flegrei. Anche in queste aree vulcaniche si hanno emissioni di gas endogeni e falde d’acqua ricche in CO2 e in caso di riattivazione del vulcano c’è da aspettarsi anche un forte incremento del rilascio del gas endogeno [Barberi et al., 2005]. Al fine di far conoscere tale problematica alla popolazione, si è ritenuto opportuno di agire sui ragazzi e di farlo in modo stimolante e divertente attraverso un Videogioco che catturi la loro attenzione in modo da portarli a scoprire le soluzioni più adeguate da adottare per individuare/evitare/gestire i pericoli legati a quello che spesso viene definito anche “carburante delle eruzioni”, i gas vulcanici. Le attività che hanno portato alla realizzazione di questo lavoro (e nello specifico del videogioco) sono state svolte nell’ambito del Progetto Europeo RESPIRE – Radon rEal time monitoring System and proactive Indoor Remediation (LIFE16ENV/IT/000553) e con la collaborazione di un Tirocinante del Dipartimento di Ingegneria dell’Informazione ed Elettrica e Matematica Applicata dell’Università degli Studi di Salerno. Il lavoro è stato descritto e sintetizzato in questo Report attraverso varie sezioni. La prima in cui si descrive la problematica dei Gas Vulcanici e della loro pericolosità; l’importanza e i vantaggi derivati dall’utilizzo di un videogioco come strumento di apprendimento; l’obiettivo che il videogioco si prefigge di raggiungere. Una seconda sezione in cui, in prima istanza, si evidenzia l’importanza di sviluppare un videogioco a partire da un Motore Grafico che consente di tralasciare i dettagli hardware e software di basso livello e di concentrarsi maggiormente sull’interattività e sulle regole del gioco, e in seconda istanza si descrivono le caratteristiche principali del motore grafico alla base del gioco (RPG Maker MV).Una terza sezione in cui viene presentato il videogioco sviluppato denominato “GioGas”; nello specifico, la sua trama, l’interfaccia grafica che lo caratterizza e alcuni sui dettagli implementativi. Infine, una sezione in cui vengono descritti gli sviluppi futuri come ad esempio la divulgazione presso le scuole e in occasione di eventi, l’implementazione di una versione multiplayer del gioco al fine di aggiungere ulteriori elementi di stimolo e di coinvolgimento per lo studente.

Description: Published

Description: 6SR VULCANI – Servizi e ricerca per la società

Description: N/A or not JCR

Description: This paper provides a new contribution to the construction of the complex and fragmentary mosaic of the Late Holocene earthquakes history of the İznik segment of the central strand of the North Anatolian Fault (CNAF) in Turkey. The CNAF clearly displays lower dextral slip rates with respect to the northern strand however, surface rupturing and large damaging earthquakes (M 〉 7) occurred in the past, leaving clear signatures in the built and natural environments. The association of these historical events to specific earthquake sources (e.g., Gemlik, İznik, or Geyve fault segments) is still a matter of debate. We excavated two trenches across the İznik fault trace near Mustafali, a village about 10 km WSW of İznik where the morphological fault scarp was visible although modified by agricultural activities. Radiocarbon and TL dating on samples collected from the trenches show that the displaced deposits are very recent and span the past 2 millennia at most. Evidence for four surface faulting events was found in the Mustafali trenches. The integration of these results with historical data and previous paleoseismological data yields an updated Late Holocene history of surface-rupturing earthquakes along the İznik Fault in 1855, 740 (715), 362, and 121 CE. Evidence for the large M7 + historical earthquake dated 1419 CE generally attributed to this fault, was not found at any trench site along the İznik fault nor in the subaqueous record. This unfit between paleoseismological, stratigraphic, and historical data highlights one more time the urge for extensive paleoseismological trenching and offshore campaigns because of the high potential to solve the uncertainties on the seismogenic history (age, earthquake location, extent of the rupture and size) of this portion of NAFZ and especially on the attribution of historical earthquakes to the causative fault.

Description: Published

Description: 115–128

Description: 2T. Deformazione crostale attiva

Description: N/A or not JCR

Description: PGS1 is a new compact portable seismic station, designed at INGV OBS and Earth Lab, that is specifically intended for the deployment of dense arrays of seismographs on-shore. With its low cost, compact design, high data-quality and long battery life, PGS1 is a perfect solution for seismic monitoring networks. PGS1 design is based on a solid polypropylene suitcase, containing a complete data acquisition system, two battery packs and a photovoltaic panel. The new Earth Lab 5s medium-period seismic sensor is included. The whole system meets the IP67 standard requirements both in transport and in acquisition configuration. PGS1 is normally equipped with one battery pack, one more pack can be added inside the suitcase achieving 40 days of battery life. The station is equipped with a photovoltaic panel, useful to extend the deployment length. Inside the suitcase, there are compartments where to store the seismic sensor, the photovoltaic panel and all the cables. Therefore, the station is very easy to transport.

Description: Published

Description: SE105

Description: 1IT. Reti di monitoraggio e sorveglianza

Description: JCR Journal

Description: Low field magnetic susceptibility and other rock magnetic analyses are applied to inspect the magnetic nature of solid residuals in snow samples collected in downtown Rome and in two Natural Parks in central Italy. Field emission scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive spectroscopy (FESEM-EDS) analyses are utilized to reveal the nature of Fe-rich particles and discriminate their anthropogenic origin. The results indicate that magnetite (Fe3O4) is the main magnetic carrier in almost all samples and that the variations in concentration are directly associated with local sources of particulate matter (PM) from anthropogenic pollution related to automotive circulation in both environments. Magnetic minerals of other provenance are found as accessories. The snow deposits revealed to be an efficient neutral tool for fine particle collections, also in environments characterized by different concentration and source of pollutants.

Description: Published

Description: GM215

Description: 1A. Geomagnetismo e Paleomagnetismo

Description: JCR Journal

Description: The 1971 eruption represents a benchmark in the recent history of Etna volcano. From a volcanological point of view, this eruption was characterised by complex intrusive dynamics associated with significant ground deformation that induced the activation of the Moscarello seismogenic fault and the formation of a new summit crater: the Southeast Crater. At the same time, the 1971 event marks an important change in the eruptive style and composition of the magma towards products richer in K. It is no coincidence that, over the next fifty years, there would be an increase in the frequency of summit and flank eruptions and associated output rate. From an historical viewpoint, the eruptive event of 1971 was the first important flank eruption studied by the International Institute of Volcanology: the analysis of the scientific articles on this activity reveals a greater multidisciplinary content in the descriptions and explanations of volcanic activity. Particularly important were the collaborations of British and French research groups that, together with their Italian colleagues, succeeded in giving a complete picture of the eruption and describing the state of knowledge on the Sicilian volcano. The multidisciplinary methodology used to study this eruption is still valid today.

Description: Published

Description: VO543

Description: 1V. Storia eruttiva

Description: JCR Journal

Description: This study analyses the relationship between the pre- and protohistoric sites on the slopes of Etna and the volcanic products, as well as the diverse settlement strategies in the different periods of prehistory. New C14 dating from significant excavations, in addition to those known from other Etnean sites, were performed with the aim of validating the chronology of the sequence of the different phases. A substantial concordance of the archaeological data with the volcanological ones has been found. It has been observed that a consistent human presence on Etna appears from the Middle Neolithic (5500 BC), after the sequence of eruptive events that marked the end of the Ellittico volcano (13550 - 13050 BC) and the formation of the Valle del Bove, and the subsequent debris and alluvial events on the eastern flanks of the volcano (7250 - 3350 BC). Human presence intensifies between the Late-Final Copper Age and the Early Bronze Age (2800 - 1450 BC), due to improvement in subsistence techniques and to the large presence of soils on lava flows suitable for sheep farming. The most recent phases of the Bronze Age are poorly represented, probably because of the concentration of the population in larger agglomerations (Montevergine and S. Paolillo at Catania, the Historical Hill at Paternò). The explosive eruptions taking place in this period seem to have had less impact on the settlement choices and have not affected the development of the sites over time.

Description: Published

Description: VO542

Description: 1V. Storia eruttiva

Description: JCR Journal

Description: This special issue of Annals of Geophysics entitled: “When Volcanologists Meet Archaeologists and Other Disciplines: Relationships Between Eruptions and Human Communities” originates from a session (S13) of the Rittmann International Conference which took place in Catania on February 13th 2020, having as its main theme the history of volcanology and the impact of volcanic activity on humans. The twelve articles collected in this special issue reflect the aims and contents of the reports presented by some participants at this session of the Rittmann conference

Description: Published

Description: 6SR VULCANI – Servizi e ricerca per la società

Description: JCR Journal

Description: Published

Description: 6TM. Poli Museali

Description: The Western Ionian Sea is characterised by an active and diffuse seismicity, directly related to the convergence of the European and African Plates and by gravitational sinking and rollback of the oceanic lithosphere. In this area, the location of earthquakes is characterised by considerable uncertainties due to large azimuthal gaps, resulting in notable location errors. This problem was partially overcome with the use of data recorded by NEMO-SN1 seafloor observatory (October 2002 - February 2003; June 2012 - May 2013). We relocated 1130 crustal and sub-crustal earthquakes using land network and NEMO-SN1 data. As most events occurred on Mt. Etna, we focused on 358 earthquakes in the offshore area and near the coasts of Sicily and Calabria. The use of the combined land-marine networks has improved the earthquake locations in terms of azimuthal GAP, as well as in horizontal and vertical errors. The comparison between locations performed with and without NEMO-SN1 data shows that differences in latitude, longitude and depths are more evident in the Western Ionian Sea and in the coast of Sicily, where values of the differences over 5 km correspond to structural heterogeneities. The increased number of seismic stations deployed on land from 2003 to 2012 did not influence the location of events occurring offshore, where NEMO-SN1 continued to be the distinctive tool in the location process. Moreover, the new 73 focal mechanisms computed with P-wave polarities from NEMO-SN1 and land stations are in agreement with the regional structural model, showing a prevalent normal, normal/oblique, and strike-slip kinematics. The similarity of two new focal solutions with the mechanisms of the main shock and aftershock of the 1990 earthquake demonstrates that the seismic structures are still active and potentially dangerous. The P-wave travel time residual analysis confirms the activity along the main structural alignments. A single point of observation in the Ionian Sea can significantly improve the quality of locations, giving an opportunity to focus on the seismogenic structures responsible for the occurrence of medium-to-high magnitude earthquakes.

Description: Published

Description: Se655

Description: 1T. Struttura della Terra

Description: JCR Journal

Description: The 8 September 1905 Calabria earthquake is the seismic event for which the Italian Seismic Catalogue shows the highest instrumental magnitude of the whole dataset. However, the reported MS = 7.47 was calculated over only two stations, and leaves room for a revision. In this work I provide a new estimate of the surface-wave magnitude of the earthquake calculated over sixteen individual values of magnitude from seven different stations. The new estimate is MS = 7.10 ± 0.21, a value that is consistently lined up with other estimates provided by means of macroseismic or geological evidence. The novel estimate is stable despite alternative epicentral locations and different depths proposed for this event by several investigators. The net variation of almost half a unit magnitude implies a resizing of the seismogenic source of the event in the frame of the seismotectonics of the region, and highlights the strong need for a systematic revision of the instrumental magnitude estimates for several ‘historical’ earthquakes that occurred at the dawning of the instrumental seismology.

Description: Published

Description: SE658

Description: 4T. Sismicità dell'Italia

Description: JCR Journal

Description: Usually seismicity is intended as a natural phenomenon; yet the recording and interpretation of data are a human undertaking, historically conditioned. This research starts from the hypothesis that the decrease in Italian seismicity observed in the historical catalog [Rovida et al., 2021] for the central years of the twentieth century is due to the social and political conditioning that hindered its registration. This work, which focuses on the 1930s, with a brief excursion into previous years, presents part of the results obtained. In particular, the article deals with three earthquakes of which the data are substantially updated (Calabria, 7.03.1928; Alpi Noriche, 14.05.1930; Valli Giudicarie, 14.04.1931); then it presents an important replica of the strong Maiella earthquake, without macroseismic data in the catalog [Rovida et al., 2021], (Maiella, 23.11.1933); finally it considers a “forgotten” fifth earthquake (Southern Italy, 13.04.1938).

Description: Published

Description: 1-78

Description: 4T. Sismicità dell'Italia

Description: JCR Journal

Description: The Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) was born from the unification of public research institutions in the field of geophysics and volcanology. In the first twenty years from the foundation law of 1999, the INGV has seen a remarkable development, alternating moments of expansion, with significant increases in funding and number of employees, with long periods of stagnation. During these years the number of people hired with fixed-term contracts has grown, also to meet the needs of seismic and volcanic monitoring of the Italian territory, carried out on the basis of agreements with the Department of Civil Protection. After twenty years, it's time to outline a picture of the present situation and the evolutionary process that determined it. With this objective, the following analysis of the evolution of INGV was carried out in the period between its establishment and 2019, with reference to aspects such as the composition of the personnel, its distribution in the Sections, age, gender, role, career, with the aim of providing a tool for evaluating the progress made and planning future developments. The presence of a large number of precarious workers, distributed unevenly in territorial offices, for many years represented the main problem of the INGV, but not the only one. The contraction of the funding and the hiring freeze also slowed the development of the careers of researchers and other employers. The poor gender balance among the personnel, in particular among researchers, and the high average age represents further critical elements. The appropriate rebalancing of heterogeneities, aimed at maximum functionality and effective growth of the institute, should be the challenge for the next years. The future of INGV will depend on the choices that will be made today and the knowledge of the evolution of the institution until today is an essential element for proper programming.

Description: Published

Description: 1-92

Description: 3TM. Comunicazione

Description: JCR Journal

Description: In this paper the site categorization criteria and the corresponding site amplification factors proposed in the 2021 draft of Part 1 of Eurocode 8 (2021-draft, CEN/TC250/SC8 Working Draft N1017) are first introduced and compared with the current version of Eurocode 8, as well as with site amplification factors from recent empirical ground motion prediction equations. Afterwards, these values are checked by two approaches. First, a wide dataset of strong motion records is built, where recording stations are classified according to 2021-draft, and the spectral amplifications are empirically estimated computing the site-to-site residuals from regional and global ground motion models for reference rock conditions. Second, a comprehensive parametric numerical study of one-dimensional (1D) site amplification is carried out, based on randomly generated shear-wave velocity profiles, classified according to the new criteria. A reasonably good agreement is found by both approaches. The most relevant discrepancies occur for the shallow soft soil conditions (soil category E) that, owing to the complex interaction of shear wave velocity, soil deposit thickness and frequency range of the excitation, show the largest scatter both in terms of records and of 1D numerical simulations. Furthermore, 1D numerical simulations for soft soil conditions tend to provide lower site amplification factors than 2021-draft, as well as lower than the corresponding site-to-site residuals from records, because of higher impact of non-linear (NL) site effects in the simulations. A site-specific study on NL effects at three KiK-net stations with a significantly large amount of high-intensity recorded ground motions gives support to the 2021-draft NL reduction factors, although the very limited number of recording stations allowing such analysis prevents deriving more general implications. In the presence of such controversial arguments, it is reasonable that a standard should adopt a prudent solution, with a limited reduction of the site amplification factors to account for NL soil response, while leaving the possibility to carry out site-specific estimations of such factors when sufficient information is available to model the ground strain dependency of local soil properties.

Description: Published

Description: 4199–4234

Description: 5T. Sismologia, geofisica e geologia per l'ingegneria sismica

Description: JCR Journal

Description: ShakeMap is the tool to evaluate the ground motion effect of earthquakes in vast areas. It is useful to delimit the zones where the shaking is expected to have been most significant, for civil defense rapid response. From the earthquake engineering point of view, it can be used to infer the seismic actions on the built environment to calibrate vulnerability models or to define the reconstruction policies based on observed damage vs shaking. In the case of long-lasting seismic sequences, it can be useful to develop ShakeMap envelopes, that is, maps of the largest ground intensity among those from the ShakeMap of (selected) events of a seismic sequence, to delimit areas where the effects of the whole sequence have been of structural engineering relevance. This study introduces ShakeMap envelopes and discusses them for the central Italy 2016–2017 seismic sequence. The specific goals of the study are: (i) to compare the envelopes and the ShakeMap of the main events of the sequence to make the case for sequence-based maps; (ii) to quantify the exceedance of design seismic actions based on the envelopes; (iii) to make envelopes available for further studies and the reconstruction planning; (iv) to gather insights on the (repeated) exceedance of design seismic actions at some sites. Results, which include considerations of uncertainty in ShakeMap, show that the sequence caused exceedance of design hazard in thousands of square kilometers. The most relevant effects of the sequence are, as expected, due to the mainshock, yet seismic actions larger than those enforced by the code for structural design are found also around the epicenters of the smaller magnitude events. At some locations, the succession of ground-shaking that has excited structures, provides insights on structural damage accumulation that has likely taken place; something that is not accounted for explicitly in modern seismic design. The envelopes developed are available as supplemental material.

Description: Published

Description: 5391–5414

Description: 5T. Sismologia, geofisica e geologia per l'ingegneria sismica

Description: JCR Journal

Description: This contribution illustrates the state of the art on the development of the multiparametric network in Sicily in the last three years. This region is wellknown for the strong earthquakes (M〉6.5) which struck in historic time. However, the coverage of the seismic network developed in the last decades was not fully optimized to the need of the seismic surveillance. Since 2017, the group belonging to the National Earthquake Observatory (ONT) which operates in Sicily launched a developing plan of the preexisting seismic network in the framework of the project FISR “Sale Operative Integrate e Reti di Monitoraggio del futuro: l’INGV 2.0 (S.O.I.R.)”. Such update will end by the next years thanks to the project “GRINT Italian Research Infrastructure for Geosciences” in the framework of the “Programma Operativo Nazionale” (PON) of the Italian Ministry for the University and Research. This plan envisages both the upgrade of monitoring systems in the already existing nodes, and the integration of new nodes. The main objective is to build a multiparametric network which integrates the main seismic network, with the monitoring of other geophysical signals through the implementation of other sensors: accelerometers, geodetic GPS, radon detectors, and corner reflectors. We also illustrate the plan for the realization of a redundant network which could support the tasks of the main infrastructure in case of failure of the latter. Finally, we present some experimental urbanscale networks which in the future could support the main infrastructure.

Description: Published

Description: 1-40

Description: 1IT. Reti di monitoraggio e sorveglianza

Description: JCR Journal

Description: The present paper describes the process of moving from a research study of most common vulnerable non-structural elements, to deliver solutions, tools and guidelines to improve understanding of and responsiveness to community concerns about seismic risk and non-structural elements. The observed damage to non-structural elements following recent earthquakes in Italy, Portugal and Iceland, were used for designing communication tools under the KnowRISK EU project for multi-stakeholders (students, business and citizens): the Practical Guide, the Students Short Guide, the KnowRISK Portfolio of Solutions, the Move, Protect and Secure video, the augmented reality apps, the maquettes, the students notebooks, videos, board games and hands-on tools. The philosophy behind these deliverables is that some risks, once identified, can be eliminated or reduced by informing people and suggesting preventive or emergency measures. These tools are devoted to improving the seismic performance of non-structural elements and to reduce the associated economic losses, loss of functionality, and potential threats to life safety. The rationale behind the selection of the information that people need to know for converting knowledge to more safety is discussed and a description of the transference of the findings of research to communication solutions is presented. The tools were planned following the engagement-model in risk communication to ensure that needs of communities and selected stakeholders were acknowledged, and that recipients are addressed in a way that appeals to them. Different media and communication channels such as print, television, online, face-to face communication and interviews were used for risk communication.

Description: This study was co-financed by the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection (Grant agreement ECHO/SUB/2015/718655/PREV28).

Description: Published

Description: SE322

Description: 5T. Sismologia, geofisica e geologia per l'ingegneria sismica

Description: JCR Journal

Description: The lava platform and the three pyroclastic cones of Vulcanello constitute the northernmostvolcanic structure of the island of Vulcano (Aeolian Islands). The sandy isthmus connecting theplatform to the main island was definitively formed in the first half of the 1500s; before then,Vulcano and Vulcanello were two close but separate islands. For a long time, the interpretation ofthe sources of the II-I century BC, had considered the islet as built up about 2200 years ago. Thisbelief, which proliferated among naturalists from the 17th century, is not confirmed in the ancienttexts or even in the geographical documents of the time, which do not indicate the presence ofVulcanello as a new and stable island near Vulcano. The islet would only be mentioned at the dawnof the second millennium, and named in Arabic “Gabal’ al Burkān”, meaning Mount of Vulcano;shortly thereafter the toponym changed to the Latin “Insulam Vulcanelli” and then, towards the15th century, finally to Vulcanello.Since the creation of a volcanic island certainly occurred in the Aeolian Islands in the classical era,but traces of it were quickly lost, the most plausible hypothesis is that it was formed in the area ofthe current Vulcanello, to be subsequently erased by the sea. The shallow, flat seabed, likelyremaining as a result of sea abrasion, might have represented the morphological element on whichthe circular lava platform we know today was formed sometime between 950 and 1000 AD.

Description: Published

Description: VO548

Description: 1V. Storia eruttiva

Description: JCR Journal

Description: Il mondo della Ricerca e dell ’Innovazione Tecnologica per sua natura è sempre in evoluzione, ed accompagnato da normative in materia di Sicurezza e Salute non sempre conosciute o applicate. La particolare enfasi data alla formazione nel quadro normativo riguardante la Sicurezza e Salute nei luoghi di lavoro, sia a livello nazionale che comunitario, dimostra e determina l’importanza attribuita a tale processo, non solo come mezzo elettivo per la diffusione della cultura della Sicurezza a tutti i livelli , ma anche, e soprattutto, come misura generale di tutela.

Description: Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia

Description: Published

Description: 1-54

Description: 1TM. Formazione

Description: N/A or not JCR

Description: Analyzing seismic data to get information about earthquakes has always been a major task for seismologists and, more in general, for geophysicists. Recently, thanks to the technological development of observation systems, more and more data are available to perform such tasks. However, this data “grow up” makes “human possibility” of data processing more complex in terms of required efforts and time demanding. That is why new technological approaches such as artificial intelligence are becoming very popular and more and more exploited. In this paper, we explore the possibility of interpreting seismic waveform segments by means of pre-trained deep learning. More specifically, we apply convolutional networks to seismological waveforms recorded at local or regional distances without any pre-elaboration or filtering. We show that such an approach can be very successful in determining if an earthquake is “included” in the seismic wave image and in estimating the distance between the earthquake epicenter and the recording station.

Description: Published

Description: 1347–1359

Description: 1T. Struttura della Terra

Description: 3T. Fisica dei terremoti e Sorgente Sismica

Description: JCR Journal

Description: Themain climatological features of the ionospheric equivalent slab thickness (τ ) for the Northern hemispheremidlatitudes are analyzed. F2-layer peak electron density values recorded at three midlatitude ionospheric stations (Chilton 51.5° N, 0.6° W, U.K.; Roquetes 40.8° N, 0.5° E, Spain;Wallops Island 37.9° N, 75.5°W, USA) and vertical total electron content values from colocated ground-based Global Navigation Satellite System receivers are used to calculate a dataset of τ values for the last two solar cycles, considering only magnetically quiet periods. Results are presented both as grids of binned medians and as boxplots as a function of local time and month of the year, for different solar activity levels. Corresponding trends are first compared to those output by the midlatitude empirical model developed by Fox et al. (Radio Sci 26:429–438, 1991) and then discussed in the light of what is known so far. From this investigation, the strong need to implement an improved empirical model of τ has emerged. Both Space Weather and Space Geodesy applications might benefit from such model. Therefore, both the dataset and the methodology described in the paper represent a first fundamental step aimed at implementing an empirical climatological model of the ionospheric equivalent slab thickness. The study highlighted also that at midlatitudes τ shows the following main patterns: daytime values considerably smaller than nighttime ones (except in summer); well-defined maxima at solar terminator hours; a greater dispersion during nighttime and solar terminator hours; no clear and evident solar activity dependence.

Description: Published

Description: 124

Description: 2A. Fisica dell'alta atmosfera

Description: JCR Journal

Description: Within a fault governing model the characteristic scale length is one of the most relevant physical parameters because it accounts for the so–called fracture energy (density) of the system, its dynamics, the time during which the accumulated stress is released and the seismic waves are excited, the amount of slip developed during an instability event. Friction laboratory experiments reveal that it is not a material property, but that it changes with the sliding velocity. We propose two rather different analytical models to fit laboratory evidence and we incorporate them into a fault model able to simulate repeated earthquakes in the framework of various formulations of rate and state friction. We demonstrate that temporal variations of the scale length do not prevent the system to reach its limit cycle, but they systematically reduce the magnitude of the expected event (both in term of developed slip, and thus seismic moment, and released stress) and also reduce the inter–event time (recurrence interval). Depending on the friction model, the system can penetrate into the stable regime and can either continue the accelerating phase toward to failure or decelerate and abort instability.

Description: Published

Description: SE217

Description: 3T. Fisica dei terremoti e Sorgente Sismica

Description: JCR Journal

Description: The eruption of basaltic magmas dominates explosive volcanism on Earth and other planets within the Solar System. The mechanism through which continuous magma fragments into volcanic particles is central in governing eruption dynamics and the ensuing hazards. However, the mechanism of fragmentation of basaltic magmas is still disputed, with both viscous and brittle mechanisms having been proposed. Here we carry out textural analysis of the products of ten eruptions from seven volcanoes by scanning electron microscopy. We find broken crystals surrounded by intact glass that testify to the brittle fragmentation of basaltic magmas during explosive activity worldwide. We then replicated the natural textures of broken crystals in laboratory experiments where variably crystallized basaltic melt was fragmented by rapid deformation. The experiments reveal that crystals are broken by the propagation of a network of fractures through magma, and that afterwards the fractures heal by viscous flow of the melt. Fracturing and healing affect gas mobility, stress distribution, and bubble and crystal size distributions in magma. Our results challenge the idea that the grain size distribution of basaltic eruption products reflects the density of fractures that initially fragmented the magma and ultimately indicate that brittle fracturing and viscous healing of magma may underlie basaltic explosive eruptions globally.

Description: Published

Description: 248–254

Description: 4V. Processi pre-eruttivi

Description: 5V. Processi eruttivi e post-eruttivi

Description: JCR Journal

Description: The understanding of the ancient Earth’s Magnetic Field strength, or absolute paleointensity, is fundamental for several disciplines of Earth Sciences. Following the growing interest in this field in the last decades, the number of paleointensity studies has been increasing and the Paleomagnetic Laboratory of the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) in Rome, Italy expanded the instrument park with a ASC TD48SC oven for paleomagnetic and paleointensity measurements. This manual represents an updated version of the original manual “Guida all’uso del forno ASC TD48SC per la stima della paleointensità assoluta con il metodo ThellierThellier modificato” [Di Chiara, 2014]. The aim is to provide a practical guide for paleointensity measurements, using the IZZIThellier experiment and the software Thellier_GUI for the processing of the geomagnetic field strength or paleointensity data.

Description: INGV

Description: Published

Description: 1-20

Description: 1A. Geomagnetismo e Paleomagnetismo

Description: N/A or not JCR

Description: We describe the geochemical characteristics of groundwater samples collected in 23 water wells located on the northern margin of the Hyblean plateau (East Sicily). This area, mostly made of highly permeable carbonate rocks, is rich in low temperature (T 〈 50° C) hydrothermal groundwaters, distributed in an active sismogenetic zone, with several ENE-WSW-directed tectonic structures that drove magma to the surface during Upper Pliocene and Pleistocene. The chemical features suggest complex mixing between rainwater, CO2-rich groundwater, steam-heated groundwater and geothermal brines, as highlighted by Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Some parameters, however, indicate widespread pollution of the aquifers from human activities. Stable isotopes analysis confirms the meteoric origin of groundwater and supports the origin of dissolved CO2 mostly from mantle degassing through deep tectonic faults. Geothermometric estimates, mostly based on quartz and Saturation Indexes geothermometers, suggest minimum reservoir temperature between 100 and 120° C.

Description: Published

Description: HS438

Description: 1TR. Georisorse

Description: JCR Journal

Description: A ground magnetic study was performed on the northern upper flank of Mt. Etna to provide new insights into subsurface volcano-tectonic structures. The high resolution magnetic survey was focused on the main structures of Piano delle Concazze, a large flat area dominated by the North- East crater and bounded by the rim of the Valle del Leone depression and the extremity of the North-East Rift. More than 2,500 measurements were gathered with a sampling step of about 3 m covering an area of about 0.2 km2. The total-intensity anomaly field shows the presence of intense South-North aligned maxima related to shallow geological structures affecting this area. Filtering techniques and 2.5D modeling have been applied for the determination of the magnetic source parameters. In order to distinguish the near surface structure, filters of the vertical derivatives, Butterworth high-pass and the tilt derivative were used. The 3D Euler deconvolution has been applied to estimate the depth and the structural indices of the causative sources. The calculated structural indices, that express the geometrical nature of the source, are in agreement with forward modeling. They show that the area is mainly affected by subvertical normal fault and the estimated depth of magnetic sources ranges between 10 m and 40 m. Our total field magnetic survey shows that characteristic magnetic anomalies are related to fault zones in the Piano delle Concazze that are well consistent with the local tectonics. The subsurface structures that have been detected allowed to delineate the general structural framework of the area. In particular, it was possible to clarify that these structures seem to be not deep rooted and consequently they can hardly act as preferential pathways for magma ascent.

Description: Published

Description: PE108

Description: 2V. Struttura e sistema di alimentazione dei vulcani

Description: JCR Journal

Description: The traction evolution is a fundamental ingredient to model the dynamics of an earthquake rupture which ultimately controls, during the coseismic phase, the energy release, the stress redistribution and the consequent excitation of seismic waves. In the present paper we explore the use of the friction behavior derived from laboratory shear experiments performed on granular materials at low normal stress. We find that the rheological properties emerging from these laboratory experiments can not be described in terms of preexisting governing models already presented in literature; our results indicate that neither rate–and state–dependent friction laws nor nonlinear slip–dependent models, commonly adopted for modeling earthquake ruptures, are able to capture all the features of the experimental data. Then, by exploiting a novel numerical approach, we directly incorporate the laboratory data into a code to simulate the fully dynamic propagation of a 3–D slip failure. We demonstrate that the rheology of the granular material, imposed as fault boundary condition, is dynamically consistent. Indeed, it is able to reproduce the basic features of a crustal earthquake, spontaneously accelerating up to some terminal rupture speed, both sub– and supershear.

Description: Published

Description: SE441

Description: 3T. Fisica dei terremoti e Sorgente Sismica

Description: JCR Journal

Description: INGV

Description: Published

Description: 1-18

Description: 1A. Geomagnetismo e Paleomagnetismo

Description: N/A or not JCR

Description: In the last decade, bottom-up strategies of risk education have raised importance, making seriousgames to become an alternative or complementary teaching tool for enhancing skills for acollaborative and adaptive response to social-ecological challenges. This study describes issues and challenges of serious games implemented within the framework oftwo European projects, namely UPStrat-MAFA (Urban Disaster Prevention Strategies usingMacroseismic Fields and FAult sources) and KnowRISK (Know your city, Reduce seISmic risKthrough non-structural elements); the goal is to instil in young people a proactive attitude towardsthe mitigation of seismic risk. The games were tested in some dissemination events focussed on fostering seismic riskpreparedness in students and improving good practices. We discuss the performance of our gameseven against more standard approaches to risk education. Our experience shows a rise of students’engagement compared to standard learning activities. The games were effective as students wereable to grasp the most relevant actions to reduce risk

Description: Published

Description: SE327

Description: 2TM. Divulgazione Scientifica

Description: JCR Journal

Description: A first combined absolute gravity and GNSS network of 5 stations distributed between Lazio, Umbria and Abruzzo regions, was realized in 2018 in order to lay the basics for a multidisciplinary approach to natural risk assessment in the area of Central Italy, affected by the 2009 and 2016 seismic activity. Up to now, two absolute gravity campaigns were carried out using the transportable Microg LaCoste FG5#238 and the portable A10#39 absolute gravimeters. The locations of gravimetric sites have been chosen indoor to allow optimal condition of measure; therefore, the heights of the indoor sites have been determined by joining the outdoor GNSS with classical topographic surveys. The good results obtained after the campaigns and data processing lay the foundations for a new multidisciplinary approach to study also seismogenetic areas. In this paper, we present the gravity and GNSS station monographs, together with the absolute gravity values and the coordinates resulting from the first field surveys.

Description: Published

Description: 1-26

Description: 4T. Sismicità dell'Italia

Description: JCR Journal

Description: Volcanic activity resumed during early Middle Ages times at Lipari following at least 6000 years of quiescence. This phenomenon occurred in a social context that had continuously developed from prehistoric times to the Roman age and was burdened by a demographic crisis that involved the archipelago between the 6th and 11th century AD. The rare archaeological records relating to the 6th - 11th centuries suggest abrupt changes in the population of the islands. The medieval sources are rich in religious and fantastic references to volcanic events linked to Lipari and Vulcano, testifying the uneasy condition for the human communities. This work concerns the resilience and adaptation of the communities to volcanic activity during the Late Middle Ages in Lipari. Starting from 1083 the Aeolian archipelago was involved in a repopulation program, implemented in 1095 by the Constitutum and organized by the Benedictine Monastery with the annexed S. Bartolomeo Cathedral on the castle. From the 13th century the volcanic phenomena, strictly limited to the northern sector of the island, did not interfere as previously with the anthropic activities. The Monastery will be enlarged in the Norman phase during the first half of the 12th century with the construction of the cloister. New historical documents relating to the 1264, report news of fires and land movements on Lipari. Recent age determinations obtained for the obsidian flow of Rocche Rosse at 1220 ± 30 AD (archaeomagnetic dating) and for an obsidian block of the Lami pyroclastic cone at 1243 ± 190 (fission-track dating) allow to define the age of the last phase of activity of the Monte Pilato-Lami-Rocche Rosse complex, and to associate it the events reported on 1264’s historical documents. This work makes in comparison volcanological, archaeological and historical dates and described an updated summary of one of the lesser known phases of the history of the archipelago. The main consequence of the medieval volcanic activity at Lipari caused a clear division of the territory with the population confined in the southeast quadrant, protected to the north by Serra and Monte Rosa which represented a natural orographic barrier.

Description: Published

Description: VO549

Description: 1V. Storia eruttiva

Description: JCR Journal

Description: This book serves as a guide to discovering the most interesting volcano sites in Italy. Accompanied by some extraordinary contemporary images of active Neapolitan volcanoes, it explains the main volcanic processes that have been shaping the landscape of the Campania region and influencing human settlements in this area since Greek and Roman times and that have prompted leading international scientists to visit and study this natural volcanology laboratory. While volcanology is the central topic, the book also addresses other aspects related to the area’s volcanism and is divided into three sections: 1) Neapolitan volcanic activity and processes (with a general introduction to volcanology and its development around Naples together with descriptions of the landscape and the main sites worth visiting); 2) Volcanoes and their interactions with local human settlements since the Bronze Age, recent population growth and the transformation of the territory; 3) The risks posed by Neapolitan Volcanoes, their recent activity and the problem of forecasting any future eruption.

Description: Published

Description: 2TM. Divulgazione Scientifica

Description: © The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Babbin, A. R., Tamasi, T., Dumit, D., Weber, L., Rodríguez, M. V. I., Schwartz, S. L., Armenteros, M., Wankel, S. D., & Apprill, A. Discovery and quantification of anaerobic nitrogen metabolisms among oxygenated tropical Cuban stony corals. ISME Journal, (2020), doi:10.1038/s41396-020-00845-2.

Description: Coral reef health depends on an intricate relationship among the coral animal, photosynthetic algae, and a complex microbial community. The holobiont can impact the nutrient balance of their hosts amid an otherwise oligotrophic environment, including by cycling physiologically important nitrogen compounds. Here we use 15N-tracer experiments to produce the first simultaneous measurements of ammonium oxidation, nitrate reduction, and nitrous oxide (N2O) production among five iconic species of reef-building corals (Acropora palmata, Diploria labyrinthiformis, Orbicella faveolata, Porites astreoides, and Porites porites) in the highly protected Jardines de la Reina reefs of Cuba. Nitrate reduction is present in most species, but ammonium oxidation is low potentially due to photoinhibition and assimilatory competition. Coral-associated rates of N2O production indicate a widespread potential for denitrification, especially among D. labyrinthiformis, at rates of ~1 nmol cm−2 d−1. In contrast, A. palmata displays minimal active nitrogen metabolism. Enhanced rates of nitrate reduction and N2O production are observed coincident with dark net respiration periods. Genomes of bacterial cultures isolated from multiple coral species confirm that microorganisms with the ability to respire nitrate anaerobically to either dinitrogen gas or ammonium exist within the holobiont. This confirmation of anaerobic nitrogen metabolisms by coral-associated microorganisms sheds new light on coral and reef productivity.

Description: Research was conducted in the Gardens of the Queen, Cuba in accordance with the requirements of the Republic of Cuba, conducted under permit NV2370 and NV2568 issued by the Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores. We gratefully acknowledge funding for this research by MIT Sea Grant award #2018-DOH-49-LEV, Simons Foundation award #622065, and MIT ESI seed funding to ARB, the MIT Montrym, Ferry, and mTerra Seed Grant Funds, and the generous contributions by Dr Bruce L. Heflinger.

Description: © The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Seyler, L. M., Trembath-Reichert, E., Tully, B. J., & Huber, J. A. Time-series transcriptomics from cold, oxic subseafloor crustal fluids reveals a motile, mixotrophic microbial community. Isme Journal, (2020), doi:10.1038/s41396-020-00843-4.

Description: The oceanic crustal aquifer is one of the largest habitable volumes on Earth, and it harbors a reservoir of microbial life that influences global-scale biogeochemical cycles. Here, we use time series metagenomic and metatranscriptomic data from a low-temperature, ridge flank environment representative of the majority of global hydrothermal fluid circulation in the ocean to reconstruct microbial metabolic potential, transcript abundance, and community dynamics. We also present metagenome-assembled genomes from recently collected fluids that are furthest removed from drilling disturbances. Our results suggest that the microbial community in the North Pond aquifer plays an important role in the oxidation of organic carbon within the crust. This community is motile and metabolically flexible, with the ability to use both autotrophic and organotrophic pathways, as well as function under low oxygen conditions by using alternative electron acceptors such as nitrate and thiosulfate. Anaerobic processes are most abundant in subseafloor horizons deepest in the aquifer, furthest from connectivity with the deep ocean, and there was little overlap in the active microbial populations between sampling horizons. This work highlights the heterogeneity of microbial life in the subseafloor aquifer and provides new insights into biogeochemical cycling in ocean crust.

Description: The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation sponsored most of the observatory components at North Pond through grant GBMF1609. This work was supported by NSF OCE-1062006, OCE-1745589 and OCE-1635208 to J.A.H. E.T.R. was supported by a NASA Postdoctoral Fellowship with the NASA Astrobiology Institute and a L’Oréal USA For Women in Science Fellowship. The Center for Dark Energy Biosphere Investigations (C-DEBI OCE-0939564) also supported the participation of J.A.H. and B.T. This is C-DEBI contribution number 548.

Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Coskun, O. K., Vuillemin, A., Schubotz, F., Klein, F., Sichel, S. E., Eisenreich, W., & Orsi, W. D. Quantifying the effects of hydrogen on carbon assimilation in a seafloor microbial community associated with ultramafic rocks. Isme Journal. (2021), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-021-01066-x.

Description: Thermodynamic models predict that H2 is energetically favorable for seafloor microbial life, but how H2 affects anabolic processes in seafloor-associated communities is poorly understood. Here, we used quantitative 13C DNA stable isotope probing (qSIP) to quantify the effect of H2 on carbon assimilation by microbial taxa synthesizing 13C-labeled DNA that are associated with partially serpentinized peridotite rocks from the equatorial Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The rock-hosted seafloor community was an order of magnitude more diverse compared to the seawater community directly above the rocks. With added H2, peridotite-associated taxa increased assimilation of 13C-bicarbonate and 13C-acetate into 16S rRNA genes of operational taxonomic units by 146% (±29%) and 55% (±34%), respectively, which correlated with enrichment of H2-oxidizing NiFe-hydrogenases encoded in peridotite-associated metagenomes. The effect of H2 on anabolism was phylogenetically organized, with taxa affiliated with Atribacteria, Nitrospira, and Thaumarchaeota exhibiting the most significant increases in 13C-substrate assimilation in the presence of H2. In SIP incubations with added H2, an order of magnitude higher number of peridotite rock-associated taxa assimilated 13C-bicarbonate, 13C-acetate, and 13C-formate compared to taxa that were not associated with peridotites. Collectively, these findings indicate that the unique geochemical nature of the peridotite-hosted ecosystem has selected for H2-metabolizing, rock-associated taxa that can increase anabolism under high H2 concentrations. Because ultramafic rocks are widespread in slow-, and ultraslow-spreading oceanic lithosphere, continental margins, and subduction zones where H2 is formed in copious amounts, the link between H2 and carbon assimilation demonstrated here may be widespread within these geological settings.

Description: This work was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation)—Project-ID 364653263—TRR 235 to WDO and WE, and under Germany’s Excellence Strategy—EXC 2077-390741603. The work was also supported by the Dalio Explore Fund and LMU Mentoring Program. Open Access funding enabled and organized by Projekt DEAL.

Description: Single-type hazard and risk assessment is the usual framework followed by disaster risk reduction (DRR) practitioners. There is therefore a need to present and compare the results arising from different hazard and risk types. Here we describe a simple method for combining risk curves arising from different hazard types in order to gain a first impression of the total risk. We show how the resulting total (and individual) risk estimates can be examined and compared using so-called risk matrices, a format preferred by some DRR practitioners. We apply this approach to Cologne, Germany, which is subject to floods, windstorms and earthquakes. We then use a new series of risk calculations that consider epistemic uncertainty. The Mann-Whitney test is applied to determine if the losses arising from pairs of hazards are comparable for a given return period. This benefits decision makers as it allows a ranking of hazards with respect to expected damage. Such a comparison would assist planners in the allocation of resources towards the most efficient mitigation actions. However, the results are dependent upon the distribution of estimates (i.e., level of uncertainty), which is in turn a function of our state of knowledge.

Description: Published

Description: S0216

Description: 7SR AMBIENTE – Servizi e ricerca per la società

Description: JCR Journal

Description: In this paper we present an updated and homogeneous earthquake dataset for Italy compiled by joining the intensities available in the Italian Macroseismic Database DBMI15 and the peak ground motion (PGM) parameters present in the Engineering Strong-Motion (ESM) accelerometric data bank. The database has been compiled through an extensive procedure of evaluation and revision based on two main steps: 1) the selection of the earthquakes in DBMI15 with homogeneous macroseismic intensities in terms of data sources and 2) the extraction of all the localities reporting intensity data which are located within 3 km from the accelerograph stations that recorded the data. The final dataset includes 519 intensity-PGM data pairs from 65 earthquakes and 227 stations in the time span 1972–2016. The reported intensities are expressed either in the Mercalli-Cancani-Sieberg (MCS) or the European macroseismic (EMS-98) scales. The events are characterized by magnitudes in the range 4.1–6.8 and depths in the range 0–55 km. Here, we illustrate the data collection and the properties of the database in terms of recording, event and station distributions as well as macroseismic intensity points. Furthermore, we discuss the most relevant features of engineering interest showing several statistics with reference to the most significant metadata (such as moment magnitude, several distance metrics, style of faulting etc). The dataset is expected to be useful for benchmarking existing and for developing new ground motion intensity conversion equations offering a common basis, and sparing the time and effort required for assembling to the interested researchers. The dataset is available at https://zenodo.org/record/4623732#.YNX-AZMzbdc.

Description: Published

Description: DM102

Description: 4IT. Banche dati

Description: JCR Journal

Description: © The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Castro, S. P., Borton, M. A., Regan, K., de Angelis, I. H., Wrighton, K. C., Teske, A. P., Strous, M., & Ruff, S. E. Degradation of biological macromolecules supports uncultured microbial populations in Guaymas Basin hydrothermal sediments. Isme Journal. (2021), https://doi.org/10.1038/s41396-021-01026-5.

Description: Hydrothermal sediments contain large numbers of uncultured heterotrophic microbial lineages. Here, we amended Guaymas Basin sediments with proteins, polysaccharides, nucleic acids or lipids under different redox conditions and cultivated heterotrophic thermophiles with the genomic potential for macromolecule degradation. We reconstructed 20 metagenome-assembled genomes (MAGs) of uncultured lineages affiliating with known archaeal and bacterial phyla, including endospore-forming Bacilli and candidate phylum Marinisomatota. One Marinisomatota MAG had 35 different glycoside hydrolases often in multiple copies, seven extracellular CAZymes, six polysaccharide lyases, and multiple sugar transporters. This population has the potential to degrade a broad spectrum of polysaccharides including chitin, cellulose, pectin, alginate, chondroitin, and carrageenan. We also describe thermophiles affiliating with the genera Thermosyntropha, Thermovirga, and Kosmotoga with the capability to make a living on nucleic acids, lipids, or multiple macromolecule classes, respectively. Several populations seemed to lack extracellular enzyme machinery and thus likely scavenged oligo- or monomers (e.g., MAGs affiliating with Archaeoglobus) or metabolic products like hydrogen (e.g., MAGs affiliating with Thermodesulfobacterium or Desulforudaceae). The growth of methanogens or the production of methane was not observed in any condition, indicating that the tested macromolecules are not degraded into substrates for methanogenesis in hydrothermal sediments. We provide new insights into the niches, and genomes of microorganisms that actively degrade abundant necromass macromolecules under oxic, sulfate-reducing, and fermentative thermophilic conditions. These findings improve our understanding of the carbon flow across trophic levels and indicate how primary produced biomass sustains complex and productive ecosystems.

Description: We are grateful to the captain and crew of the R/V Atlantis AT37-06 as well as the crew of the human occupied vehicle Alvin for their tireless support. Sampling at Guaymas Basin was supported by NSF (OCE-1357238).

Description: © The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Bayer, B., Saito, M. A., McIlvin, M. R., Lucker, S., Moran, D. M., Lankiewicz, T. S., Dupont, C. L., & Santoro, A. E. (2020). Metabolic versatility of the nitrite-oxidizing bacterium Nitrospira marina and its proteomic response to oxygen-limited conditions. Isme Journal, doi:10.1038/s41396-020-00828-3.

Description: The genus Nitrospira is the most widespread group of nitrite-oxidizing bacteria and thrives in diverse natural and engineered ecosystems. Nitrospira marina Nb-295T was isolated from the ocean over 30 years ago; however, its genome has not yet been analyzed. Here, we investigated the metabolic potential of N. marina based on its complete genome sequence and performed physiological experiments to test genome-derived hypotheses. Our data confirm that N. marina benefits from additions of undefined organic carbon substrates, has adaptations to resist oxidative, osmotic, and UV light-induced stress and low dissolved pCO2, and requires exogenous vitamin B12. In addition, N. marina is able to grow chemoorganotrophically on formate, and is thus not an obligate chemolithoautotroph. We further investigated the proteomic response of N. marina to low (∼5.6 µM) O2 concentrations. The abundance of a potentially more efficient CO2-fixing pyruvate:ferredoxin oxidoreductase (POR) complex and a high-affinity cbb3-type terminal oxidase increased under O2 limitation, suggesting a role in sustaining nitrite oxidation-driven autotrophy. This putatively more O2-sensitive POR complex might be protected from oxidative damage by Cu/Zn-binding superoxide dismutase, which also increased in abundance under low O2 conditions. Furthermore, the upregulation of proteins involved in alternative energy metabolisms, including Group 3b [NiFe] hydrogenase and formate dehydrogenase, indicate a high metabolic versatility to survive conditions unfavorable for aerobic nitrite oxidation. In summary, the genome and proteome of the first marine Nitrospira isolate identifies adaptations to life in the oxic ocean and provides insights into the metabolic diversity and niche differentiation of NOB in marine environments.

Description: We thank John B. Waterbury and Frederica Valois for providing the culture of Nitrospira marina Nb-295T and for continued advice about cultivation. The N. marina genome was sequenced as part of US Department of Energy Joint Genome Institute Community Sequencing Project 1337 to CLD, AES, and MAS in collaboration with the user community. We thank Claus Pelikan for bioinformatic assistance. This research was supported by a Simons Foundation Early Career Investigator in Marine Microbiology and Evolution Award (345889) and US National Science Foundation (NSF) award OCE-1924512 to AES. Proteomics analysis was supported by NSF awards OCE-1924554 and OCE-1850719, and NIH award R01GM135709 to MAS. BB was supported by the Austrian Science Fund (FWF) Project Number: J4426-B (“The influence of nitrifiers on the oceanic carbon cycle”), SL by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) grant 016.Vidi.189.050, and CLD by NSF award OCE-125999.