Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Flood susceptibility assessment in a highly urbanized alluvial fan: the case study of Sala Consilina (southern Italy)

Abstract. This paper deals with the risk assessment to alluvial fan flooding at the piedmont zone of carbonate massifs of the southern Apennines chain (southern Italy). These areas are prime spots for urban development and are generally considered to be safer than the valley floors. As a result, villages and towns have been built on alluvial fans which, during intense storms, may be affected by flooding and/or debris flow processes. The study area is located at the foothills of the Maddalena mountains, an elongated NW-SE trending ridge which bounds to the east the wide intermontane basin of Vallo di Diano. The area comprises a wide detrital talus (bajada) made up by coalescent alluvial fans, ranging in age from the Middle Pleistocene to the Holocene. Historical analysis was carried out to ascertain the state of activity of the fans and to identify and map the zones most hit by past flooding. According to the information gathered, the Sala Consilina fans would appear prone to debris flows; in the past these processes have produced extensive damage and loss of life in the urban area. The watershed basins feeding the fans have very low response times and may produce debris flow events with high magnitudes. Taking into account the historical damage, the fan surface morphology, and the present urban development (street orientation and hydraulic network), the piedmont area was zoned and various susceptibility classes were detected. These results may represent a useful tool for studies aiming at territorial hazard mapping and civil protection interventions.
Ethnopharmacobotany and Diversity of Mediterranean Endemic Plants in Marmilla Subregion, Sardinia, Italy

Human populations in various regions across the world exploit the medicinal properties of plants to treat a wide variety of diseases. Areas with both high rates of endemic taxa and persisting traditional uses of the local botanical resources are key sites for the investigation of Traditional Botanical Knowledge (TBK). Commonly, in these areas, information regarding the medicinal properties of native plants has been transmitted orally from generation to generation, however, a rapid decline in this knowledge has been observed, which can be attributed to socio-economic changes in recent years. The Mediterranean basin is one such site, where human history is intimately entwined with nature. The unique geographical situation and unrivaled environmental heterogeneity of the area, have allowed both the development of diverse civilizations as well as providing the basis for the evolution of extraordinary biodiversity. The Mediterranean basin can therefore be considered a global hotspot of endemic vascular plants, and of traditional knowledge of medicinal and aromatic species. This study researches the historical subregion of Marmilla (central-southern Sardinia, Italy), which was chosen because of its specific cultural and demographic characteristics: i.e., prolonged isolation and extreme longevity of the inhabitants of the area. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 145 people from the region, and 137 medicinal plants belonging to 62 families were identified, of which around 57,3% were taxa exclusive to the Mediterranean Basin. Findings showed that the most used parts of the plant were the leaves (49%), while as far as preparations are concerned, decoction (50%) was the most used to prepare medicinal formulations, making this the highest number of medico-botanical taxa reported in a study carried out in Sardinia using a similar methodology. In addition, this study contributes towards preventing the loss of TBK by documenting the medicinal traditions, passed down orally for centuries, in the words of the participants, shedding new light on the traditional knowledge of the inhabitants of the island. The findings lay the foundations for future applied studies in the fields of phytotherapy and phytochemical investigation.
Review of Characteristics of Low-Permeability Gas Reservoirs in Western United States

Tight gas reservoirs generally are defined as gas-bearing rocks with an in-situ permeability to gas of less than 0.1 md. In 1980, the National Petroleum Council estimated that undiscovered recoverable gas resources in low-permeability (tight) rht) reservoirs in the United States, excluding eastern gas shales, are about 574 tcf (16 × 1012 m3). The possible recovery of this volume of gas was based on $9/mcf (1979 dollars) and a level of recovery technology presently unknown (advanced technology). Most of this resource is in the western United States. The two main types of tight rocks are shallow high-porosity reservoirs and deep low-porosity reservoirs. The high-porosity rocks are tight because of their fine grain size. The low-porosity rocks are tight because diagenetic alteration has resulted in them having small microvugs (porosity) poorly connected by sheet or cracklike, very thin capillaries. The low-porosity rocks are very stress sensitive and may be overpressured, and all tight rocks are susceptible to formation damage to varying degrees during drilling and treatment. The western tight gas reservoirs can be placed in two major geologic and engineering categories: blanket and lenticular. Blanket reservoirs generally respond to artificial stimulation in a predictable manner, whereas the response of lenticular reservoirs is mostly unpredictable. Many obstacles complicate the identification and recovery of gas from these unconventional reservoirs. Accurate borehole-geophysical log analysis is generally difficult, and economic stimulation (commonly artificial fracturing) of the tightest rocks is difficult or impossible with present technology. Geologists and engineers must better understand the characteristics of these reservoirs, work together to improve present recovery technology, and develop new, innovative drilling and stimulation techniques.
The First Transition of the Asian Summer Monsoon, Intraseasonal Oscillation, and Taiwan Mei-yu

Abstract This study reveals the close relationship between the first transition of the Asian summer monsoon (ASM), the tropical intraseasonal oscillation (TISO), and the mei-yu in Taiwan, which occurs climatologically between mid-May and mid-June. For about half of the years in 1958–2002, the first transition of the Asian summer monsoon can be classified as a sharp onset, which is characterized by an abrupt reversal of the monsoon flow from northeasterly to southwesterly. The evolution of the large-scale monsoon circulation and convection in the sharp-onset years is characterized by an eastward-propagating TISO from eastern Africa and the western Indian Ocean to the Maritime Continent. Upon the arrival of the TISO in the Maritime Continent, a sharp onset of the ASM occurs, and a channel supplying moist air in the lower troposphere is well established across the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea (SCS). This channel consists of the Somali jet, transporting the moisture from the Southern Hemisphere to the .
Crustal structure and early Tertiary extensional tectonics of the Omineca belt at 51°N latitude, southern Canadian Cordillera

A crustal cross section through the Omineca belt at the latitude of the Trans-Canada Highway has been drawn to satisfy available surface geological information and Lithoprobe seismic data from this part of the Cordilleran hinterland. Palinspastic restoration of Tertiary normal-sense shear zones leads to the conclusion that the Omineca belt at latitude 51°N was extended in the Eocene by approximately 45 km, 20–25% of the width of the belt. It is shown that the Okanagan–Eagle River fault, which defines the western margin of the Shuswap metamorphic core complex, is likely to have accommodated approximately 30 km of displacement. Restoration of this fault and of 15 km displacement on the Columbia River fault (eastern margin of the Shuswap complex) juxtaposes upper-crustal rocks with similar stratigraphic, structural, and metamorphic characteristics and indicates that the crust was over 50 km thick prior to Eocene extension. Comparison of the crustal geometry in the present and restored sections suggests that .
Increased ice losses from Antarctica detected by CryoSat‐2

We use 3 years of Cryosat‐2 radar altimeter data to develop the first comprehensive assessment of Antarctic ice sheet elevation change. This new data set provides near‐continuous (96%) coverage of the entire continent, extending to within 215 km of the South Pole and leading to a fivefold increase in the sampling of coastal regions where the vast majority of all ice losses occur. Between 2010 and 2013, West Antarctica, East Antarctica, and the Antarctic Peninsula changed in mass by −134 ± 27, −3 ± 36, and −23 ± 18 Gt yr−1, respectively. In West Antarctica, signals of imbalance are present in areas that were poorly surveyed by past missions, contributing additional losses that bring altimeter observations closer to estimates based on other geodetic techniques. However, the average rate of ice thinning in West Antarctica has also continued to rise, and mass losses from this sector are now 31% greater than over the period 2005–2010.
Contamination en métaux traces des sédiments du lac Fouarat (Maroc)

Les agglomerations urbaines de la ville de Kenitra sont susceptibles de perturber l’equilibre ecologique du lac Fouarat, a cause de leur essor demographique et industriel. Les sediments du lac Fouarat ont ete preleves et analyses dans le but de determiner leurs principales caracteristiques. La teneur en metaux et les parametres chimiques ont ete evalues dans la fraction inferieure a 63 µm. Les resultats obtenus montrent que les concentrations metalliques trouvees sont superieures aux concentrations relevees par d’autres travaux sur des temoins (non pollues). La comparaison entre les teneurs en metaux dans les sediments du fond et ceux de surface d’une carotte montre que les teneurs en zinc, en chrome et en cadmium diminuent de la surface vers la profondeur. L’intensite de cette pollution est traduite par le facteur et l’indice de contamination qui montrent une nette contamination de sediments du lac Fouarat.
Stratigraphic evolution of the upper slope and shelf edge in the Karoo Basin, South Africa

The Permian Ecca Group of the Karoo Basin, South Africa preserves an extensive well‐exposed siliciclastic basin floor, slope and shelf‐edge delta succession. The Kookfontein Formation includes multiple sedimentary cycles that display clinoform geometries and are interpreted to represent the deposits of a slope to shelf succession. The succession exhibits progradational followed by aggradational stacking of deltaic cycles that is related to a change in shelf‐edge trajectory, and lies within two depositional sequences. Sediment was transferred to the slope via overextension of deltas onto and over the shelf edge, resulting in failure and re‐adjustment of local slope gradients. The depositional facies and architecture of the Kookfontein Formation record the change from a bypass‐ to accretion‐dominated margin, which is interpreted to reflect a decrease in sediment transport efficiency as the slope gradient decreased, slope length increased and shelf‐edge trajectory rose. During this time the delivery system changed from point‐sourced basin‐floor fans fed by slope channels to starved basin‐floor with sand‐rich slope clinoforms. This is an example of a progradational margin in which the younger slope system is interpreted to be of a different style to the older slope system that fed the underlying sand‐rich basin floor fans.
A sensor for water flux in soil. “Point source” instrument

The theoretical analysis and laboratory calibration of a sensor to measure fluid flux in soil or other porous medium shows that a flow velocity of 10−4 cm sec−1 can be readily measured, and that sensor output is uniquely related to flux. The flow to be measured causes asymmetry in the temperature field,generated by an approximation to a point source of heat located centrally in the instrument. The temperature difference due to this asymmetry gives rise to the output of the instrument.
Problèmes d'environnement liés à l'urbanisation contemporaine dans le système endoreïque d'Essijoumi (Tunisie nord-orientale)

Sur les rives de la sebkha Essijoumi, a l'ouest du centre de Tunis, la croissance demographique est accompagnee d'une extension urbaine soutenue, qui fait des terres agricoles le bassin d'accueil d'une urbanisation le plus souvent non reglementee. L'extension des zones impermeables, l'accroissement de la population et le developpement des activites sont a l'origine d'ecoulements considerables d'eaux de ruissellement et d'eaux usees domestiques et industrielles, qui rejoignent la sebkha Essijoumi, en grande partie par l'intermediaire de l'oued Gueriana. Aujourd'hui, alors que les rives de la sebkha sont constamment marecageuses et que l'eau y persiste meme pendant la periode la plus chaude de l'annee, la pollution du plan d'eau parait complexe, tout a la fois organique, bacteriologique et chimique.En fait, tout un contexte naturel, social et economique a subi une transformation rapide et profonde. La societe occupe et exploite un milieu qui aurait du rester a l'etat naturel ou dont l'amenagement exigeait a tout le moins de nombreuses precautions et une connaissance profonde de sa dynamique.
Assessment of the mobility of trace elements in acidic soils using soil and stream geochemical data

In the coastal areas of Finland and Sweden, widespread acid sulphate soil occurrences (c. 4760 km2), developed on artificially drained Holocene sulphide-bearing sediments, are causing serious environmental problems, such as acidification and metal contamination of surface waters, hydrobiological damage and elemental imbalance in crops. In this study, five acid sulphate soil profiles were geochemically characterized and compared with existing hydrogeochemical data in order to find evidence of the behaviour of a variety of trace elements in catchments affected by these soils. The results show that Cd, Co, Ni, Y and Zn are depleted in the acid sulphate soils and enriched in the recipient streams, whereas As, Ga, Mo, Nb, Pb, Sb, Sc, Ti and Zr are not depleted in detectable amounts in these soils and are not (or only weakly) enriched in the recipient streams. It is concluded that the former group is highly mobile in the acid sulphate soils and thus lost to adjacent drains in substantial amounts, whereas the latter group is moderately to highly immobile in these soils and is thus leached in background amounts only. The approach is possible to use in similar areas elsewhere, i.e. where oxidation and weathering of soils or overburden significantly affect the surface-water quality.
Improving traffic behaviour and safety through urban design

Recent experiments in mainland Europe and more recently the UK have found that removing the traditional separation between traffic and people in urban areas can make streets safer and less congested. Removing standard kerbs, barriers, highway signs and road markings forces motorists to use eye contact with other road users and pedestrians, for which they need to be travelling at less than around 30 km/h. As this paper reports, the result is slower, more careful traffic, increased safety for cyclists and pedestrians and a more attractive urban environment overall—in which local architecture and culture prevails over standard traffic infrastructure.
Dilatancy anisotropy and the response of rock to large cyclic loads

An experimental study of cyclic fatigue of granite and diabase in triaxial compression was conducted. It was found that dilatancy progressively developed during cyclic loading of these rocks with a form in time very similar to a creep curve. Dilatancy was in all cases highly anisotropic. This anisotropy was controlled by the crack microstructure in the granite and by the residual stress in the diabase. The strike of the fracture plane was found typically to form normal to the axis of maximum dilatancy. Increasing dilatancy during cyclic loading was found to be caused by progressive dilatant creep plus additional damage produced by the cycling itself. The former leads to a pronounced loading rate effect on fatigue, the latter to a complex effect of cycle amplitude on fatigue. No stabilization of fatigue by pressure was found for confining pressures up to 300 MPa. The total dilatant strain at fracture was found to increase strongly with peak stress and decrease with increasing loading rate. Three types of cracking are shown to result in dilatancy: type 1, stress-induced cracking; type 2, stress corrosion cracking; and type 3, fatigue cracking. Rock fracture is sensitive to which type is prevalent.
Electron angular distributions above the day side auroral oval

An electrostatic analyzer was employed on the Ariel 4 satellite to determine pitch angle distributions of electron intensities over the dayside auroral oval. Two major precipitation zones were encountered: an equatorward zone of broad spectra with intensities of approximately 1000 electrons/(cm/sup 2/-s-sr-eV) and a poleward zone, the polar cusp, with intensities typical of those of the magnetosheath. Angular distributions within the equatorward zone are generally isotropic outside of the atmospheric backscatter cone. The precipitation mechanism appears to be pitch angle scattering near the distant magnetic equator. In contrast, pitch angle distributions within the polar cusp are often found to be strongly field aligned with intensities within the atmospheric loss cone greater by factors of approximately 10 than the mirroring intensities. These distributions are qualititatively similar to those for the inverted V precipitation events at later local times, and probably share a common acceleration mechanism with the inverted V phenomenon. (auth)
On the long‐term interaction among earthquakes: Some insight from a model simulation

[1] A currently debated issue in seismology concerns the possible existence of coupling among earthquakes distant in space and time. Here, we provide the results of a simulation that mimics the coseismic and postseismic interactions in a spherical and viscoelastic Earth. In particular, the model estimates the stress induced by remote earthquakes at selected points on the Earth's surface, and the effects on a simple fault model. The obtained results indicate that a seismic zone can interact significantly with other remote seismic regions. Clusters in seismicity, gaps, and nonstationary behavior in general might be induced by the occurrence of large earthquakes at distances up to about 1000 km. These findings suggest that an implied paradigm of seismic hazard studies, i.e., seismic zones are isolated and stationary systems, should be regarded with extreme caution. Finally, we show some empirical evidence of possible long-term interaction in the seismicity of southern California.
Delimitação de habitats em campos rupestres na Chapada Diamantina, Bahia: substratos, composição florística e aspectos estruturais.

Apesar da variedade dos habitats ser um dos principais componentes relacionados a diversidade de especies, ha carencia de estudos quantitativos de habitats em campo rupestre. Este estudo da vegetacao em afloramentos rochosos no Morro da Mae Inacia e na Fumaca (Chapada Diamantina, Bahia) visa delimitar e descrever habitats, bem como detectar padroes espaciais. Tres habitats foram estipulados de forma arbitraria, basicamente segundo caracteristicas da superficie rochosa e limites da vegetacao: afloramento, entremeio e vala. Eles foram amostrados por unidades de 10x 10m divididas em subunidades de 2x2m, a partir das quais os percentuais de coberturas das especies foram estimados. Vala e o habitat mais raro, sendo amostrado apenas nas unidades estratificadas. A concentracao de materia orgânica no afloramento e maior do que a no entremeio, sendo indistinta da vala. Especies camefiticas de Velloziaceae tolerantes a dessecacao predominam no afloramento, enquanto no entremeio ha predominio de especies hemicriptofiticas de Poaceae. Na vala, as familias possuem areas mais equilibradas em relacao aos demais habitats, prevalecendo especies fanerofiticas de eudicotiledoneas. Analises multivariadas revelam grande importância dos locais e habitats na estrutura das comunidades. A contiguidade entre os diferentes tipos de habitats gera maior heterogeneidade de estratos e de formas de vida em area restrita, suportando mais especies. Todos os padroes possiveis de ocupacao dos diferentes habitats na Mae Inacia e na Fumaca sao observados, o que demonstra setorizacoes na ocupacao do espaco e na disponibilidade dos recursos os ambientais.
On the forcing of sea level in the Black Sea

Forcing mechanisms for sea level variability in the Black Sea are investigated in the context of an observed increase in the sea level of this basin by 2.5 mm/yr over the last 60 years. Temperature and salinity variations computed from the Mediterranean Data Archeology and Rescue (MEDAR) data set exhibit significant interdecadal variability. However, the corresponding steric height variation does not show a long-term increase and thus cannot account for the observed change in sea level. The impact of surface freshwater flux (P-E) changes is also investigated using two independent data sets. The first data set, which is based on measurements collected in the basin, can explain most of the sea level variability, with only 0.8 mm/yr remaining unexplained. The second data set, output from the National Centers for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCEP/NCAR) reanalysis, is unable to explain any of the observed trend. Potential contributions from changes in river runoff and surface pressure are quantified but found to be minor terms. By comparing the observed salinity changes with the sea level rise and the P-E variability in the first data set, we infer that the P-E variations are the primary cause for the observed sea level rise, while land movements are likely to partly contribute, too. The relationship of Black Sea temperature and salinity variability with corresponding variability in the connected Aegean Sea has also been explored. A significant correlation is found between the salinity of the upper water of the Aegean Sea and the layer between 50 and 300 m in the Black Sea, indicating that the latter layer is a product of the Mediterranean inflow.