Reviews

The Science and Politics of Global Climate Change: A Guide to the Debate, by Andrew Dessler and Edward Parson, ISBN 978-1-316-63132-4, 2019, Cambridge University Press, 278 p. Structural Geology — A Quantitative Introduction, by David Pollard and Stephen Martel, ISBN 978-1-107-03506-5, 2020, Cambridge University Press, 434 p.

Defining the Geotourism Potential of the CILENTO, Vallo di Diano and Alburni UNESCO Global Geopark (Southern Italy)

The interest of the scientific community about geotourism is abruptly increasing, as well as that on geoparks. According to UNESCO, geoparks should define management policies addressed to increasing the awareness of local people and tourists about Earth’s dynamics to reduce the impact of climate change and natural disasters. With this aim in mind, we tried to provide a solid scientific approach to geotourism that could be useful to the development of a geotourism strategy in the Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni (CVDA) Geopark, in Southern Italy. Starting from the official inventory of the CVDA Geopark, we defined the potential Education Value (EV) and potential Touristic Value (TV) of each of the 160 sites listed by applying the Brilha method. Then we selected 20 geosites and geomorphosites with high values of both the EV and TV, and we included them in two geoitineraries. The two geoitineraries move in the inner sector of the Geopark (i.e., from the Paestum archaeological area to the Vallo di Diano basin) and along a portion of the coastal stretch (i.e., from Punta Telegrafo cape to the Lambro and Mingardo rivers’ mouths). Selected sites are representative of several geoscience disciplines (e.g., geomorphology, structural geology, quaternary geology, hydrogeology), thus suggesting that the CVDA Geopark is an ideal place where dissemination of geoscience concepts may be carried out. The latter point enhances the high geotourism potential of the area. This kind of approach was not tried before in the CVDA Geopark and can be a useful example of how to promote touristic development strategies in the area.

A novel Nb superconducting joint with ultralow resistance fabricated by electron beam welding method for superconducting gravimeter

This paper presents a novel Nb superconducting joint with an ultralow resistance of 7.9 × 10-16 Ω, fabricated using the electron beam welding (EBW) method. After the EBW process, the two Nb filaments formed a single joint with a much larger grain size and smaller grain misorientation. More importantly, the resistance of the EBW Nb joint was nearly one magnitude lower than that of most conventional pressing joint. The ultralow resistance is essential for superconducting gravimeters, which require an extremely low drift rate. The EBW Nb joint allowed the superconducting gravimeter to have a much better performance when applied in the field of structural geology, geodesy, microgravity, and metrology. We believe that the EBW method could be one of the most promising joint fabrication methods for achieving maximum stability (less than 1 μgal/yr).

Geology of Bajalia Anticline of the Low Folded Zone of Iraq

Bajalia Anticline is located about 60km northeast of central Amarah city in Al-Teeb area near Iraq-Iran border. Field and laboratory works were conducted to study topography, geomorphology, stratigraphy, and structural geology of Bajalia Anticline. The Anticline has a longitudinal shape with about 29km in length and 5-7km in width. Injana, Mukdadiya, and Bai Hassan formations are the three formations that were recognized in the study area. The geometrical structural analysis depicts that the Anticline is non-cylindrical, asymmetrical, close, sub-horizontal, steeply inclined, and linear fold. Most of the fractures in the Anticline are joints. These joints were classified based on the tectonics axes, which are a, b, and c, into ac, bc, and hol. A major reverse fault is located at the margin of the southwestern limb parallel to the fold axis with about 25km length. This fault is responsible on the vergence of the Anticline and overturned part of the southwestern limb. The Anticline was formed as a result of the collision between the Arabian and Iranian plates during the Late Tertiary. The maximum stress axis, which is caused by collision, is perpendicular to the hinge line. The geometrical and genetic classification indicates that the Anticline was formed by the high folding intensity and with a role of evaporites layers.