Search results for " soils"
showing 3 items of 133 documents
Hydro-mechanical modelling of a natural slope affected by a multiple slip surface failure mechanism
2009
A coupled hydro-mechanical formulation is presented for the analysis of landslide motion during crisis episodes. The mathematical formulation is used to model a natural slope affected by a multiple slip surface failure mechanism, in which pore water pressure evolution was identified as the main cause for movement accelerations. An elasto-plastic constitutive model is adopted for the behaviour of slip surfaces. Material parameters are obtained by combining the available laboratory tests and the back analysis of some crisis episodes. After being calibrated and validated, the model is applied to improve the understanding of the physical processes involved and to predict the landslide behaviour…
Selenium around Etna Volcano, Italy
2010
Humans are attracted by the fertile properties of volcanic soils and currently around 10% of the world population lives within active volcanic areas. Volcanoes emit significantly amounts of potentially toxic elements such as selenium (Se), even in the absence of obvious volcanic activity. Although Se is an essential element for humans, ingestion of an excess amount of Se can produce adverse effects. Mt. Etna, the biggest volcano in Europe, is persistently active for the last 200,000 years and one of the most intensely monitored volcanoes. We have studied selenium in rainwater and soils from Mt Etna volcano. Bulk depositions were collected from April 2006 to December 2007, using a network of…