Search results for " Geology"
showing 10 items of 533 documents
Simulation of blind pre-diction and post-diction shaking table tests on a masonry building aggregate using a continuum modelling approach
2023
AbstractMasonry buildings of historical centres are usually organized within aggregates, whose structural performance against seismic actions is challenging to predict and constitutes still an open issue. The SERA—AIMS (Seismic Testing of Adjacent Interacting Masonry Structures) project was developed to provide additional experimental data by testing a half-scale, two-unit stone masonry aggregate subjected to two horizontal components of dynamic excitation. In this context, this paper investigates the reliability of the modelling approach and the assumptions adopted to generate a three-dimensional continuum finite element model. The work involves two stages, namely a blind pre-diction and a…
Shake-table testing of a stone masonry building aggregate: overview of blind prediction study
2023
Bulletin of earthquake engineering (2023). doi:10.1007/s10518-022-01582-x special issue: "Adjacent Interacting Masonry Structures"
On the hydro-mechanical behaviour of remoulded and natural Opalinus Clay shale
2016
The geo-energy sector makes use of advanced technologies such as shale gas extraction, CO2 sequestration and nuclear waste geological disposal that rely on the exploitation of shale formations. Due to the great depths involved in these applications and the difficulties in retrieving intact samples, remoulded shale specimens are often adopted for hydro-mechanical testing. Remoulded and intact shales may substantially differ in their hydro-mechanical behaviour due to the particular structure of the natural material, which is the result of diagenesis and burial history. This paper presents an experimental campaign aimed at (i) characterizing the role of diagenesis and depth for Opalinus Clay s…
Active Learning Methods for Efficient Hybrid Biophysical Variable Retrieval
2016
Kernel-based machine learning regression algorithms (MLRAs) are potentially powerful methods for being implemented into operational biophysical variable retrieval schemes. However, they face difficulties in coping with large training data sets. With the increasing amount of optical remote sensing data made available for analysis and the possibility of using a large amount of simulated data from radiative transfer models (RTMs) to train kernel MLRAs, efficient data reduction techniques will need to be implemented. Active learning (AL) methods enable to select the most informative samples in a data set. This letter introduces six AL methods for achieving optimized biophysical variable estimat…
Mapping Leaf Area Index with a Smartphone and Gaussian Processes
2020
Leaf area index (LAI) is a key biophysical parameter used to determine foliage cover and crop growth in environmental studies. Smartphones are nowadays ubiquitous sensor devices with high computational power, moderate cost, and high-quality sensors. A smartphone app, which is called PocketLAI, was recently presented and tested for acquiring ground LAI estimates. In this letter, we explore the use of state-of-the-art nonlinear Gaussian process regression (GPR) to derive spatially explicit LAI estimates over rice using ground data from PocketLAI and Landsat 8 imagery. GPR has gained popularity in recent years because of its solid Bayesian foundations that offer not only high accuracy but also…
A three-dimensional back-analysis of the collapse of an underground cavity in soft rocks
2017
Abstract The assessment of stability of man-made underground caves, excavated in the past and later on abandoned, represents a serious challenge for land and urban planning operations, especially for the areas of possible interaction of the caves with overlying structures and infrastructures. Several areas of Southern Italy are characterized by the presence of abandoned underground quarries for the extraction of soft calcarenite rocks, which now threatens the overlying environment due to the risk of collapse and the consequent generation of sinkholes. This work presents a back-analysis of a sinkhole occurred in 2011 in the town of Marsala, caused by the collapse of an underground quarry, as…
Utilisation du numérique par les enseignants à l’université : description et analyse des facteurs explicatifs
2019
Dans cet article, nous nous intéressons à la nature des technologies de l’information et de la communication (TIC) mobilisées par les enseignants universitaires pour enseigner et aux facteurs explicatifs de cette utilisation. Nous procédons d’abord à un éclairage théorique notamment concernant les concepts de « TIC » et d’« utilisation ». Puis, à l’appui des données recueillies en mai 2016 auprès de 248 enseignants d’une université française, nous montrons que les TIC mobilisées par les enseignants à l’intérieur, mais aussi en dehors des heures de cours, sont plutôt d’ordre générique en opposition aux technologies plus sophistiquées. Les enseignants utilisent par ailleurs davantage les TIC …
Selenium and heavy metals content in some Mediterranean soils
2010
Abstract The study of metal contents in industrial, agricultural or/and polluted soils compared with natural or unpolluted soils is currently necessary to obtain reference values and to assess soil contamination. Nonetheless, very few works published appear in international journals on elements like Se, Li and Sr in Spanish soils. This study determines the total levels of Se, Li, Sr, As, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, V, Zn, Fe, Mn and Ba in 14 natural (unpolluted) soils (Gypsisols, Leptosols, Arenosols and Acrisols), 14 agricultural soils (Anthrosols, Fluvisols and Luvisols), and 4 industrial–urban affected-surface soil horizons (Anthrosols and Fluvisols) of Eastern Spain. The geochemical baselin…
The effect of alternating different water qualities on accumulation and leaching of solutes in a Mediterranean cracking soil
2002
The relevance of bypass flow on water flow, solute or pesticide transport is becoming increasingly recognized. Recent investigations proved that soil salinization may be influenced by bypass flow, i.e. the rapid transport of water and solutes via macropores and/or shrinkage cracks to subsoil and groundwater. This paper explores the role of bypass flow in the process of accumulation and leaching of solutes, as well as of sodium, in a Mediterranean cracking soil irrigated with saline/sodic waters. The results of bypass flow experiments performed on undisturbed soil cores showed that leaching of solutes occurred in concomitance with bypass fluxes when a low salinity solution was alternated wit…
Organometal(loid) species in geochemical exploration : preliminary qualitative results
1998
Abstract Organic and other volatile metal(loid) species (e.g. hydrides) in environmental gases can be determined with high sensitivity and selectivity by low-temperature gas chromatography coupled on-line to plasma mass spectrometry (LTGC/ICP–MS). A standard reference solution is analysed simultaneously for calibration of the results as well as for monitoring the excitation conditions in the plasma. This highly sensitive analytical method was applied in field screening tests at Cu and Hg deposits in Germany. In some of the soil gas and soil samples investigated, organic compounds of several elements (e.g. As, Hg) could clearly be identified. The implications of these results with respect to…