http://hdl.handle.net/2122/178 2013-05-20T22:44:57Z http://hdl.handle.net/2122/7749 Title: Biogenic/Abiogenic Hydrocarbons' Origin – Possible Role of Tectonically Active Belts Authors: Scalera, G.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma1, Roma, Italia Editors: Scalera, Giancarlo; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma1, Roma, Italia; Cwojdzinski, Stefan Abstract: (extended abstract) 2011-10-03T22:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2122/7628 Title: The emergence of ocean biogeochemical provinces: a quantitative assessment and a diagnostic for model evaluation. Authors: Vichi, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Bologna, Bologna, Italia; Allen, J. I.; PML; Masina, S.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Bologna, Bologna, Italia; Hardman-Mountford, N.; PML Abstract: The concept of ocean biogeochemical provinces is based on the observation that large ocean regions are characterized by coherent physical forcing and environmental conditions, which are eventually representative of macroscale ocean ecosystems. Biogeochemical models of the global ocean focus on simulating the coupling between prevalent physical conditions and the biogeochemical processes with the assumption that biological properties respond coherently to physics and therefore should produce such provinces as an emergent property. In this paper, we quantitatively assess the emergence of a reference set of predefined biogeochemical provinces in the available global data sets and propose a province‐based approach to the evaluation of one of the most comprehensive models of ocean biogeochemistry. Multivariate statistical tools were applied to model and observation data, verifying the existence, distinctiveness and reliability of the predefined provinces and quantifying the correlation of model results with observations at the global scale. The analysis of similarity between provinces shows that they are statistically separable in data and model output and therefore can be used as reliable metrics. The analyses indicate that provinces can be more easily distinguished in terms of their environmental features rather than using chlorophyll concentration. The characterization of provinces by means of chlorophyll values shows a significant overlap in both the Sea‐viewing Wide Field‐of‐view Sensor (SeaWiFS) data and the model. It is likely this is related to the choice of province boundaries based on coarse‐resolution mapped data, which are not necessarily the same as those derivable from high‐resolution satellite data. We also demonstrated through cluster analysis that the long‐term time series data collected at Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) stations are representative of environmental conditions of the respective province and can thus be used to evaluate model results extracted from that province. The method shows promise for helping to overcome problems with model verification due to under sampling of most ocean biogeochemical variables but also gives indications that unsupervised clustering may be required when more spatially resolved data and models are available. 2010-12-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2122/7209 Title: The Role of Geomagnetic Cues in Green Turtle Open Sea Navigation Authors: Benhamou, S.; CEFE, CNRS, Montpellier, France; Sudre, J.; LEGOS, CNRS, Toulouse, France; Bourjea, J.; IFREMER, La Re´union, France; Ciccione, S.; Ke´ lonia, La Re´union, France; De Santis, A.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia; Luschi, P.; Dipartimento di Biologia, Universita` di Pisa, Italy Abstract: Background: Laboratory and field experiments have provided evidence that sea turtles use geomagnetic cues to navigate in the open sea. For instance, green turtles (Chelonia mydas) displaced 100 km away from their nesting site were impaired in returning home when carrying a strong magnet glued on the head. However, the actual role of geomagnetic cues remains unclear, since magnetically treated green turtles can perform large scale (.2000 km) post-nesting migrations no differently from controls. Methodology/Principal Findings: In the present homing experiment, 24 green turtles were displaced 200 km away from their nesting site on an oceanic island, and tracked, for the first time in this type of experiment, with Global Positioning System (GPS), which is able to provide much more frequent and accurate locations than previously used tracking methods. Eight turtles were magnetically treated for 24–48 h on the nesting beach prior to displacement, and another eight turtles had a magnet glued on the head at the release site. The last eight turtles were used as controls. Detailed analyses of water masses-related (i.e., current-corrected) homing paths showed that magnetically treated turtles were able to navigate toward their nesting site as efficiently as controls, but those carrying magnets were significantly impaired once they arrived within 50 km of home. Conclusions/Significance: While green turtles do not seem to need geomagnetic cues to navigate far from the goal, these cues become necessary when turtles get closer to home. As the very last part of the homing trip (within a few kilometers of home) likely depends on non-magnetic cues, our results suggest that magnetic cues play a key role in sea turtle navigation at an intermediate scale by bridging the gap between large and small scale navigational processes, which both appear to depend on non-magnetic cues. 2011-10-25T22:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2122/6258 Title: Second International Workshop on RESEARCH IN SHALLOW MARINE AND FRESH WATER SYSTEMS Authors: Italiano, Francesco; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Palermo, Palermo, Italia Editors: Italiano, Francesco; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Palermo, Palermo, Italia Abstract: The INGV and the Organizers are pleased to invite you to attend and contribute to the second International Workshop “Research in shallow marine and fresh water systems” taking place in Sicily, Aeolian Islands in October 2010 from the 3rd to the 10th. The workshop will provide the opportunity to meet scientists from different countries with different scientific skills to discuss and to exchange ideas on the scientific results related to the scientific diving activityScientific Diving as a tool “for the purpose” acquires a substantial need of an information exchange among research groups including scientific working methods in various fields of application: geology, chemistry, (micro-)biology, archaeology, geochemistry, environmental sciences, ecology, to name a few. The workshop will merge scientific communications with technical and scientific discussions besides diving excursions at selected sites of different scientific interest. 2010-10-03T22:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2122/5366 Title: EMSO: European multidisciplinary seafloor observatory Authors: Favali, P.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia; Beranzoli, L.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia Abstract: EMSO has been identified by the ESFRI Report 2006 as one of the Research Infrastructures that European members and associated states are asked to develop in the next decades. It will be based on a European-scale network of multidisciplinary seafloor observatories from the Arctic to the Black Sea with the aim of long-term real-time monitoring of processes related to geosphere/biosphere/hydrosphere interactions. EMSO will enhance our understanding of processes, providing long time series data for the different phenomenon scales which constitute the new frontier for study of Earth interior, deep-sea biology and chemistry, and ocean processes. The development of an underwater network is based on past EU projects and is supported by several EU initiatives, such as the on-going ESONET-NoE, aimed at strengthening the ocean observatories’ scientific and technological community. The EMSO development relies on the synergy between the scientific community and industry to improve European competitiveness with respect to countries such as USA, Canada and Japan. Within the FP7 Programme launched in 2006, a call for Preparatory Phase (PP) was issued in order to support the foundation of the legal and organisational entity in charge of building up and managing the infrastructure, and coordinating the financial effort among the countries. The EMSO-PP project, coordinated by the Italian INGV with participation by 11 institutions from as many European countries, started in April 2008 and will last four years. 2009-04-10T22:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2122/3445 Title: Sensitivity of a coupled physical–biological model to turbulence: high-frequency simulations in a northern Adriatic station Authors: Carniel, S.; CNR-ISMAR; Vichi, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Bologna, Bologna, Italia; Sclavo, M.; CNR-ISMAR Abstract: This paper investigates the impacts of different turbulence models on the biological state at an ocean station in the northern Adriatic sea, named S3, comparing them with other uncertainties inherent to coupled physical-biological simulations. The numerical tool is a 1-D model resulting from the coupling of two advanced numerical models. The hydrodynamic part is modelled using the General Ocean Turbulence Model (www.gotm.net), in a version adopting state-of-the-art second-moment Turbulence Closure Models (TCMs). Marine biogeochemistry is parameterized with the Biogeochemical Flux Model (http://www.bo.ingv.it/bfm), which is a direct descendant of ERSEM (European Regional Sea Ecosystem Model). Results, obtained by forcing the model with hourly wind and solar radiation data and assimilating salinity casts, are compared against monthly observations made at the station during 2000-2001. Provided that modern second-moment TCMs are employed, the comparisons indicate that both the physical and the biological dynamics are relatively insensitive to the choice of the particular scheme adopted, suggesting that TCMs have finally 'converged' in recent years. As a further example, the choice of the nutrient boundary conditions has an impact on the system evolution that is more significant than the choice of the specific TCM, therefore representing a possible limitation of the 1-D model applied to stations located in a Region of Freshwater Influence. The 1-D model simulates the onset and intensity of the spring-summer bloom quite well, although the duration of the bloom is not as prolonged as in the data. Since local dynamics appears unable to sustain the bloom conditions well into summer, phytoplankton at the station was most likely influenced by river input or advection processes, an aspect that was not found when the S3 behaviour was adequately modelled using climatological forcings. When the focus is in predicting high-frequency dynamics, it is more likely that lateral advection cannot be neglected. While the physical state can be satisfactorily estimated at these short time scales, the accurate estimation of the biological state in coastal regions still appears as rather elusive. 2007-03-31T22:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2122/1114 Title: Link or sink: a modelling interpretation of the open Baltic biogeochemistry Authors: Vichi, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Bologna, Bologna, Italia; Ruardij, P.; Netherlands Institute of Sea Research, Texel, NL; Baretta, J. W.; Noctiluca, Wassenaar, NL Abstract: A 1-D model system, consisting of the 1-D version of the Princeton Ocean Model (POM) coupled with the European Regional Seas Ecosystem Model (ERSEM) has been applied to a sub-basin of the Baltic Proper, the Bornholm basin. The model has been forced with 3h meteorological data for the period 1979-1990, producing a 12-year hindcast validated with datasets from the Baltic Environmental Database for the same period. The model results demonstrate the model to hindcast the time-evolution of the physical structure very well, confirming the view of the open Baltic water column as a three layer system of surface, intermediate and bottom waters. Comparative analyses of modelled hydrochemical components with respect to the independent data have shown that the long-term system behaviour of the model is within the observed ranges. Also primary production processes, deduced from oxygen (over)saturation are hindcast correctly over the entire period and the annual net primary production is within the observed range. The largest mismatch with observations is found in simulating the biogeochemistry of the Baltic intermediate waters. Modifications in the structure of the model (addition of fast-sinking detritus and polysaccharide dynamics) have shown that the nutrient dynamics are linked to the quality and dimensions of the organic matter produced in the euphotic zone, highlighting the importance of the residence time of the organic matter within the microbial foodweb in the intermediate waters. Experiments with different scenarios of riverine nutrient loads, assessed in the limits of a 1-D setup, have shown that the external input of organic matter makes the open Baltic model more heterotrophic. The characteristics of the inputs also drive the dynamics of nitrogen in the bottom layers leading either to nitrate accumulation (when the external sources are inorganic), or to coupled nitrification-denitrification (under strong organic inputs). The model indicates the permanent stratification to be the main feature of the system as regulator of carbon and nutrient budgets. The model predicts that most of the carbon produced in the euphotic zone is also consumed in the water column and this enhances the importance of heterotrophic benthic processes as final closure of carbon and nutrient cycles in the open Baltic. 2004-11-10T23:00:00Z