Search results for "southern"

DEEP RHODOLITH BEDS IN THE USTICA ISLAND (SICILY, SOUTHERN TYRRHENIAN SEA): A SEDIMENTARY AND PALEOECOLOGICAL APPROACH

2018

The results of a multidisciplinary study conducted on the circali- ttoral soft bottom assemblages at Secchitello (Sicchiteddu) and in the neighbouring areas along the southern coast of Ustica Island (Sicily, Southern Tyrrhenian Sea) are presented. In particular, the study pro- vided useful data for a taxonomic, ecological and paleoecological revi- sion of the Coastal Detritic facies with free-living calcareous algae and for a critical analysis of their relationship with the sedimentary dynamics. During a survey, carried out by the University of Catania (1991) with a R.O.V. (remotely operated vehicle), the presence of the Coastal Detritic (DC) biocoenosis, characterized by a surprisingly hig…

Ethnobotanical knowledge in some rural communities of northern Sicily (Palermo, Italy)

2018

An ethnobotanical study was carried out to document the uses of wild plants among some local communities of Sicily (southern Italy). We recorded 48 taxa belonging to 45 genera included in 32 families. 30 taxa are used as medicinal plants, 22 taxa as food and 9 for handicraft use. In comparison with other ethnobotanical studies carried out in Sicily and other Italian territories, some uses of the plants reported by the local population in the study area are peculiarities. The analysis of data shows that the level of traditional knowledge on use of plants in province of Palermo is poor, highlighting a considerably advanced state of cultural erosion. The results of our investigation confirm th…

Different key roles of mesoscale oceanographic structures and ocean bathymetry in shaping larval fish distribution pattern: A case study in Sicilian …

2016

Fish larvae data collected in year 2009 were used to examine the effects of particular environmental conditions on the structure of larvalassemblages in two oligotrophic Mediterranean areas (the Southern Tyrrhenian Sea and the Strait of Sicily). For this purpose, relationships with environmental variables (temperature, salinity and fluorescence), zooplankton biomass, water circulation and bathymetry are discussed. Hydrodynamic conditions resulted very differently between two study areas. The Southern Tyrrhenian Sea was characterized by moderate shallow circulation compared to the Strait of Sicily. In this framework, distribution pattern of larval density in the Tyrrhenian Sea was mainly dri…

Integrating mechanistic models and climate change projections to predict invasion of the mussel, Mytilopsis sallei, along the southern China coast

2021

Species invasion is an important cause of global biodiversity decline and is often mediated by shifts in environmental conditions such as climate change. To investigate this relationship, a mechanistic Dynamic Energy Budget model (DEB) approach was used to predict how climate change may affect spread of the invasive mussel Mytilopsis sallei, by predicting variation in the total reproductive output of the mussel under different scenarios. To achieve this, the DEB model was forced with present-day satellite data of sea surface temperature (SST) and chlorophyll-a concentration (Chl-a), and SST under two warming RCP scenarios and decreasing current Chl-a levels, to predict future responses. Und…

GLI EFFETTI DEL DISTURBO ANTROPICO SULLA TOPOGRAFIA DEL REEF A VERMETI

2011

Intertidal vermetid reefs could be affected by many human disturbances. Using a microtopography device, the authors analysed the changes induced by the accessibility on the surface topography of the reefs. Human activities seems to be able to induce a decrease in rugosity and a surface smoothing on the outer margin of the reef. These effects are proportional to the accessibility of the site.

Structural architecture and active deformation pattern in the northern sector of the Aeolian-Tindari-Letojanni fault system (SE Tyrrhenian Sea-NE Sic…

2017

Framed in the current geodynamics of the central Mediterranean, the Aeolian-Tindari-Letojanni fault system is part of a wider NW-SE oriented right-lateral wrench zone which accommodates diverging motion between regional-scale blocks located at the southern edge of the Calabrian Arc. In order to investigate the structural architecture and the active deformation pattern of the northern sector of this tectonic feature, structural observations on-land, high and very-high resolution seismic reflection data, swath bathymetry data and seismological and geodetic data were merged from the Lipari-Vulcano volcanic complex (central sector of the Aeolian Islands) to the Peloritani Mountains across the G…

Geometry and modeling of an active offshore thrust-related fold system: The Amendolara Ridge, Ionian Sea, southern Italy

2012

On the Ionian Sea coast of southern Italy, spanning the transition from the Calabrian Arc to the Apennines, NE-directed motion of the thin-skinned frontal thrust belt of the Apennines toward the Apulian foreland reportedly ceased during the Early-Middle Pleistocene (PATACCA & SCANDONE, 2007). Deformation since then was dominated by the regional uplift of the Calabrian Arc (WESTAWAY, 1993; CUCCI & CINTI, 1998). However, detailed structural and geomorphologic analysis has revealed that uplift of Middle Pleistocene and younger marine terraces not only ensues from a regional-scale process, but also reflects a smaller-wavelength component of shortening which is attributed to recent, deeper activ…

From land to sea: multi-scale and multi-resolution analysis of active deformation and seismogenic sources around the coasts of Southern Italy

2016

During the last decade, we have blended our individual skills to form a research group devoted to investigating active crustal deformation in areas adjacent to the coast of Southern Italy, with the aim to bridge the gap between the onshore and offshore realms. Our research is based on a multi-scale and multi-resolution approach that includes high-resolution seismics, coastal morpho-tectonics and structural geology, complemented by seismicity, Global Positioning System and InSAR. Need and opportunities of such an endeavor arise from the basic observation that, although most population centers lie close to the coastal areas, very little is known about active structures at the sea. However, hi…

Submarine canyons of north-western Sicily(Southern Tyrrhenian Sea): Variability in morphology, sedimentary processes and evolution on a tectonically …

2014

Hyper-extended rifted margin in the Tyrrhenian Sea, upper plate of the Ionian subduction zone

2011

The Tyrrhenian Sea is a Miocene to Present back-arc basin developed in the upper plate of the Ionian subduction zone. Refraction seismic data indicate that the central sector of the Marsili Basin is a zone of thin crust ∼7 km thick compatible with its oceanic origin (Steinmetz et al., 1983). Conventional models rather define a Continent-Ocean Transition (COT) with normal oceanic crust (i.e. Finetti et al., 2005). This does not seem to be the case for the whole Tyrrhenian Basin. Serpentinized peridotites, emplaced during Pliocene, have been drilled at ODP Site 651 (Sartori et al. 2004). The W Calabria segment of the Tyrrhenian continental margin is peculiar as seismic data has excluded the p…