text:
National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
the coordination of uranium shipments from three separate locations, the development of novel packaging configurations for the consolidation of plutonium materials within Italy,...
Annual Energy Outlook [U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA)]
... Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, ...
Not Available
Country Profile: Hungary has been prepared as a background document for use by US Government agencies and US businesses interested in becoming involved with the new democracies of Eastern Europe as they pursue sustainable economic development. The focus of the Profile is on energy and highlights information on Hungary`s energy supply, demand, and utilization. It identifies patterns of energy usage in the important economic sectors, especially industry, and provides a preliminary assessment for opportunities to improve efficiencies in energy production, distribution and use by introducing more efficient technologies. The use of more efficient technologies would have the added benefit of reducing the environmental impact which, although is not the focus of the report, is an issue that effects energy choices. The Profile also presents considerable economic information, primarily in the context of how economic restructuring may affect energy supply, demand, and the introduction of more efficient technologies.
Not Available
Country Profile: Hungary has been prepared as a background document for use by US Government agencies and US businesses interested in becoming involved with the new democracies of Eastern Europe as they pursue sustainable economic development. The focus of the Profile is on energy and highlights information on Hungary's energy supply, demand, and utilization. It identifies patterns of energy usage in the important economic sectors, especially industry, and provides a preliminary assessment for opportunities to improve efficiencies in energy production, distribution and use by introducing more efficient technologies. The use of more efficient technologies would have the added benefit of reducing the environmental impact which, although is not the focus of the report, is an issue that effects energy choices. The Profile also presents considerable economic information, primarily in the context of how economic restructuring may affect energy supply, demand, and the introduction of more efficient technologies.
Fermilab | Newsroom | Press Releases | April 22, 2015: ICARUS...
Broader source: All U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office Webpages (Extended Search)
are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain,...
Press Pass - Press Release - The CMS Tracking Detector's Midnight...
Broader source: All U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office Webpages (Extended Search)
are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden,...
Press Pass - Press Release - The CMS Tracking Detector's Midnight...
Broader source: All U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office Webpages (Extended Search)
States are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain,...
Broader source: All U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office Webpages (Extended Search)
States are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain,...
Fermilab | Newsroom | Press Releases | July 19, 2013: Discovery...
Broader source: All U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office Webpages (Extended Search)
States are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia,...
Fermilab | Newsroom | Press Releases | June 3, 2015: U.S. joins...
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States are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal,...
Press Pass - Press Releases - March 30, 2010 - Physics Begins...
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States are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain,...
Press Pass - Press Release - U.S. scientists join in "cosmic...
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States are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain,...
Broader source: All U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office Webpages (Extended Search)
states are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, the Slovak...
Fermilab | Newsroom | Press Releases | April 5, 2015: U.S. scientists...
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States are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal,...
Press Pass - Press Release - LHC First Beam
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States are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain,...
Fermilab | Newsroom | Press Releases
Broader source: All U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office Webpages (Extended Search)
States are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia,...
Press Pass - Press Release - CDF B_s
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States are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain,...
Press Pass - Press Release - LHC Restart
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States are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain,...
Fermilab | Newsroom | Press Releases | May 13, 2015: Two Large...
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States are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal,...
Fermilab | Newsroom | Press Releases | March 19, 2014: International...
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states are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Israel, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal,...
Gasoline and Diesel Fuel Update (EIA)
... Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, ...
Hungary: Energy Resources | Open Energy Information
Country Profile Name Hungary Population 9,937,628 GDP 145,153,000,000 Energy Consumption 1.11 Quadrillion Btu 2-letter ISO code HU 3-letter ISO code HUN Numeric ISO...
Hungary petroleum privatization limited by economic concerns
Not Available
Once the leading economic hope of eastern Europe, a newly doubt-filled, postelection Hungary is deciding on limited oil privatization amid strategic worries and falling production. Those worries contrast with the bright promise seen in Hungary after the collapse of communism. The paper discusses energy supplies; profile of the former petroleum monopoly, Magyar Olaj es Gaz (MOL); the state owned Mineralimpex; strategic supplies; MOL privatization; post-election politics; and MOL's subsidiaries.
Thessaloniki, Greece: Energy Resources | Open Energy Information
administrative division in Greece. Registered Energy Companies in Thessaloniki, Greece Eco Sun Hellas Ltd Heliodomi SA MEVACO NORTH HELLAS S.A SunErgy AE THEMELIODOMI S A...
H2 Hydrogen Hungary Ltd aka Integral Energy | Open Energy Information
Hydrogen Hungary Ltd aka Integral Energy Jump to: navigation, search Name: H2 Hydrogen Hungary Ltd (aka Integral Energy) Place: Ipoly u 1A, Hungary Zip: H-6000 Sector: Solar...
A Magnetotelluric Survey Of The Nissyros Geothermal Field (Greece...
(Greece) Jump to: navigation, search OpenEI Reference LibraryAdd to library Journal Article: A Magnetotelluric Survey Of The Nissyros Geothermal Field (Greece) Abstract A...
AET Italy | Open Energy Information
Place: Italy Sector: Solar Product: Italy-basaed, subsidiary of AET involed in the marketing of solar modules in Italy. References: AET Italy1 This article is a stub. You can...
Mitigation measures and programs in Hungary
Molnar, S.
In Hungary there are four main governmental programs, which may result in a decrease of emissions of anthropogenic greenhouse gases (GHGs): (1) National program of energy efficiency improvement and energy conservation, (2) Afforestation program, (3) Volatile organic compounds (VOC) emission reduction program, and (4) Program to reduce the use of ozone depleting substances. These ambitious programs were launched in the beginning of the 90`s, but they have been slowed down because of budgetary problems. The comprehensive action plan for mitigation of GHG emissions should be based on these ongoing programs. These programs should be expanded by further measures and programs in order to fulfill the requirements of the FCCC. In the next sections the results and prospects of the above mentioned programs will be summarized. Also the results of the mitigation study supported by the U.S. Country Studies Program are included.
Economics, technology, and environment in Hungary
Kerekes, S. )
While Western economies were making a transition away from high-polluting industries in the 1970s, Eastern European countries were making investments in industries and in mass-production technologies that are environmentally harmful and, besides, are not internationally competitive in an age of high energy and raw material costs. Recent improvements in the environment in Hungary are mostly due to the closing of these plants for purely economics reasons. As trade with the West grows, there is some danger that it will be based largely on environmentally harmful industries. In the present transition from a centrally planned economy with captive markets to a market-oriented economy, long-term investments in environmental protection must compete with more obvious and compelling short-term investments needed to counter the painful aspects of liberalization (unemployment, bankruptcy, heavy debt, etc.). Too much emphasis on environmental protection could fatally retard the transition, and too little attention to high revenue-high growth areas, such as tourism, could result in long-term environmental damage that would also defeat the process and goals of liberalization. The proposed path calls for steady, practical reforms to create the proper incentives, carried out under government supervision and with aid from external investors, lenders, and development agencies. 10 refs.
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Indexed Site
JOINT STATEMENT BY SECRETARY SPENCER ABRAHAM OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND MINISTER ANTONIO MARZANO OF THE REPUBLIC OF ITALY ON COOPERATION IN ENERGY TECHNOLOGIES ROME, ITALY AUGUST , 2003 We affirm our commitment, on behalf of the United States of America and the Republic of Italy, to collaborate both bilaterally and multilaterally on accelerating the development of the hydrogen economy as part of our broadening cooperation on clean energy technologies. We aim to work together to enhance
Secretary Bodman Celebrates the Opening of the Turkey-Greece
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Indexed Site
Inter-Connector | Department of Energy the Opening of the Turkey-Greece Inter-Connector Secretary Bodman Celebrates the Opening of the Turkey-Greece Inter-Connector November 18, 2007 - 4:31pm Addthis Pipeline ushers first link between gas suppliers of Central Asia and European consumers KIPI CROSSING, GREECE - U.S. Secretary of Energy Samuel W. Bodman today celebrated the opening of the Turkey-Greece Inter-Connector (TGI) pipeline, ushering the first link between the gas suppliers of Central
Italy | National Nuclear Security Administration
National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Italy NNSA keeps the promises borne out of the Nuclear Security Summit On Thursday and Friday President Obama will host his fourth and final Nuclear Security Summit in Washington, D.C. Leaders from 53 nations and four international agencies will come together to discuss nuclear security challenges as well as demonstrate measurable progress toward securing nuclear... Joint Statement by the United States and Italy on the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit See a fact sheet here. The White HouseOffice of
Italy Joint Statement | Department of Energy
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Indexed Site
Italy Joint Statement Italy Joint Statement " U.S.-Italy Joint Statement prepared as part of the International Partnership for a Hydrogen Economy " italy_joint_statement.pdf (63.17 KB) More Documents & Publications (Energy Efficiency) Joint Statement by Energy Ministers of G8, The People's Republic of China, India and The Republic of Korea (June 2008) Joint Statement by Energy Ministers of G8, The People's Republic of China, India and The Republic of Korea
Management of Disused Sealed Sources in Hungary - 13077
Kapitany, Sandor
Since 1976 the spent and disused radioactive sources arisen in Hungary are stored in a central storage facility called Radioactive Waste Treatment and Disposal Facility operated by Public Limited Company for Radioactive Waste Management. The Facility is responsible for the record keeping, the waste acceptance procedure, the shipment and the storage or disposal (whether a certain source meets the waste acceptance criteria for disposal or not) of sources. Based on the more than 35 year old operation of the facility many experiences have been gathered regarding the technology for long-term storage of sources, the attitude of the users of sources, the evolution of the legislation and the national record keeping system. Recently a new legislation for the security of radioactive materials (including sources) was introduced, first in Central-Europe. It requires special security arrangements from the facility for transport and for storage. Due to the ongoing retrieval of radioactive waste formerly disposed of, partly containing sealed sources, there is a new challenge in the physical inventory control of historical waste. The paper would show the effect of the changes in the legislation system of record keeping or security on the users' attitude for discard of sources and on the management of the sources in the facility. The facility has a unique storage technology (shallow boreholes) in the narrow region. The sealed sources are placed into vertical pipes sunk into the surface. In the beginning, each of the sources were dropped into the pipe directly, recently they are placed in a metal tube first ensuring the retrieval. The lessons learned will be presented. There were several issues to introduce the new security arrangements (partly financially supported by US DOE) for storage and for transportation of sealed sources. These issues are addressed. In the past part of the sealed sources were disposed together with solid radioactive waste packaged in plastic bags. A waste
Not Available
This paper reports that activity has picked up in Italy since the downturn of 1989. Agip has been the most active, drilling 56 exploration and development wells last year. The company plans to increase offshore drilling spending by about two-thirds to $200 million this year.
Adoption and use of e-invoicing in Greece
Marinagi, C. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Trivellas, P. E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com Reklitis, Panagiotis E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com; Skourlas, C.
This paper investigates the adoption and use of electronic invoices (e-invoices) in Greek organizations. The study attempts to evaluate current practices applied in implementing e-invoicing. A field research has been conducted, which is based on a structured questionnaire. The target sample consisted of 42 Greek enterprises. The main issues of the investigation include the existing invoice processing practices, the barriers that prevent the extended adoption and use of e-invoicing, the observed benefits from e-invoicing implementation, and the strategic drivers for transition to e-invoicing. Currently, the use of e-invoicing in Greece is low. However, the research results testify that the adoption of e-invoicing in Greece is promising. Even though, a number of enterprises state that benefits of e-invoicing are not clear yet, the majority of enterprises agree that there are crucial financial priorities that e-invoicing is expected to support.
Bank of Italy | Open Energy Information
"http:en.openei.orgwindex.php?titleBankofItaly&oldid767465" Categories: Organizations Research Institutions Public Institutions Stubs Articles with outstanding TODO tasks...
Italy Geothermal Region | Open Energy Information
Region Larderello Geothermal Area Mount Amiata Geothermal Area Travale-Radicondoli Geothermal Area Energy Generation Facilities within the Italy Geothermal Region Bagnore 3...
Memorandum of Understanding between US Department of Energy and the Public Agency for Radioactive Waste Management of the Republic of Hungary
Broader source: Energy.gov [DOE]
Memorandum of Understanding between US Department of Energy and the Public Agency for Radioactive Waste Management of the Republic of Hungary for information exchange relating to operation of...
Gas turbine CHP leads Italy`s energy drive
Jeffs, E.
When Italy abandoned its nuclear power program, it was the signal for the electricity market to open to industrial CHP and independent power production. This move raised energy efficiency and cut pollution, as a prelude to the privatization of the electric utility system. The Privatization of ENEL, the National Electricity Authority, is expected to happen next year, but not before a significant component of independent power generation is already in place. ENEL itself was only created in 1963 and some of the former power companies have reemerged as the leading IPP`s. Although combined cycle and IPP capacity is only 5000 MW, it is expected to increase to 15,000 MW by the year 2000. In abandoning nuclear power, Italy may have given up on an unquestionably clean thermal energy source, but an intensive drive into private power with combined cycle, repowering, and industrial CHP schemes is achieving some worthwhile improvements in energy efficiency, and a cleaner environment than what went before. 3 figs., 1 tab.
Italy Nuclear Security Summit: Fact Sheet | National Nuclear...
National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Between the 1960s and mid-1980s, Italy had an ambitious nuclear power research program which included heavy water, boiling water, light water, and fast reactors. In 1979, Italy ...
Social Acceptance of Geothermal Energy in Southern Italy | Open...
search OpenEI Reference LibraryAdd to library Conference Paper: Social Acceptance of Geothermal Energy in Southern Italy Abstract Although Italy has any possible reason to be...
Characterization study of Hungary's petroleum refinery industry: A sector in transition. Phase 1 final report
Not Available
Part of a USAID effort to assist Hungary's oil refinery sector during a period of transition, the report reviews the sector, with emphasis on the two major refineries -- DKV and TIPO. Key findings are as follows: (1) DKV and TIPO staffs are superbly qualified and up to date and have aggressively promoted energy conservation for a decade. Environmental compliance lags considerably behind the West; (2) Refinery managers are facing serious problems as the country moves from a command to a market economy; (3) There is a need for new criteria for evaluating the best use of limited investment resources during the austere period of transition. Replacing petroleum hydrocarbon fuels with indigenous coal does not seem viable at present.
Helium isotopes and tectonics in southern Italy
Sano, Yuji; Wakita, Hiroshi ); Nuccio, M.P. ); Italiano, F.
Geodynamic evolution of southern Italy can be understood within the framework of the Mediterranean-Alpine System. Subduction of a plate along the Sicily-Calabrian forearc under the Tyrrhenian Sea has been suggested by many geophysicists, although it is not yet confirmed and remains somewhat controversial. Helium isotope ratios provide useful information on the geotectonic structure of the region. The authors report here the {sup 3}H/{sup 4}He ratios of terrestrial gas samples from southern Italy. The observed {sup 3}He/{sup 4}He ratios are relatively high in the Eolian volcanic arc region and low in the other areas. Dichotomous explanations are presented. Firstly, volcanic arc-forearc hypothesis suggests the subduction along the Sicily-Calabrian forearc. Secondly, horizontal transport hypothesis is described based on the relationship between the ratios and radial distance from the recent spreading basin in Southern Tyrrhenian Sea.
Italy Highly Enriched Uranium and Plutonium Removals | National Nuclear
National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Security Administration | (NNSA) Highly Enriched Uranium and Plutonium Removals March 24, 2014 Italy has been a global leader in nuclear nonproliferation, working with the United States since 1997 to eliminate more than 100 kilograms of highly enriched uranium (HEU) and separated plutonium. At the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit, the United States and Italy announced the successful removal of all eligible fresh HEU and plutonium from Italy. These shipments were completed via a joint effort
United States and Italy Sign Nuclear Energy Agreements | Department of
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Indexed Site
Energy Italy Sign Nuclear Energy Agreements United States and Italy Sign Nuclear Energy Agreements September 30, 2009 - 1:23pm Addthis U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Italian Minister for Economic Development Claudio Scajola today signed two important nuclear energy agreements that may lead to construction of new nuclear power plants and improved cooperation on advanced nuclear energy systems and fuel cycle technologies in both countries. The U.S.-Italy Joint Declaration Concerning
Methane sources and emissions in Italy
Guidotti, G.R.; Castagnola, A.M.
Methane emissions in Italy were assessed in the framework of the measures taken to follow out the commitments undertaken at the 1992 U.N. Conference for Environment and Development. Methane emissions of anthropic origin were estimated to be in the range of 1.6 to 2.3 million ton of methane per year. Some of these methane sources (natural gas production, transmission and distribution; rice paddies; managed livestock enteric fermentation and waste; solid waste landfills) are given here particular care as they mainly contribute to the total methane emission budget.
Ecofuel plans MTBE plant in Italy
Alperowicz, N.
Ecofuel (Milan), an ENI company, is evaluating construction of a new methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) plant in Italy, but has shelved plans for a world-scale MTBE unit in Mexico. The Italian unit is tied to ethylene expansion now under way. Later this year EniChem (Milan), a sister company, is due to complete construction of a 360,000-m.t./year cracker at Brindisi. The C{sub 4} stream available there and from the existing cracker at Priolo in Sicily should provide enough feed for a unit of up to 100,000 m.t./year of MTBE capacity. Some of the feedstock could also come from the Ravenna cracker.
Geochemistry and habitat of oils in Italy
Novelli, L.; Mattavelli, L.
Most of the onshore and offshore oil occurrences found in Italy have been systematically analyzed by different techniques, i.e., capillary gas chromatography, biological markers, and stable isotopes composition. On the basis of the above analyses, ten different groups of oil have been identified and geographically located. Subsequently, the influence of the various geological settings on generation and migration of these different groups of oils was investigated and is discussed here. In a foredeep regime, the remarkably fast heating rates, due to the rapid burial during late Tertiary, caused a rapid generation of oil mainly in the Triassic carbonate source rocks. Such generation, combined with the high over-burden pressure and a contemporaneous development of an intense tectonic compression, resulted in the expulsion of immature, heavy oils. Examples of this are evident in the central Adriatic Sea, southern Italy, and southeastern Sicily. Due to its complex geological and tectonic history, the Alpine-Apennine chain behaved differently with regard to oil generation and migration in different areas. In fact, the high temperatures reached by the Mesozoic source rocks underneath a stack of allochthonous thrust sheets and the insulating thermal blanket effect exerted by the same sheets on other younger source rocks above gave rise to generally light oils. Furthermore, in this unique geological setting, the most external thrust sheets locally acted as reservoirs of the foredeep regime. Foreland sequences acted as both reservoirs of the foredeep oils and as generative kitchens of liquid hydrocarbons if suitable source rocks were present and adequate burial was reached.
The state of art of shotcrete in Italy
Pelizza, S.; Tesio, G.G.
The paper reports the large experience of use of shotcrete in Italy, both in tunnels and above ground. In tunnelling, for more than 30 years, shotcrete has been used for many hundreds of kilometers of tunnel construction. Technical rules for shotcrete use in Italy do not yet exist. SIG-Italian Tunnelling Society- has formed the Working Group Use of Shotcrete. This working group, operating since 1988, has the specific task to adapt the use of shotcrete to international standards.
Life Cycle Assessment of the MBT plant in Ano Liossia, Athens, Greece
Abeliotis, Konstadinos; Kalogeropoulos, Alexandros; Lasaridi, Katia
Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We model the operation of an MBT plant in Greece based on LCA. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We compare four different MBT operating scenarios (among them and with landfilling). Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Even the current operation of the MBT plant is preferable to landfilling. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Utilization of the MBT compost and metals generates the most environmental gains. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Thermal exploitation of RDF improves further the environmental performance of the plant. - Abstract: The aim of this paper is the application of Life Cycle Assessment to the operation of the MBT facility of Ano Liossia in the region of Attica in Greece. The region of Attica is home to almost half the population of Greece and the management of its waste is a major issue. In order to explicitly analyze the operation of the MBT plant, five scenarios were generated. Actual operation data of the MBT plant for the year 2008 were provided by the region of Attica and the LCA modeling was performed via the SimaPro 5.1 software while impact assessment was performed utilizing the Eco-indicator'99 method. The results of our analysis indicate that even the current operation of the MBT plant is preferable to landfilling. Among the scenarios of MBT operation, the one with complete utilization of the MBT outputs, i.e. compost, RDF, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, is the one that generates the most environmental gains. Our analysis indicates that the exploitation of RDF via incineration is the key factor towards improving the environmental performance of the MBT plant. Our findings provide a quantitative understanding of the MBT plant. Interpretation of results showed that proper operation of the modern waste management systems can lead to substantial reduction of environmental impacts and savings of resources.
Geochemistry and habitat of oils in Italy
Novelli, L.; Mattavelli, L.
Most of the onshore and offshore oil occurrences found in Italy have been systematically analyzed by different techniques, i.e., capillary gas chromatography, biological markers, and stable isotopes composition. On the basis of the above analyses, ten different groups of oil have been identified and geographically located. Subsequently, the influence of the various geological settings on generation and migration of these different groups of oils was investigated and is discussed here. Due to its complex geological and tectonic history, the Alpine-Apennine chain behaved differently with regard to oil generation and migration in different areas. In fact, the high temperatures reached by the Mesozoic source rocks underneath a stack of allochthonous thrust sheets and the insulting thermal blanket effect exerted by the same sheets on other younger source rocks above gave rise to generally light oils. Furthermore, in this unique geological setting, the most external thrust sheets locally acted as reservoirs of the foredeep regime. Foreland sequences acted as both reservoirs of the foredeep oils and as generative kitchens of liquid hydrocarbons if suitable source rocks were present and adequate burial was reached.
Joint Statement by the United States and Italy on the 2014 Nuclear Security
National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Summit | National Nuclear Security Administration | (NNSA) Joint Statement by the United States and Italy on the 2014 Nuclear Security Summit March 24, 2014 See a fact sheet here. The White House Office of the Press Secretary Italy and the United States of America are pleased to announce that they have jointly completed the removal of approximately 20 kilograms of excess highly enriched uranium (HEU) and separated plutonium from Italy. At the 2012 Nuclear Security Summit, Italy and the
U.S. and Italy Sign Agreement to Collaborate on Carbon Capture and Storage
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Indexed Site
Technologies | Department of Energy Italy Sign Agreement to Collaborate on Carbon Capture and Storage Technologies U.S. and Italy Sign Agreement to Collaborate on Carbon Capture and Storage Technologies May 23, 2009 - 12:00am Addthis ROME, ITALY - U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu today joined with Italian Minister of Economic Development Claudio Scajola to sign a bilateral agreement to advance carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies in each country. Working together, the U.S. and Italy
Geostatistical Simulation of Hydrofacies Heterogeneity of the West Thessaly Aquifer Systems in Greece
Modis, K. Sideri, D.
Integrating geological properties, such as relative positions and proportions of different hydrofacies, is of highest importance in order to render realistic geological patterns. Sequential indicator simulation (SIS) and Plurigaussian simulation (PS) are alternative methods for conceptual and deterministic modeling for the characterization of hydrofacies distribution. In this work, we studied the spatial differentiation of hydrofacies in the alluvial aquifer system of West Thessaly basin in Greece. For this, we applied both SIS and PS techniques to an extensive set of borehole data from that basin. Histograms of model versus experimental hydrofacies proportions and indicative cross sections were plotted in order to validate the results. The PS technique was shown to be more effective in reproducing the spatial characteristics of the different hydrofacies and their distribution across the study area. In addition, the permeability differentiations reflected in the PS model are in accordance to known heterogeneities of the aquifer capacity.
Supply contracts for Italy prompt expansions, new construction plans
True, W.R.
Italy`s natural-gas demand is growing faster than that of any other European country, according to Italian gas-transmission operator SNAM S.p.A., Milan. Gas demand in Italy, as a share of total energy demand, is likely to grow from slightly more than a quarter in 1996 to more than a third by 2010. As a result, SNAM is actively negotiating and signing new gas contracts with existing and new suppliers to ensure and diversify gas supply to the peninsula over that period. This article concludes a two-part series on gas supplies and pipeline infrastructure development for Europe`s two southern peninsulas. Part 1 set forth pipeline construction and gas-movement developments on the Iberian peninsula. For European supplies to Italy, expansions on two major cross-country pipelines will have been completed by 2001 along with a third new line in France that will tie into an existing line from The Netherlands. Additionally, early in the next decade, SNAM could be on its way to laying yet another pipeline across the Mediterranean Sea, setting again yet another deepwater pipelay record.
Italy to open exclusive Po basin area in 1992
Rigo, F.
Under new regulations of the European Community, no oil and gas state monopoly is allowed in the member countries. As a consequence, by 1992 Italy will open for application by international oil companies all lands not covered by exploitation concessions in the ENI exclusive area. This monopoly area covers the prolific Po basin, the cradle of the Italian state oil company AGIP SpA, Milan. Due to profits derived from numerous gas discoveries of the 1950s in this basin, AGIP, a relatively small enterprise at that time, could eventually afford to expand in Italy and abroad and through successful exploration achieve status of a major international oil company. The ENI exclusive area covers the Po and Veneto plains and adjacent 15 km of territorial waters, for a total surface of more than 23,000 sq miles. The area to become available for exploration will be regulated by the Italian petroleum law, for one of the most favorable in the world.
Italy to open Po Valley to competitive exploration
Pieri, M.; Flores, G.
The broad Po-Veneto plain and the Northern Adriatic include Italy`s most important gas province and the country`s largest oil field discovered so far, Villa Fortuna-Trecaste (1984). This area covers approximately 72,500 sq km, the size of Virginia or Kentucky. No less than 55,000 sq km of that since 1953 has been under exclusive concession to ENI, the Italian state petroleum authority. It was therefore explored and exploited solely by AGIP, the ENI Group operating company. this virtual monopoly is now in the process of being abolished, possibly by year-end 1996, opening the area to free enterprise and competitors. This paper reviews the geology of the area and its history. It identifies source rocks and trapping mechanisms which have been identified. It also identifies the types of exploration data needed to expand the success of the area.
Measurements of particulate matter concentrations at a landfill site (Crete, Greece)
Chalvatzaki, E.; Kopanakis, I.; Kontaksakis, M.; Glytsos, T.; Kalogerakis, N.; Lazaridis, M.
Large amounts of solid waste are disposed in landfills and the potential of particulate matter (PM) emissions into the atmosphere is significant. Particulate matter emissions in landfills are the result of resuspension from the disposed waste and other activities such as mechanical recycling and composting, waste unloading and sorting, the process of coating residues and waste transport by trucks. Measurements of ambient levels of inhalable particulate matter (PM{sub 10}) were performed in a landfill site located at Chania (Crete, Greece). Elevated PM{sub 10} concentrations were measured in the landfill site during several landfill operations. It was observed that the meteorological conditions (mainly wind velocity and temperature) influence considerably the PM{sub 10} concentrations. Comparison between the PM{sub 10} concentrations at the landfill and at a PM{sub 10} background site indicates the influence of the landfill activities on local concentrations at the landfill. No correlation was observed between the measurements at the landfill and the background sites. Finally, specific preventing measures are proposed to control the PM concentrations in landfills.
U.S. and Italy Sign Agreement to Collaborate on Carbon Capture...
Carbon Capture and Storage Technologies May 23, 2009 - 12:00am Addthis ROME, ITALY - U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu ... technologies, power system simulations, ...
Lead contamination in the Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) in Italy
Tirelli, E.; Maestrini, N.; Govoni, S.; Catelli, E.
The main cause of lead poisoning in waterfowl is due to ingestion of spent lead shot in areas of high hunting pressure . Italian literature on this subject is very scarce and the few available studies concern episodic cases. to contribute to the assessment of the impact of lead shot in waterfowl in Italy, systematic research has been carried out on shorebirds caught for ringing in Tiscany and are continuing on dabbling and diving ducks by checking the presence of lead in blood samples and lead shot in the gizzard. This study targets the mallard duck. 17 refs., 1 fig., 1 tab.
Productivity improvement by frontier horizontal drilling in Italy
Schenato, A.
Italian domestic activity on horizontal wells has been specially addressed to carbonate reservoir and specifically targeted to re-entry in existing wells. The speech will focus on the specific experience matured in frontier applications in Italy, from 1989 with the short radius drain holes in Sicily, throughout world record deep water short radius in the southern part of Adriatic sea and depth world record medium radius in a HP/HT reservoir in the Po Valley. Production results will be reported as well as the achieved technological aspects.
Invited Article: In situ comparison of passive radon-thoron discriminative monitors at subsurface workplaces in Hungary
K�v�si, Norbert; Social Organization for Radioecological Cleanliness, Veszpr�m ; Vigh, Tam�s; Manganese Mining Process Ltd., �rk�t ; N�meth, Csaba; University of Pannonia, Veszpr�m ; Ishikawa, Tetsuo; Omori, Yasutaka; Janik, Miroslaw; Yonehara, Hidenori
During a one-year long measurement period, radon and thoron data obtained by two different passive radon-thoron discriminative monitors were compared at subsurface workplaces in Hungary, such as mines (bauxite and manganese ore) and caves (medical and touristic). These workplaces have special environmental conditions, such as, stable and high relative humidity (100%), relatively stable temperature (12�C�21�C), low or high wind speed (max. 2.4 m�s{sup ?1}) and low or elevated aerosol concentration (130�60�000 particles m{sup ?3}). The measured radon and thoron concentrations fluctuated in a wide range among the different workplaces. The respective annual average radon concentrations and their standard deviations (in brackets) measured by the passive radon-thoron discriminative monitor with cellulose filter (CF) and the passive radon-thoron discriminative monitor with sponge filter (SF) were: 350(321) Bq�m{sup ?3} and 550(497) Bq�m{sup ?3} in the bauxite mine; 887(604) Bq�m{sup ?3} and 1258(788) Bq�m{sup ?3} in the manganese ore mine; 2510(2341) Bq�m{sup ?3} and 3403(3075) Bq�m{sup ?3} in the medical cave (Hospital Cave of Tapolca); and 6239(2057) Bq m{sup ?3} and 8512(1955) Bq�m{sup ?3} in the touristic cave (Lake Cave of Tapolca). The respective average thoron concentrations and their standard deviation (in brackets) measured by CF and SF monitors were: 154(210) Bq�m{sup ?3} and 161(148) Bq�m{sup ?3} in the bauxite mine; 187(191) Bq�m{sup ?3} and 117(147) Bq�m{sup ?3} in the manganese-ore mine; 360(524) Bq�m{sup ?3} and 371(789) Bq�m{sup ?3} in the medical cave (Hospital Cave of Tapolca); and 1420(1184) Bq m{sup ?3} and 1462(3655) Bq�m{sup ?3} in the touristic cave (Lake Cave of Tapolca). Under these circumstances, comparison of the radon data for the SF and CF monitors showed the former were consistently 51% higher in the bauxite mine, 38% higher in the manganese ore mine, and 34% higher in the caves. Consequently, correction is required on previously obtained
Comparative assessment of municipal sewage sludge incineration, gasification and pyrolysis for a sustainable sludge-to-energy management in Greece
Samolada, M.C.; Zabaniotou, A.A.
Highlights: • The high output of MSS highlights the need for alternative routes of valorization. • Evaluation of 3 sludge-to-energy valorisation methods through SWOT analysis. • Pyrolysis is an energy and material recovery process resulting to 'zero waste'. • Identification of challenges and barriers for MSS pyrolysis in Greece was investigated. • Adopters of pyrolysis systems face the challenge of finding new product markets. - Abstract: For a sustainable municipal sewage sludge management, not only the available technology, but also other parameters, such as policy regulations and socio-economic issues should be taken in account. In this study, the current status of both European and Greek Legislation on waste management, with a special insight in municipal sewage sludge, is presented. A SWOT analysis was further developed for comparison of pyrolysis with incineration and gasification and results are presented. Pyrolysis seems to be the optimal thermochemical treatment option compared to incineration and gasification. Sewage sludge pyrolysis is favorable for energy savings, material recovery and high added materials production, providing a 'zero waste' solution. Finally, identification of challenges and barriers for sewage sludge pyrolysis deployment in Greece was investigated.
Exposure assessment: Serum levels of TCDD in Seveso, Italy
Needham, L.L.; Patterson, D.G. Jr.; Smith, S.J.; Sampson, E.J.; Gerthoux, P.M.; Brambilla, P.; Mocarelli, P.
Accurate exposure assessment is an important step in both risk assessment and epidemiologic studies involving potential human exposure to environmental toxicants. Various methods have been used to assess human exposure. These methods include models based on one`s temporal and spatial nearness to the source, environmental levels of toxicant, and biological measures. The authors believe that the latter measure is the ``gold standard.`` In this article they present the serum 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin levels in residents of the contaminated zones in Seveso, Italy, in 1976, and delineate these data by age and gender. Some of these serum levels are among the highest ever reported and thus this population serves as a benchmark for comparison of human exposure and potential adverse health effects. One such potential population is that population consuming potentially contaminated fish.
Development and perspectives of fuel cell technology in Italy
Vellone, R.
In Italy, most of the energy is derived from fossil fuel and the energy system is heavily dependent on imported fuel, consequently there is a growing need to diversity energy sources and to optimize the efficient utilization of energy. The Italian government is demonstrating a certain commitment towards the promotion of renewable energy sources and innovative technologies, with limited impact on the environment and possibly with improved energy efficiency. In this context, fuel cells could lead various benefits for the country. The purpose of the paper is to review the Italian interest for the development and application of the fuel cell technology and to provide information about the current status of the Italian fuel cell program.
Advances on MHD superconducting magnets design and construction in Italy
Negrini, F.; Blasio, P.; Martinelli, G.; Molfino, P.
The paper illustrates the activities developed in the frame of the Progetto Finalizzato {open_quotes}Superconducting and Cryogenic Technologies: superconducting magnets for MHD{close_quotes}. This five years Italian national program on MHD superconducting magnets is near the completions. Many important targets have been obtained in very good agreement with the initial hypotheses. The MHD s.c. prototype is now under fabrication at the Ansaldo workshop in Genova. One of the main effort of the project is the development and production of the 8800 metres of NbTi copper stabilised cable in conduit ({open_quotes}rope in a pipe{close_quotes} type) in single lengths of 300 m average. This cable is now under production at Europa Metalli (Fornaci di Barga, Italy). In the present contribution the main problems that had to be solved after and during the production by the designer and the manufacturer, are described.
Residual strain mapping of Roman styli from Iulia Concordia, Italy
Salvemini, Filomena; Grazzi, Francesco; Angelini, Ivana; Davydov, Vadim; Vontobel, Peter; Vigoni, Alberto; Artioli, Gilberto; Zoppi, Marco
Iulia Concordia is an important Roman settlement known for the production of iron objects and weapons during the Roman Empire. A huge number of well-preserved styli were found in the past century in the bed of an old channel. In order to shed light about the production processes used by Roman for stylus manufacturing, a neutron diffraction residual strain analysis was performed on the POLDI materials science diffractometer at the Paul Scherrer Institut in Switzerland. Here, we present results from our investigation conducted on 11 samples, allowing to define, in a non-invasive way, the residual strain map related to the ancient Roman working techniques. - Highlights: • We examined 11 Roman styli from the settlement of Iulia Concordia, Italy. • We performed a neutron diffraction residual strain analysis on POLDI at PSI (CH). • We identified the production processes used by Roman for stylus manufacturing. • We clarified the way and direction of working applied for different classes of styli.
Geothermal district heating and cooling in Vicenza, Italy
Leoni, P.
The discovery of a large low-enthalpy geothermal water reservoir under the city of Vicenza (110,000 people) in northern Italy, through an oil prospecting venture, opened up the opportunity to install a district heating system with low energy consumption. Although the geothermal water is at 67{degrees}C, this is insufficient for heating the city`s commercial and residential buildings using their existing high-temperature heat distribution systems. Heat pumps are, therefore, used to obtain optimum useful heat energy from the geothermal source. Experience so far suggests that the system can reduce energy consumption by up to 60%, or 3885 MWh/year. The 2000 m deep well was completed in 1983 and is the first such well in Italy to be located within an urban area, making it ideal as a heat source for a district heating system. It produces 100 m{sup 3}/h of low salt-content water. The {open_quotes}Vicenza{close_quotes} geothermal heating and cooling project was developed by {open_quotes}Aziende Industriali Muncipalizzate{close_quotes} from 1988 to 1991, a utility company owned by the city of Vicenza, with the purpose of distributing approximately 40,000 MWh year to residential and commercial buildings. The project includes the installation of a power plant, and a district heating and cooling network. A reduction in the consumption of conventional fuels both for heating and domestic water has been achieved through a highly-efficient thermodynamic system based on reversible heat pumps. The system provides heating in the winter and air conditioning in summer.
Composition and production rate of pharmaceutical and chemical waste from Xanthi General Hospital in Greece
Voudrias, Evangelos; Goudakou, Lambrini; Kermenidou, Marianthi; Softa, Aikaterini
Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We studied pharmaceutical and chemical waste production in a Greek hospital. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Pharmaceutical waste comprised 3.9% w/w of total hazardous medical waste. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Unit production rate for total pharmaceutical waste was 12.4 {+-} 3.90 g/patient/d. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Chemical waste comprised 1.8% w/w of total hazardous medical waste. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Unit production rate for total chemical waste was 5.8 {+-} 2.2 g/patient/d. - Abstract: The objective of this work was to determine the composition and production rates of pharmaceutical and chemical waste produced by Xanthi General Hospital in Greece (XGH). This information is important to design and cost management systems for pharmaceutical and chemical waste, for safety and health considerations and for assessing environmental impact. A total of 233 kg pharmaceutical and 110 kg chemical waste was collected, manually separated and weighed over a period of five working weeks. The total production of pharmaceutical waste comprised 3.9% w/w of the total hazardous medical waste produced by the hospital. Total pharmaceutical waste was classified in three categories, vial waste comprising 51.1%, syringe waste with 11.4% and intravenous therapy (IV) waste with 37.5% w/w of the total. Vial pharmaceutical waste only was further classified in six major categories: antibiotics, digestive system drugs, analgesics, hormones, circulatory system drugs and 'other'. Production data below are presented as average (standard deviation in parenthesis). The unit production rates for total pharmaceutical waste for the hospital were 12.4 (3.90) g/patient/d and 24.6 (7.48) g/bed/d. The respective unit production rates were: (1) for vial waste 6.4 (1.6) g/patient/d and 13 (2.6) g/bed/d, (2) for syringe waste 1.4 (0.4) g/patient/d and 2.8 (0.8) g/bed/d and (3) for IV waste 4.6 (3.0) g/patient/d and 9.2 (5.9) g/bed/d. Total chemical waste
3-D Density Model Of Mt Etna Volcano (Southern Italy) | Open...
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United States and Italy Sign Agreements to Advance Developments in Nuclear
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Energy | Department of Energy Italy Sign Agreements to Advance Developments in Nuclear Energy United States and Italy Sign Agreements to Advance Developments in Nuclear Energy September 30, 2009 - 12:00am Addthis Washington, D.C. - U.S. Secretary of Energy Steven Chu and Italian Minister for Economic Development Claudio Scajola today signed two important nuclear energy agreements that may lead to construction of new nuclear power plants and improved cooperation on advanced nuclear energy
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Press Pass - Press Release - LHC First Beam
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Power from bio-sources in Italy incentives and results
Gerardi, V.; Ricci, A.; Scoditti, E.
In Italy most of the technologies for producing power from bio-sources, as well as from other non-conventional renewable Energy Sources (RES), are rather mature, but their exploitation is still not completely convenient from the economic point of view. It depends on many factors, such as designing of plants, selection of energy conversion system and components, selection of installation site, size of market still too limited, high production costs of the technologies and lack of adequate financial supports. In the early nineties, in the attempt to overcome this situation, the Italian Government issued a series of measures addressed mainly to the power production from RES. This gives a short description of the regulations in force and some details about an important incentive tool (CIP 6/92 and relative decrees) for RES power plants installation. In particular, it indicates the possible power plant typologies, the criteria to assimilate the fossil fuel plants to RES ones, the present prices of electricity transferred into the grid and the methodology for updating the prices. Furthermore, the paper gives some data concerning submitted proposals, plant operation planning and their geographic distribution according to different bio-sources typologies.
Lichens as bioindicators of geothermal air pollution in central Italy
Loppi, S.
The suitability of lichens as bioindicators of geothermal air pollution was evaluated in central Italy. Fifty-one sites were sampled in the Travale-Radicondoli geothermal field, an area of about 15 km{sup 2}. Lichens on 1-5 trees per station were sampled, using 30 x 50 cm grids on tree boles, where lichens were most dense. Index of Atmospheric Purity (IAP) was calculated as the sum of the frequencies of all lichen species present at the station. Using automatic mapping programs, the area was divided into four air quality zones and the lowest IAP values were found within about 500 m of geothermal power plants. No direct measurements of air pollution are available for the whole study area, however, other studies show that air pollution levels (mercury, boron) fall with distance from a geothermal source. Also no substrate parameter (height, circumference, bark pH, and buffer capacity of the trees) discriminates between IAP zones. This suggests that air pollution arising from geothermal emissions is responsible for the zonation shown, with values for species richness and IAP rising with distance from geothermal installations. It is concluded that lichens are reliable bioindicators of geothermal pollution. 64 refs., 1 fig., 3 tabs.
Seismic moment summation for historical earthquakes in Italy - tectonic implications
Westaway, R. )
Tectonic deformation rates in and around the Apennine mountains of Italy are studied using seismic moments estimated from macroseismic effects of historical earthquakes. Northeastward extension in the northern Apennines (north of about 42.5 deg N) accompanies shortening along their northeast flank. Since the seventeenth century, the sparce seismicity in these two zones has included no earthquake with magnitude greater than 6.5 or seismic moment above about 6x10 exp 18 N m. Their spatially averaged deformation rates are only about 0.3 mm/yr, but are equal, such that the extention and shortening balance with no relative motion between their external surroundings. In contrast, the numerous historical earthquakes in the central and southern Apennines with magnitude about 7 and seismic moment about 20x10 exp 18 N m require northeastward relative velocity across the deforming zone up to about 5 mm/yr, matching the expected relative motion of their surroundings. The northern Apennines thus show different senses and rates of deformation from localities farther south, and are thus tectonically distinct at present, in contrast with previous interpretations. 82 refs.
Late Cenozoic fault kinematics and basin development, Calabrian arc, Italy
Knott, S.D.; Turco, E.
Current views for explaining the present structure of the Calabrian arc emphasize bending or buckling of an initially straight zone by rigid indentation. Although bending has played an important role, bending itself cannot explain all structural features now seen in the arc for the following reasons: (1) across-arc extension is inconsistent with buckling, (2) north-south compression predicted by a bending mechanism to occur in the internal part of a curved mountain belt is not present in the Calabrian arc, and (3) lateral shear occurs throughout the arc, not just along the northern and southern boundaries. The model presented here is based on lateral bending of mantle and lower crust (demonstrated by variation in extension in the Tyrrhenian basin) and semibrittle faulting and block rotation in the upper crust. These two styles of deformation are confined to the upper plate of the Calabrian subduction system. This deformation is considered to have been active from the beginning of extension in the Tyrrhenian basin (late Tortonian) and is still active today (based on Holocene seismicity). Block rotations are a consequence of lateral heterogeneous shear during extension. Therefore, some of the observed rotation of paleo-magnetic declinations may have occurred in areas undergoing extension and not just during thrusting. Inversion of sedimentary basins by block rotation is predicted by the model. The model will be a useful aid in interpreting reflection seismic data and exploring and developing offshore and onshore sedimentary basins in southern Italy.
Geological setting and geodynamical evolution of the central Apennines (Italy)
Cavinato, G.P. ); Cosentino, D.; Funiciello, R.; Parotto, M. ); Salvini, F. ); Tozzi, M. )
In the peninsula of Italy, new and revised data allow recognition of geodynamic, units: (1) a deformed intraorogenic foreland (Apulia) made up of several blocks with differing sense and amounts of rotation since the Late Cretaceous; (2) a thrust belt (Apennines) that developed from the late Miocene to at least the middle Pliocene; (3) a deformed foredeep (Bradanic trough) that is widely overthrusted by the Apennine chain and (4) a hinterland (Tyrrehenian basin) that is now undergoing extension and includes large volcanic centers. Within this framework the authors have recognized large-scale, spectacular thrust faults and several new features including backthrusts and important strike-slip zones that lead to new interpretations of the tectonics of the Central Apennines. The new data, acquired during the last 10 yr of field mapping and structural analysis, indicate a complexity of geometry and kinematics not previously recognized. The tectonics of this region cannot be explained in terms of simple extensions and compressional phases. They have included the new data on those styles as well as the backthrust and strike-slip faults into our new model. The recognition of strike-slip components suggests that it will be more difficult to balance cross sections through the region.
Mutagenicity of airborne particles from a nonindustrial town in Italy
Barale, R.; Zucconi, D.; Giorgelli, F.; Carducci, A.L.; Tonelli, M.; Loprieno, N.
The mutagenic activity of airborne particulate matter collected in Pisa, a small nonindustrial town located in Italy, has been monitored over 1 year using the Ames Salmonella Test. Airborne particulate was collected on fiberglass filters using a Hi-Vol sampler and extracted by sonication and Soxhlet acetone extraction in sequence. TA 98 and TA 100 salmonella strains gave positive results with the great majority of samples. The mutagenicity trend fits with a harmonic regression with a peak during December/January and inversely correlates with the temperature. No correlations were observed with other meteorological conditions such as wind, cloud, rainfall, atmospheric pressure, and humidity. The ratio between mutagenicity/microgram of particulate matter with S9 and that without S9 remains more or less constant regardless of seasonal fluctuations, suggesting that during cold months quantitative increases of mutagens onto particulate matter have probably occurred. The comparison of air mutagenicity in different sites suggests that motor vehicle exhaust fumes are the major source of air pollution. Finally, because of high-traffic volume, air mutagenicity at street level is comparable to that observed in several metropolitan areas all over the world.
Hydrogeochemistry and hydrogeology of the Canino Hydrothermal System (Italy)
Chiodini, G.; Giaquinto, S.; Frondini, F.; Santucci, A. )
In this paper the Canino area, central Italy, is characterized by the discharge of a large quantity of Ca-SO{sub 4} thermal waters, the total flow rate of which is estimated to be 200 l/s. Ten to twenty l/s of the thermal flow are of an Na-Cl component from a deep source, which was identified by means of the B, Cl, Cs, Na, and Li contents of the waters. The Canino Na-Cl fluids have ratios among these species close to those of the geothermal fluids of Latera. The Canino hydrothermal system, which is located within buried carbonate structures, is therefore made up of a shallower zone, where the Ca-SO{sub 4} hydrotype is prevalent, and another deeper zone where an Na-Cl brine is present. For the sulphate fluids circulating in the upper levels of the system, a temperature of 70-100{degrees} C has been estimated, while a possible higher enthalpy resource may be represented by the chloride aqueous solutions circulating at deeper levels.
Tectonic and sedimentary evolution of the Luna field area, Italy
Roveri, M. )
The Luna gas field is located near Crotone (Calabria region, southern Italy) in a shallow-water/onshore area. It was discovered and put into production during the early 1970s. Up to now it has produced 19 {times} 10{sup 9} sm{sup 3} of gas; its productivity (50 {times} 10{sup 6} sm{sup 3}/y) has remained virtually unaltered since the beginning. The field is located on the axial culmination of a thrust-related anticline of the Apennine postcollisional thrust belt; it can be roughly subdivided into two areas characterized by different stratigraphic contexts. In the northern and central parts of the field is a structural trap. Reservoir rocks are Serravallian to Tortonian deep marine resedimented conglomerates and sandstones. These deposits represent part of the infill of a middle-upper Miocene foredeep. Reservoir rocks are now thrusted, eroded, and unconformably overlain by lower Pliocene shales, which are the most important seal in this part of the field. In the southern part of the field is a combination trap. Reservoir rocks are upper Tortonian shallow-water sandstones. They lap onto a Tortonian unconformity related to a tectonic phase which split the previous foredeep into minor piggyback basins. The upper Tortonian sandstones are overlain and sealed by Messinian shales and evaporites. Tectonosedimentary evolution of the area and, consequently, areal distribution and geometry of sedimentary bodies - both potential reservoirs and seals - have been reconstructed using a sequence stratigraphy approach. The sedimentary record has been informally subdivided into five main depositional sequences bounded by unconformities or their correlative conformities; classic facies analysis and petrophysical, seismic, and biostratigraphic data have been utilized to define the internal characteristics of each sequence.
Geochemistry and habitat of the oils in Italy
Mattavelli, L.; Novelli, L. )
All varieties of liquid petroleum, ranging from condensates (> 50{degree}API) to immature sulfur-rich heavy oils (as low as 5{degree} API), have been found in Italy. However, nonbiodegraded heavy oils account for about 70% of the total original oil in place. Geochemical analyses indicate that 11 oil groups are present in the Italian basins and two main types of source rocks have been identified: Triassic carbonates and Tertiary shales. About 95% of the oils were originated from Middle and Upper Triassic carbonates containing type II kerogen (about 1% total organic carbon (TOC) and 500 mg hydrocarbon/g TOC). Only a relatively minor amount of oil was generated by Tertiary shales containing type III kerogen with TOC generally less than 1%. Timing of generation and migration and bulk properties of oils were controlled by geodynamic histories of the three main Italian geologic settings: (1) Apennine and Southern Alp thrust belts, (2) foredeep (depression bordering the thrust belts), and (3) foreland (nondeformed African continental margin). Within the Apennine thrust belts, deep burial during the Neogene resulted in the generation of substantially lighter oils, not only from deeply buried Triassic but sometimes also from Tertiary source rocks. In the late Neogene, foredeep depocenters located in the central Adriatic and southern Sicily, high subsidence (up to 1,000 m/m.y.), a low geothermal gradient (22C/km) and compressional tectonics caused the generation of immature heavy oils generally at depths below 5,000 m and temperatures greater than 100C. Rapid burial and higher geothermal gradients (32C/km), which occurred since the Jurassic, resulted in the generation of light oils from the Late Cretaceous to the Oligocene in the southern sector of Adriatic foreland.
Mutations in genetic variants of human serum albumin found in Italy
Galliano, M.; Minchiotti, L.; Ferri, G. ); Porta, F.; Rossi, A. ); Madison, J.; Watkins, S.; Putnam, F.W. )
A long-term electrophoretic survey of genetic variants of serum albumin has identified an alloalbumin in 589 unrelated individuals in Italy. The alloalbumins were classified electrophoretically into 17 types. The number of unrelated carriers for each type varied from 1 for several variants reported here to 103 for albumin B. The structural change in 8 of these types has previously been determined, and the amino acid substitutions in 3 additional types are reported here. The ability to distinguish so many alloalbumin types by electrophoresis at several pH values indicates that similar substitutions at different sites produce variants with different electrophoretic mobilities. Except for chain terminations in two Italian variants, all the mutations thus far determined for alloalbumins are attributable to a single-base change in the structural gene, and there is a preponderance of transitions and purine mutations. Seven alloalbumins for which the structural change has been established have been ascertained only in Italy. Several of these are clustered in specific geographic regions of Italy, which suggests an origin through a founder individual. Other variants that occur worldwide are nonetheless clustered in geographic regions within Italy. In these cases an independent mutation probably occurred at a hypermutable site such as a CpG dinucleotide.
Dynamic model of Italy`s Progetto Energia cogeneration plants aims to better predict plant performance, cut start-up costs
Over the next four years, the Progetto Energia project will be building several cogeneration plants to help satisfy the increasing demands of Italy`s industrial users and the country`s demand for electrical power. Located at six different sites within Italy, these combined-cycle cogeneration plants will supply a total of 500 MW of electricity and 100 tons/hr of process steam to Italian industries and residences. To ensure project success, a dynamic model of the 50-MW base unit was developed. The goal established for the model was to predict the dynamic behavior of the complex thermodynamic system in order to assess equipment performance and control system effectiveness for normal operation and, more importantly, abrupt load changes. In addition to fulfilling its goals, the dynamic study guided modifications to controller logic that significantly improved steam drum pressure control and bypassed steam desuperheating performance simulations of normal and abrupt transient events allowed engineers to define optimum controller gain coefficients. The dynamic study will undoubtedly reduce the associated plant start-up costs and contribute to a smooth commercial plant acceptance. As a result of the work, the control system has already been through its check-out and performance evaluation, usually performed during the plant start-up phase. Field engineers will directly benefit from this effort to identify and resolve control system {open_quotes}bugs{close_quotes} before the equipment reaches the field. High thermal efficiency, rapid dispatch and high plant availability were key reasons why the natural gas combined-cycle plant was chosen. Other favorable attributes of the combined-cycle plant contributing to the decision were: Minimal environmental impact; a simple and effective process and control philosophy to result in safe and easy plant operation; a choice of technologies and equipment proven in a large number of applications.
A methodology for optimal MSW management, with an application in the waste transportation of Attica Region, Greece
Economopoulou, M.A.; Economopoulou, A.A.; Economopoulos, A.P.
Highlights: • A two-step (strategic and detailed optimal planning) methodology is used for solving complex MSW management problems. • A software package is outlined, which can be used for generating detailed optimal plans. • Sensitivity analysis compares alternative scenarios that address objections and/or wishes of local communities. • A case study shows the application of the above procedure in practice and demonstrates the results and benefits obtained. - Abstract: The paper describes a software system capable of formulating alternative optimal Municipal Solid Wastes (MSWs) management plans, each of which meets a set of constraints that may reflect selected objections and/or wishes of local communities. The objective function to be minimized in each plan is the sum of the annualized capital investment and annual operating cost of all transportation, treatment and final disposal operations involved, taking into consideration the possible income from the sale of products and any other financial incentives or disincentives that may exist. For each plan formulated, the system generates several reports that define the plan, analyze its cost elements and yield an indicative profile of selected types of installations, as well as data files that facilitate the geographic representation of the optimal solution in maps through the use of GIS. A number of these reports compare the technical and economic data from all scenarios considered at the study area, municipality and installation level constituting in effect sensitivity analysis. The generation of alternative plans offers local authorities the opportunity of choice and the results of the sensitivity analysis allow them to choose wisely and with consensus. The paper presents also an application of this software system in the capital Region of Attica in Greece, for the purpose of developing an optimal waste transportation system in line with its approved waste management plan. The formulated plan was able to
Integrated assessment of a new Waste-to-Energy facility in Central Greece in the context of regional perspectives
Perkoulidis, G.; Papageorgiou, A.; Karagiannidis, A.; Kalogirou, S.
The main aim of this study is the integrated assessment of a proposed Waste-to-Energy facility that could contribute in the Municipal Solid Waste Management system of the Region of Central Greece. In the context of this paper alternative transfer schemes for supplying the candidate facility were assessed considering local conditions and economical criteria. A mixed-integer linear programming model was applied for the determination of optimum locations of Transfer Stations for an efficient supplying chain between the waste producers and the Waste-to-Energy facility. Moreover different Regional Waste Management Scenarios were assessed against multiple criteria, via the Multi Criteria Decision Making method ELECTRE III. The chosen criteria were total cost, Biodegradable Municipal Waste diversion from landfill, energy recovery and Greenhouse Gas emissions and the analysis demonstrated that a Waste Management Scenario based on a Waste-to-Energy plant with an adjacent landfill for disposal of the residues would be the best performing option for the Region, depending however on the priorities of the decision makers. In addition the study demonstrated that efficient planning is necessary and the case of three sanitary landfills operating in parallel with the WtE plant in the study area should be avoided. Moreover alternative cases of energy recovery of the candidate Waste-to-Energy facility were evaluated against the requirements of the new European Commission Directive on waste in order for the facility to be recognized as recovery operation. The latter issue is of high significance and the decision makers in European Union countries should take it into account from now on, in order to plan and implement facilities that recover energy efficiently. Finally a sensitivity check was performed in order to evaluate the effects of increased recycling rate, on the calorific value of treated Municipal Solid Waste and the gate fee of the candidate plant and found that increased
Clean Coal and Waste to Energy Session
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Sector: Solar Product: Ilion Ventures develops large-scale solar projects in Southern Europe, primarily in Greece and Italy. References: Ilion Ventures1 This article is a stub....
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SEA effectiveness criteria-equally valid in all countries? The case of Italy
Fischer, Thomas B. . E-mail: email@example.com; Gazzola, Paola
Recent years have seen the introduction of various sets of strategic environmental assessment (SEA) effectiveness criteria in the professional international literature. Content analysis of key international SEA publications suggest that these have been developed based on the experiences of a selected number of countries only, and to date, the question whether they are fully valid in all systems and countries world-wide has not been addressed sufficiently, yet. In this context, the paper discusses the validity of effectiveness criteria for Italy, a country from which authors have only contributed to a very limited extent to the international SEA literature. It is concluded that, particularly in the light of experiences with a 'flexible', but ineffective EIA system, in Italy SEA needs to be applied in a systematic and rigorous manner, aided by strong enforcement mechanisms.
Challenging design objectives and criteria for future nuclear plants in Italy
Gadola, A.; Tripputi, I. )
The National Energy Plan of August 1988, after the public poll of November 1987 and the decision to stop the plants in operation and construction, placed a 5-yr moratorium on construction of new plants and, at the same time, called for the study of new designs that would allow a return of nuclear power in Italy. In this context ENEL, the Italian national utility, has started a broad program of research and development on new reactors with enhanced safety characteristics in an international context. With the approaching end of the 5-yr moratorium, this paper summarizes the work under way and outlines the results that are expected to be included in the reactors that could be built before the end of the century in Italy.
Review of safety guidelines and licensing procedures applicable in Italy with regard to fusion machines
Sgalambro, G.
A consistent set of general safety criteria has been set up in Italy dealing with fusion machines, considering also the most recent recommendations issued by ICRP. The paper gives a short discussion of the more safety relevant aspects in the design of fusion machines starting from the consideration of the applicable dose limits. The procedure for the licensing of fusion machines is presented in the second part of the paper.
Radon and helium in soil gases in the Phlegraean Fields, central Italy
Lombardi, S. ); Reimer, G.M. )
The distribution and migration of radon and helium soil-gas concentrations in the Phlegraean Fields, Italy, are controlled by the tectonic features of the area. Radon is supplied from surficial sources and helium has both surficial and deep origins. There is no direct correlation between the two noble gases on a point-to-point basis but the areal distribution of both gases is similar, suggesting that the distribution is controlled primarily by fractures and movement of geothermal fluids.
2-D Coda and Direct Wave Attenuation Tomography in Northern Italy
Morasca, P; Mayeda, K; Gok, R; Phillips, W S; Malagnini, L
A 1-D coda method was proposed by Mayeda et al. (2003) in order to obtain stable seismic source moment-rate spectra using narrowband coda envelope measurements. That study took advantage of the averaging nature of coda waves to derive stable amplitude measurements taking into account all propagation, site, and Sto-coda transfer function effects. Recently this methodology was applied to micro earthquake data sets from three sub-regions of northern Italy (i.e., western Alps, northern Apennines and eastern Alps). Since the study regions were small, ranging between local-to-near-regional distances, the simple 1-D path assumptions used in the coda method worked very well. The lateral complexity of this region would suggest, however, that a 2-D path correction might provide even better results if the datasets were combined, especially when paths traverse larger distances and complicated regions. The structural heterogeneity of northern Italy makes the region ideal to test the extent to which coda variance can be reduced further by using a 2-D Q tomography technique. The approach we use has been developed by Phillips et al. (2005) and is an extension of previous amplitude ratio techniques to remove source effects from the inversion. The method requires some assumptions such as isotropic source radiation which is generally true for coda waves. Our results are compared against direct Swave inversions for 1/Q and results from both share very similar attenuation features that coincide with known geologic structures. We compare our results with those derived from direct waves as well as some recent results from northern California obtained by Mayeda et al. (2005) which tested the same tomographic methodology applied in this study to invert for 1/Q. We find that 2-D coda path corrections for this region significantly improve upon the 1-D corrections, in contrast to California where only a marginal improvement was observed. We attribute this difference to stronger lateral
Massachusetts Institute of Technology Elba XI Workshop, Elba, Italy, June 23, 10
Broader source: All U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office Webpages (Extended Search)
2010 Teppei Katori, MIT 1 Teppei Katori for the MiniBooNE collaboration Massachusetts Institute of Technology Elba XI Workshop, Elba, Italy, June 23, 10 First Measurement of Muon Neutrino Charged Current Quasielastic (CCQE) Double Differential Cross Section PRD81(2010)092005 First Measurement of Muon Neutrino Charged Current Quasielastic (CCQE) Double Differential Cross Section 06/30/2010 Teppei Katori, MIT 2 outline 0. NuInt09 summary 1. Booster neutrino beamline 2. MiniBooNE detector 3. CCQE
Organochlorine pesticide and polychlorinated biphenyl residues in human milk from Rome (Italy) and surroundings
Dommarco, R.; Muccio, A.D.; Camoni, I.; Gigli, B.
Organochlorine (OC) pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in human milk have been the subject of many studies. Surveys carried out in Italy are all eight years old with the exception of the latest work. Because of recent improvements in analytical methodology, the authors believe an up-to-date study would provide additional information. Thus, this paper presents a survey of the levels of human milk contamination, in Rome and surroundings, by organochlorine pesticides and PCBs. This survey is a part of a larger monitoring program covering also geographical areas outside of Rome.
Studies of delayed hypersensitivity responses in children in an industrialized region of Italy
La Rosa, M.; Mancuso, G.R.; Greco, D.; Di Paola, M.; Schiliro, G.; Bagnato, G.F.; Bellanti, J.A. )
The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the effects of chronic exposure to chemical pollutants on cell mediated immune responses in a pediatric population living in Priolo, an industrialized area of Italy, by means of skin test (Multitest CMI). The results suggest that children living in Priolo display significantly lower delayed type hypersensitivity (DTH) response than those seen in an age-matched and socioeconomically similar group of children living in Taormina, a nonindustrialized area. The lowered incidence of DTH scores in Priolo is not due to the number of positive skin test responses to individual antigens, but rather to the size of individual reactions.
Assessing the health risks of natural CO2 seeps in Italy
Roberts, J.J.; Wood, R.A.; Haszeldine, R.S.
Industrialized societies which continue to use fossil fuel energy sources are considering adoption of Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technology to meet carbon emission reduction targets. Deep geological storage of CO2 onshore faces opposition regarding potential health effects of CO2 leakage from storage sites. There is no experience of commercial scale CCS with which to verify predicted risks of engineered storage failure. Studying risk from natural CO2 seeps can guide assessment of potential health risks from leaking onshore CO2 stores. Italy and Sicily are regions of intense natural CO2 degassing from surface seeps. These seeps exhibit a variety of expressions, characteristics (e.g., temperature/ flux), and location environments. Here we quantify historical fatalities from CO2 poisoning using a database of 286 natural CO2 seeps in Italy and Sicily. We find that risk of human death is strongly influenced by seep surface expression, local conditions (e.g., topography and wind speed), CO2 flux, and human behavior. Risk of accidental human death from these CO2 seeps is calculated to be 10-8 year-1 to the exposed population. This value is significantly lower than that of many socially accepted risks. Seepage from future storage sites is modeled to be less than Italian natural flux rates. With appropriate hazard management, health risks from unplanned seepage at onshore storage sites can be adequately minimized.
Geotechnical Seismic Hazard Evaluation At Sellano (Umbria, Italy) Using The GIS Technique
Capilleri, P.; Maugeri, M.
A tool that has been widely-used in civil engineering in recent years is the geographic information system (GIS). Geographic Information systems (GIS) are powerful tools for organizing, analyzing, and presenting spatial data. The GIS can be used by geotechnical engineers to aid preliminary assessment through to the final geotechnical design. The aim of this work is to provide some indications for the use of the GIS technique in the field of seismic geotechnical engineering, particularly as regards the problems of seismic hazard zonation maps. The study area is the village of Sellano located in the Umbrian Apennines in central Italy, about 45 km east of Perugia and 120 km north-east of Rome The increasing importance attributed to microzonation derives from the spatial variability of ground motion due to particular local conditions. The use of GIS tools can lead to an early identification of potential barriers to project completion during the design process that may help avoid later costly redesign.
Perspectives of geothermal development in Italy and the challenge of environmental conservation
Baldacci, A.; Sabatelli, F.
The status of geothermal development for power generation in Italy as of the end of 1996 is presented. Future development is dependent upon the acceptance of local residents; environmental conservation and socioeconomic aspects have thus become fundamental issues in ENEL activities. The results of an environmental assessment study carried out in the Mt. Amiata area, where several plants are in operation and others are planned, are outlined. Pollutant concentrations are well within the limits set by current legislation; however, hydrogen sulfide (H{sub 2}S) and mercury abatement is planned to avoid the odor nuisance of H{sub 2}S and possible adverse effects from mercury buildup in the long term. The scheme for combined H{sub 2}S and mercury abatement, developed for the particular characteristics of Italian geothermal fluids, is described. The proposed technology is going to be demonstrated on a pilot scale and then on a 20 MW power plant.
A new geophysical contribution to the study of the Campidano Geothermal area (Sardinia, Italy)
Balia, R. )
This paper reports that in order to achieve a better definition of the geothermal potential in the area of the Campidano graben (Sardinia, Italy), where there are some thermal springs, a multi-methodological geophysical survey has been combined with recent surface and subsurface geological information. New gravity and magnetic stations, distributed over the northern part of the area (Campidano of Oristano), have been measured to complement already published data for the central-southern part of the graben. Deep dipole-dipole geoelectrical soundings have also been performed along two profiles perpendicular to the strike of the graben. The geological interpretation of the geophysical data allows us to conclude that no shallow, exploitable, geothermal reservoir exists in the survey area.
Radon Laboratory: A Proposal for Scientific Culture Dissemination Among Young Students in Italy
Groppi, Flavia; Manenti, Simone; Gini, Luigi; Bonardi, Mauro L.; Bazzocchi, Anna
In Italy the 'nuclear issue' was for a long time a taboo. A way to approach this theme to make the public more trusting of nuclear issues is to discuss radioactivity and ionizing radiation starting from young students. An experimental activity that involves secondary school students has been developed. The approach is to have students engaged in activities that will allow them to understand how natural radioactivity is a part of our everyday environment. This would include how radiation enters our lives in different ways, to demonstrate that natural radioactive sources found in soil, water, and air contribute to our exposure to natural ionizing radiation and how this exposure effects human health. Another objective is to develop a new technique for teaching physics which will enhance scientific interest of students in applications of nuclear physics in both environmental and physical sciences.
Small angle neutron scattering as fingerprinting of ancient potteries from Sicily (Southern Italy)
Barone, G.; Mazzoleni, P.; Crupi, V.; Majolino, D.; Venuti, V.; Teixeira, J.
Small angle neutron scattering measurements have been carried out in order to investigate, in microdestructive way, the mesoscopic structure of a variety of potteries of relevance to cultural heritage coming from different Sicilian (Southern Italy) archeological sites belonging to the 'Strait of Messina' area and dated back to 7th-3rd century B.C. Data have been compared with the mesoscopic parameters extracted for two series of clayey sediments typical of the Strait of Messina area and fired under controlled conditions. The observed agreement between the features of reference and archeological samples allowed us to estimate the maximum firing temperature of the latter. Information on the pore sizes was obtained by the use of the concept of fractal surface, and compared with porosimetry results.
Dual-completion design for HP/HT corrosive oil well, Villafortuna-Trecate Italy
Cerruti, S.E.
Villafortuna-Trecate (Italy) oil field is one of the deepest hydrocarbon deposit in production with a reservoir pressure over 15 Ksi, bottom hole temperature in the range of 380 F and corrosive environment due the presence of carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide in the production fluids. The design of Villafortuna-Trecate completions requested effort in the selection of appropriate equipment and materials that would enhance the safety, longevity and production capacity of the wells. The paper will discuss the dual completion design outlining the supporting logic and concepts together with the equipment innovations utilized. It includes discussion on tubing material and design, tubing connection, wellhead equipment, completion schemes and related equipment, annulus fluid and displacement technique. Quality control aspects are also discussed. It should serve as a general example of conditions unique to deep, high pressure, high temperature corrosive wells and should be of interest to engineers facing a similar task.
An analysis of time-dependence for Chernobyl fallout in Italy
Salvadori, G.; Ratti, S.P.; Belli, G.
We present here an analysis of the airborne radioactivity measured in Italy after the Chernobyl accident. We provide some quality assurance, isolate suspicious data, and devise a mathematical model to aid in interpreting time-dependent fallout data. The model consists of an interpolating function whose parameters can be related to (1) the arrival time of the radioactive cloud; (2) the time of the maximum radioactive concentration; and (3) the decay-rate of airborne radioactivity as the pollutant cloud passes. Multiple arrivals of the radioactive cloud in a given site can also be considered. The parametrization can be used to estimate concentrations of {sup 137}Cs using measurements of {sup 131}I, {sup 103}Ru, or {sup 132}Te. The interpolating function is fitted to the data collected in several Italian Provinces. We feel this model is an useful tool for interpreting time-dependent fallout data. 13 refs., 7 figs., 13 tabs.
(Tenth symposium on microdosimetry, Rome, Italy; Department of Energy/Commission of European Communities workshop, Rome, Italy; and visit to Neuherberg, W. Germany, May 21--June 3, 1989): Foreign trip report
Wright, H.A.
Report of Harvel A. Wright, to participate in the Tenth Symposium on Microdosimetry in Rome, Italy, May 21-26, 1989; to participate in a Department of Energy/Commission of European Communities (DOE/CEC) Workshop on Long-Term Research Needs and Priorities in Microdosimetry, held in Rome following the microdosimetry symposium; and to visit the Gesellschaft fur Strahlen- and Umweltforschung (GSF) in Neuherberg, FRG, to carry out collaborative research with Dr. H.G. Paretzke.
Preliminary study on mercury uptake by Rosmarinus officinalis L. (Rosemary) in a mining area (Mt. Amiata, Italy)
Barghigiani, C.; Ristori, T.
Among the different plants analyzed to assess environmental mercury contamination of mining areas, lichens are those most studied, followed by brooms together with pine, which was also used in other areas, and spruce. Other species, both naturally occurring and cultivated, have also been studied. This work reports on the results of mercury uptake and accumulation in rosemary in relation to metal concentrations in both air and soil. R. officinalis is a widespread endemic Mediterranean evergreen shrub, which in Italy grows naturally and is also cultivated as a culinary herb. This research was carried out in Tuscany (Italy), in the Mt. Amiata area, which is characterized by the presence of cinnabar (HgS) deposits and has been used for mercury extraction and smelting from Etruscan times until 1980, and in the country near the town of Pisa, 140 km away from Mt. Amiata. 16 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab.
Global Nuclear Energy Partnership Inaugural Steering Group Meeting...
Office of Environmental Management (EM)
to serve as the chair of the group and China, France, and Japan to serve as vice-chairs. ... members, Australia, Bulgaria, Canada, China, France, Ghana, Hungary, Italy, Japan, ...
An analysis of markets for small-scale, advanced coal-combustion technology in Spain, Italy, and Turkey
Not Available
This report describes the results of an in-depth analysis of markets for US-developed, advanced coal-combustion technology (ACT) in the residential, commercial, and industrial sectors of three countries -- Spain, Italy, and Turkey. These countries were chosen in a previous study, in which member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) were rated on eight factors influencing their propensity to use small-scale, US-developed ACT. 76 refs., 16 figs., 14 tabs.
Adaptation of the control equipment to permit 3-terminal operation of the HVDC link between Sardinia, Corsica and mainland Italy
Mazzoldi, F.; Taisne, J.P.; Martin, C.J.B.; Rowe, B.A.
After more than 20 years service as a conventional 2-terminal HVdc link, the Sardinia-Mainland Italy hvdc link (200MW, 200kV) is now operating as a three-terminal system. The original control equipment has been modified to allow the introduction of a tapping station on the line for 3-terminal operation. The adaptations to the control equipment, including the means to ensure that the convertors are operated within their capabilities, are explained.
A commercial project for private investments. Update of the 280 MW api Energia IGCC plant construction in central Italy.
Del Bravo, R.; Pinacci, P.; Trifilo, R.
This paper has the aim to give a general overview of the api Energia IGCC project starting from the project background in 1992 and ending with the progress of construction. api Energia S.p.A., a joint VENTURE between api anonima petroli italiana S.p.A., Roma, Italy (51%), ABB Sae Sadelmi S.p.A., Milano, Italy (25%) and Texaco Development Corporation (24%), is building a 280 MW Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle plant in the api refinery at Falconara Marittima, on Italy' s Adriatic coast, using heavy oil residues. The plant is based on the modern concept of employing a highly efficient combined cycle power plant fed with a low heating value fuel gas produced by gasifying heavy refinery residues. This scheme provides consistent advantages in terms of efficiency and environmental impact over alternative applications of the refinery residues. The electric power produced will feed the national grid. The project has been financed using the ``project financing'' scheme: over 1,000 billion Lira, representing 75% of the overall capital requirement, have been provided by a pool of international banks. In November 1996 the project reached financial closure and immediately after the detailed design and procurement activities started. Engineering, Procurement and Construction activities, carried out by a Consortium of companies of the ABB group, are totally in line with the schedule. Commercial operation of the plant, is scheduled for November 1999.
Multiple dolomitization events in Triassic Latemar buildup, the Dolomites, northern Italy
Wilson, E.N.
Partially dolomitized grainstones of the Middle Triassic Latemar buildup (Dolomites, northern Italy) exhibit a range of texturally distinct dolomite types. Petrographic and field observations of spatial associations and cross-cutting relationships among dolomites allow unravelling of the paragenesis of dolomitization events. Three generations of dolomite are preserved in the Latemar. Microdolomite, the earliest generation, occurs as replacement of allochems and as cement in thin (5-15 cm) exposure caps of meter-scale subtidal cycles. These dolomite crusts are texturally and chemically analogous to the Holocene supratidal crusts of Florida and the Bahamas. Saddle dolomite cements, the second generation, fill or line pores and fractures through the platform. The final generation is massive replacement of limestone by coarse, crystalline dolomite, which occupies a 2-3 km/sup 3/ mushroom-shaped zone in the center of the buildup and includes a wide array of fabrics. Here, subtidal limestones are altered to porous sucrosic dolomite, while microdolomite caps are altered to dense dolomite mosaics. Saddle dolomite cements remain as relics surrounded by replacement rhombs. Two important conclusions are (1) early dolomite is preserved as poorly ordered microdolomite (unless overprinted by a later dolomitization event) and accounts for an insignificant volume of the Latemar dolomite, and (2) saddle dolomite cements, often regarded as late-stage burial, occur before massive replacement.
Synsedimentary tectonics in Late Cretaceous-Early Tertiary pelagic basin of northern Apennines, Italy
Montanari, A.; Chan, L.S.; Alvarez, W.
The sequence of Upper Cretaceous-Lower Tertiary pelagic limestones in the Umbria-Marches Apennines of Italy have recorded, with remarkable continuity, the geologic history of an epeiric sea on the eastern continental margin of the Ligurian Ocean during a time of widespread tectonism in the western Tethys domain. Sedimentary facies and paleocurrent analyses indicate that intrabasinal depocenters and structural highs have formed in response to extensional tectonic movements which started to affect the central part of the paleobasin in the early Turonian. The topography of the paleobasin was probably controlled by a complex pattern of buried fault blocks formed during the passive margin phase of the western Tethys and then reactivated in the Turonian after a prolonged time (Aptian to Cenomanian) of tectonic quiescence. Calcareous turbidites essentially made of remobilized pelagic mud were generated on the newly formed intrabasinal slopes and deposited in the adjacent depocenters. Conspicuous sedimentary events such as maxima in turbiditic deposition and soft-sediment slumps in these intrabasinal depocenters are attributed to major syndepositional earthquakes of regional extent. A detailed event-stratigraphy based on these sedimentary features indicates that the level of syndepositional tectonic activity reached a peak in the late Maastrichtian-early Paleocene and rapidly diminished in the Eocene.
Seismic model of a progradational carbonate platform, Picco di Vallandro, the Dolomites, northern Italy
Biddle, K.T.; Bush, T.L. ); Schlager, W. ); Rudolph, K.W. )
The authors present a seismic model of a well-exposed carbonate platform-to-basin transition from the Triassic succession at Picco di Vallandro, the Dolomites, northern Italy. The core of this model is a detailed lithologic cross section that represents 1,500 m of stratigraphic section over a distance of 3.5 km. The cross section is based on detailed measured sections, photo interpretation, and careful projection of surface mapping into the plane of section. Samples from the measured sections provide control on velocity and density distribution, and these data were used to generate an impedance model from the cross section. The impedance model was convolved with a zero-phase, 25-Hz peak-frequency wavelet to produce the seismic model. The results illustrate how the platform-to-basin transition might be imaged by conventional seismic reflection data, how the reflections relate to the distribution of lithology and through-going geological surfaces, and how constructive and destructive interference and seismic resolution combine to produce individual reflections.
Impacts of an oil well blowout near Trecate, Italy on ecological resources
Brandt, C.; Becker, J.; Dauble, D.
An ecological risk assessment (ERA) was conducted after the February 1995 blowout of an oil well near Trecate, Italy to quantify injuries to terrestrial and aquatic biological resources from effects of oil and habitat changes. Avian surveys were conducted on a surrogate area near Varallino to estimate species and numbers potentially exposed to oil and displaced by habitat alteration in the affected area. Of the 43 avian species observed, 20 are considered protected by European Community laws. The most abundant species were passero domestico, fringuello, cornacchia grigia, rondine, piccione torraiolo, and cardellino. These species likely suffered the greatest losses due to inhalation of volatile aromatics, dermal loading of oil, and/or habitat loss in the affected area. Based on CHARM model outputs, inhalation exposures to volatile aromatics and oil aerosols occurred above LOELs for all receptors within 2 km of the blowout. The most significant exposure pathway to large birds was dermal loading, which likely exceeded LC50 levels within 900m of the well. Terrestrial insects seldom contained detectable levels of PAHs, consistent with their shorter life span and residence time in the contaminated area. The highest concentrations of PAHs were found in dike vegetation, frogs, and benthic invertebrates. Ingestion exposures of woodmice to PAHs exceeded toxic reference levels at one site and mice had EHQ = >1 at soil PAH concentrations >4.2 mg/kg. Based on known body burdens causing narcotic response, neither fish nor benthic invertebrates experienced toxic consequences from exposure to PAHs in irrigation canal sediments.
Re-thinking incentives and penalties: Economic aspects of waste management in Italy
Cossu, R.; Masi, S.
Highlights: • We focused on the dynamics the formation of operational costs of waste management. • We provide the basic elements to compose a picture of economic management. • We present a reflection on the last hidden costs associated with the consumption of goods and packaging. • Reduction of waste production. - Abstract: This paper focuses on the dynamics the formation of operational costs of waste management in Italy and the effect of economic measures. Currently incentives and penalties have been internalized by the system no differently from other cost items and revenues. This has greatly influenced the system directing it towards solutions that are often distant from the real environmental objectives. Based on an analysis of disaggregated costs of collection treatment and recovery, we provide the basic elements to compose a picture of economic management in various technical–organizational scenarios. In the light of the considerations contained in the paper it is proposed, e.g. for controlled landfills, that the ecotax, currently based on weight, could be replaced by one based on the volume consumption. Likewise, for tax reduction on disposal system, instead a pre-treatment might ask an environmental balance of the overall system. The article presents a reflection on the last hidden costs associated with the consumption of goods and packaging, and how to reduce waste production is the necessary path to be followed in ecological and economic perspectives.
The low temperature hydrothermal system of Campiglia, Tuscany (Italy); A geochemical approach
Celati, R.; Grassi, S.; D'Amore, F.; Marcolini, L. )
This paper reports on the Campiglia hydrothermal system which is a low temperature hydrothermal system located in southwestern Tuscany, a region of Italy characterized by intense geothermal activity and by the presence of high temperature exploited geothermal reservoirs. Six water-points, with temperatures ranging between 20 and 47{degrees} C and different chemical and isotopic compositions, are found close to the margins of outcrops of the main regional aquifer formation. Systematic hydrogeological, geochemical and isotopic observations and temperature measurements were carried out on the different springs and wells for a period of three years (1984-1986). Constant water characteristics with time were observed in four water-points; two wells had variable trends depending on mixing processes. A groundwater circulation model characterized by flowpaths of different length and depth is suggested by the variety of chemical and isotopic characteristics and is consistent with geothermometry, which indicates temperatures up to 25{degrees} C higher than those measured at the spring emergencies. An important water supply to the system comes from local recharge, although regional circulation may also be present, particularly in the eastern part of the investigated area.
Slope Stability Analysis In Seismic Areas Of The Northern Apennines (Italy)
Lo Presti, D.; Fontana, T.; Marchetti, D.
Several research works have been published on the slope stability in the northern Tuscany (central Italy) and particularly in the seismic areas of Garfagnana and Lunigiana (Lucca and Massa-Carrara districts), aimed at analysing the slope stability under static and dynamic conditions and mapping the landslide hazard. In addition, in situ and laboratory investigations are available for the study area, thanks to the activities undertaken by the Tuscany Seismic Survey. Based on such a huge information the co-seismic stability of few ideal slope profiles have been analysed by means of Limit equilibrium method LEM - (pseudo-static) and Newmark sliding block analysis (pseudo-dynamic). The analysis--results gave indications about the most appropriate seismic coefficient to be used in pseudo-static analysis after establishing allowable permanent displacement. Such indications are commented in the light of the Italian and European prescriptions for seismic stability analysis with pseudo-static approach. The stability conditions, obtained from the previous analyses, could be used to define microzonation criteria for the study area.
Spherules from the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary clay at Gubbio, Italy: the problem of outcrop contamination
Montanari, A.
Surficial outcrop contamination has occurred in some well-known stratigraphic sections of carbonate rocks in the northern Apennines. A critical case involves several contaminated clay partings, including the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary clay in the classic Bottaccione section near Gubbio, Italy. These clay layers contain shiny spherules which, in several recent studies, have been said to consist of volcanic glass and have been used to support the hypothesis that the terminal Cretaceous mass extinction was caused by widespread volcanism. Laboratory tests, however, indicate that these shiny spherules are made of HF-insoluble and combustible material and are therefore of recent biological origin. These objects were introduced into the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary clay and other clay layers from the surrounding soil along with abundant detrital contaminants derived from erosion of the middle Miocene flysch exposed at the head of the Bottaccione Gorge. They are completely different from the altered and flattened microtektitelike spheroids that are found only in the iridium-rich Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary clay and that provide strong evidence for a large impact.
Fragile X founder chromosomes in Italy: A few initial events and possible explanation for their heterogeneity
Chiurazzi, P.; Genuardi, M.; Kozak, L.; Neri, G.
A total of 137 fragile X and 235 control chromosomes from various regions of Italy were haplotyped by analyzing two neighbouring marker microsatellites, FRAXAC1 and DXS548. The number of CGG repeats at the 5{prime} end of the FMR1 gene was also assessed in 141 control chromosomes and correlated with their haplotypes. Significant linkage disequilibrium between some {open_quotes}major{close_quotes} haplotypes and fragile X was observed, while other {open_quotes}minor{close_quotes} haplotypes may have originated by subsequent mutation at the marker microsatellite loci and/or recombination between them. Recent evidence suggests that the initial mechanism leading to CGG instability might consist of rare (10{sup -6/-7}) CGG repeat slippage events and/or loss of a stabilizing AGG via A-to-C transversion. Also, the apparently high variety of fragile X chromosomes may be partly due to the relatively high mutation rate (10{sup -4/-5}) of the microsatellite markers used in haplotyping. Our fragile X sample also showed a higher than expected heterozygosity when compared to the control sample and we suggest that this might be explained by the chance occurrence of the few founding events on different chromosomes, irrespective of their actual frequency in the population. Alternatively, a local mechanism could enhance the microsatellite mutation rate only on fragile X chromosomes, or fragile X mutations might occur more frequently on certain background haplotypes. 59 refs., 4 figs.
Measurement and prediction of copper ion activity in Lake Orta, Italy
Camusso, M.; Tartari, G. ); Zirino, A. )
A commercial Cu ion selective electrode (ISE) mounted on a field conductivity, temperature, depth probe (CTD) equipped with pH and oxygen sensors was used to measure a profile of Cu ion activity ({alpha}(Cu{sup 2+})) in Lake Orta, Italy. Lake Orta water contains approximately 32-34 {mu}g L{sup {minus}1} Cu from anthropogenic sources. Below the mixed layer, {alpha}-(Cu{sup 2+}) was directly related to the pH of the lake water. In the body of the hypolimnion, measurements of {alpha}(Cu{sup 2+}) obtained from total Cu concentrations. The pH dependence of the activity/concentration of free Cu{sup 2+} was modeled with a simple ion association model of the lake water. The results of the model were verified by a potentiometric titration of a sample of lake water using Cu, pH, and NH{sub 3} ISEs. The titration simulated a forthcoming chemical treatment now in progress.
Survey of radiation dose and image quality in mammography: an ongoing program in Italy
Rimondi, O.; Gambaccini, M.; Candini, G.C.; Indovina, P.L.; Rosati, A.
A program for mammography optimization in individual x-ray units, named Dose and Quality in Mammography (DQM), is now underway in Italy. The project has three stages: measurement of the parameters that affect dose and image quality by means of devices that are practical to use (specifically designed for the purpose), analysis of data to evaluate dose and image quality and suggestion of possible improvements to each unit operator. Instruments and methods employed in our survey are described. Our results, like those of the American survey (Je78) Breast Exposure: Nationwide Trends (BENT), show widespread variations of exposure, half value layer (HVL), optical density, dose and resolution. Facilities using the same type of x-ray apparatus (Mo target-Mo filter) and film-screen combinations present very different exposure values, ranging from 1.6 X 10(-4) to 27.6 X 10(-4) C kg-1. The causes of these variations--ascribable to the individual units, radiologist preferences, processing condition, kVp indicator and timer accuracy--are being explored.
Geographical distribution of benzene in air in northwestern Italy and personal exposure
Gilli, G.; Scursatone, E.; Bono, R.
Benzene is a solvent strictly related to some industrial activities and to automotive emissions. After the reduction in lead content of fuel gasoline, and the consequent decrease in octane number, an increase in benzene and other aromatic hydrocarbons in gasoline occurred. Therefore, an increase in the concentration of these chemicals in the air as primary pollutants and as precursors of photochemical smog could occur in the future. The objectives of this study were to describe the benzene air pollution at three sites in northwestern Italy throughout 1991 and 1994; to examine the relationship between benzene air pollution in indoor, outdoor, and personal air as measured by a group of nonsmoking university students; and to determine the influence of environmental tobacco smoke on the level of benzene exposure in indoor air environments. The results indicate a direct relationship between population density and levels of contamination; an indoor/outdoor ratio of benzene air pollution higher than 1 during day and night; a similar level of personal and indoor air contamination; and a direct relationship between levels of personal exposure to benzene and intensity of exposure to tobacco smoke. Human exposure to airborne benzene has been found to depend principally on indoor air contamination not only in the home but also in many other confined environments. 29 refs., 2 figs., 6 tabs.
Biomonitoring of mercury pollution in a wetland near Ravenna, Italy by translocated bivalves (Mytilus galloprovincialis)
Cattani, O.; Fabbri, D.; Salvati, M.; Trombini, C.; Vassura, I.
An active biomonitoring experiment using mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) was performed in Pialassa Baiona, a mercury-polluted coastal wetland near Ravenna, Italy. Three stations (A, B, and C) were selected along the south to north axis. Following a 52-d field exposure, organisms transplanted in the southernmost polluted area (station A) showed mean mercury concentration values of 660 ng/g (dry weight), 4.4 times the initial background level, and were still accumulating mercury. Mussels in both the central area (station B) and the northern area (station C) seemed to reach a steady state with mean mercury concentration values of 323 and 412 ng/g, respectively. This field experiment is the first study carried out in the Ravenna wetlands to evaluate mercury bioavailability in this environment. Finally, the efficiency of the population of Mytilus galloprovincialis selected for the field experiment as mercury bioaccumulators was tested in a laboratory experiment that revealed that up to 135 {micro}g/g (dry weight) could be reached after 77 d of exposure to mercury-polluted water.
Radon exhalation rate from coal ashes and building materials in Italy
Battaglia, A.; Capra, D.; Queirazza, G.
The Italian National Electricity Board, in cooperation with Centro Informazioni Stubi Esperienze (CISE) has a program to assess the hazards connected with using fly ash in civil applications as partial substitutes for cement and other building materials. We investigated the natural radioactivity levels of more than 200 building materials. The survey involved materials available in Italy, categorized by geographical location and type of production. We also examined approximately 100 samples of fly ash from United States and South African coal, obtained from Italian power plants. Exhalation rates from about 40 powdered materials were determined by continuously measuring radon concentration growth in closed containers. Measurements were also performed on whole bricks, slabs, and titles. Details about the high-sensitivity measuring devices are presented. The influence of fly ash on exhalation rates was investigated by accurately measuring radon emanation from slabs with various ash/cement ratios and with slabs of inert materials having various radium concentrations. We will discuss results of forecasting indoor radon concentrations under different ventilation conditions. Two identical test rooms are being built, one with conventional and one with fly-ash building materials, to compare theoretical calculations with experimental data. Specifications for instruments to control and to measure the most important parameters are also discussed.
Channelized fluid flow through shear zones during fluid-enhanced dynamic recrystallization, Northern Apennines, Italy
Carter, K.E.; Dworkin, S.I. )
Geochemical and petrographic studies of the Triassic Portoro limestone of the Tuscan nappe in Liguria, Italy, indicate that fluid flow was channeled through interlayered bedding-parallel shear zones during Miocene shearing and low-grade metamorphism. Carbon, oxygen, and strontium isotopic compositions and trace element concentrations in the Portoro indicate that it was precipitated from normal marine waters. In sheared and unsheared layers these isotopic compositions are indistinguishable, yet sheared layers of microspar contain less than half the amount of strontium preserved in undeformed layers. Wavy grain boundaries and a dimensional preferred orientation of elongated grains indicate that calcite within sheared zones was dynamically recrystallized. On the basis of these observations we suggest that during burial, extraformational fluids were buffered into oxygen isotopic, but not strontium-concentration, equilibrium with the Portoro. These syndeformational fluids were channeled through discrete 1- to 15-cm-thick shear zones in which strontium was expelled from calcite and incorporated into grain-boundary fluids during dynamic recrystallization.
Interaction of marine and fluvial clastic sedimentation, central Italy, Tyrrhenian coast
Evangelista, S.; Full, W.E.; Tortora, P.
An integrated approach was used to study the interaction of fluvial, beach, and marine processes on sedimentation at the west-central coast of Italy along the Tyrrhenian Sea. The study area, 120 km northwest of Rome, is bounded on the north by Mt. Argentario, on the east by Pleistocene volcanics, on the south by the St. Augustine River, and on the west by the 50-mn bathymetric isopleth. The primary tools used included field work, textural analysis, high-resolution marine seismic, SEM, and Fourier shape analysis. Field work revealed incised streams, potentially relict beach ridges and lagoons, and relatively steep nearshore marine slopes in the northern portions of the study area. The result of the shape analysis performed on 56 samples was the definition of four end members. Each end member reflects a sedimentation process. Three end members were directly associated with fluvial sedimentation, and the fourth reflected marine processes. The seismic data along with the SEM analysis strongly supported the interpretation of four processes that dominate the recent sedimentation history. The sand interpreted to be associated with marine processes was found to represent the smoothest end member. SEM analysis suggests that the smoothing is not due to abrasion but to plastering associated with biologic processes (digestion.) and/or with silica precipitation associated with clay alteration at the freshwater/saltwater interface.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in surface waters of Alessandria District, South Eastern Piedmont (Italy)
Trova, C.; Cossa, G.; Gandolfo, G.
Polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are ubiquitous environmental pollutants. Because of the high toxicity of some polycyclic compounds, such as benzopyrenes, the determination of their levels in air, water, soil and aquatic organisms was the object of several papers. Anthropogenic pyrolitic and combustion processes, related to industrial plants, domestic heating, automobile traffic, are the major sources of these compounds; from these sources they enter atmospheric environment where their concentration is reduced by scavenging during precipitation events: rain, snow and fog in urban areas usually show high contents of PAHs. Dry and wet atmospheric polluted depositions effluents transport appreciable amounts of PAHs to aquatic environment, where they are rapidly taken up and accumulated by both fish and shellfish. Alessandria District, in South-Eastern Piedmont (Italy), lies in the middle of Torino-Milano-Genova industrial area: in addition to local sources, a relatively long range transport of polluted air masses may conduct to this region atmospheric contaminants, such as polynuclear compounds, that can enter fluvial environments through meteoric precipitation. The object of this work was to evaluate PAH content in surface waters flowing across the described territory. Samplings were carried on during winter season, when the concentration of these pollutants usually reaches the highest levels. 8 refs., 4 figs., 2 tabs.
Multiple dolomitization events in Triassic latemar buildup, the dolomites, northern Italy
Wilson, E.N.
Partially dolomitized grainstones of the Middle Triassic Latemar buildup (Dolomites, northern Italy) exhibit a range of texturally distinct dolomite types. Petrographic and field observations of spatial associations and cross-cutting relationships among dolomites allow unravelling of the paragenesis of dolomitization events. Three generations of dolomite are preserved in the Latemar. Microdolomite, the earliest generation, occurs as replacement of allochems and as cement in thin (5-15 cm) exposure caps of meter-scale subtidal cycles. These dolomite crusts are texturally and chemically analogous to the Holocene supratidal crusts of Florida and the Bahamas. Saddle dolomite cements, the second generation, fill or line pores and fractures through the platform. The final generation is massive replacement of limestone by coarse, crystalline dolomite, which occupies a 2-3 km/sup 3/ mushroom-shaped zone in the center of the buildup and includes a wide array of fabrics. Here, subtidal limestones are altered to porous sucrosic dolomite, while microdolomite caps are altered to dense dolomite mosaics. Saddle dolomite cements remain as relics surrounded by replacement rhombs. Two important conclusions are (1) early dolomite is preserved as poorly ordered microdolomite (unless overprinted by a later dolomitization event) and accounts for an insignificant volume of the Latemar dolomite, and (2) saddle dolomite cements, often regarded as late-stage burial, occur before massive replacement. Standard textural classification of Latemar dolomites hindered the resolution of the timing of dolomitization events. Instead, paragenetic relationships provided a powerful tool for grouping dolomites into generations representing specific diagenetic events in specific dolomitizing environments.
Images of energy: Policy perspectives on the introduction of hydroelectricity in Italy, 1882-1914
Laszlo, A.R.
This study considers the link between energy technologies and cultural attitudes. Contemporary energy policy makers lack the conceptual tools with which to evaluate culturally appropriate energy choices. A way to regain a contextual capability is needed; that is, the capacity to recognize and avert situations where technological advance is insufficiently harmonized with its embedding environment. This study explores how both policy makers and the general public form their [open quotes]images of energy.[close quotes] It does so in three parts, beginning with an examination of the concepts of [open quotes]technology,[close quotes] [open quotes]culture[close quotes] and [open quotes]cognitive map,[close quotes] and an explanation of their interrelationship. The second part presents two historical case-studies of the introduction of hydroelectricity in Italy from 1882-1914. It considers how a relatively unknown technology made its way into urban and rural life, who its primary surveyors were, and how it shaped and was shaped by the cognitive maps of those into whose lives it marched. The final part extends the investigation to contemporary socio-cultural dynamics. Through concepts derived from General System Theory, the process of technological integration is interpreted in light of events that shape the world today. The design of a model to be used by energy makers and educators alike in conceiving culturally attuned energy alternatives is proposed. Such a model would describe energy-related cognitive maps and could serve as the basis for informed decision-making on energy choice at all levels of society. The study concludes with suggestions for a research agenda to further explore individual and collective energy-related cognitive maps.
(Use of carbon dioxide in inorganic, organic, and bioorganic reactions, Ginosa, Italy, June 17--28, 1989): Foreign trip report
Smith, H.B.
The traveler attended the NATO Advanced Study Institute in Ginosa, Italy, and presented an oral summary of his research entitled ''Subtle Structural Perturbations at the Active Site of Rubisco by Concerted Site-Directed Mutagenesis and Chemical Modification.'' Topics of the Institute included the chemical fixation, electrochemical and chemical reduction of carbon dioxide, and enzymatic reactions of carbon dioxide. Discussion of ribulose bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase, the enzyme that catalyzes by far most of the earth's yearly carbon dioxide fixation, highlighted ongoing investigations of the enzyme within the Protein Engineering Program of ORNL's Biology Division.
Search for neutrino oscillations by detecting UNK-1 600-GeV neutrino beams at Gran Sasso (Italy)
Vasil`ev, P.S.; Kuznetsov, A.E.; Kuznetsov, E.P.
The possibility of formation of neutrino beams from the 600-GeV UNK-1 accelerator toward Gran Sasso (Italy) and of study neutrino oscillations with the ICARUS detector is demonstrated. The proposed experiment is sensitive to {Delta}m{sup 2} values down to 10{sup -3} eV{sup 2} at maximum neutrino mixing and to sin{sup 2}2{theta} values down to 6 x 10{sup -3} at {Delta}m{sup 2} {approximately} 2 x 10{sup -2} eV{sup 2}. 21 refs., 6 figs., 3 tabs.
An analysis of markets for small-scale, advanced coal-combustion technology in Spain, Italy, and Turkey
Placet, M.; Gerry, P.A.; Kenski, D.M.; Kern, D.M.; Nehring, J.L.; Szpunar, C.B.
This report discusses the examination of potential overseas markets for using small-scale, US-developed, advanced coal-combustion technologies (ACTs). In previous work, member countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) were rated on their potential for using ACTs through a comprehensive screening methodology. The three most promising OECD markets were found to be Spain, Italy, and Turkey. This report provides in-depth analyses of these three selected countries. First, it addresses changes in the European Community with particular reference to the 1992 restructuring and its potential effect on the energy situation in Europe, specifically in the three subject countries. It presents individual country studies that examine demographics, economics, building infrastructures, and energy-related factors. Potential niches for ACTs are explored for each country through regional analyses. Marketing channels, strategies, and the trading environments in each country are also discussed. The information gathered indicates that Turkey is a most promising market, Spain is a fairly promising market, and Italy appears to be a somewhat limited market for US ACTs. 76 refs., 16 figs., 14 tabs.
XRD micro-XANES EMPA and SIMS investigation on phlogopite single crystals from Mt. Vulture (Italy)
F Scordari; M Dyar; E Schingaro; M Lacalamita; L Ottolini
Selected phlogopite flakes from Mt. Vulture in southern Italy were studied using a combination of single-crystal techniques: electron microprobe analysis (EMPA), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS), single-crystal X-ray diffraction (SCXRD), and micro-X-ray absorption near-edge spectroscopy (XANES). The latter technique was employed to analyze the structure of the Fe-K absorption edge over the region from 7080-8100 eV and to determine Fe{sup 3+}/{Sigma}Fe at a micrometer scale, albeit with large error bars due to known effects of orientation on pre-edge energy. The annite component, Fe/(Mg+Fe), of the samples studied ranged from 0.16 to 0.31, the Ti content from 0.11 to 0.27 atoms per formula unit (apfu) and the Ba content from 0.03 to 0.09 apfu. SIMS analysis showed H{sub 2}O (wt%) = 1.81-3.30, F (wt%) = 0.44-1.29, and Li{sub 2}O (wt%) = 0.001-0.027. The intra single-crystal chemical variability for major/minor elements (Mg, Fe, Al, Ba, Ti, and K) was found particularly significant for samples VUT191{_}11 and PG5{_}1, less significant for the other samples of the set. SIMS data relative to crystals VUT187{_}24, VUT191{_}10, VUT191{_}11, and VUT187{_}28 showed a noteworthy variation in the concentrations of some light elements (H, Li, and F) with coefficient of variation CV (as 1{sigma}%) up to {approx}18% for H{sub 2}O. The analyzed micas belong to the 1M polytype. Structure refinements using anisotropic displacement parameters were performed in space group C2/m and converged at 3.08 {<=} R {<=} 3.63, 3.32 {<=} R{sub w} {<=} 3.98%. Micro-XANES results yielded Fe{sup 3+}/{Sigma}Fe from 51-93%. Previous Moessbauer data from powdered samples suggested Fe{sup 3+}/{Sigma}Fe values ranging from 49-87%. However, the Fe{sup 3+} content determined by both techniques is sometimes remarkably different, in part because of the large errors ({+-}10-15%) presently associated with the micro-XANES technique and in part because the Fe{sup 3+} content of a single crystal may
Upgraded biogas from municipal solid waste for natural gas substitution and CO{sub 2} reduction – A case study of Austria, Italy, and Spain
Starr, Katherine; Villalba, Gara; Gabarrell, Xavier
Highlights: • Biogas can be upgraded to create biomethane, a substitute to natural gas. • Biogas upgrading was applied to landfills and anaerobic digestors in 3 countries. • Up to 0.6% of a country's consumption of natural gas could be replaced by biomethane. • Italy could save 46% of the national CO{sub 2} emissions attributed to the waste sector. • Scenarios were created to increase biomethane production. - Abstract: Biogas is rich in methane and can be further purified through biogas upgrading technologies, presenting a viable alternative to natural gas. Landfills and anaerobic digestors treating municipal solid waste are a large source of such biogas. They therefore offer an attractive opportunity to tap into this potential source of natural gas while at the same time minimizing the global warming impact resulting from methane emissions in waste management schemes (WMS) and fossil fuel consumption reduction. This study looks at the current municipal solid waste flows of Spain, Italy, and Austria over one year (2009), in order to determine how much biogas is generated. Then it examines how much natural gas could be substituted by using four different biogas upgrading technologies. Based on current waste generation rates, exploratory but realistic WMS were created for each country in order to maximize biogas production and potential for natural gas substitution. It was found that the potential substitution of natural gas by biogas resulting from the current WMS seems rather insignificant: 0.2% for Austria, 0.6% for Italy and 0.3% for Spain. However, if the WMS is redesigned to maximize biogas production, these figures can increase to 0.7% for Austria, 1% for Italy and 2% for Spain. Furthermore, the potential CO{sub 2} reduction as a consequence of capturing the biogas and replacing fossil fuel can result in up to a 93% reduction of the annual national waste greenhouse gas emissions of Spain and Italy.
Distributed Wind Turbines | Department of Energy
Broader source: Energy.gov (indexed) [DOE]
Last year, U.S. small wind turbines were exported to more than 50 countries, with top export markets identified as Italy, United Kingdom, Germany, Greece, China, Japan, Korea, ...
Spatial decision support for strategic environmental assessment of land use plans. A case study in southern Italy
Geneletti, Davide . E-mail: firstname.lastname@example.com; Bagli, Stefano . E-mail: email@example.com; Napolitano, Paola . E-mail: email@example.com
This paper presents and discusses the construction of a spatial decision-support tool for the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of a land use plan: the spatial coordination plan of the Province of Naples, in southern Italy. The decision-support tool organises the relevant information, spatially resolves the actions of the plan, predicts their environmental impacts, and generates overall performance maps. Its final goal is to provide a suitable technical support to a formal SEA procedure. The expected implications of the plan, such as changes in land use and traffic flows and urban expansion, were modelled and assessed against a set of environmental criteria using SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis and mapping. It was found that the SWOT analysis provided a good basis for assessment and strategy formulation. The paper also intends to contribute to the topic of data and scale issues in SEA, by exemplifying the role played by spatial data and spatial analyses to support informative SEA.
Parametric time series analysis of cold and hot spells in daily temperature: An application in Southern Italy
Macchiato, M. ); Serio, C. ); Lapenna, V. ); Rotonda, L.La. )
The statistical analysis of cold air temperatures (cold spells) and hot air temperatures (hot spells) is discussed. Air temperature time series observed at 50 stations in southern Italy are investigated. The deterministic and stochastic components of the time series are identified and described by a dynamic-stochastic model that is periodic in the deterministic part (the annual cycle) and Markovian (first-order autoregressive) in the stochastic part. The annual cycle is described by only a few Fourier coefficients. Based on the model fitted to the data, the theoretical probability of cold (hot) spells is computed and compared to that estimated from the observed data. Spatial patterns of identified that make it possible to extrapolate the probability of cold (hot) spells at locations where no direct observations are available. 19 refs., 13 figs., 2 tabs.
Herbaceous crops for energy in Italy: Present status of the research program promoted by ENEL (Italian Electric Company)
Schenone, G.
The paper presents a synthesis of the main results of the research program promoted by ENEL (Italian Electric Company) on herbaceous energy crops. The objective of the program is to evaluate the potentials of different species and cultivars for biomass fuel production in Italy. For the most promising species, all the links of the chain from cultivation to delivery at the plant gate at the lowest possible cost have to be organized. So far the following species gave annual productivities above 20 dry tons/ha: fiber sorghum (Sorghum sp.); miscanthus (Miscanthus sinensis); and giant reed (Arundo donax). The highest biomass yields, well above 40 dry tons/ha in several trials, were given by giant reed.
Distribution of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Soils and Terrestrial Biota After a Spill of Crude Oil in Trecate, Italy
Brandt, Charles A. ); Becker, James M. ); Porta, Augusto C.
Following a large blowout of crude oil in northern Italy in 1994, the distribution of polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was examined over time and space in soils, uncultivated wild vegetation, insects, mice, and frogs in the area. Within 2 y of the blowout, PAH concentrations declined to background levels over much of the area where initial concentrations were within an order of magnitude above background, but had not declined to background in areas where starting concentrations exceeded background by two orders of magnitude. Octanol-water partitioning and extent of alkylation explained much of the variance in uptake of PAHs by plants and animals. Lower Kow PAHs and higher-alkylated PAHs had higher soil-to-biota accumulation factors (BSAFs) than did high-Kow and unalkylated forms. BSAFs for higher Kow PAHs were very low for plants, but much higher for animals, with frogs accumulating more of these compounds than other species.
Applications of compact accelerator-driven neutron sources: An updated assessment from the perspective of materials research in Italy
DOE Public Access Gateway for Energy & Science Beta (PAGES Beta)
Andreani, C.; Anderson, I. S.; Carpenter, J. M.; Festa, G.; Gorini, G.; Loong, C. -K.; Senesi, R.
In 2005 the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna published a report [1] on 'Development Opportunities of Small and Medium Scale Accelerator Driven Neutron Sources' which summarized the prospect of smaller sources in supporting the large spallation neutron sources for materials characterization and instrumentation, a theme advocated by Bauer, Clausen, Mank, and Mulhauser in previous publications [2-4]. In 2010 the Union for Compact Accelerator-driven Neutron Sources (UCANS) was established [5], galvanizing cross-disciplinary collaborations on new source and neutronics development and expanded applications based on both slow-neutron scattering and other neutron-matter interactions of neutron energies ranging from 10⁻⁶ to 10²more » MeV [6]. Here, we first cover the recent development of ongoing and prospective projects of compact accelerator-driven neutron sources (CANS) but concentrate on prospective accelerators currently proposed in Italy. Two active R&D topics, irradiation effects on electronics and cultural heritage studies, are chosen to illustrate the impact of state-of-the-art CANS on these programs with respect to the characteristics and complementarity of the accelerator and neutronics systems as well as instrumentation development.« less
Pengo, R.; Fellin, F.; Sonato, P.
The Neutral Beam Test Facility (NBTF), planned to be constructed in Padua (Italy), will constitute the prototype of the two Neutral Beam Injectors (NBI), which will be installed in the ITER plant (Cadarache-France). The NBTF is composed of a 1 MV accelerator that can produce a 40 A deuteron pulsed neutral beam particles. The necessary vacuum needed in the accelerator is achieved by two large cryopumps, designed by FZK-Karlsruhe, with radiation shields cooled between 65 K and 90 K and with cryopanels cooled by 4 bar supercritical helium (ScHe) between 4.5 K and 6.5 K. A new cryoplant facility will be installed with two large helium refrigerators: a Shield Refrigerator (SR), whose cooling capacity is up to 30 kW between 65 K and 90 K, and a helium Main Refrigerator (MR), whose equivalent cooling capacity is up to 800 W at 4.5 K. The cooling of the cryopanels is obtained with two (ScHe) 30 g/s pumps (one redundant), working in a closed cycle around 4 bar producing a pressure head of 100 mbar. Two heat exchangers are immersed in a buffer dewar connected to the MR. The MR and SR different operation modes are described in the paper, as well as the new cryoplant installation.
Isotopic evidence for a magmatic contribution to fluids of the geothermal systems of Larderello, Italy, and the Geysers, California
D'Amore, F.; Bolognesi, L. . Italian National Research Council)
The isotopic composition of steam from the Larderello, Italy, and The Geysers, California, geothermal fields is used to determine the source(s) of the fluid in these two vapor-dominated systems. Previous interpretations suggested the isotopic composition of the two systems was mainly the result of reactions at high temperature between deeply circulating meteoric water and largely sedimentary host rocks. The authors interpret the data for the Larderello and The Geysers fluids as indicating that meteoric water, exchanged with host rocks, mixes with local magnetic water. The isotopic composition of end-member magmatic water at The Geysers is typical of convergent plate boundaries ([delta][sup 18]O = +5 to +11 per mil; [delta]D = [minus]10 to [minus]35 per mil); a local isotopic composition of +11 to +15 per mil [delta][sup 18]O and [minus]15 to [minus]35 per mil [delta]D is suggested for the Larderello magmatic water. The magmatic water derived from the crystallization of underlying magma. Metamorphic waters, derived from dehydration reactions of OH-bearing minerals, may also make a minor contribution to the geothermal fluids.
P-SV conversions at a shallow boundary beneath Campi Flegrei caldera (Italy) - evidence for the magma chamber
Ferrucci, F.; Hirn, A.; De Natale, G.; Virieux, J.; Mirabile, L. Inst. de Physique du Globe, Paris Osservatorio Vesuviano, Naples CNRS, Inst. de Geodynamique, Valbonne Ist. Universitario Navale, Naples )
Seismograms from an active seismic experiment carried out at Campi Flegrei caldera (near Naples, Italy), show a large-amplitude SV-polarized shear wave, following by less than 1.5-s P waves reflected at wide angle from a deep crustal interface. Early arriving SV-polarized waves, with the same delay to direct P waves, are also observed in seismograms from a regional 280 km-deep, magnitude 5.1 earthquake. Such short delays of S to P waves are consistent with a P-SV conversion on transmission occurring at a shallow boundary beneath the receivers. The large amplitude of the converted-SV phase, along with that the P waves are near vertical, requires a boundary separating a very low rigidity layer from the upper caldera fill. The converted phases are interpreted as a seismic marker of a magma chamber. The top of this magma chamber is located slightly deeper than the deepest earthquakes observed during the 1982-1984 unrest of Campi Flegrei. 8 refs.
On-line test of signal validation software on the LOBI-MOD2 facility in Ispra, Italy
Prock, J.; Labeit, M. ); Ohlmer, E. . Joint Research Centre)
A computer program for the detection of abrupt changes in nonhardware redundant measurement signals that uses different methods of analytical redundancy is developed by the Gesellschaft fur Reaktorsicherheit, Garching, Federal Republic of Germany. The program, instrumental fault detection and identification (IFDI) module, validates in real time output signals of power plant components that are scanned at a fixed rate. The IFDI module, implemented on an IBM-compatible personal computer (PC) with an 80386 processor, is tested on-line at the light water reactor off-normal behavior investigations (LOBI-MOD2) facility in the Joint Research Centre, Ispra, Italy, during the loss-of-feedwater experiment BT-15/BT-16 on November 22, 1990. The measurement signals validated by the IFDI module originate from one of the two LOBI-MOD2 facility's steam generators. During the experiment, sensor faults are simulated by falsifying the measurement signals through electrical resistances arranged in series. In this paper questions about the signal validation software and the steam generator's model are dealt with briefly, while the experimental environment and the results obtained are discussed in detail.
Design and performance requirements for a fluidized bed boiler firing municipal refuse derived fuel in Ravenna, Italy
Murphy, M.L.
In early 1998, the City of Ravenna, Italy, commissioned a fluid bed boiler/waste-to-energy system to combust approximately 50,000 tonnes per year of processed municipal waste and generate electrical power. Much of the fuel preparation and processing equipment was already in place and the primary focus of this project was to implement an environmentally acceptable energy conversion process compatible with the 6.0 tonnes/hr of fuel being processed. The fluid bed boiler system being provided will incorporate state of the art environmental controls for abatement of all pollutants, including products of incomplete combustion (PICs), NO{sub x}, acid gases, and particulates. The project will deliver an average of 70,000 pounds per hour of steam to generate approximately 7 MW of electricity. The following is a description of the process and equipment being utilized for the energy conversion and boiler island, including the environmental abatement equipment. Design specifications for the plant including fuel and emission limits are presented herein. The facility is scheduled for startup in mid-1999.
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in olive fruits as a measure of air pollution in the valley of Florence (Italy)
Ignesti, G.; Lodovici, M.; Dolara, P.; Lucia, P.; Grechi, D.
Plants have often been used for monitoring air pollution, such as Tradescantia for detecting mutagenic chemicals, or mosses which are bio-accumulators of heavy metals. Mosses have also been used as indicators of pollution from hexachlorobenzene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. PAH are present in most crops, and are deposited on the foliar surface of plants exposed to polluted air. Plants grown in heavily polluted environments have a higher concentration of PAH than those growing in clean environments, and plants grown in cabinets with filtered air have a very low concentration of PAH. Alimentary oils have high concentrations of PAH due to crop exposure to air pollutants and a high solubility of PAH in oils. PAH are important initiators of some human cancers and their monitoring is believed to be important for public health. Most Italian towns are heavily polluted by car exhaust and industrial sources, and a high concentration of PAH has been reported in the air particulate of urban areas. On the basis of these premises we thought it of interest to determine the concentration of some PAH in the olive fruits of trees growing in the valley of Florence (Italy), to establish if this approach could be useful for monitoring air pollution by PAH. 9 refs., 3 figs.
Monitoring of arsenic, boron and mercury by lichen and soil analysis in the Mt. Amiata geothermal area (central Italy)
Loppi, S.
Epiphytic lichens and top-soils from the Mt. Amiata geothermal field (central Italy) were analyzed for their As, B and Hg content. Three areas were selected: (1) Abbadia S. Salvatore, where a large Hg mine with smelting and roasting plant was located; (2) Piancastagnaio, where there are geothermal power plants; (3) a remote site far from mines and geothermal power plants. The results showed that the geothermal power plants do not represent a macroscopic source of arsenic and boron contamination in the area. As far as mercury is concerned, at the Hg mining area of Abbadia S. Salvatore concentrations were extremely high both in soil and epiphytic lichens, and the anomalous content in these organisms was due to the uptake of elemental mercury originating from soil degassing. At the geothermal area of Piancastagnaio, soil mercury was not different from that in the control area, but Hg in lichens was almost twice the control levels, suggesting that the gaseous emissions from the geothermal power plants are an important source of air contamination.
Preliminary report: 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin exposure to humans--Seveso, Italy
Not Available
On Saturday, July 10, 1976, an explosion occurred during the production of 2,4,5-trichlorophenol in a factory north of Milan, Italy. A cloud of toxic material was released and included 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). The size of the contaminated area was estimated primarily by measuring TCDD in the soil; additional criteria included the presence of dead animals and detection of dermal lesions among persons in the area. In April 1988, a group of US and Italian scientists convened to further examine the Sevesco TCDD incident. Since more than 30,000 serum or plasma samples (volumes of 1-3 mL) had been collected from residents of the four zones from the end of July 1976 through 1985 and stored at {minus}30 C ({minus}22 F), the group agreed to assess whether methodology developed at CDC to measure TCDD in human serum could be used to measure TCDD in these low-volume samples. This metholodogy, a lipid-based measurement, highly correlated with paired measurements of TCDD in adipose tissue.
2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) persistence in the Seveso (Milan, Italy) soil
Cerlesi, S.; Di Domenico, A.; Ratti, S. )
Preliminary results of a new study on TCDD environmental persistence at Seveso (Milan, Italy) are presented. For this study, the most contaminated territory, Zone A, was divided into areas to fractionate the available TCDD levels in soil into data sets with reduced value spreads. In addition, various time subsets were defined for each area. Selected data were fitted with the exponential model y = y0.e-k.1. It was estimated that at least 1.2 kg TCDD was present in Zone A shortly after the accident. On average, a considerable portion (23%) of this amount lay on vegetation; TCDD which was not photodegraded or volatilized before the heavy rains of fall 1976, was later washed off and transferred to ground by water action. From this study, mean analytical underestimations affecting January 1977 and March 1978 contamination map data were on the order of 30 and 24%. All the above figures are considered optimistic. A few years after the accident, mean TCDD half-life in soil appeared to be 9.1y (t1/2-95% CLs, 6.2-17y).
Life cycle assessment of urban waste management: Energy performances and environmental impacts. The case of Rome, Italy
Cherubini, Francesco Bargigli, Silvia; Ulgiati, Sergio
Landfilling is nowadays the most common practice of waste management in Italy in spite of enforced regulations aimed at increasing waste pre-sorting as well as energy and material recovery. In this work we analyse selected alternative scenarios aimed at minimizing the unused material fraction to be delivered to the landfill. The methodological framework of the analysis is the life cycle assessment, in a multi-method form developed by our research team. The approach was applied to the case of municipal solid waste (MSW) management in Rome, with a special focus on energy and material balance, including global and local scale airborne emissions. Results, provided in the form of indices and indicators of efficiency, effectiveness and environmental impacts, point out landfill activities as the worst waste management strategy at a global scale. On the other hand, the investigated waste treatments with energy and material recovery allow important benefits of greenhouse gas emission reduction (among others) but are still affected by non-negligible local emissions. Furthermore, waste treatments leading to energy recovery provide an energy output that, in the best case, is able to meet 15% of the Rome electricity consumption.
Long-term effects of elevated CO{sub 2} on Mediterranean forest vegetation of Northern-Central Italy
Hinkson, C.L.; Oechel, W.C.; Miglietta, F.
Carbon dioxide springs offer a unique opportunity to study the effects of long-term CO{sub 2} enrichment on natural ecosystems. A CO{sub 2} spring near Laiatico (Pisa), Italy vents approximately 25 to 40% of pure CO{sub 2} and enriches about one hectare of a 30-35 year-old coppiced forest, forming a CO{sub 2} gradient with distance from the emission. A:Ci curves were measured on the upper canopy leaves of mature trees of Quercus ilex before bud-break and after new leaf production between April and July 1994. Photosynthetic rates of trees under elevated CO{sub 2} (490 to 1190 ppm) reflect 30-56% downward adjustment in April and no downward adjustment in July. Photosynthetic rates measured at respective growth CO{sub 2} concentrations were reduced in April by 41.8% and enhanced in July by 12.8% as growth CO{sub 2} concentration increased. Leaf nitrogen concentrations under higher CO{sub 2} levels were significantly less than those at ambient CO{sub 2} concentration in April (1.17 and 1.44% N {+-} 0.04%, respectively; P = 0.001). The results from this study indicate that new leaves of mature Quercus ilex may provide a metabolically active carbon sink for enhanced photosynthesis under elevated CO{sub 2}, but after one year, the strength of this sink decreases, resulting in reduced photosynthetic rates and leaf nitrogen concentrations.
Investigation of the long-term performance of betafite and zirconolite in hydrothermal veins from Adamello, Italy
Lumpkin, G.R.; Day, R.A.; McGlinn, P.J.; Payne, T.E.; Giere, R.; Williams, C.T.
Betafite and zirconolite occur in Ti-rich hydrothermal veins emplaced within dolomite marble in the contact aureole of the Adamello batholith, northern Italy. Zirconolite contains up to 18 wt% ThO{sub 2} and 24 wt% UO{sub 2}, and exhibits strong compositional zoning. Some zirconolite grains were corroded by the hydrothermal fluid. Betafite, the Ti-rich member of the pyrochlore group, often occurs as overgrowths on zirconolite. The betafite is weakly zoned and contains 29--34 wt% UO{sub 2}. In terms of end-members, betafite contains approximately 50 mole percent CaUTi{sub 2}O{sub 7} and is the closest known natural composition to the pyrochlore phase proposed for use in titanate waste forms. Amorphization and volume expansion of the betafite caused cracks to form in the enclosing silicate mineral grains. Backscattered electron images reveal that betafite was subsequently altered along crystal rims, particularly near the cracks. EPMA data reveal little difference in composition between altered and unaltered areas, except for lower totals, suggesting that alteration is primarily due to hydration. The available evidence demonstrates that both betafite and zirconolite retained actinides for approximately 40 million years after the final stage of vein formation. During this time, betafite and zirconolite accumulated a total alpha-decay dose of 3--4 x 10{sup 16} and 0.2--2 x 10{sup 16} {alpha}/mg, respectively.
Applications of compact accelerator-driven neutron sources: An updated assessment from the perspective of materials research in Italy
Andreani, C.; Anderson, I. S.; Carpenter, J. M.; Festa, G.; Gorini, G.; Loong, C. -K.; Senesi, R.
In 2005 the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in Vienna published a report [1] on 'Development Opportunities of Small and Medium Scale Accelerator Driven Neutron Sources' which summarized the prospect of smaller sources in supporting the large spallation neutron sources for materials characterization and instrumentation, a theme advocated by Bauer, Clausen, Mank, and Mulhauser in previous publications [2-4]. In 2010 the Union for Compact Accelerator-driven Neutron Sources (UCANS) was established [5], galvanizing cross-disciplinary collaborations on new source and neutronics development and expanded applications based on both slow-neutron scattering and other neutron-matter interactions of neutron energies ranging from 10⁻⁶ to 10² MeV [6]. Here, we first cover the recent development of ongoing and prospective projects of compact accelerator-driven neutron sources (CANS) but concentrate on prospective accelerators currently proposed in Italy. Two active R&D topics, irradiation effects on electronics and cultural heritage studies, are chosen to illustrate the impact of state-of-the-art CANS on these programs with respect to the characteristics and complementarity of the accelerator and neutronics systems as well as instrumentation development.
Three-dimensional electrical resistivity tomography and its application to Larderello-Valle Secolo geothermal field in Tuscany, Italy
Shi, Weiqun; Rodi, W.; Toksoez, M.N.; Morgan, F.D.
The Valle Secolo region in the Larderello geothermal field in western Italy is a vapor-dominated reservoir producing steam primarily from shallow, highly fractured Miscan anhydrites. In this area, water re-injection into various wells has been carried out for many years. During this period, electrical resistivity surveys have been conducted for the purpose of monitoring distribution of re-injected water and steam displacement through changes in subsurface electrical properties. This paper describes a 3-D d.c. electrical resistivity inversion algorithm and its application to data obtained from two surveys conducted in 1991 and 1993, respectively. The objective of this effort is to relate the variations in resistivity with position and time to the injection history. Our inversion models indicate that the primary resistivity variations in the Larderello geothermal field are of structural origin, e.g., the variation of conductivity of the geologic section. However, the models from both surveys contain a low resistivity anomaly at a depth of a few hundred meters that does not correlate with structure. From its location relative to the injection wells, and from changes in its properties between the two surveys, we infer that the anomaly is related to the injection and is probably a zone of high permeability or high water saturation. These preliminary results show that it is possible to detect and monitor the re-injection of fluid through the systematic observation of electrical resistivity at the site. The method is also suitable for the detection of environmental contaminant movement. However, field measurements must be repeated using the same geometry and uniform calibration over time.
Regional Body-Wave Attenuation Using a Coda Source Normalization Method: Application to MEDNET Records of Earthquakes in Italy
Walter, W R; Mayeda, K; Malagnini, L; Scognamiglio, L
We develop a new methodology to determine apparent attenuation for the regional seismic phases Pn, Pg, Sn, and Lg using coda-derived source spectra. The local-to-regional coda methodology (Mayeda, 1993; Mayeda and Walter, 1996; Mayeda et al., 2003) is a very stable way to obtain source spectra from sparse networks using as few as one station, even if direct waves are clipped. We develop a two-step process to isolate the frequency-dependent Q. First, we correct the observed direct wave amplitudes for an assumed geometrical spreading. Next, an apparent Q, combining path and site attenuation, is determined from the difference between the spreading-corrected amplitude and the independently determined source spectra derived from the coda methodology. We apply the technique to 50 earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 4.0 in central Italy as recorded by MEDNET broadband stations around the Mediterranean at local-to-regional distances. This is an ideal test region due to its high attenuation, complex propagation, and availability of many moderate sized earthquakes. We find that a power law attenuation of the form Q(f) = Q{sub 0}f{sup Y} fit all the phases quite well over the 0.5 to 8 Hz band. At most stations, the measured apparent Q values are quite repeatable from event to event. Finding the attenuation function in this manner guarantees a close match between inferred source spectra from direct waves and coda techniques. This is important if coda and direct wave amplitudes are to produce consistent seismic results.
Hydrothermal dolomitization of Jurassic-Cretaceous limestones in the southern Alps (Italy): Relation to tectonics and volcanism
Cervato, C. )
Dolomitization has affected up to 750m of the Jurassic and Cretaceous pelagic carbonate sequence of the southern continental margin of the Alpine Tethys; the sequence crops out in the southern Alps of Italy (Monti Lessini). Late Paleocene to Miocene extrusion of basaltic tuffs, breccias, and lavas was contemporaneous with the dolomitization was was associated with extensive tectonism in an ancient back-arc basin. More than 200 samples were analyzed by X-ray diffraction, cathodoluminescence, scanning electron microscopy, stable isotope ratios (carbon, oxygen, strontium), and clay mineralogy. The dolomite contains 40% to 50% MgCO{sub 3}. In thin sections, the crystal size distribution is unimodal (about 100 {mu}m), possibly indicating a single nucleation for the main crystallization phase. The {delta}{sup 13}C of the dolomite is not appreciably different from the undolomitized pelagic limestone (+1.0{per thousand} to +2.0{per thousand} Peedee belemnite (PDB)). The {delta}{sup 18}O variation (-5.0{per thousand} to -13.0{per thousand} PDB) is due to temperature variation in the system. The {sup 87}Sr/{sup 86}Sr ratio in the dolomite (0.70839-0.70867) is consistent with the ratio in late Oligocene-Miocene marine water. Clay minerals in limestone and dolomite differ in the presence of neoformed Mg-chlorite, indicating a maximum temperature of about 150C for dolomitization. The dolomite is suggested to have a hydrothermal origin. The heat flow associated with the volcanism allowed marine water to penetrate the system and circulate in convective cells through the tectonic breccias, locally dolomitizing the limestone.
Using FEP's List and a PA Methodology for Evaluating Suitable Areas for the LLW Repository in Italy
Risoluti, P.; Ciabatti, P.; Mingrone, G.
In Italy following a referendum held in 1987, nuclear energy has been phased out. Since 1998, a general site selection process covering the whole Italian territory has been under way. A GIS (Geographic Information System) methodology was implemented in three steps using the ESRI Arc/Info and Arc/View platforms. The screening identified approximately 0.8% of the Italian territory as suitable for locating the LLW Repository. 200 areas have been identified as suitable for the location of the LLW Repository, using a multiple exclusion criteria procedure (1:500,000), regional scale (1:100.000) and local scale (1:25,000-1:10,000). A methodology for evaluating these areas has been developed allowing, along with the evaluation of the long term efficiency of the engineered barrier system (EBS), the characterization of the selected areas in terms of physical and safety factors and planning factors. The first step was to identify, on a referenced FEPs list, a group of geomorphological, geological, hydrogeological, climatic and human behavior caused process and/or events, which were considered of importance for the site evaluation, taking into account the Italian situation. A site evaluation system was established ascribing weighted scores to each of these processes and events, which were identified as parameters of the new evaluation system. The score of each parameter is ranging from 1 (low suitability) to 3 (high suitability). The corresponding weight is calculated considering the effect of the parameter in terms of total dose to the critical group, using an upgraded AMBER model for PA calculation. At the end of the process an index obtained by a score weighted sum gives the degree of suitability of the selected areas for the LLW Repository location. The application of the methodology to two selected sites is given in the paper.
Geothermal prospecting by geochemical methods on natural gas and water discharges in the Vulsini Mts Volcanic District (Central Italy)
Duchi, V.; Minissale, A.A.; Ortino, S.; Romani, L.
The Latera and Torre Alfina geothermal fields were discovered in the Vulsini Mts district (central Italy) in the 70s. The fluid produced by the two geothermal systems is a high rhoCO/sub 2/(around 7 MPa) sodium chloride solution (T.D.S. is 9200 ppm at Latera and 7800 at Torre Alfina), with high SiO/sub 2/ and H/sub 3/BO/sub 3/ contents. The fluid temperature taken at well bottom is about 155/sup 0/C at Torre Alfina, whereas at Latera it ranges from 200 to over 350/sup 0/C. In spite of these temperatures, recorded in producing wells, previous geochemical prospectings using geothermometers in natural thermal manifestations had predicted temperatures no higher than 140/sup 0/C in all the Vulsini district. This contrasting feature between real temperatures and those evaluated during prospecting is caused by the fast circulation of large amounts of meteoric waters in the aquifer located in the shallow parts of the carbonate reservoir formations, and by the short interaction between the latter and the deep geothermal fluids. In the present study a new geochemical survey on thermal and cold springs, stream samples, as well as natural gas emissions has been carried out. A critical review of the main geothermometers, some considerations about the hydraulic behavior of the reservoir formations, and the cross comparison between NH/sub 4//sup +//B ratio, rhoCO/sub 2/ and SiO/sub 2/ content in both cold and thermal waters, have led to the conclusion that in the Vulsini Mts there are no shallow anomalous areas apart from those already discovered at Latera and Torre Alfina. The present method could be successfully applied in other geothermal systems, where the potential reservoir is represented by carbonate formations.
Cutaneous manifestations of tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin in children and adolescents. Follow-up 10 years after the Seveso, Italy, accident
Caputo, R.; Monti, M.; Ermacora, E.; Carminati, G.; Gelmetti, C.; Gianotti, R.; Gianni, E.; Puccinelli, V.
After an accident in a chemical plant in Seveso, Italy, on July 10, 1976, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) spread over a populated area. The event was exceptional because children were also affected and because the contamination took place not only through direct exposure but also through inhalation and the ingestion of contaminated foods, especially fruits and vegetables. This paper illustrates the early dermatologic lesions, the late acneic (chloracne) lesions, and their evolution during a 10-year period. Peculiar cutaneous findings, histologic data, and a comparison with previously reported similar accidents are also included.
Assessing land take by urban development and its impact on carbon storage: Findings from two case studies in Italy
Sallustio, L.; Quatrini, V.; Geneletti, D.; Corona, P.; Marchetti, M.
Highlights: • We tested a new methodology for monitoring land take and its effects on C storage. • The ecological impact of urban growth derives from the previous land use. • C loss increases with the naturalness of the territory. • Different urban assets may imply different forms of land take containment. Land take due to urbanization triggers a series of negative environmental impacts with direct effects on quality of life for people living in cities. Changes in ecosystem services are associated with land take, among which is the immediate C loss due to land use conversion. Land use change monitoring represents the first step in quantifying land take and its drivers and impacts. To this end, we propose an innovative methodology for monitoring land take and its effects on ecosystem services (in particular, C loss) under multi-scale contexts. The devised approach was tested in two areas with similar sizes, but different land take levels during the time-span 1990–2008 in Central Italy (the Province of Rome and the Molise Region). The estimates of total coverage of built up areas were calculated using point sampling. The area of the urban patches including each sampling point classified as built up areas in the year 1990 and/or in the year 2008 is used to estimate total abundance and average area of built up areas. Biophysical and economic values for carbon loss associated with land take were calculated using InVEST. Although land take was 7–8 times higher in the Province of Rome (from 15.1% in 1990 to 20.4% in 2008) than in Molise region, our findings show that its relative impact on C storage is higher in the latter, where the urban growth consistently affects not only croplands but also semi-natural land uses such as grasslands and other wooded lands. The total C loss due to land take has been estimated in 1.6 million Mg C, corresponding to almost 355 million €. Finally, the paper discusses the main characteristics of urban growth and their
Part 2: Performance of the THERMOSELECT{reg_sign} plant at Fondotoce, Italy: Product quality and distribution of chemical elements in the material flow
Stahlberg, R.
Results of an extended and complete investigation period at the Thermoselect{reg_sign} solid waste demonstration plant in Fondotoce, Italy, will be discussed. The demonstration plant is an in-line process for commingled wastes combining a compression step, coking oven, and high temperature gasification using oxygen to achieve total decomposition of solid waste and simultaneous production of pollutant-free energy rich synthesis gas, inert and non-toxic vitrified mineral product, and the recovery of metals from the solid wastes. The process air emissions are by a significant margin below the current European and proposed USEPA, NSPS emission standards for MWCs. All processing water and that from the solid waste is recovered, cleaned in-house and reused by the process.
Clinical laboratory manifestations of exposure to dioxin in children. A six-year study of the effects of an environmental disaster near Seveso, Italy
Mocarelli, P.; Marocchi, A.; Brambilla, P.; Gerthoux, P.; Young, D.S.; Mantel, N.
Following a major environmental accident near Seveso, Italy, on July 10, 1976, we attempted to determine if the 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) released into the atmosphere had any effect on the liver function and lipid metabolism of exposed children. From July 1976 to June 1982, we analyzed the results of more than 4500 laboratory tests (alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, gamma-glutamyltransferase, alkaline phosphatase, cholesterol, and triglycerides in plasma and delta-aminolevulinic acid in urine) in a population of about 1500 children aged 6 to 10 years at the moment of the accident. The children exposed to the highest concentration of TCDD showed alterations in serum gamma-glutamyltransferase and alanine aminotransferase activity compared with the control group. These differences were restricted to values inside limits set from the lower end of the normal range to slightly above it. The observed abnormalities were slight and disappeared with time.
Soil concentration, vertical distribution and inventory of plutonium, [sup 241]Am, [sup 90]Sr and [sup 137]Cs in the Marche Region of Central Italy
Jia, G.; Testa, C.; Desideri, D.; Guerra, F.; Meli, M.A.; Roselli, C. . Inst. of General Chemistry); Belli, M.E. )
Soil concentrations of [sup 239+240]Pu, [sup 238]Pu, [sup 241]Am, [sup 90]Sr, and [sup 137]Cs are investigated in the Marche Region of Central Italy. Mean values in uncultivated soils are 3.5--8 times higher than the corresponding values in cultivated soils. Radionuclide inventories and ratios are consistent with values reported by the United nations Scientific Committee on the Effect of Atomic Radiation for this latitude. This suggests that radiocontamination in this region is mainly due to atmospheric deposition of nuclear weapon test fallout. The vertical distribution of these radionuclides is also studied. The results show that, with the exception of [sup 90]Sr, more than 90% of these radionuclides are contained in the first 20 cm of soil and that mobility follows the order [sup 90]Sr > [sup 241]Am > [sup 239+240]Pu, [sup 238]Pu > [sup 137]Cs.
Serum concentrations of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin and test results from selected residents of Seveso, Italy
Mocarelli, P.; Needham, L.L.; Marocchi, A.; Patterson, D.G. Jr.; Brambilla, P.; Gerthoux, P.M.; Meazza, L.; Carreri, V. )
2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin levels (TCDD) were measured in serum specimens from Seveso, Italy, residents, who were potentially highly exposed to the 1976 explosion, and in controls. The residents were chosen so as to represent those who did and did not develop chloracne. Levels of TCDD as high as 56,000 parts per trillion (ppt) were found in these serum specimens that were collected in 1976. These TCDD levels are the highest ever reported, and yet almost all clinical laboratory tests on these individuals were normal; any abnormal test result was only transitory in nature. These findings are unique in linking clinical histories to TCDD levels following an acute exposure.
Influence of mobile ion concentrations on the chemical composition of geothermal waters in granitic areas; Example of hot springs form Piemonte Italy
Michard, G.; Grimaud, D. ); D'Amore, F.; Fancelli, R. )
The six hot springs from Vinadio and the springs from Valdieri (Piemonte, Italy) have similar emergence temperatures ({approximately}50{degrees} C), similar deep temperatures ({approximately}115{degrees} C) and their chloride content varies from 0.9 to 30 mmol/kg. Major elements and some trace elements concentrations (Li, Rb, Cs, Sr, Ba, Mn) correlate closely with Na concentrations. The correlations in a log-log diagram are linear with a slope close to the electric charge of the ion. This is explained, for major elements, by an equilibrium between a complete assemblage of minerals and a water containing varying amounts of chloride. It is suggested, from the Cl/Br ratio, that chloride originates by halite dissolution during the descent of the water.
Athens, Greece: Energy Resources | Open Energy Information
to: navigation, search Equivalent URI DBpedia GeoNames ID 264371 Coordinates 37.97918, 23.716647 Show Map Loading map... "minzoom":false,"mappingservice":"googlemaps3","type":...
Attiki, Greece: Energy Resources | Open Energy Information
Energy Resources Jump to: navigation, search GeoNames ID 264354 Coordinates 38, 23.73333 Show Map Loading map... "minzoom":false,"mappingservice":"googlemaps3","type":"...
Greece: Energy Resources | Open Energy Information
more than 11% while the rest 1.6% of gross inland consumption is covered by electricity (net imports - exports). In 2008, gross inland consumption increased by approximately 44%...
U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) Indexed Site
Hungary 0 0 0 0 0 0 1995-2015 India 50 49 40 80 91 82 1995-2015 Ireland 4 2 2 8 8 1995-2015 Israel 5 1 2 0 0 1995-2014 Italy 37 37 26 13 16 12 1993-2015 Ivory Coast 1 0 1 0 1 0 ...
Emobility (Smart Grid Project) (Budapest, Hungary) | Open Energy...
behavior and load profiles. Analysis of requirements of charging infrastructure. Defining home charging infrastructure, and developing new tariffs. References "EU Smart Grid...
Secretary Bodman Meets with Regional Energy Ministers in Hungary...
Office of Environmental Management (EM)
electricity and gas markets, regional integration, and clean energy technologies ... to promote global energy security and greater international cooperation on energy issues. ...
EUDEEP (Smart Grid Project) (Hungary) | Open Energy Information
technical and nontechnical barriers that prevent a massive deployment of distributed energy resources (DER) in Europe. In partnership with manufacturers, research organizations,...
Oil country tubular goods from Argentina, Austria, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, and Spain. Investigations Nos. 701-ta-363 and 364 (final) and investigations nos. 731-ta-711-717 (final)
Based on the record in these final investigations, we determine that an industry in the United States is materially injured by reason of imports of oil country tubular goods excluding drill pipe (also referred to herein as `casing and tubing`) from Argentina, Italy, Japan, Korea, and Mexico that are sold in the United States is materially injured by (`LTFV`). We also determine that an industry in the United States is materially injured by reason of subsidized imports of casing and tubing from Italy. We find that an industry in the United States is not materially injured or threatened with material injury by reason of imports of casing and tubing from Austria and Spain that are sold at LTFV or subsidized. We further determine that an industry in the United States is threatened with material injury by reason of imports of drill pipe from Argentina, Japan, and Mexico that are sold at LTFV. We determine that we would not have made an affirmative material injury determination but for the suspension of liquidation. Finally, we unanimously determine that an industry in the United States is neither materially injured nor threatened with material injury by reason of LFTV or subsidized imports of drill pipe from Austria, Italy, Korea, or Spain.
Depositional and erosional coastal processes during the late postglacial sea-level rise: An example from the central Tyrrhenian continental shelf (Italy)
Tortora, P.
A transgressive systems tract (TST) deposit on the inner continental shelf of the south Tuscany region (central Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy) formed during the last postglacial sea-level rise. Its small-scale stratigraphy has been detailed using high-resolution seismic profiles, gravity cores, and grab samples. The TST deposit overlies a lowstand unconformity, shows a tabular geometry, and comprises three internal architectures of beach facies. Because the lateral distribution of these vertical successions is not random, but parallel to the coast, each architecture represents an individual sedimentary stage during sea-level rise. However, all architectures were formed via shoreface retreat in response to the landward migration of a beach complex over the unconformity. During this migration the beach system was characterized by a source diastem located in the surf zone and by two sediment dispersal systems. One moved the eroded sand over the flat back-barrier palustrine area by storm washover, while the other transported part of this sand to the lower shoreface, forming a reworked sand sheet above the older and inactive source diastem (ravinement surface). The TST architectures originated from a transgressive succession of beach facies, differentiated according to the intensity of shoreface retreat. Architecture A represents a low preservation potential of the original beach complex, Architecture B relatively high preservation, and Architecture C no preservation. The intensity of erosion and the consequent preservation potential were totally controlled by antecedent topography.
Recolonization patterns of ants in a rehabilitated lignite mine in central Italy: Potential for the use of Mediterranean ants as indicators of restoration processes
Ottonetti, L.; Tucci, L.; Santini, G.
Ant (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) assemblages were sampled with pitfall traps in three different habitats associated with a rehabilitated mine district and in undisturbed forests in Tuscany, Italy. The four habitats were (1) open fields (3-4 years old); (2) a middle-age mixed plantation (10 years); (3) an old-age mixed plantation (20 years); and (4) an oak woodland (40 years) not directly affected by mining activities. The aim of the study was to analyze ant recolonization patterns in order to provide insights on the use of Mediterranean ant fauna as indicators of restoration processes. Species richness and diversity were not significantly different among the four habitats. However, multivariate analyses showed that the assemblages in the different habitats were clearly differentiated, with similarity relationships reflecting a successional gradient among rehabilitated sites. The observed patterns of functional group changes along the gradient broadly accord with those of previous studies in other biogeographic regions. These were (1) a decrease of dominant Dolichoderinae and opportunists; (2) an increase in the proportion of cold-climate specialists; and (3) the appearance of the Cryptic species in the oldest plantations, with a maximum of abundance in the woodland. In conclusion, the results of our study supported the use of Mediterranean ants as a suitable tool for biomonitoring of restoration processes, and in particular, the functional group approach proved a valuable framework to better interpret local trends in terms of global ecological patterns. Further research is, however, needed in order to obtain a reliable classification of Mediterranean ant functional groups.
Evidence of climatic variations in upper Pleistocene and Holocene sediments from the lagoon of Venice (Italy and the Bohai Sea (China))
Bonardi, M.; Carbognin, L.; Tosi, L.; Marabini, F.
An accurate forecasting of environmental impact on sea level and shoreline changes due to global warming, requires a detailed investigation and interpretation of the events that occurred during the past 20,000 years. This time interval in fact corresponds to two significant climatic global changes: the last Wuermian glaciation, during the Upper Pleistocene, and the warming during the Holocene. Examples of the climatic variation impact on paleoenvironments are here evidenced by sedimentological studies, radiocarbon dating, paleobotanic, paleontological, mineralogical and geochemical investigations of two stratigraphic columns that are geographically far apart: the Lagoon of Venice, Italy, and the Bohai Sea, China. The study focuses first on a general overview of the regional paleoclimatic history of these two core locations and their correlation with the sedimentological variations; second on some depositional events, such clay layers and beachrock formations, that carry the imprints of the climatic conditions. The results of this investigation may contribute to a better understanding of diagenetic processes, still not sufficiently described, caused by the climatic changes. Furthermore the study provided information that may be useful to a more complete overview of the environmental impact caused by natural global warming before the anthropogenic input.
A 24-h forecast of solar irradiance using artificial neural network: Application for performance prediction of a grid-connected PV plant at Trieste, Italy
Mellit, Adel; Pavan, Alessandro Massi
Forecasting of solar irradiance is in general significant for planning the operations of power plants which convert renewable energies into electricity. In particular, the possibility to predict the solar irradiance (up to 24 h or even more) can became - with reference to the Grid Connected Photovoltaic Plants (GCPV) - fundamental in making power dispatching plans and - with reference to stand alone and hybrid systems - also a useful reference for improving the control algorithms of charge controllers. In this paper, a practical method for solar irradiance forecast using artificial neural network (ANN) is presented. The proposed Multilayer Perceptron MLP-model makes it possible to forecast the solar irradiance on a base of 24 h using the present values of the mean daily solar irradiance and air temperature. An experimental database of solar irradiance and air temperature data (from July 1st 2008 to May 23rd 2009 and from November 23rd 2009 to January 24th 2010) has been used. The database has been collected in Trieste (latitude 45 40'N, longitude 13 46'E), Italy. In order to check the generalization capability of the MLP-forecaster, a K-fold cross-validation was carried out. The results indicate that the proposed model performs well, while the correlation coefficient is in the range 98-99% for sunny days and 94-96% for cloudy days. As an application, the comparison between the forecasted one and the energy produced by the GCPV plant installed on the rooftop of the municipality of Trieste shows the goodness of the proposed model. (author)
sup 40 Ar- sup 39 Ar and K-Ar dating of K-rich rocks from the Roccamonfina volcano, Roman Comagmatic Region, Italy
Di Brozolo, F.R.; Di Girolamo, P.; Turi, B.; Oddone, M. )
Roccamonfina is the northernmost Volcano of the Campanian area of the K-rich Roman comagmatic Region of Italy. It erupted a huge amount of pyroclastics and lavas belonging to both the Leucite-Basanite and Leucitite Series (LBLS) and the Shoshonite Series (SS), spread over an area of about 300 km{sup 2}. The above series correspond to the High-K Series (HKS) and Low-K Series (LKS) of Appleton (1971), respectively. {sup 40}Ar-{sup 39}Ar and K-Ar dating of samples from both series gave ages ranging from 0.656 to 0.096 Ma for the SS and from 1.03( ) to 0.053 Ma for the LBLS. These results indicate that the products of the two series were outpoured together at least between 0.7 and 0.1 Ma age, i.e. during both the so-called pre-caldera phase and the post-caldera phase of activity. The latest products of the volcanism at Roccamonfina were erupted just before the deposition of the Grey Campanian Ignimbrite, which erupted from vents located about 50 km to the south in the Phlegrean Fields near Naples and has an age of about 33,000 years. Taking into account all the available all the available radiometric data the authors conclude that Roccamonfina was active between 1.5 and 0.05 Ma ago, in excellent agreement with the stratigraphic evidence. In this same time span is concentrated the activity of all the centers of the Roman Region north of Naples.
Ga, Ca, and 3d transition element (Cr through Zn) partitioning among spinel-lherzolite phases from the Lanzo massif, Italy: Analytical results and crystal chemistry
Wogelius, R.A.; Fraser, D.G.
Ultramafic rocks exposed in Lanzo massif, Italy is a record of mantle geochemistry, melting, sub-solidus re-equilibration. Plagioclase(+ spinel)-lherzolite samples were analyzed by Scanning Proton Microscopy, other techniques. Previous work postulated partial melting events and a two-stage sub-solidus cooling history; this paper notes Ga enrichment on spinel-clinopyroxene grain boundaries, high Ga and transition element content of spinel, and pyroxene zonation in Ca and Al. Trace element levels in olivine and orthopyroxene are also presented. Zoning trends are interpreted as due to diffusion during cooling. Olivine-clinopyroxene Cr and Ca exchange as well as clinopyroxene and spinel zonation trends indicate that the massif experienced at least two sub-solidus cooling episodes, one at 20 kbar to 1000 C and one at 8 kbar <750C. Ga levels in cores of Lanzo high-Cr spinels are high (82-66 ppM) relative to other mantle spinels (66-40 ppM), indicating enrichment. Ga content of ultramafic spinels apparently increases with Cr content; this may be due to: increased Ga solubility stemming from crystal chemical effects and/or higher Ga activities in associated silicate melts. Thus, during melting, high-Cr residual spinel may tend to buffer solid-phase Ga level. These spinels are not only rich in Ga and Cr (max 26.37 el. wt %), but also in Fe (max 21.07 el. wt %), Mn (max 3400 ppM), and Zn (max 2430 ppM). These enrichments are again due to melt extraction and partitioning into spinel structure. Low Ni (min 1050 ppM) levels are due to unsuccessful competition of Ni with Cr for octahedral structural sites caused by crystal field. Comparisons of change in partitioning vs Cr content among several 3d transition elements for spinels from Lanzo, other localities allow us to separate crystal field effects from bulk chemical effects and to show that in typical assemblages, inversion of olivine-spinel partition coefficient for Ni from <1 to >1 should occur at 11% el. wt. Cr in spinel.
Study on the reduction of atmospheric mercury emissions from mine waste enriched soils through native grass cover in the Mt. Amiata region of Italy
Fantozzi, L.; Dini, F.; Tamburello, L.; Pirrone, N.; Sprovieri, F.
Atmospheric mercury emissions from mine-waste enriched soils were measured in order to compare the mercury fluxes of bare soils with those from other soils covered by native grasses. Our research was conducted near Mt. Amiata in central Italy, an area that was one of the largest and most productive mining centers in Europe up into the 1980s. To determine in situ mercury emissions, we used a Plexiglas flux chamber connected to a portable mercury analyzer (Lumex RA-915+). This allowed us to detect, in real time, the mercury vapor in the air, and to correlate this with the meteorological parameters that we examined (solar radiation, soil temperature, and humidity). The highest mercury flux values (8000 ng m{sup −2} h{sup −1}) were observed on bare soils during the hours of maximum insulation, while lower values (250 ng m{sup −2} h{sup −1}) were observed on soils covered by native grasses. Our results indicate that two main environmental variables affect mercury emission: solar radiation intensity and soil temperature. The presence of native vegetation, which can shield soil surfaces from incident light, reduced mercury emissions, a result that we attribute to a drop in the efficiency of mercury photoreduction processes rather than to decreases in soil temperature. This finding is consistent with decreases in mercury flux values down to 3500 ng m{sup −2} h{sup −1}, which occurred under cloudy conditions despite high soil temperatures. Moreover, when the soil temperature was 28 °C and the vegetation was removed from the experimental site, mercury emissions increased almost four-fold. This increase occurred almost immediately after the grasses were cut, and was approximately eight-fold after 20 h. Thus, this study demonstrates that enhancing wild vegetation cover could be an inexpensive and effective approach in fostering a natural, self-renewing reduction of mercury emissions from mercury-contaminated soils. -- Highlights: ► Mercury air/surface exchange
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JPRS report proliferation issues
This report contains foreign media information on issues related to worldwide proliferation and transfer activities in nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, including delivery systems and the transfer of weapons relevant technologies. The following locations are included: (1) South Africa; (2) China; (3) North and South Korea, Taiwan; (4) Hungary, Yugoslavia; (5) Brazil, Argentina; (6) Afghanistan, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Pakistan; (7) Soviet Union; and (8) France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland.
BeyWatch (Smart Grid Project) (Greece) | Open Energy Information
able to provide intelligent energy monitoringcontrol and power demand balancing at homebuilding & neighborhood level. References "EU Smart Grid Projects Map" Retrieved...
EWIS European wind integration study (Smart Grid Project) (Greece...
of wind generation developers. The study will use results from detailed network and market models of the European transmission system for scenarios representing immediate and...
EUDEEP (Smart Grid Project) (Greece) | Open Energy Information
technical and nontechnical barriers that prevent a massive deployment of distributed energy resources (DER) in Europe. In partnership with manufacturers, research organizations,...
Chemical relationship between discharging fluids in the Siena-Radicofani Graben and the deep fluids produced by the geothermal fields of Mt Amiata, torre Afina and Latera (Central Italy)
Duchi, V.; Paolieri, M.; Prati, F ); Minissale, A. Centro di Studio per Mineralogia e la Geochimica dei Sedimenti, Via La Pira 4, 50121 Firenze ); Valori, A )
This paper reports that the thermal springs discharging in the Siena-Radicofani basin and the deep fluids within the geothermal systems of Piancastagnaio (Mt Amiata), Torre Alfina and Latera (Vulsini Mts) have a common origin. The chemical composition and evolution towards the low enthalpy of the springs as compared to the high enthalpy of the geothermal fluids are affected by both the structural setting of the region and the deep hydraulic conditions. Recharge of both the shallow thermal aquifer and the deep geothermal systems takes place in the outcrop areas of Mesozoic carbonate rocks, which constitute the main potential geothermal reservoir in central Italy. The waters of meteoric origin are heated at depth, as a consequence of anomalous heat flow in the region; these waters acquire a CO[sub 2]-rich rising gas phase, equilibrate with the reservoir rocks and, finally, assume their Ca--HCO[sub 3]--SO[sub 4] composition. If these waters discharge rapidly from the border fault systems of the Siena-Radicofani basin they maintain their original composition. If, instead, they emerge from the inner faults of the graben, their temperature and dissolved solids increase so that they become Na--Cl with a high content of NH[sub 4], and H[sub 3]BO[sub 3].
Season and diurnal variations of peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN) in a suburban area of central Italy and their relation with the meteorological conditions and the concentration of other photochemical oxidants and their precursors
Ciccioli, P.; Cecinato, A.; Brancaleoni, E.; Brachetti, A. )
Peroxyacetyl nitrate (PAN), is a photochemical oxidant formed in the atmosphere when large amounts of hydrocarbons (HC) and NO{sub x} are emitted in air and exposed to the UV radiation coming from the sun. Its formation proceeds through the conversion of HC, mainly olefins, into aldehydes that, after oxidation into peroxyradicals, react with NO{sub 2} to give this gaseous pollutant. Although the amount of PAN in air represents a suitable index for measuring photochemical smog and photochemical episodes can easily be observed in many Italian cities, almost no data have been collected in their country. In this paper the authors present the results obtained during a two years monitoring campaign carried in a suburban area of Central Italy placed downwind to Rome. Seasonal and daily trends of PAN will be reported together with the meteorological parameters and the change in concentration of other photochemical oxidants (ozone), its precursors (HC and aldehydes) and some acidic species. The results indicate that PAN, formed within the city, is transported into site together with other oxidants.
Hungary-Employment Impacts of a Large-Scale Deep Building Retrofit...
AgencyCompany Organization European Climate Foundation Sector Energy Focus Area Energy Efficiency, Buildings, - Building Energy Efficiency Topics Co-benefits assessment,...
Rome, Italy: Energy Resources | Open Energy Information
Engineering Green Utility Srl Interenergy Srl Modula Spa Renewable Energies Development RED 2002 Solar Brain Srl Sorgenia Solar previously Soluxia Spa References Retrieved from...
Financing future power generation in Italy
Esposito, P.
Under Italian law, independent power generation fueled by renewable and so-called ``assimilated'' sources must be given incentives. To implement this provision, a resolution known as ``CIP 6'' and a decree setting forth the procedure to sell such electricity to ENEL were issued. CIP 6 has recently been revoked and new incentives have been announced. In the meantime, CIP 6 continues to apply to various projects which have been approved but not yet constructed.
Italy: Energy Resources | Open Energy Information
Governance and Trade (FLEGT) Add a Program 8 Tools Ecofys-Country Fact Sheets Energy Technology Systems Analysis Program (MARKAL) UNFCCC-Global Map-Annex 1 Low Carbon Society (LCS)...
Quartz tube extensometer for observation of Earth tides and local tectonic deformations at the Sopronbanfalva Geodynamic Observatory, Hungary
Mentes, Gy.
In May 1990, a quartz tube extensometer was installed in the Sopronbanfalva Geodynamic Observatory of the Geodetic and Geophysical Research Institute (GGRI) of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences for recording Earth tides and recent tectonic movements. The paper describes the construction of the extensometer and a portable calibrator used for the in situ calibration of the instrument. The extensometer is very sensitive. Its scale factor is 2.093{+-}0.032 nm/mV according to the highly precise calibration method developed at the GGRI. Since the stability of extensometers is strongly influenced by the geological structure and properties of the rocks in the vicinity of the recording site, the observatory instrument system was tested by coherence analysis between theoretical (as the input signal) and measured tidal data series (as the output signal). In the semidiurnal tidal frequency band the coherence is better than 0.95, while in the diurnal band it is about 0.8. Probably this is due to the fact that the noise is higher in the diurnal band (0.4-0.5 nstr) than in the semidiurnal band (0.19-0.22 nstr). Coherence analysis between theoretical and measured data corrected for barometric changes yielded a small improvement of coherence in both frequency bands, while using temperature data correction, no observable improvement was obtained. Results of the tidal analysis also show that the observatory instrument system is suitable for recording very small tectonic movements. The 18 years of continuous data series measured by the extensometer prove the high quality of the extensometer. On the basis of investigations, it was pointed out that further efforts should be done to improve the barometric correction method and that correction for ocean load, as well as considering topographic and cavity effects are necessary to increase the accuracy of determining tidal parameters.
Marginalised social groups in contemporary weee management within social enterprises investments: A study in Greece
Papaoikonomou, K. Kipouros, S.; Kungolos, A.; Somakos, L.; Aravossis, K.; Antonopoulos, I.; Karagiannidis, A.
This paper deals with the creation of appropriate conditions aimed at developing social services for reuse and recycling of waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE), by the inclusion of handicapped and Roma people in the workforce. Application areas for the project are the Hellenic (Greek) regions of Thessaly and North Aegean, where these groups suffer from professional and social exclusion. The efforts to reduce unemployment in the two aforementioned groups, together with the efforts to implement related Greek and European legislation for sustainable WEEE management, are examined here. Furthermore, networking and cooperation at local, regional and central levels between small enterprises, entrepreneurships and local authorities are examined, so that these social enterprises and their corresponding investments may support the development of the Greek alternative WEEE recycling system.
Forensic investigation of a chromium(VI) groundwater plume in Thiva, Greece
Panagiotakis, I.; Dermatas, D.; Vatseris, C.; Chrysochoou, M.; Papassiopi, N.; Xenidis, A.; Vaxevanidou, K.
We conducted a forensic investigation with the aim of decoupling the contribution of geogenic and anthropogenic Cr(VI) sources in the wider area of Thiva. Groundwater and topsoil samples were collected from two Cr(VI) groundwater plumes of 160 μg/L and 75 μg/L. A series of evidence support the view that the origin of Cr(VI) detected in groundwater is mainly geogenic. These are: (a) the presence of Cr in topsoil of the wider area, (b) the moderate Cr(VI) groundwater concentrations, (c) the high Ni levels within the Cr(VI) plumes, (d) the predominance of Mn(IV), which is a prerequisite for Cr(III) oxidation to Cr(VI), and (e) the absence of co-contaminants. This study also revealed that, although both Cr(VI) plumes are clearly of geogenic origin, the plume with the elevated Cr(VI) values, in the north of Thiva town, exhibits also an anthropogenic component, which can potentially be attributed to the alkaline environment associated with the old uncontrolled landfill of Thiva and the industrial cluster located in this area.
United States and Italy Sign Agreements to Advance Developments...
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today signed two important nuclear energy agreements that may lead to construction of new nuclear power plants and improved cooperation on advanced nuclear energy systems and fuel...
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Eprice (Smart Grid Project) (Italy) | Open Energy Information
map Period Feb 2010 Feb 2013 References EU Smart Grid Projects Map1 Overview This project proposes an advanced ICT and control framework for ancillary services (reserve...
BeAware (Smart Grid Project) (Italy) | Open Energy Information
","inlineLabel":"","visitedicon":"" Display map Period May 2010 May 2013 References EU Smart Grid Projects Map1 Overview BeAware studies how ubiquitous information can turn...
Emobility (Smart Grid Project) (Milan, Italy) | Open Energy Informatio...
be provided to 100 customers and 400 recharging stations (300 public stations and 100 home stations) will be installed by Enel in Rome, Milan and Pisa. The new charging points...
Emobility (Smart Grid Project) (Pisa, Italy) | Open Energy Information
be provided to 100 customers and 400 recharging stations (300 public stations and 100 home stations) will be installed by Enel in Rome, Milan and Pisa. The new charging points...
BeyWatch (Smart Grid Project) (Italy) | Open Energy Information
able to provide intelligent energy monitoringcontrol and power demand balancing at homebuilding & neighborhood level. References "EU Smart Grid Projects Map" Retrieved...
United States and Italy Sign Agreements to Advance Developments...
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Analysis Of Multiple Scattering At Vesuvius Volcano, Italy, Using...
of d0.1 km2s for the frequency range of 2-16 Hz. Assuming the dominance of S-waves in the coda and a typical S-wave velocity of around 1.5 kms, this corresponds to a...
Quality problems in waters used for drinking purposes in Italy
Funari, E.; Bastone, A.; Bottoni, P.; De Donno, D.; Donati, L. )
With a grant from the Italian Ministry of the Environment, the National Institute of Health (Istituto Superiore di Sanita) promoted and coordinated some activities aimed at determining the extent and the intensity of contamination of waters used for human consumption by some chemical agents, and describing causes and modalities of contamination and human health implications. The chemical agents examined were herbicides, nitrates, trihalomethanes, asbestos, manganese and fluoride. In this paper a first nationwide picture of these problems is reported.
Load rejection operation in conventional power plants in ENEL - Italy
Gadda, E. ); Radice, A. )
The capability of maintaining auxiliary load after a main breaker trip following an emergency in the electric power system is of major concern for any thermoelectric generating unit. In ENEL the reliability of run back to house load of fossil fired units has been greatly improved by adopting a new procedure. Instead of that originally recommended the new procedure allows to trip all fuel input to the boiler and maintains house load operating the turbine on mass and energy stored in the boiler. This procedure was qualified a few years ago and since then is used in the 320 MW units in operation (the main bulk of ENEL's thermal capacity) whether equipped with subcritical once through boilers or with assisted circulation drum boilers. A series of test carried out recently on supercritical 660 MW units have shown that adopting the same procedure these larger units can sustain successfully the run back to house load too. Up to now the new procedure has been used in many other thermal units of size ranging between 70 MW to 240 MW and can be performed in most of ENEL's thermal power plants.
Lead in human blood from children living in Campania, Italy
Amodio-Cocchieri, R.; Arnese, A.; Prospero, E.; Roncioni, A.
Blood lead (PbB) levels were determined in children living Campania (in Naples and in a rural zone in the district of Caserta). Atmospheric lead (PbA) concentration in these considered areas was monitored for 1 yr (1993-1994). The children tested were questioned about common sources of lead, other than atmospheric relating to their living and dietary habits. The PbB levels in children living in Naples were at the 50th percentile, 18.8 {mu}g/dl in males and 13.7 {mu}g/dl in females; in children living in the rural area the median PbB levels were 8.9{mu}g/dl in males, and 9.9 {mu}g/dl in females. The annual mean values of atmospheres lead were 1.15 {plus_minus} 0.24 {mu}g/dl in Naples and 0.23 {plus_minus} 0.07 {mu}g/dl in the rural area. Significant and congruent mean differences between urban and rural sites were found in children`s blood and concurrent air lead. Considering the PbB level of 10 {mu}g/dl as the maximum level that is not associated any known adverse effect in children, the Neapolitan group can be considered at risk of chronic intoxication by lead. 18 refs., 3 figs., 4 tabs.
Trihalomethanes in the water supplies of Sardinia, Italy
Contu, A.; Bordigoni, M.; Sarritzu, G.; Pudda, M.; Schintu, M. ); Premazzi, G. )
There has been increasing uneasiness with the health authorities recently about the almost ubiquitous presence of organohalogenated compounds in drinking waters. The scientific interest in trihalomethanes (THMs) has increased since their carcinogenic properties were ascertained. For this reason several countries have set upper limits and guidelines for the total amount of THMs allowed in drinking waters which vary from country to country. Aiming at a better understanding of the maximum acceptable concentrations of THMs in drinking waters and considering the wide range of reported values in different countries, it has been considered useful to carry out a study on the presence of THMs in some Sardinian waters. This paper is an attempt at evaluating the THM concentration in the water distributed in the different villages; the final remarks will serve as premises for future studies both on the factors inducing such formation and on problems of risk for human health.
Rodigo 1, northern Italy: A geothermal complex for agriculture
Faccini, U.; Magnoni, S.; Sordelli, C. )
The Padana Valley is an area rich in warm waters. At Rodigo, near Mantua, a well drilled by Agip supplied 80 m[sup 3]/h of water at 59[degree]C. A cooperative of farmers, with the aid of the Institute of Applied Physics of the University of Milan, has developed a complex for agricultural uses of these warm waters: greenhouses, plants for cereal and forage drying and tanks for aquaculture, all utilizing geothermal energy. The Institute of Applied Physics has also installed a continuous radon monitoring station which measures the radon level in the geothermal well.
Lead and cadmium concentrations in livestock bred in Campania, Italy
Amodio-Cocchieri, R.; Fiore, P.
Among the various aspects of environmental pollution, special attention must be directed to heavy metals, which show a remarkable tendency to accumulate in tissues and organs of animals and humans. Particularly, lead and cadmium are of great concern when one considers that the variety of their uses has increased their level in the environment and that they have been identified as the causes of several clinical problems. Since heavy metals may be used as indicators of industrial contamination, the Italian Ministry of Health started a research program concerning the lead and cadmium levels in meat, cow's milk and eggs produce by Italian livestock and in well water, and in local and industrial feeds tuffs employed in their breeding. This is the object of the present study carried out in the Campania province.
Address (Smart Grid Project) (Italy) | Open Energy Information
"inlineLabel":"","visitedicon":"" Display map Period Jun 2008 Jun 2012 References EU Smart Grid Projects Map1 Overview The project aims at delivering a comprehensive...
EUDEEP (Smart Grid Project) (Italy) | Open Energy Information
technical and nontechnical barriers that prevent a massive deployment of distributed energy resources (DER) in Europe. In partnership with manufacturers, research organizations,...
International Symposium on Air Breathing Engines, 9th, Athens, Greece, Sept. 3-8, 1989, Proceedings. Volumes 1 2
Billig, F.S.
The conference presents papers on the National Aerospace Plane Program, highly loaded axial flow compressors, Swedish philosophy in aeroengine development, the active control of engine instabilities, and turbulent free shear layer mixing and combustion. Consideration is also given to direct and hybrid solutions of three-dimensional flow in axial radial turbomachines using the mean stream surface method, the numerical simulation of turbomachinery flows with a simple ONERA model of viscous effects, and the combustion characteristics of a boron-fueled SFRJ with aft burner. Other topics include studies on the influence of Mach number on profile losses of a reaction turbine cascade, flow in compressor interstage ducts, and full-scale liquid fuel ramjet combustor tests.
Distorted spin dependent spectral function of {sup 3}He and semi...
Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI)
(Russia) University of Rome, Rome (Italy); INFN-Roma (Italy) University of Rome (Italy); INFN-Tor Vergata (Italy) INFN-Roma (Italy) University of Perugia (Italy); INFN-Perugia ...
ISHHC XIII International Symposium on the Relations betweenHomogeneous and Heterogeneous Catalysis
Somorjai , G.A.
The International Symposium on Relations between Homogeneous and Heterogeneous Catalysis (ISHHC) has a long and distinguished history. Since 1974, in Brussels, this event has been held in Lyon, France (1977), Groeningen, The Netherlands (1981); Asilomar, California (1983); Novosibirsk, Russia (1986); Pisa, Italy (1989); Tokyo, Japan (1992); Balatonfuered, Hungary (1995); Southampton, United Kingdom (1999); Lyon, France (2001); Evanston, Illinois (2001) and Florence, Italy (2005). The aim of this international conference in Berkeley is to bring together practitioners in the three fields of catalysis, heterogeneous, homogeneous and enzyme, which utilize mostly nanosize particles. Recent advances in instrumentation, synthesis and reaction studies permit the nanoscale characterization of the catalyst systems, often for the same reaction, under similar experimental conditions. It is hoped that this circumstance will permit the development of correlations of these three different fields of catalysis on the molecular level. To further this goal we aim to uncover and focus on common concepts that emerge from nanoscale studies of structures and dynamics of the three types of catalysts. Another area of focus that will be addressed is the impact on and correlation of nanosciences with catalysis. There is information on the electronic and atomic structures of nanoparticles and their dynamics that should have importance in catalyst design and catalytic activity and selectivity.
Harnessing Vehicle Automation for Public Mobility -- An Overview of Ongoing Efforts
Young, Stanley E.
This presentation takes a look at the efforts to harness automated vehicle technology for public transport. The European CityMobil2 is the leading demonstration project in which automated shuttles were, or are planned to be, demonstrated in several cities and regions. The presentation provides a brief overview of the demonstrations at Oristano, Italy (July 2014), LaRochelle, France (Dec 2014), Lausanne, Switzerland (Apr 2015), Vantaa, Finland (July 2015), and Trikala, Greece (Sept 2015). In addition to technology exposition, the objectives included generating a legal framework for operation in each location and gaging the reaction of the public to unmanned shuttles, both of which were successfully achieved. Several such demonstrations are planned throughout the world, including efforts in North America in conjunction with the GoMentum Station in California. These early demonstration with low-speed automated shuttles provide a glimpse of the possible with a fully automated fleet of driverless vehicle providing a public transit service.
United Nations geothermal activities in developing countries
Beredjick, N.
The United Nations implements technical cooperation projects in developing countries through its Department of Technical Cooperation for Development (DTCD). The DTCD is mandated to explore for and develop natural resources (water, minerals, and relevant infrastructure) and energy - both conventional and new and renewable energy sources. To date, the United Nations has been involved in over 30 geothermal exploration projects (completed or underway) in 20 developing countries: 8 in Africa (Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar); 8 in Asia (China, India, Jordan, Philippines, Thailand); 9 in Latin America (Bolivia, Chile, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama) and 6 in Europe (Greece, Romania, Turkey, Yugoslavia). Today, the DTCD has seven UNDP geothermal projects in 6 developing countries. Four of these (Bolivia, China, Honduras, and Kenya) are major exploration projects whose formulation and execution has been possible thanks to the generous contributions under cost-sharing arrangements from the government of Italy. These four projects are summarized.
Pathways, Networks and Systems Medicine Conferences
Nadeau, Joseph H.
The 6th Pathways, Networks and Systems Medicine Conference was held at the Minoa Palace Conference Center, Chania, Crete, Greece (16-21 June 2008). The Organizing Committee was composed of Joe Nadeau (CWRU, Cleveland), Rudi Balling (German Research Centre, Brauschweig), David Galas (Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle), Lee Hood (Institute for Systems Biology, Seattle), Diane Isonaka (Seattle), Fotis Kafatos (Imperial College, London), John Lambris (Univ. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia),Harris Lewin (Univ. of Indiana, Urbana-Champaign), Edison Liu (Genome Institute of Singapore, Singapore), and Shankar Subramaniam (Univ. California, San Diego). A total of 101 individuals from 21 countries participated in the conference: USA (48), Canada (5), France (5), Austria (4), Germany (3), Italy (3), UK (3), Greece (2), New Zealand (2), Singapore (2), Argentina (1), Australia (1), Cuba (1), Denmark (1), Japan (1), Mexico (1), Netherlands (1), Spain (1), Sweden (1), Switzerland (1). With respect to speakers, 29 were established faculty members and 13 were graduate students or postdoctoral fellows. With respect to gender representation, among speakers, 13 were female and 28 were male, and among all participants 43 were female and 58 were male. Program these included the following topics: Cancer Pathways and Networks (Day 1), Metabolic Disease Networks (Day 2), Day 3 ? Organs, Pathways and Stem Cells (Day 3), and Day 4 ? Inflammation, Immunity, Microbes and the Environment (Day 4). Proceedings of the Conference were not published.
Distomo Renewable Energy SA | Open Energy Information
Distomo Renewable Energy SA Jump to: navigation, search Name: Distomo Renewable Energy SA Place: Greece Zip: 32005 Product: Aiming to develop PV projects in Greece. References:...
PPC Renewables | Open Energy Information
PPC Renewables Jump to: navigation, search Name: PPC Renewables Place: Greece Sector: Renewable Energy Product: The renewables division of Public Power Corp. of Greece (PPC)....
EEN Hellas | Open Energy Information
Place: Greece Product: EEN Hellas subsidiary of EDF Energies Nouvelles. It develops, finances and operates energy projects in Greece. References: EEN Hellas1 This article is a...
Positive Energy S A | Open Energy Information
Greece Zip: 115 27 Sector: Buildings, Efficiency, Solar Product: Developer of solar parks and implements energy efficiency measures for buildings in Greece and south-eastern...
Venergia SA | Open Energy Information
navigation, search Name: Venergia SA Place: Athens, Greece Zip: 14564 Sector: Solar, Wind energy Product: Greece-based solar and wind project developer. Coordinates: 37.97615,...
USAID Europe and Eurasia Climate Program | Open Energy Information
Country Armenia, Republic of Macedonia, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Kazakhstan, Hungary, Turkey, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Azerbaijan, Tajikistan Western...
UNEP-Risoe-Economics of GHG Limitations: Country Study Series...
Gas Limitations1 Country study series: Argentina, Ecuador, Estonia, Hungary, Indonesia, Mauritius, Senegal, Vietnam Parallel country studies: Botswana, Tanzania, Zambia...
Comparison of composition and texture of calcite-cemented concretions and host sandstones, northern Apennines, Italy
Cibin, U. . Dept. de Scienze Geologiche); Cavazza, W. . Dept de Scienze Mineralogiche); Fontana, D. . Inst. di Geologia); Milliken, K.L.; McBride, E.F. . Dept. of Geological Sciences)
Compositional and textural characteristics of 13 calcite-cemented concretions are compared with those in adjacent but essentially uncemented host sandstones to test the belief that concretions better preserve original detrital compositions than do host rocks. Sandstones sampled are from five upper Eocene to Pliocene clastic units deposited in a piggy-back setting and from one Miocene unit in the foreland basin of the northern Apennines. The authors' data indicate that calcite-cemented concretions do not necessarily preserve unstable grains more readily than host sandstones, especially if cementation occurs late in the burial history of the sandstones. In the examined formations the main factors controlling the capability of concretions to preserve unstable framework grains seem to be (1) the types of unstable grains, (2) their susceptibility to dissolution by interstitial fluids or replacement by calcite, (3) burial depth and temperature during and after concretion development, and (4) time. Correct provenance reconstructions of sandstone units containing concretions must be preceded by assessment of any diagenetic alteration affecting the framework grains of both concretions and host rocks.
3D Tomographic Imaging Of The Southern Apennines (Italy)- A Statistica...
of all the realizations is adopted as the best-fit solution and the uncertainty of the model parameters is studied using a statistical approach based on a Monte Carlo-type...
Rubble masonry response under cyclic actions: The experience of L'Aquila city (Italy)
Fonti, Roberta Barthel, Rainer; Formisano, Antonio; Borri, Antonio; Candela, Michele
Several methods of analysis are available in engineering practice to study old masonry constructions. Two commonly used approaches in the field of seismic engineering are global and local analyses. Despite several years of research in this field, the various methodologies suffer from a lack of comprehensive experimental validation. This is mainly due to the difficulty in simulating the many different kinds of masonry and, accordingly, the non-linear response under horizontal actions. This issue can be addressed by examining the local response of isolated panels under monotonic and/or alternate actions. Different testing methodologies are commonly used to identify the local response of old masonry. These range from simplified pull-out tests to sophisticated in-plane monotonic tests. However, there is a lack of both knowledge and critical comparison between experimental validations and numerical simulations. This is mainly due to the difficulties in implementing irregular settings within both simplified and advanced numerical analyses. Similarly, the simulation of degradation effects within laboratory tests is difficult with respect to old masonry in-situ boundary conditions. Numerical models, particularly on rubble masonry, are commonly simplified. They are mainly based on a kinematic chain of rigid blocks able to perform different "modes of damage" of structures subjected to horizontal actions. This paper presents an innovative methodology for testing; its aim is to identify a simplified model for out-of-plane response of rubbleworks with respect to the experimental evidence. The case study of L'Aquila district is discussed.
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Flow dynamics and erosion rate of representative karst basin (Upper Aniene River, Central Italy)
Bono, P.; Percopo, C.
Experimental data refer to a preliminary estimate of suspended solid and solute load of a perennial river. The basin is composed almost entirely of bare mesozoic, highly fractured, karstified carbonate rocks of the central Apennine range. The suspended solid load related to stormflow events in 1991 corresponds to about 14,970 t yr{sup -1}. For the same period the solute load is 60,060 t yr{sup -1} for a mean base flow discharge of 9.4 m{sup 3} s{sup -1}. Based on the mean concentration of Ca + Mg in water, the value of dissolution of carbonate rocks of 37.1 m{sup 3} km{sup -2} (equivalent approximately to 0.04 mm yr{sup -1}) was calculated. Physical and chemical variations that occur during storm events indicate the complex dynamic processes in the karst aquifier and the role undertaken by the epikarst as perched water reservoir and by the major conduits that develop through the vadose and saturated zones of the karst system. 12 refs., 10 figs., 5 tabs.
Biomarker responses in cyprinids of the middle stretch of the River Po, Italy
Vigano, L.; Arillo, A.; Melodia, F.; Arlati, P.; Monti, C.
Fish belonging to three species of cyprinids, that is, barbel (Barbus plebejus), chub (Leuciscus cephalus), and Italian nase (Chondrostoma soeetta), were collected from two sites of the River Po, located upstream and downstream from the confluence of one of its middle-reach polluted tributaries, the River Lambro. The two groups of individuals caught for each species were analyzed and compared for several microsomal and cytosolic biochemical markers. The enzymatic activities assayed in fish liver included ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD), aminopyrine-N-demethylase (APDM), uridine diphosphate glucuronyltransferase (UDPGT), glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutathione reductase, and glutathione peroxidase. In addition, the contents of reduced glutathione and nonprotein thiols were measured. Despite some differences among species, all microsomal activities (EROD, APDM, UDPGT) were found to be significantly induced in fish living downstream the River Lambro. With the exception of a higher GST enzyme activity of barbel from the downstream reach, no significant modification was evident in any of the tested cytosolic biomarkers. Results showed that barbel and nase better discriminated the two reaches of the River Po. In general, the alterations observed in feral fish are consistent with the results found in previous studies conducted with rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) under both laboratory and field conditions in the same middle reach of the River Po. All of the data indicate that the downstream tract of the main river is exposed to the load of pollutants transported by the River Lambro, including known inducers such as polychlorinated biphenyls and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The latter were analyzed in sediments sampled at the two sites of fish collection, and the downstream sediment showed the highest concentrations of PAHs, although their levels are comparable to those present in moderately polluted locations. Regardless of the site of exposure, barbel seem to be characterized by more efficient antioxidant defenses.
Pre-operational survey of a U mine near Val Vedello, Italy
Fenzi, A.
Results obtained from radiometric research carried out from 1980-81 in the region of U mines in the Val Vedello are provided. Data are presented on /sup 2/)2''/sup 2/Rn, /sup 226/Ra and natural U concentrations in spring and surface waters. Concentrations were found to be relatively low. There is some increase in the vicinity of the exploratory U mine but this is, at least up to the present, only of a local character. Data are presented on external gamma exposure, /sup 210/Pb and /sup 210/Po in foodstuffs and in the urine of normal and exposed population as well as /sup 226/Ra in milk and vegetable samples. The aim of this study is to outline a preliminary map of natural radioactivity on the site before starting the mining activity. This will enable us later to detect changes caused by the U mining, milling and mill-tailing disposal operations.
Crustal models of the geothermal areas of Larderello and Mt. Amiata, Italy
Gianelli, G.; Manzella, A.; Puxeddu, M.
The study of core samples and geophysical data from the Larderello and Mt. Amiata geothermal areas indicate the presence of granite intrusions and granitic dykes as old as 3.8-2.9 Ma and widespread contact aureoles. Reflection seismic surveys reveal the presence of a highly reflective horizon (named K) in a depth range of 3-12 km in the two geothermal areas; seismic tomography and teleseismic studies show at Larderello a low velocity body, 30-40 km wide below the K horizon. Magnetotelluric surveys indicate the presence of a conductive body in good correlation with the anomalous tomographic and teleseismic body. The occurrence of shallow intrusive bodies, still partially molten and associated with saline brines is here considered a reliable model.
Iridium profile for 10 million years across the Cretaceous-Tertiary boundary at Gubbio (Italy)
Alvarez, W.; Montanari, A. ); Asaro, F. )
The iridium anomaly at the Cretaceous-Tertiary (KT) boundary was discovered in the pelagic limestone sequence at Gubbio on the basis of 12 samples analyzed by neutron activation analysis (NAA) and was interpreted as indicating impact of a large extraterrestrial object at exactly the time of the KT mass extinction. Continuing controversy over the shape of the Ir profile at the Gubbio KT boundary and its interpretation called for a more detailed follow-up study. Analysis of a 57-meter-thick, 10-million-year-old part of the Gubbio sequence using improved NAA techniques revealed that there is only one Ir anomaly at the KT boundary, but this anomaly shows an intricate fine structure, the origin of which cannot yet be entirely explained. The KT Ir anomaly peaks in a 1-centimeter-thick clay layer, where the average Ir concentration is 3,000 parts per trillion (ppt); this peak is flanked by tails with Ir concentrations of 20 to 80 ppt that rise above a background of 12 to 13 ppt. The fine structure of the tails is probably due in part to lateral reworking, diffusion, burrowing, and perhaps Milankovitch cyclicity.
Bioclastic turbiditic reservoirs: San Giorgio, Santa Maria Mare, Sarago Mare fields (Italy)
Heritier, F.E.; Soudet, H.; Richert, J.
These three fields and the associated Mormora discovery are located along the coastline of the central Adriatic Sea or on the very proximate shelf south of Ancona. Geologically they belong to the Marches basin. These fields are situated on highly faulted northwest-trending anticlines which are related to a north-south shear zone under the disharmonic cover of late Miocene and early Pliocene shales. Oil and gas are contained in the Scaglia limestone formation of Late Cretaceous to Paleocene age whose reservoirs consist of high-energy bioclastic grainstones interbedded in open marine chalk deposits, and spread and deposited by turbiditic currents. The diagenesis of these bioclastic grainstones is closely related to the thickness and composition of the different beds and is chiefly located at the top and bottom of them. It is also related to the fluid content of the reservoir. Fracturing of these beds under the tectonic stresses is linked to the reservoir's characteristics and to the extension of consolidated facies by diagenesis. This fracturing is responsible for the production behavior of the different wells. Source rocks are the evaporitic shales of upper Miocene age, mature in the deeper part of the Marches basin under the upper Pliocene olistostromes.
Silica separation from reinjection brines at Monte Amiata geothermal plants, Italy
Vitolo, S.; Cialdella, M.L. . Dipartimento di Ingegneria Chimica)
A process for the separation of silica from geothermal reinjection brines is reported, in which the phases of coagulation, sedimentation and filtration of silica are involved. The effectiveness of lime and calcium chloride as coagulating agents has been investigated and the separating operations have been set out. Attention has been focused on Monte Amiata reinjection geothermal brines, whose scaling effect causes serious problems in the operation and maintenance of reinjection facilities. The study has been conducted using different amounts of added coagulants and at different temperatures, to determine optimal operating conditions. Though calcium chloride was revealed to be effective as a coagulant of the polymeric silica fraction, lime has also proved capable of removing monomeric dissolved silica at high dosages. Investigation on the behavior of coagulated brine has revealed the feasibility of separating the coagulated silica by sedimentation and filtration.
Soil gas survey in the geothermal area of Bolsena Lake (Vulsini Mts. , central Italy)
Corazza, E.; Magro, G.; Ceccarelli, A. ); Pieri, S.; Rossi, U. )
A soil gas survey has been carried out in the Vulsini Mts. volcanic area, around Bolsena Lake, with the objective of testing the reliability of this geochemical method for geothermal exploration. The thermal gradients is high all over the area; the He/Ne ratio, and He, CO[sub 2], and H[sub 2] concentrations have been determined in 259 samples. Compared with its surroundings, this area exhibits an overall positive CO[sub 2] anomaly, but the distribution of diffusive gases (He and H[sub 2]) allows one to distinguish three different sectors around the lake: (1) a northern sector with high CO[sub 2], and H[sub 2]/CO[sub 2], He/CO[sub 2], and He/Ne ratios close to the background value; (2) a south-eastern sector, characterized by the presence of cold fumaroles, with high He, H[sub 2], CO[sub 2] and He/Ne, and generally low H[sub 2]/CO[sub 2] and He/CO[sub 2] spots. Permeability is assumed to the main factor controlling the differences between the above three sectors. In sector 1, the flysch (1 km thick) is intruded by a great number of sills and dikes, and the underlying limestones are completely metamorphosed into marbles; CO[sub 2] is the late stage of a heavy degassing process. Sector 2 includes several volcanic spatter cones along the tectonic trends; the high permeability allows the deep gases to be ducted with minor changes. Sector 3 is an elongated strip with an anti-Apennine trend; diffusion of H[sub 2] only is the result of the thick (>3 km) unaltered flysch cover. In sector 3 the underground outflow of the lake through shallow volcanics entrains large quantities of air and masks any deep gases; the few anomalous spots reproduce situations like that of sector 2. One of these spots is located near a producing well tapping the geothermal reservoir.
Mutagenic activity and chemical analysis of airborne particulates collected in Pisa (Italy)
Vellosi, R.; Fiorio, R.; Rosellini, D.; Bronzetti, G. ); Vannucchi, C.; Ciacchini, G.; Giaconi, V. ); Bianchi, F. )
In the last few years there has been much concern about the problem connected to the exposure to mutagens present in the environment of industrialized countries. Particularly, the mutagenic activity of airborne particulate matter has been studied by many investigators and correlated with elevated lung cancer mortality rates. In most cases the Salmonella typhimurium/microsome test has been used for these studies. This short-term test, which is the most validated among the short-term genotoxicity tests, provides an important indication on the carcinogenic potential of environmental pollutants. That are complex mixtures containing a wide variety of compounds potentially capable of causing additive, antagonistic or synergistic genotoxic response in living organisms. Several studies have suggested that diverse factors, such as traffic and meteorological conditions, could affect the levels of pollutants in the air. In our work, we have investigated three different areas in Pisa, where the intensity and the kind of the road traffic were different. Airborne particles have been collected during a year and the genotoxic activity has been studied using TA98 and TA100 strains of Salmonella typhimurium. 20 refs., 1 fig., 3 tabs.
Subsurface basin analysis of fault-controlled turbidite system in Bradano trough, southern Adriatic foredeep, Italy
Casnedi, R.
Subsurface data (seismic lines, wireline logs, cores, and drill cuttings) from intensive hydrocarbon exploration in the Pliocene-Pleistocene Bradano Trough were used in performing a three-dimensional basin analysis and in reconstructing the time-space evolution of the basin. A middle Pliocene sedimentary system characterizes the hydrocarbon-bearing sands of the major gas field of the Bradano Trough, the Candela field. This system includes two phases of deposition in a migrating basin. 9 figures.
Geometry, lateral variability, and preservation of downlapped regressive shelf deposits, eastern Tyrrhenian Margin, Italy
Field, M.E. ); Trincardi, F. )
The shelf of the eastern Tyrrhenian margin changes substantially in width, shelf-break depth, and sea-floor steepness over relatively short distances, largely due to marked lateral changes in geologic structure. Remnants of late Pleistocene prograded coastal deposits are locally preserved on the middle and outer parts of this complex shelf. Through the authors studies of these prograded deposits they recognize two major controls on the distribution, lateral extent, thickness, and preservation potential. First, prograded (downlapped) deposits formed only where the physiographic shelf break was deeper than the lowstand shoreline, thus providing accommodation space for the lowstand deposits. Second, the proximity and relative size of sediment sources and the local coastal dispersal system influenced the geometry of the deposit. Mid-shelf and shelf-margin bodies composed of seaward-steepening downlapping reflectors were deposited as thin-to-thick continuous prograding sheets over an irregular eroded shelf surface and onto the shelf edge during the last fall and lowstand of sea level. A dearth of sediment at the end of lowstand conditions led to a switch from deposition to erosion. During sea level rise, shoreface erosion produced a major marine erosional (ravinement) surface landward of the 120-m isobath, and much, and in many places all, of the downlapping deposit was removed. Preservation of downlapping deposits is largely a function of their thickness. Thick continuous deposits are common on the shelf edge, whereas on the mid-shelf only thin remnants are preserved locally where depressions or morphologic steps were present in the shelf surface.
Seismic Vulnerability Evaluations Within The Structural And Functional Survey Activities Of The COM Bases In Italy
Zuccaro, G.; Cacace, F.; Albanese, V.; Mercuri, C.; Papa, F.; Pizza, A. G.; Sergio, S.; Severino, M.
The paper describes technical and functional surveys on COM buildings (Mixed Operative Centre). This activity started since 2005, with the contribution of both Italian Civil Protection Department and the Regions involved. The project aims to evaluate the efficiency of COM buildings, checking not only structural, architectonic and functional characteristics but also paying attention to surrounding real estate vulnerability, road network, railways, harbours, airports, area morphological and hydro-geological characteristics, hazardous activities, etc. The first survey was performed in eastern Sicily, before the European Civil Protection Exercise 'EUROSOT 2005'. Then, since 2006, a new survey campaign started in Abruzzo, Molise, Calabria and Puglia Regions. The more important issue of the activity was the vulnerability assessment. So this paper deals with a more refined vulnerability evaluation technique by means of the SAVE methodology, developed in the 1st task of SAVE project within the GNDT-DPC programme 2000-2002 (Zuccaro, 2005); the SAVE methodology has been already successfully employed in previous studies (i.e. school buildings intervention programme at national scale; list of strategic public buildings in Campania, Sicilia and Basilicata). In this paper, data elaborated by SAVE methodology are compared with expert evaluations derived from the direct inspections on COM buildings. This represents a useful exercise for the improvement either of the survey forms or of the methodology for the quick assessment of the vulnerability.
Coastal water quality from remote sensing and GIS. A case study on South West Sardinia (Italy)
Poli, U.; Ippoliti, M.; Venturini, C.; Falcone, P.; Marino, A.
In this paper the application of remote sensing image processing and GIS techniques in monitoring and managing coastal areas is proposed. The methodology has been applied to South-West Sardinia Coast where the environment is endangered by industrial plants and other human activities. The area is characterized by the presence of many submarine springs aligned along coastal cliffs. Water quality parameters (chlorophyll, suspended sediments and temperature) spatial and temporal variations, have been studied using Landsat TM images. Particularly, in this paper are reported the results referred to sea surface thermal gradients, considered as one of the main water quality index. Thermal gradients have been mapped in order to outline water circulation, thermal pollution and presence and distribution of submarine springs. Furthermore, a GIS approach of relating mono and multitemporal TM data with ground referenced information on industrial plants characteristics and distribution has been applied.
Quaternary structure of the southern Po Plain (Italy): Eustatic and tectonic implications
Farabegoli E.; Onorevoli, G. )
The Quaternary telescoped growth pattern of the Southern Po Plain developed during the last 250,000 yr through the superimposition of six fining-upward continental sequences, which can be correlated with terraced deposits. The boundary surfaces of every cycle (base and top of gravels and/or sands), the overall thickness, the thickness of basal coarse sediments, and the related trends and deviations have been computer-gridded and contoured. Comparison between the maps of the whole Quaternary sequence and the structural map of Pliocene isobaths suggests that the sequence evolution has been controlled by the combined action of glacio-eustatic fluctuations and strong tectonics. Lowstands controlled the regional pattern of the basal surfaces, and highstands coincide with the time of accretions of the sequences. Tectonics influenced the local subsidence, and consequently, the paleogeographic setting, following a rather regular cyclic trend. Four tectonic events alternated with four pauses; each period was 20,000-50,000 years long. Thrust kinematics proceeded cyclically from the inner to outer thrust faults, giving rise to isolated grouped and joined and grouped but free tectonic elements.
Pattern of extensional faulting in pelagic carbonates of the Unbria-Marche Apennines of central Italy
Alvarez, W. )
The Umbria-Marche Apennines provide a new region in which the nature passive-margin extensional faulting can be studied in outcrop. In these dominantly pelagic carbonate rocks of Jurassic and Cretaceous age, horsts acted as shallow, nonvolcani seamounts, while tilted half grabens formed deeper basins. One well-exposed seamount-basin transition agrees in general with the model of listric normal faulting and tilted half grabens, but shows interesting and significant divergences when studied in detail. A small sedimentary wedge at the faulted margin of a horst-block seamount thickens unexpectedly toward the adjacent basin. This wedge developed because of local convex-upward curvature of the shallowest part of a fault which at depth must have concave-up, listric geometry. The local sedimentary wedge resulted from deposition on the hanging wall as it tilted, followed by differential compaction of younger limestones that lapped onto the gentle slope leading from the horst-block seamount toward the basin. The map pattern of listric normal faulting in the Umbria-Marche Apennines suggests that both principal strain axes were extensional, in contrast to the usual pattern of listric faults crossed by transfer faults.
Application of a selective phase extraction procedure to samples from the Adamello contact aureole (Italy)
Payne, T.E.; Lumpkin, G.R.; McGlinn, P.J.; Hart, K.P.
Hydrothermal veins, rich in Ti, Zr, rare earth elements (REEs), and actinides, occur in the pure dolomitic marbles of the Adamello contact metamorphic aureole. A selective phase extraction using 9M HCl was applied to samples from within and near these veins to chemically separate acid-soluble phases from residual phases, and to study the associations of U, Th, and REEs with these phases. The samples were from the phlogopite, titanian clinohumite, and forsterite vein zones, and from the country rock. The effects of the extraction were studied by SEM/EDS and by chemical analysis. Isotopes of U and Th were analyzed by alpha-spectrometry. The chemical data and SEM/EDS results indicated that dolomite, calcite, apatite, and much of the pyrrhotite were dissolved by the 9M HCl, whereas spinel, phlogopite, titanite, chalcopyrite, and zirconolite were among the acid-resistant phases. In all vein samples, the REE-patterns of acid-soluble phases were consistent with the dissolution of REE-rich apatite. In samples from the phlogopite zone, the majority of U, Th, and REEs were in residual phases, and the REE pattern of the residue was similar to that of REE-rich titanite. In the titanian clinohumite zone, a substantial proportion of these elements were in acid-soluble phases, and the REE pattern of the residual phases resembled that of zirconolite. Clinohumite was partially dissolved by the HCl treatment. The sample from the forsterite zone contained substantial amounts of REEs in acid-soluble phases, whereas Th and U were mostly in residual phases. The dolomite (country rock) samples contained small amounts of an acid-resistant, uranium-rich phase which, while only comprising about 0.2% of the mass, accounted for 40--60% of the uranium present.
A novel approach to the exploration of the Southern Apennines, Italy: Geological models and oil discoveries
Pasi, R.; Dattilo, P.; Bertozzi, G.
The last, successful, exploration phase in the Southern Apennines started in the early eighties after small but encouraging discoveries of oil in the carbonates of the Apulian Platform foreland, in the Basilicata region. The poor seismic definition of the top of this unit and the extremely poor seismic imaging of the overlying {open_quotes}allochthonous{close_quotes}, forced the oil companies active in the area to build geological models in order to constrain the seismic interpretation. The main units within the proposed simplified depositional and structural framework are represented by two carbonate platforms separated by a seaway: the Apenninic Platform to the West, the Apulian Platform to the East and the Lagonegro Basin in between. Due to the Tirrenian Sea spreading and/or subduction of the Adria Plate, the Apenninic Platform, Lagonegro basin-fill and related syntectonic sediments were thrusted over the Apulian Platform and its overlying Pliocene foredeep. According to the proposed model, the Apulian Platform has been differentiated into three main structural domains. These are interpreted as resulting from the decreasing horizontal compressive stress from west to east. All these domains are proved oil producer. The geological modelling of a formerly unknownly structural trend developed during the compressive phases represented the key for major oil discoveries performed at the end of the eighties. The reservoir in this area, homogeneous in first approximation, is characterised by high fracturing, related to the several tectonic regimes that affected the Apulian Platform, moderate matrix and vuggy porosity and several hundreds of meters of oil column.
Cerreto di Spoleto (Umbria-Italy): Seismic amplification at the ENEA local array stations
Rinaldis, Dario
The Nerina valley, where Borgo Cerreto is located, is surrounded by the Apennine mount chain at the top of which lies the historical centre of Cerreto di Spoleto. The study is part of a research project aiming at analysing natural disasters and their impact on the Italian cultural heritage. Within the framework of this research project, local seismic records were analysed for both the carbonate ridge and the bordering alluvial valley. The choice of Cerreto di Spoleto as a test site derives from the analysis of Italian seismic hazard maps, obtained in terms of peak ground velocity and taking into account regional geology. The maps highlight the considerable seismic hazard which characterises the Apennine belt and its possible increase due to the effect of alluvial deposits. To this aim, ENEA installed in the 80's an accelerometric array (CODISMA up to 2000 and, in the following years, ETNA; for more detailed description see [1]. The 14 October event, was recorded both at the roof of CSM and at BCT stations. This is important to check the features observed comparing the FAS of acceleration at CSM and BCT during the 26 September events. Unfortunately the station at CSM basement did not record the above mentioned events but several aftershocks were recorded at each array station. Velocimetric records of both ambient noise and small-magnitude earthquakes were analysed in order to identify amplification conditions. The analysis was carried out in the time domain, through directional energy evaluation, and in the frequency domain, through H/V spectral ratios and spectral ratios with respect to a reference station.