Search results for " Limestone"
showing 10 items of 30 documents
Sr isotope variations in the Upper Triassic succession at Pizzo Mondello, Sicily: Constraints on the timing of the Cimmerian Orogeny
2018
Abstract The Late Triassic Cimmerian Orogeny was a result of the final closure of the Palaeotethys Ocean and the accretion of Gondwana-derived (Cimmerian) continents to southern Eurasia. Determining the timing of the Cimmerian Orogeny is crucial to our understanding of the large-scale climate changes driven by the uplift of the Cimmerian Mountains. Here we present stratigraphic variations in 87Sr/86Sr values of Upper Triassic pelagic limestone from the Pizzo Mondello section, Sicily, Italy, that constrain the timing of uplift of the Cimmerian Mountains. The 87Sr/86Sr values remain relatively constant in the lower part of the section, decreasing slightly in the Tuvalian (upper Carnian) and L…
Not only flint: Levallois on quartzite and limestone at Abrigo de la Quebrada (Valencia, Spain): Implications for neandertal Behavior
2016
This paper investigates the application of the Levallois technique to the knapping of nonflint raw materials (limestone and quartzite) in the upper levels of the Abrigo de la Quebrada rockshelter (Chelva, Valencia, Spain). Besides highlighting the significant flexibility that characterized Neandertal behavior, such an application is of singular interest because goodquality flint—lacking fissures and impurities and presenting a compact and homogeneous texture—is abundant in the site’s immediate vicinity. In other assemblages, the scarcity or poor quality of flint often suffices to explain the recourse to alternatives, but in these Quebrada levels raw material choice must be primarily determi…
“A Miracle of Architecture”: The Billiemi limestone Columns of the Church of San Giuseppe dei Teatini in Palermo and Domenico Fontana’s Method for Li…
2014
La chiesa di San Giuseppe dei Teatini di Palermo (costruita a partire dal 1619), è un’architettura singolare nel panorama internazionale del Sei-Settecento. La realizzazione di una spregiudicata conformazione basilicale con copertura a volte, impostata su una sequenza di colonne monolitiche giganti nelle navate e nella crociera con cupola con sostegni alti fino a 10m, è il risultato della convergenza di più fattori. Il conseguimento di questo traguardo si deve alla scoperta nel territorio di Palermo, alla fine del XVI secolo, di un calcare compatto (il “Billiemi”) dalle qualità estetiche e strutturali assimilabili al marmo e in grado di generare poderosi monoliti. Questa opportunità innescò…
Carbonate deposition and diagenesis in evaporitic environments: The evaporative and sulphur-bearing limestones during the settlement of the Messinian…
2015
The depositional and diagenetic processes involved in the formation of carbonates in the evaporitic environment of the Messinian Salinity Crisis are investigated in Southern Italy (Sicily and Calabria). Strong differences are observed between the studied sections that reflect specific depositional and diagenetic evolution in the interconnected sub-basins resulting from the syn-sedimentary tectonic fragmentation of the Central Sicilian and Calabrian domains. These carbonates formed diachronously in restricted perched sub-basins between the Tripoli Formation and the hypersaline settings of the MSC. The Calcare di Base (CdB) that can be interbedded with gypsum layers occurs rhythmically at the…
Strategies for waste recycling : the mechanical performance of concrete based on limestone and plastic waste
2022
Recycling is among the best management strategies to avoid dispersion of several types of wastes in the environment. Research in recycling strategies is gaining increased importance in view of Circular Economy principles. The exploitation of waste, or byproducts, as alternative aggregate in concrete, results in a reduction in the exploitation of scarce natural resources. On the other hand, a productive use of waste leads to a reduction in the landfilling of waste material through the transformation of waste into a resource. In this frame of reference, the paper discusses how to use concrete as a container of waste focusing on the waste produced in limestone quarries and taking the challenge…
Evaluating the protecting effects of two consolidants applied on Pietra di Lecce limestone: A neutronographic study
2020
Abstract In this work a combined laboratory-based and neutronographic investigation was carried out on a type of limestone, known as Pietra di Lecce stone, widely used in Italian Baroque as construction material. The limestone was treated with two different commercially-available coatings, namely nanosilica and nanolime, and artificially weathered by salt crystallization and temperature/relative humidity jumps. The aim was to provide an experimental evidence of the protective and consolidating effectiveness of the two treatments by looking at the water absorption process occurring inside the pore network of the analyzed stones. The analysis of the wetting front position revealed significant…
Study of the effects of salt crystallisation on degradation of limestone rocks
2013
Salt crystallization is widely recognized as a cause of deterioration of porous building materials. In particular, the crystallization pressure of salt crystals growing in confined pores is found to be the main cause for damage. The aim of this study is to better understand the degradation of porous rocks induced by salt crystallisation and correlate such processes with the intrinsic characteristics of materials. With this intend, an experimental salt weathering simulation has been carried out on two limestones widely used in the Baroque architecture of eastern Sicily. A systematic approach including petrographic, porosimetric and colorimetric analyses, was used to evaluate the correlation …
Petrography and decay of a marly limestone in the cloister of a medieval cathedral in Sicily
2004
This paper deals with a significant process of decohesion of a marly limestone, taking place in the cloister of the medieval Cathedral of Cefalu, a pleasant town on the northern coast of Sicily. After desalination with deionised water and consolidation with ethyl silicate, the decay of the stone became faster. The aim of our study is to characterise the stony material and investigate the observed decay phenomena. The stone, that is a poor building material indeed, is characterised by means of petrographical, chemical and physical analyses on samples taken from the monument. Furthermore, experimental tests are performed in the laboratory in order to highlight the causes of incompatibility be…
Measure of a limestone weathering degree using Laser Scanner.
2013
The weathering degree of the building materials and natural stones is generally quantified as the decrement of some mechanical features that can be measured experimentally by means of compressive tests or point load tests in the laboratory or Schmidt hammer tests carried out in situ. Such destructive or damaging tests are unacceptable in case of cultural heritage since even small amounts of damage must be avoided. This work shows a correlation between Schmidt hammer rebound values and the reflectivity that is detected by means of terrestrial scanner laser; therefore it allows assessing the weathering degree of buildings or stones in situ. The results demonstrate that such an investigation c…
Facies Architecture and Evolution of a Cretaceous, Tectonically-Controlled, Carbonate Slope from Western Sicily (Italy)
2018
The stratigraphic architecture of a Cretaceous carbonate slope from north western Sicily (Italy) has been reconstructed on the basis of detailed field sections. The wire cut walls of a number of quarries that extract the Cretaceous limestones as ornamental stones allowed the mapping of the stratal architecture and lithologies at various scales. The vertical and lateral facies relationships in this about 1000 m thick depositional system account for a complex sedimentary dynamics along a carbonate platform escarpment that was strongly influenced by syn-sedimentary transtensional tectonics associated to magmatism. Although the original relationships with the carbonate platform were obscured by…