Search results for "LCA"
showing 10 items of 1995 documents
Rare earth elements distribution in seawater and suspended particulate of the Central Mediterranean Sea
2004
Rare earth element (REE) content in suspended and dissolved phases from the Strait of Sicily (Central Mediterranean Sea) has been measured. Vertical profiles of several dissolved REEs along the water column reflect the 3-D oceanographic features of the studied area and identifies the different water masses present there. Shale-normalized REE distribution patterns and derived parameters calculated for the suspended particulate show different atmospheric dust-surface inputs and their interactions with seawater. Finally, combined information from [La/Yb]N, ratios, REE/La ratios and Eu anomalies measured in the suspended particulate suggest an important contribution of volcanic materials from t…
Life Cycle Management delle pavimentazioni stradali
2022
Ormai parola chiave della nostra società, la sostenibilità è al centro di ricerche e dibattiti. La comunità scientifica si impegna da anni nella definizione di strumenti e metodologie comuni per riuscire a quantificarla, proponendo standard e linee guida basate sull’analisi del ciclo di vita, come il Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), di prodotti e processi. Nell’ambito dell’ingegneria civile esistono procedure standardizzate a livello internazionale per svolgere esercizi di Sustainability Assessment; queste risultano ben strutturate per gli edifici, meno dettagliate invece per altre opere, come le pavimentazioni stradali. Questo lavoro presenta il risultato principale del progetto “PavementLCM”,…
Building Energy Performance: A LCA Case Study of kenaf-fibres insulation board
2008
Abstract The paper presents a life cycle assessment of a kenaf-fibre insulation board following the international standards of the ISO 14040 series. Each life-cycle step has been checked, from kenaf production and board manufacture by an Italian firm, to use and disposal. The aim is to assess the board eco-profile and to compare, on the basis of a life-cycle approach, the energy and environmental benefits and drawbacks related to its employment into a typical residential dwelling. A comparison among various insulating materials has been carried out. The study focuses also on processes and input materials which cause the main environmental impacts of the product, and points out critical issu…
Synsedimentary-tectonic, soft-sediment deformation and volcanism in the rifted Tethyan margin from the Upper Triassic–Middle Jurassic deep-water carb…
2014
Abstract The Pizzo Lupo section (Sicanian Mts, central Sicily) is an Upper Triassic–Lower Jurassic condensed deep-water succession, where the relationships among synsedimentary tectonic, soft-sediment deformations, volcanism and lithological changes reflect the evolution of a rift-basin. The morphostructural setting of the studied basin appears as a gently dipping slope where a fault-delimited area (graben to halfgraben) was developed. The instability of the sea floor, related to the seismic shocks, was the cause of the gravity-driven deformational sedimentary structures (slumping, breccia channelized bodies). The partly stratified basaltic rocks, with disorganized and chaotic stratificatio…
Integration of SAR Data Into Monitoring of the 2014–2015 Holuhraun Eruption, Iceland: Contribution of the Icelandic Volcanoes Supersite and the Futur…
2018
We report how data from satellite and aerial synthetic aperture radar (SAR) observations were integrated into monitoring of the 2014–2015 Holuhraun eruption in the Bárðarbunga volcanic system, the largest effusive eruption in Iceland since the 1783–84 Laki eruption. A lava field formed in one of the most remote areas in Iceland, after the propagation of a ∼50 km-long dyke beneath the Vatnajökull ice cap, where the Bárðarbunga caldera is located. Due to the 6 month duration of the eruption, mainly in wintertime, daily monitoring was particularly challenging. During the eruption, the European volcanological project FutureVolc was ongoing, allowing collaboration of many European experts on vol…
Soil Bacterial Community Along an Altitudinal Gradient in the Sumaco, a Stratovolcano in the Amazon Region
2022
Our study is a pioneering exploration of the microbiome in the soil of the Sumaco stratovolcano and an assessment of the effects of an elevational gradient and related physicochemical soil parameters on richness and community structure. The Sumaco, as an isolated Amazonian stratovolcano, may be among one of the least studied ecosystems in Ecuador and perhaps the Amazon region. Universal patterns remain unresolved or available information inconclusive to establish a supported consensus on general governing processes by which elevation and its associated environmental gradients may determine the microbial richness and community structure. We tested a recent proposal on how microbial diversity…
Source and Nature of Inhaled Atmospheric Dust from Trace Element Analyses of Human Bronchial Fluids
2011
International audience; Rapid volcanic eruptions quickly ejecting large amounts of dust provoke the accumulation of heavy metals in people living in surrounding areas. Analyses of bronchoalveolar lavage samples (BAL) collected from people exposed to the paroxysmal 2001 Etna eruption revealed a strong enrichment of many toxic heavy metals. Comparing the BAL to the dust composition of southeastern Sicily, we found that only V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Co, and U enrichment could be related to the volcanic event, whereas Ni, Cu, Cd, and Pb contents come from the dissolution of particles of anthropogenic origin. Furthermore, the nature of these inhaled anthropogenic particles was revealed by anomalous La and…
Towards a dendrochronologically refined date of the Laacher See eruption around 13,000 years ago
2020
Highlights • Previous age estimates of the Laacher See Eruptions (LSE) around 12,900 years are still diverging and imprecise. • The combination of dendrochronology, wood anatomy, and 14C measurements holds the potential to establish a precise LSE date. • An absolute calendric date of the LSE would improve the synchronization of European Late Glacial to Holocene archives. Abstract The precise date of the Laacher See eruption (LSE), central Europe’s largest Late Pleistocene volcanic event that occurred around 13,000 years ago, is still unknown. Here, we outline the potential of combined high-resolution dendrochronological, wood anatomical and radiocarbon (14C) measurements, to refine the age …
Integrazione della LCA nella simulazione termofisica degli edifici: un’applicazione in ambiente TRNSYS
2016
I sistemi “edificio-impianto” di nuova costruzione, caratterizzati da migliori prestazioni energetiche, stanno riducendo sensibilmente gli impatti energetico-ambientali connessi alla loro fase d’uso. Per quantificare i costi energetici ed ambientali necessari ad ottenere tali prestazioni è necessario l’utilizzo di un approccio integrato alla progettazione, che coinvolga sia una simulazione termofisica della fase d’uso, che uno studio di Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) applicato all’intero ciclo di vita dell’edificio. L’articolo presenta un componente informatico innovativo integrato in ambiente TRNSYS che permette di integrare uno studio LCA di un edificio alla simulazione termofisica, in accor…
Favignana bio-calcarenite: technological culture, knowledge and recovery
2022
Favignana Island, the biggest one among Egadi islands, is well known for its deposits of calcarenite, which has been extracted and used since ancient times. The landscape of the Island is shaped by the widespread presence of quarries that mark the seaside as well. Furthermore, the constant presence of dry-stone walls, made of calcarenite, and of the characteristic architecture of buildings, represents a hallmark for the rest of Egadi islands as well, making it clear how important the presence of this material has been for the architectural and technological culture of these places.Calcarenite itself, exported by this island, is still a constituent material of many buildings in the western p…