Computation of modern anthropogenic-deposit thicknesses in urban areas: A case study in Rome, Italy

2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gian Marco Luberti

In comparison with naturally stratified deposits, anthropogenic strata often have large variability in physical and chemical characteristics, which can be determined only through field surveys and laboratory tests. The estimation of their spatial distribution, based on the modelling of their basal surface, may output imprecise results, since the interpolation process is often affected by insufficient input data, which are provided by available borehole-log data. This paper reports the results of a multitemporal-analysis methodology, which is supported by historical maps that are generally available for urban centres. The methodology allows the spatial characterization of major portions of anthropogenic deposits, which were mainly produced after the Industrial Revolution, worldwide. The first tests seemed to be satisfactory, although the selected area, which has been greatly urbanized since the end of the 19th century, is part of a city in which humans have made important modifications since ancient times.

Author(s):  
Stefano Rossi ◽  
Francesca Russo

Porcelain enamel coatings have their origins in ancient times when they were mainly used for decorative and ornamental purposes. From the industrial revolution onwards, these coatings have started to be used also as functional layers, ranging from home applications up to the use in high-technological fields, such as in chemical reactors. The excellent properties of enamel coatings, such as fire resistance, protection of the substrate from corrosion, resistance to atmospheric and chemical degradation, mainly depend and originate from the glassy nature of the enamel matrix itself. On the other side, the vitreous nature of enamel coatings limits their application in many fields, where mechanical stress and heavy abrasion phenomena could lead to nucleation and propagation of cracks inside the material, thus negatively affecting the protective properties of this coating. Many efforts have been made to improve the abrasion resistance of enamelled materials. On this regard, researchers showed encouraging results and proposed many different improvement approaches. Now it is possible to obtain enamels with enhanced resistance to abrasion. Differently, the investigation of the mechanical properties of enamel coatings remains a poorly studied topic. In the literature, there are interesting methodological ideas, which could be successfully applied to the mechanical study of enamelled materials and could allow to have further insights on their behaviour. Thus, the path that should be followed in the future includes the mechanical characterization of these coatings and the search for new solutions to address their brittle behaviour.


2014 ◽  
Vol 979 ◽  
pp. 440-443
Author(s):  
W. Siriprom ◽  
K. Teanchai ◽  
S. Kongsriprapan ◽  
J. Kaewkhao ◽  
N. Sangwaranatee

The chemical and physical properties of topsoil and subsoil which collected from the cassava cropping area in Chonburi Province have been investigated. The characterization of both soil sample were used X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), Energy Dispersive X-Ray Fluorescence (EDXRF) while FTIR used to confirmed the formation of intermolecular bonding and Thermo-Gravimetric Analysis (TGA) used for investigated the crystalline. It was found that, the XRD pattern indicated quartz phase. The chemical composition by XRF reported that the soils samples consist of Si, Al, Ca, Fe, K, Mn, Ti, Cr, Zn, Ag and Cu. and TGA results, noticed that the removal of moisture and organics material.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Nancy Harding

PurposeThis paper aims to disrupt assumptions about leadership by arguing those who are ostensibly “followers” may be utterly insouciant towards the existence of people categorised as “leaders”. It contributes to anti-leadership theories.Design/methodology/approachThis article uses an immersive, highly reflexive methodology to explore subjective meanings of leadership at community levels ostensibly governed by local government leaders. It uses a case study of the South Wales Valleys, one of the hubs of the Industrial Revolution in the 19th century but now economically deprived.FindingsThrough drawing on their rich and complex history, the author shows how in these communities there is a culture of neo-communitarianism that is anti-leadership and suspicious of attempts to establish hierarchies of superior over inferior. The author explores the complex webs of meaning through which ancient experiences reverberate like dead metaphors, informing contemporary understandings without conscious awareness of such a heritage. This is a history in which “leaders” betrayed or oppressed and exploited the population, which in response turned against hierarchies and evolved practices of self-government that continue today, invisible and unrepresentable within the wider culture.Research limitations/implicationsThe study draws on contemporary feminist research methods that emphasise subjectivity, flux and change. These are often not understood by readers not accustomed to stepping out of a positivist onto-epistemological frame.Practical implicationsThe paper challenges the universalising tendencies of leadership theories that assume a shapeless mass; “followers” await the advent of a leader before they can become agentive.Social implicationsThe paper offers insights into a day-to-day world that is rarely explored.Originality/valueThe article demonstrates how emerging forms of qualitative research give insights into communities that undermine dominant, universalising theories of leadership, followership and government more generally.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (9) ◽  
pp. 3884
Author(s):  
Claudia P. Romero ◽  
Alicia García-Arias ◽  
Celine Dondeynaz ◽  
Félix Francés

Usually, megacities expand without proper planning in a context of demographic growth and are increasingly dependent on the natural resources related to the occupied area. This is a major challenge for the sustainable management of these territories, justifying the need for a better knowledge of land use/land cover (LULC) distribution and characteristics to observe spatial anthropogenic dynamics. In this study, the Bogotá river basin and the Bogotá megacity were analyzed as a case study. The main objective of this work was to analyze the historical LULC dynamics from 1985 to 2014. Reliable forecasting scenarios were developed using the Land Change Modeler to support sustainable management and planning. Results show an expansion of the Bogotá megacity toward the Northeast and an increase of urban areas within the basin. These changes implied a loss of 58% of forest surface, a strategic ecosystem, from 1985 to 2014. This dynamic is expected to continue, with a 50% increase of urban areas between 2012 to 2050, thus the megacity and neighbor cities potentially become an “urban continuum”. A replacement of crop and pasture lands near the city is expected, even though Bogotá lands are among the best agricultural lands in the Andean region of Colombia.


Landslides ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 171-188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Gullà ◽  
Dario Peduto ◽  
Luigi Borrelli ◽  
Loredana Antronico ◽  
Gianfranco Fornaro
Keyword(s):  

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (11) ◽  
pp. 1879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Bellanova ◽  
Giuseppe Calamita ◽  
Ilaria Catapano ◽  
Alessandro Ciucci ◽  
Carmela Cornacchia ◽  
...  

This paper deals with a geophysical survey carried out in some critical urban areas of the historical city of Matera (Southern Italy). Matera has a very complex shallower stratigraphy characterized by both anthropic and natural “targets” and is affected by geological instability. Therefore, Matera represents an ideal and very challenging outdoor laboratory for testing novel approaches for near-surface explorations in urban areas. Here, we present the results of a near-surface survey carried out by jointly applying Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) and Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT) methods. The survey was implemented in three different critical zones within the urban area of Matera (Piazza Duomo, Piazza San Giovanni, Villa dell’Unità d’Italia). These test sites are of great interest for archaeological and architectonical studies and are affected by ground instability phenomena due to the presence of voids, cavities and other anthropic structures. The effectiveness of the survey was enhanced by the exploitation of advanced 3D tomographic approaches, which allowed to achieve 3D representation of the investigated underground and obtain information in terms of both the location and the geometry of buried objects and structures and the characterization of shallow geological layers. The results of the surveys are now under study (or have attracted the interest) of the Municipality in order to support smart cities programs and activities for a better management of the underground space.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (23) ◽  
pp. 6622 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francisco Javier Abarca-Alvarez ◽  
Francisco Sergio Campos-Sánchez ◽  
Fernando Osuna-Pérez

In recent decades, the concept of urban density has been considered key to the creation of sustainable urban fabrics. However, when it comes to measuring the built density, a difficulty has been observed in defining valid measurement indicators universally. With the intention of identifying the variables that allow the best characterization of the shape of urban fabrics and of obtaining the metrics of their density, a multi-variable analysis methodology from the field of artificial intelligence is proposed. The main objective of this paper was to evaluate the capacity and interest of such a methodology from standard indicators of the built density, measured at various urban scales, (i) to cluster differentiated urban profiles in a robust way by assessing the results statistically, and (ii) to obtain the metrics that characterize them with an identity. As a case study, this methodology was applied to the state of the art European urban fabrics (N = 117) by simultaneously integrating 13 regular parameters to qualify urban shape and density. It was verified that the profiles obtained were more robust than those based on a limited number of indicators, evidencing that the proposed methodology offers operational opportunities in urban management by allowing the comparison of a fabric with the identified profiles.


2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (11) ◽  
pp. 439 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mario Soilán ◽  
Belén Riveiro ◽  
Patricia Liñares ◽  
Andrea Pérez-Rivas

Nowadays, gathering accurate and meaningful information about the urban environment with the maximum efficiency in terms of cost and time has become more relevant for city administrations, as this information is essential if the sustainability or the resilience of the urban structure has to be improved. This work presents a methodology for the automatic parametrization and characterization of different urban typologies, for the specific case study of Santiago de Compostela (Spain), using data from Aerial Laser Scanners (ALS). This methodology consists of a number of sequential processes of point cloud data, using exclusively their geometric coordinates. Three of the main elements of the urban structure are assessed in this work: intersections, building blocks, and streets. Different geometric and contextual metrics are automatically extracted for each of the elements, defining the urban typology of the studied area. The accuracy of the measurements is validated against a manual reference, obtaining average errors of less than 3%, proving that the input data is valid for this assessment.


2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (39) ◽  
pp. 591-600
Author(s):  
Waleed Al Haidar ◽  
Ahmed Al Hakim ◽  
Hozayen Hozayen
Keyword(s):  

Author(s):  
D. L. Callahan

Modern polishing, precision machining and microindentation techniques allow the processing and mechanical characterization of ceramics at nanometric scales and within entirely plastic deformation regimes. The mechanical response of most ceramics to such highly constrained contact is not predictable from macroscopic properties and the microstructural deformation patterns have proven difficult to characterize by the application of any individual technique. In this study, TEM techniques of contrast analysis and CBED are combined with stereographic analysis to construct a three-dimensional microstructure deformation map of the surface of a perfectly plastic microindentation on macroscopically brittle aluminum nitride.The bright field image in Figure 1 shows a lg Vickers microindentation contained within a single AlN grain far from any boundaries. High densities of dislocations are evident, particularly near facet edges but are not individually resolvable. The prominent bend contours also indicate the severity of plastic deformation. Figure 2 is a selected area diffraction pattern covering the entire indentation area.


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