The Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia Data Management System for the Arctic Sciences

The brokering approach can be successfully used to overcome the crucial question of searching among enormous amount of data （raw and/or processed） produced and stored in different information systems. In this paper, authors describe the Data Management System the DMS （Data Management System） developed by INGV （Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia） to support the brokering system GEOSS （Global Earth Observation System of Systems） adopted for the ARCA （Arctic Present Climate Change and Past Extreme Events） project. This DMS includes heterogeneous data that contributes to the ARCA objective （www.arcaproject.it） focusing on multi-parametric and multi-disciplinary studies on the mechanism （s） behind the release of large volumes of cold and fresh water from melting of ice caps. The DMS is accessible directly at the www.arca.rm.ingv.it, or through the IADC （Italian Arctic Data Center） at http：//arcticnode.dta.cnr.it/iadc/gi-portal/index.jsp that interoperates with the GEOSS brokering system （http：//www.geoportal.org0 making easy and fast the search of specific data set and its URL.

New Record Ocean Temperatures and Related Climate Indicators in 2023

The global physical and biogeochemical environment has been substantially altered in response to increased atmospheric greenhouse gases from human activities.In 2023,the sea surface temperature(SST)and upper 2000 m ocean heat content(OHC)reached record highs.The 0–2000 m OHC in 2023 exceeded that of 2022 by 15±10 ZJ(1 Zetta Joules=1021 Joules)(updated IAP/CAS data);9±5 ZJ(NCEI/NOAA data).The Tropical Atlantic Ocean,the Mediterranean Sea,and southern oceans recorded their highest OHC observed since the 1950s.Associated with the onset of a strong El Niño,the global SST reached its record high in 2023 with an annual mean of~0.23℃ higher than 2022 and an astounding>0.3℃ above 2022 values for the second half of 2023.The density stratification and spatial temperature inhomogeneity indexes reached their highest values in 2023.

Exact and heuristic formulae to compute the geodetic height from the ellipse equation

The conversion of the cartesian coordinates of a point to its geodetic equivalent coordinates in reference to the geodetic ellipsoid is one of the main challenges in geodesy.The ellipse equation in the meridian plane significantly influences the value of the geodetic coordinates.This research analyzes this influence and how it can contribute to their solutions.The study investigates the mathematical relation between them and presents an exact formula relating to the geodetic height and the ellipse equation.In addition,a heuristic formula for the relation between the geodetic height and the ellipse equation is proposed,which is independent of the geodetic latitude and has a relative accuracy better than 99.9 %.The calculation is stable,and the cost is low.

Another Record: Ocean Warming Continues through 2021 despite La Nina Conditions

The increased concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere from human activities traps heat within the climate system and increases ocean heat content(OHC). Here, we provide the first analysis of recent OHC changes through 2021 from two international groups. The world ocean, in 2021, was the hottest ever recorded by humans, and the 2021 annual OHC value is even higher than last year’s record value by 14 ± 11 ZJ(1 zetta J = 1021 J) using the IAP/CAS dataset and by16 ± 10 ZJ using NCEI/NOAA dataset. The long-term ocean warming is larger in the Atlantic and Southern Oceans than in other regions and is mainly attributed, via climate model simulations, to an increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations. The year-to-year variation of OHC is primarily tied to the El Nino-Southern Oscillation(ENSO). In the seven maritime domains of the Indian, Tropical Atlantic, North Atlantic, Northwest Pacific, North Pacific, Southern oceans,and the Mediterranean Sea, robust warming is observed but with distinct inter-annual to decadal variability. Four out of seven domains showed record-high heat content in 2021. The anomalous global and regional ocean warming established in this study should be incorporated into climate risk assessments, adaptation, and mitigation.

A Software Package Generating Long Term and Near Real Time Predictions of the Critical Frequencies of the F2 Layer over Europe and Its Applications

Long term prediction and near real time (nowcasting) maps of the critical frequency of the F2 layer (foF2), over the geographic area extending in latitude from 34°N to 60°N and in longitude from -5°W to 40°E, have been provided since 2006 by the DIAS (European Digital Upper Atmosphere Server) system. This work describes the software package PRODUCTION_DATABASE_foF2 & Extract_Real_Time_Grid_foF2 constituted by two original software packages called PRODUCTION_ DATABASE_foF2 and Extract_Real_Time_Grid_foF2 which have been developed in the framework of the ESA SSA Programme P2-SWE-1, in order to provide numerical grids of foF2 prediction on a mapping area more extended than that offered by the DIAS both in latitude (from 34°N to 80°N) and in longitude (from -10°W to 40°E). PRODUCTION_DATABASE_foF2, by means of the CCIR and SIRM models, provides a database of long term predictions of foF2 for all the months and the solar activities characterized by the 12-month smoothed mean value of the monthly sunspots number (R12) ranged between -50 and 150 with step = 1. On the basis of two effective sunspots numbers, R12eff_Northern and R12eff_Southern, which are calculated each hour using the foF2 autoscaled values provided by some reference stations, Extract_Real_Time_Grid_foF2 extracts from the database of long term predictions of foF2 the numerical grids representing the near real time ionospheric conditions for the hour and month under consideration. Some applications of PRODUCTION_DATABASE_foF2 and Extract_Real_Time_Grid_foF2 in terms of long term forecast and nowcasting maps of foF2 are shown and their usefulness is discussed.

A Neural Network Algorithm to Detect Sulphur Dioxide Using IASI Measurements

The remote sensing of volcanic sulphur dioxide (SO2) is important because it is used as a proxy for volcanic ash, which is dangerous to aviation and is generally more difficult to discriminate. This paper presents an Artificial Neural Network (ANN) algorithm that recognizes volcanic SO2 in the atmosphere using hyperspectral remotely sensed data from the IASI instrument aboard the Metop-A satellite. The importance of this approach lies in exploiting all thermal infrared spectral information of IASI and its application to near real-time volcanic monitoring in a fast manner. In this paper, the ANN algorithm is demonstrated on data of the Eyjafjallajokull volcanic eruption (Iceland) during the months of April and May 2010, and on the Grímsvotn eruption occurring during May 2011. The algorithm consists of a two output neural network classifier trained with a time series consisting of some hyperspectral eruption datasets collected during 14 April to 14 May 2010 and a few from 22 to 26 May 2011. The inputs were all channels (441) in the IASI v3 band and the target outputs (truth) were the corresponding retrievals of SO2 amount obtained with an optimal estimation method. The validation results for the Eyjafjallajokull independent data-sets had an overall accuracy of 100% and no commission errors, therefore demonstrating the feasibility of estimating the presence of SO2 using a neural network approach also a in cloudy sky conditions. Although the validation of the neural network classifier on datasets from the Grímsvotn eruption had no commission errors, the overall accuracies were lower due to the presence of omission errors. Statistical analysis revealed that those false negatives lie near the detection threshold for discriminating pixels affected by SO2. This demonstrated that the accuracy in classification is strictly related to the sensitivity of the model. The lower accuracy obtained in detecting SO2 for Grímsvotn validation dates might also be caused by less statistical knowledge of such an eruption during the training phase.

Another Year of Record Heat for the Oceans

Changes in ocean heat content(OHC), salinity, and stratification provide critical indicators for changes in Earth’s energy and water cycles. These cycles have been profoundly altered due to the emission of greenhouse gasses and other anthropogenic substances by human activities, driving pervasive changes in Earth’s climate system. In 2022, the world’s oceans, as given by OHC, were again the hottest in the historical record and exceeded the previous 2021 record maximum.According to IAP/CAS data, the 0–2000 m OHC in 2022 exceeded that of 2021 by 10.9 ± 8.3 ZJ(1 Zetta Joules = 1021Joules);and according to NCEI/NOAA data, by 9.1 ± 8.7 ZJ. Among seven regions, four basins(the North Pacific, North Atlantic, the Mediterranean Sea, and southern oceans) recorded their highest OHC since the 1950s. The salinity-contrast index, a quantification of the “salty gets saltier–fresh gets fresher” pattern, also reached its highest level on record in 2022,implying continued amplification of the global hydrological cycle. Regional OHC and salinity changes in 2022 were dominated by a strong La Ni?a event. Global upper-ocean stratification continued its increasing trend and was among the top seven in 2022.

Transient infiltration tests in pyroclastic soils with double porosity

Fallout volcanic deposits of SommaVesuvius(Campania,southern Italy),characterized by the presence of layers with contrasting textural and hydraulic properties,are frequently affected by shallow landslides during rainwater infiltration.The soils of the stratigraphic sequence present intraparticle pores,originated by the gases escaped during magma decompression in the volcanic conduit,thus are characterized by double porosity(i.e.,intraparticle and interparticle pores),which is expected to affect their hydraulic behaviour,and to play a key role in rainwater infiltration through layered deposits.To understand the effect of double porosity on the hydraulic behaviour of the involved soils,controlled experiments have been carried out in an infiltration column.The experimental apparatus is provided with newly designed non-invasive Time Domain Reflectometry(TDR)probes,not buried in the investigated soil layers so as to minimize disturbance to the flow,allowing water content measurement during vertical flow processes.Specifically,transient flow experiments are carried out through reconstituted specimens of black scoriae and grey pumices,both loose pyroclastic granular soils from fallout deposits of Somma-Vesuvius,featuring double porosity with different pore size distributions,that were estimated by X-ray tomography and Mercury Intrusion Porosimetry.The experimental results highlight the effects of the double porosity and clearly indicate the different behaviour of the two soils during wetting and drying processes,mainly related to the different dimensions of intraparticle pores.

The formation and growth mechanisms of young back-arc spreading ridges from high-resolution bathymetry:The Marsili Seamount(Tyrrhenian Sea,Italy)

The formation and growth mechanisms of Mid-Ocean Ridges(MOR)are relatively well known,whereas those of back-arc spreading ridges are comparatively less known because geophysical,geochemical,and morphological data are scarce and of low density.Here we present a high-resolution bathymetry of the Marsili Seamount(MS;1 Ma-3 ka),which represents the inflated spreading ridge of the 2 Ma old Marsili back-arc basin associated to the subduction of the Ionian Sea below the Calabrian Arc and Tyrrhenian Sea.MS is 70 km long,30 km wide,and its height reaches about 3000 m from surrounding seafloor.Our new digital bathymetric model has a 5 m grid cell size resolution and covers the MS bathymetry from-1670 mbsl to the top at-491 mbsl.We conduct morphometric and morphological analyses of the bathymetry and recognize landforms due to volcanic,tectonic,hydrothermal and gravity processes.MS consists of volcanoes related to fissural and central-type activity,this latter located at the northern and southern tips of the main dike swarms.Dike swarms represent the surface expression of different ridge segments whose strikes are controlled by the larger scale back-arc spreading processes and by the local occurrence of an active hydrothermal field.This latter develops in a flat area between two partly overlapping ridge segments where historical volcanism and extensional processes concentrate.Such ridges represent the embryonic stage of the formation of transform-like faults.Central volcanoes,the northern of which is characterized by a caldera,form at the tips of MS because the decrease in width of the major volcanic fissures promotes vent localization associated with the formation of sill-like reservoirs from which central-type vents may develop.Gravity processes affecting the MS flanks are due to shallow seafloor sliding.Caldera collapses affecting the northernmost central-type polygenic volcano must be included in the evaluation of the hazard related to potential tsunami.Inward dipping faults characterize the MS eastern flank suggesting a moderately asymmetric growth of the spreading ridge possibly associated with the eastward opening of the Marsili back-arc.The Marsili back-arc spreading rate is similar to those of MOR slow spreading ridges.However,the MS morphology resembles that of fast spreading ridges.These two features also characterize more extended back-arc spreading ridges(e.g.the Mariana in Western Pacific).We conclude that,independently from the spatial scale,the increase in the ridge accretion rate is related to the progressive addition of a subduction-related component to a pure spreading mantle source.

ShakeDaDO:A data collection combining earthquake building damage and ShakeMap parameters for Italy

In this article,we present a new data collection that combines information about earthquake damage with seismic shaking.Starting from the Da.D.O.database,which provides information on the damage of individual buildings subjected to sequences of past earthquakes in Italy,we have generated ShakeMaps for all the events with magnitude greater than 5.0 that have contributed to these sequences.The sequences under examination are those of Irpinia 1980,Umbria Marche 1997,Pollino 1998,Molise 2002,L’Aquila 2009 and Emilia 2012.In this way,we were able to combine,for a total of the 117,695 buildings,the engineering parameters included in Da.D.O.,but revised and reprocessed in this application,and the ground shaking data for six different variables(namely,intensity in MCS scale,PGA,PGV,SA at 0.3s,1.0s and 3.0s).The potential applications of this data collection are innumerable:from recalibrating fragility curves to training machine learning models to quantifying earthquake damage.This data collection will be made available within Da.D.O.,a platform of the Italian Department of Civil Protection,developed by EUCENTRE.

A classification of induced seismicity

In order to adopt the best safety procedures, man-made earthquakes should be differentiated as a function of their origin. At least four different types of settings can be recognized in which anthropogenic activities may generate seismicity:(I) fluid removal from a stratigraphic reservoir in the underground can trigger the compaction of the voids and the collapse of the overlying volume, i.e., graviquakes; the deeper the reservoir, the bigger the volume and the earthquake magnitude;(II) wastewater or gas reinjection provides the reduction of friction in volumes and along fault planes, allowing creep or sudden activation of tectonic discontinuities, i.e., reinjection quakes;(III) fluid injection at supra-lithostatic pressure generates hydrofracturing and micro-seismicity, i.e., hydrofracturing quakes;(IV) fluid extraction or fluid injection,filling or unfilling of artificial lakes modifies the lithostatic load, which is the maximum principal stress in extensional tectonic settings, the minimum principal stress in contractional tectonic settings, and the intermediate principal stress in strike-slip settings, i.e., load quakes; over given pressure values, the increase of the lithostatic load may favour the activation of normal faults, whereas its decrease may favour thrust faults. For example, the filling of an artificial lake may generate normal fault-related seismicity.Therefore, each setting has its peculiarities and the knowledge of the different mechanisms may contribute to the adoption of the appropriate precautions in the various industrial activities.

Modeling the multi-level plumbing system of the Changbaishan caldera from geochemical, mineralogical, Sr-Nd isotopic and integrated geophysical data

Changbaishan,an intraplate volcano,is characterized by an approximately 6 km wide summit caldera and last erupted in 1903.Changbaishan experienced a period of unrest between 2002 and 2006.The activity developed in three main stages,including shield volcano(basalts),cone-construction(trachyandesites to trachytes with minor basalts),and caldera-forming stages(trachytes to comendites).This last stage is associated with one of the more energetic eruptions of the last millennium on Earth,the 946 CE,VEI 7 Millennium Eruption(ME),which emitted over 100 km^(3) of pyroclastics.Compared to other active calderas,the plumbing system of Changbaishan and its evolution mechanisms remain poorly constrained.Here,we merge new whole-rock,glass,mineral,isotopic,and geobarometry data with geophysical data and present a model of the plumbing system.The results show that the volcano is characterized by at least three main magma reservoirs at different depths:a basaltic reservoir at the Moho/lower crust depth,an intermediate reservoir at 10-15 km depth,and a shallower reservoir at 0.5-3 km depth.The shallower reservoir was involved in the ME eruption,which was triggered by a fresh trachytic melt entering a shallower reservoir where a comenditic magma was stored.The trachytes and comendites originate from fractional crystallization processes and minor assimilation of upper crust material,while the less evolved melts assimilate lower crust material.Syn-eruptive magma mingling occurred during the ME eruption phase.The magma reservoirs of the caldera-forming stage partly reactivate those of the cone-construction stage.The depth of the magma storage zones is controlled by the layering of the crust.The plumbing system of Changbaishan is vertically extensive,with crystal mush reservoirs renewed by the replenishment of new trachytic to trachyandesitic magma from depth.Unlike other volcanoes,evidence of a basaltic recharge is lacking.The interpretation of the signals preceding possible future eruptions should consider the multi-level nature of the Changbaishan plumbing system.A new arrival of magma may destabilize a part of or the entire system,thus triggering eruptions of different sizes and styles.The reference model proposed here for Changbaishan represents a prerequisite to properly understand periods of unrest to potentially anticipate future volcanic eruptions and to identify the mechanisms controlling the evolution of the crust below volcanoes.

Love wave tomography in Italy from seismic ambient noise

We estimate Love wave empirical Green＇s functions from cross-correlations of ambient seismic noise to study the crust and uppermost mantle structure in Italy. Transverse-component ambient noise data from October 2005 through March 2007 recorded at 114 seismic stations from the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia （INGV） national broadband network, the Mediterranean Very Broadband Seismographic Network （MedNet） and the Austrian Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics （ZAMG） yield more than 2 000 Love wave group velocity measurements using the multiple-filter analysis technique. In the short period band （5-20 s）, the cross-correlations show clearly one-sided asymmetric feature due to non-tmiform noise distribution and high local activities, and in the long period band （〉20 s） this feature becomes weak owing to more diffusive noise distribution. Based on these measurements, Love wave group velocity dispersion maps in the 8-34 s period band are constructed, then the SH wave velocity structures from the Love wave dispersions are inverted. The final results obtained from Love wave data are overall in good agreement with those from Rayleigh waves. Both Love and Rayleigh wave inversions all reveal that the Po plain basin is resolved with low velocity at shallow depth, and the Tyrrhenian sea is characterized with higher velocity below 8 km due to its thin oceanic crust.

Comparison of the historic seismicity and strain-rate pattern from a dense GPS-GNSS network solution in the Italian Peninsula

We present a dense crustal velocity field and corresponding strain-rate pattern computed using Global Positioning System（GPS）- Global Navigation Satellite System（GNSS） data from several hundred permanent stations in the Italian Peninsula. GPS data analysis is based on the GAMIT/GLOBK 10.6 software, which was developed and maintained mainly by Massachusetts Institute of Technology（MIT）, using tools based on the distributed-sessions approach implemented in this package. The GPS data span the period from January 2008 to December 2012 and come from several different permanent GPS networks in Italy. The GLOBK package implemented in the last version of the GAMIT package is used to compute the position time-series and velocities registered in the International Terrestrial Reference Frame（ITRF） 2008. The resulting high-density intra-plate velocity field provides indications of the tectonics of the Mediterranean region. A computation of the strain-rate pattern from GPS data is performed and compared with the map of the epicentral locations of historical earthquakes that occurred in the last 1000 years in the Italian territory, showing that, in general, higher crustal deformation rates are active in regions affected by seismicity of greater magnitude.

The westward drift of the lithosphere:A tidal ratchet?

Is the westerly rotation of the lithosphere an ephemeral accidental recent phenomenon or is it a stable process of Earth's geodynamics? The reason why the tidal drag has been questioned as the mechanism determining the lithospheric shift relative to the underlying mantle is the apparent too high viscosity of the asthenosphere. However, plate boundaries asymmetries are a robust indication of the 'westerly'decoupling of the entire Earth's outer lithospheric shell and new studies support lower viscosities in the low-velocity layer(LVZ) atop the asthenosphere. Since the solid Earth tide oscillation is longer in one side relative to the other due to the contemporaneous Moon's revolution, we demonstrate that a non-linear rheological behavior is expected in the lithosphere mantle interplay. This may provide a sort of ratchet favoring lowering of the LVZ viscosity under shear, allowing decoupling in the LVZ and triggering the westerly motion of the lithosphere relative to the mantle.

Flow Behavior of Clay-Silt to Sand-Silt Water-Rich Suspensions at Low to High Shear Rates: Implications for Slurries, Transitional Flows, and Submarine Debris-Flows

Water-rich clay to sand suspensions show a shear rate dependent flow behavior and knowledge of the appropriate rheological model is relevant for sedimentological, industrial and hydraulic studies. We present experimental rheological measurements of water-rich(40 to 60 wt%) clay to silt(population A) and silt to sand(population B) suspensions mixed in different proportions. The data evidence a shear rate dependent shear thinning-shear thickening transition. At lower shear rates, the suspensions organize in chains of particles, whereas at higher shear rates, these chains disrupt so increasing the viscosity. The viscosity, consistency and yield stress decrease as the A+B fraction decreases as the content of B particles increases. This behavior reflects the competing effects of the lubrication and frictional processes as a function of particle size and water content. Transitional flows form by the incorporation of small amounts of the finer fraction while ‘oceanic floods’ form at the estuary of rivers and the submarine debris-flows increase their velocity by incorporating water. The critical Reynolds number of the studied suspensions is ～2000±100 suggesting that the grainsize plays a major role in the laminar to turbulent transition. Our results have implications for the modeling of sediment flows and the hazard related to floods.

Fault on-off versus strain rate and earthquakes energy

We propose that the brittle-ductile transition （BDT） controls the seismic cycle. In particular, the movements detected by space geodesy record the steady state deformation in the ductile lower crust, whereas the stick-slip behavior of the brittle upper crust is constrained by its larger friction. GPS data allow analyzing the strain rate along active plate boundaries. In all tectonic settings, we propose that earthquakes primarily occur along active fault segments characterized by relative minima of strain rate, segments which are locked or slowly creeping. We discuss regional examples where large earthquakes happened in areas of relative low strain rate. Regardless the tectonic style, the interseismic stress and strain pattern inverts during the coseismic stage. Where a dilated band formed during the interseismic stage, this will be shortened at the coseismic stage, and vice-versa what was previously shortened, it will be dilated. The interseismic energy accumulation and the coseismic expenditure rather depend on the tectonic setting （extensional, contractional, or strike-slip）. The gravitational potential energy dominates along normal faults, whereas the elastic energy prevails for thrust earthquakes and performs work against the gravity force. The energy budget in strike-slip tectonic setting is also primarily due elastic energy. Therefore, precursors may be different as a function of the tectonic setting. In this model, with a given displacement, the magnitude of an earthquake results from the coseismic slip of the deformed volume above the BDT rather than only on the fault length, and it also depends on the fault kinematics.

Tectonically asymmetric Earth:From net rotation to polarized westward drift of the lithosphere

The possibility of a net rotation of the lithosphere with respect to the mantle is generally overlooked since it depends on the adopted mantle reference frames, which are arbitrary. We review the geological and geophysical signatures of plate boundaries, and show that they are markedly asymmetric worldwide. Then we compare available reference frames of plate motions relative to the mantle and discuss which is at best able to fit global tectonic data. Different assumptions about the depths of hotspot sources （below or within the asthenosphere, which decouples the lithosphere from the deep mantle） predict different rates of net rotation of the lithosphere relative to the mantle. The widely used no-net-rotation （NNR） reference frame, and low （〈0.2°-0.4°/Ma） net rotation rates （deep hotspots source） predict an average net rotation in which some plates move eastward relative to the mantle （e.g., Nazca）. With fast （〉1°/Ma） net rotation （shallow hotspots source）, all plates, albeit at different velocity, move westerly along a curved trajectory, with a tectonic equator tilted about 30° relative to the geographic equator. This is consistent with the observed global tectonic asymmetries.

Geofluids Hosted in the Deep Crust: From Systematics to Parametrization of their Significance

Earthquake is a sudden release of energy due to fault motions.The severity of the damages can be minimized by development of a culture of prevention which includes the Seismic Hazard Assessment,microzonation studies and appropriate building codes.

Upper Ocean Temperatures Hit Record High in 2020

The long-term warming of the ocean is a critical indicator of both the past and present state of the climate system. It also provides insights about the changes to come, owing to the persistence of both decadal variations and secular trends,which the ocean records extremely well(Hansen et al., 2011;IPCC, 2013;Rhein et al., 2013;Trenberth et al., 2016;Abram et al., 2019).