0000000000069799
AUTHOR
M. Sprovieri
The Monte San Nicola section (Sicily) revisited: A potential unit-stratotype of the Gelasian Stage
The Monte San Nicola area (Southern Sicily) offers a spectacular exposure of open-marine sediments that were employed in 1998 for defining the Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) of the Gelasian Stage (Upper Pliocene). After the lowering of the Pliocene/Pleistocene boundary to ca. 2.6 Ma in 2010, the Gelasian GSSP has been redefined as the base of both the Pleistocene Series and the Quaternary Period, which increased its importance and visibility within the scientific community. However, documentation on the Monte San Nicola reference section is still sparse. In the light of its renewed status, we decided to undertake a complete revision of the Gelasian Stage in its type area, in ord…
Carotid plaque detection improves the predictve value of CHA2DS2-VASc score in patients with non-valvular atrial fibrilation: The ARAPACIS Study
Abstract Background and aims Vascular disease (VD), as assessed by history of myocardial infarction or peripheral artery disease or aortic plaque, increases stroke risk in atrial fibrillation (AF), and is a component of risk assessment using the CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score. We investigated if systemic atherosclerosis as detected by ultrasound carotid plaque (CP) could improve the predictive value of the CHA 2 DS 2 -VASc score. Methods We analysed data from the ARAPACIS study, an observational study including 2027 Italian patients with non-valvular AF, in whom CP was detected using Doppler Ultrasonography. Results VD was reported in 351 (17.3%) patients while CP was detected in 16.6% patients. Ad…
Physical forcing and physical/biochemical variability of the Mediterranean Sea: a review of unresolved issues and directions for future research
Malanotte-Rizzoli, Paola ... et. al.-- 76 pages
Mercury fluxes from volcanic and geothermal sources: an update
We review the state of knowledge on global volcanogenic Hg emissions to the atmosphere and present new data from seven active volcanoes (Poás, Rincón de la Vieja, Turrialba, Aso, Mutnovsky, Gorely and Etna) and two geothermal fields (Las Pailas and Las Hornillas). The variability of Hg contents (c. 4–125 ng m−3) measured in gaseous emissions reflects the dynamic nature of volcanic plumes, where the abundances of volatiles are determined by the physical nature of degassing and variable air dilution. Based on our dataset and previous work, we propose that an average Hg/SO2 plume mass ratio of c. 7.8×10−6 (±1.5×10−6; 1 SE, n=13) is best representative of open-conduit quiescent degassing. Takin…
Chemistry of atmospheric depositions over two polluted industrial areas of Sicily (Italy)
Dry and wet depositions provide the pathways through which particles and gases emitted into the atmosphere return to the Earth’s surface. Bulk deposition is defined as the sum of dry and wet deposition, which is characterized by water-soluble and insoluble chemical species. Recent studies (e.g. Castillo et al., 2017) showed that most of the atmospheric deposition in Europe occurs in the wet form, but in southern European regions the role of dry contribution can be as significant as that of wet deposition. In the framework of the multidisciplinary project “CISAS” (Centro Internazionale di Studi Avanzati su Ambiente, ecosistema e Salute umana), bulk depositions were monthly sampled over two p…
HR3DHG version 1: modeling the spatiotemporal dynamics of mercury in the Augusta Bay (southern Italy)
The biogeochemical dynamics of Hg, and specifically of its three species Hg0, HgII, and MeHg (elemental, inorganic, and organic, respectively), in the marine coastal area of Augusta Bay (southern Italy) have been explored by the high-resolution 3D Hg (HR3DHG) model, namely an advection–diffusion–reaction model for dissolved mercury in the seawater compartment coupled with a diffusion–reaction model for dissolved mercury in the pore water of sediments in which the desorption process for the sediment total mercury is taken into account. The spatiotemporal variability of the mercury concentration in both seawater ([HgD]) and the first layers of bottom sediments ([HgDsed] and [HgTsed]), as well…
Role of peat organic matter on isotopic composition of most abundant benthic organisms in intertidal habitats of SW Iceland
The transfer of peat organic matter (OM) from tidal pools of upper littoral to downstream rocky shores and its potential incorporation into marine biota were investigated using the stable isotope approach. Samplings were carried out in September 2004 in two SW Icelandic sites (Osar and Hvassahraun), where we selected (1) areas with shores where grass gently declined towards rocks and, on reaching the sea line, formed small tidal peat pools and (2) areas where grass and rocky shores were not contiguous, rather the grass lower limits were several hundreds of meters back from the shore. In both grass and no grass areas, in the intertidal zone, all benthic organisms and all potential OM sources…
Major adverse cardiovascular events in non-valvular atrial fibrillation with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: the ARAPACIS study
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) increases the risk of mortality in non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF) patients. Data on the relationship of COPD to major cardiovascular events (MACE) in AF have not been defined. The aim of the study is to assess the predictive value of COPD on incident MACE in NVAF patients over a 3-year follow-up. In the Atrial Fibrillation Registry for Ankle-Brachial Index Prevalence Assessment-Collaborative Italian Study (ARAPACIS) cohort, we evaluate the impact of COPD on the following clinical endpoints: MACE (including vascular death, fatal/non-fatal MI and stroke/TIA), cardiovascular (CV) death and all-cause mortality. Among 2027 NVAF patients, pati…
Sources of organic matter for inter-tidal consumers in Ascophyllum-shores (Sw Iceland): a multi stable isotope approach.
Stable isotopes were used to examine the origin of organic matter in Icelandic Ascophyllum-based habitats, the role of different organic matters in filling intertidal food webs and the food preferences of the most abundant suspension feeders, grazers and predators. We selected three intertidal sites on the SW coast of Iceland where we sampled in early September 2004, organic matter sources (POM, SOM and most abundant primary producers, A. nodosum and F. vesciculosus) and the most abundant macrofauna species (barnacles, mussels, gastropods, sponge and crabs). Even though the primary production (Ascophyllum-based) was the same at the three study sites, the isotopic composition of common-among…
Millennial-scale paleoenvironmental changes in the central Mediterranean during the Last Interglacial: comparison with European and Mediterranean records
Morpho-sedimentary setting and evolution of Marettimo Valley (Egadi Islands, Sicily) during middle-late Quaternary: interaction between sea level changes and oceanographic circulation
We present morphological and stratigraphic results coming from surveys acquired in a NNW-SSE trending submarine depression (Marettimo Valley) located in the Egadi Islands (western Sicily offshore). In this area the seafloor is characterized by both depositional and erosional features generated under a variety of sedimentary processes. We identified two seismic facies units that are correlatable to: A) the progradation of shallow water (coastal to offshore) deposits during forced-regression sedimentary process, and B) contourite drifts emplaced by geostrophic currents through the Marettimo Valley. This unusual association of very shallow water contourites and shelf margin deposits originates…
Geochimica e petrografica di black shales del Livello Bonarelli, sezione di Novara di Sicilia (Monte Peloritani), Sicilicia nord-orientale: Implicazioni paleoambientali
Black shales ad alto potenziale petrolifero, alternati ritmicamente a marne e argilliti, affiorano in associazione con Argille Varicolori (Cretaceo-Paleogene) nei pressi di Novara di Sicilia (Monti Peloritani, Sicilia nord-orientale) costituendo l’espressione sedimentaria di un evento anossico con diffusione globale (OAE2), riferibile al Cenomaniano superiore. I depositi corrispondenti a tale evento sono individuati come “Livello Bonarelli”. In detta successione, le alternanze black shales-marne-argilliti si estendono per uno spessore di circa 11 metri passando verso il basso ad alternanze irregolari di calcari marnosi, marne chiare, marne scure, argilliti e calcareniti (spessore ca. 9 m) c…