http://hdl.handle.net/2122/269 2013-05-21T21:27:34Z http://hdl.handle.net/2122/8712 Title: Scientific review on the Complex Eikonal, and research perspectives for the Ionospheric Ray-tracing and Absorption Authors: Settimi, A.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia; Sciacca, U.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma1, Roma, Italia; Bianchi, C.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia Abstract: The present paper conducts a scientific review on the complex eikonal, extrapolating the research perspectives on the ionospheric ray-tracing and absorption. As regards the scientific review, the eikonal equation is expressed, and some complex-valued solutions are defined corresponding to complex rays and caustics. Moreover, the geometrical optics is compared to the beam tracing method, introducing the limit of the quasi-isotropic and paraxial complex optics approximations. Finally, the quasi-optical beam tracing is defined as the complex eikonal method applied to ray-tracing, discussing the beam propagation in a cold magnetized plasma. As regards the research perspectives, this paper proposes to address the following scientific problem: in absence of electromagnetic (e.m.) sources, consider a material medium which is time invariant, linear, optically isotropic, generally dispersive in frequency and inhomogeneous in space, with the additional condition that the refractive index is assumed varying even strongly in space. The paper continues the topics discussed by Bianchi et al. [2009], proposing a novelty with respect to the other referenced bibliography: indeed, the Joule’s effect is assumed non negligible, so the medium is dissipative, and its electrical conductivity is not identically zero. In mathematical terms, the refractive index belongs to the field of complex numbers. The dissipation plays a significant role, and even the eikonal function belongs to the complex numbers field. Under these conditions, for the first time to the best of our knowledge, suitable generalized complex eikonal and transport equations are derived, never discussed in literature. Moreover, in order to solve the ionospheric ray-tracing and absorption problems, we hint a perspective viewpoint. The complex eikonal equations are derived assuming the medium as optically isotropic. However, in agreement with the quasi isotropic approximation of geometrical optics, these equations can be referred to the Appleton-Hartree’s refractive index for an ionospheric magneto-plasma, which becomes only weakly anisotropic in the presence of Earth’s magnetic induction field. Finally, a simple formula is deduced for a simplified problem. Consider a flat layering ionospheric medium, so without any horizontal gradient. The paper proposes a new formula, useful to calculate the amplitude absorption due to the ionospheric D-layer, which can be approximately modelled by a linearized complex refractive index, because covering a short range of heights, between h1= 50 km and h2= 80 km about. 2013-03-19T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2122/8705 Title: Rumors about the Po Valley earthquakes of 20th and 29th May 2012 Authors: La Longa, Federica; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione AC, Roma, Italia; Crescimbene, Massimo; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione AC, Roma, Italia; Camassi, Romano; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Bologna, Bologna, Italia; Nostro, Concetta; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione CNT, Roma, Italia Abstract: The history of rumours is as old as human history. Even in remote antiquity, rumours, gossip and hoax were always in circulation - in good or bad faith – to influence human affairs. Today with the development of mass media, rise of the internet and social networks, rumours are ubiquitous. The earthquakes, because of their characteristics of strong emotional impact and unpredictability, are among the natural events that more cause the birth and the spread of rumours. For this reason earthquakes that occurred in the Po valley the 20th and 29th May 2012 generated and still continue to generate a wide variety of rumours regarding issues related to the earthquake, its effects, the possible causes, future predictions. For this reason, as occurred during the L'Aquila earthquake sequence in 2009, following the events of May 2012 in Emilia Romagna was created a complex initiative training and information that at various stages between May and September 2012, involved population, partly present in the camp, and then the school staff of the municipalities affected by the earthquake. This experience has been organized and managed by the Department of Civil Protection (DPC), the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV), the Emilia Romagna region in collaboration with the Network of University Laboratories for Earthquake Engineering (RELUIS), the Health Service Emilia Romagna Regional and voluntary organizations of civil protection in the area. Within this initiative, in the period June-September 2012 were collected and catalogued over 240 rumours. In this work rumours of the Po Valley are studied in their specific characteristics and strategies and methods to fight them are also discussed. This work of collection and discussion of the rumours was particularly important to promote good communication strategies and to fight the spreading of the rumours. Only in this way it was possible to create a full intervention able to supporting both the local institutions and the individuals involved to adequately address the emergence and management of organizational problems and social issues related to the earthquake. 2013-04-08T22:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2122/8703 Title: Ecomuseum itineraries, a path of rediscovery and enhancement of the territory Authors: La Longa, Federica; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione AC, Roma, Italia; Lanza, Tiziana; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione AC, Roma, Italia; Crescimbene, Massimo; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione AC, Roma, Italia Abstract: Geoethics has among its objectives to promote the recognition and enhancement of geological culture, as a wealth of knowledge that can contribute to the construction of a proper social knowledge, strengthening the link between population and territory and offering the opportunity to teach, especially the young, good behavior towards the geosphere. The work here proposed is an example of how to promote knowledge, awareness and appreciation of its territory by use of innovative and multidisciplinary educational programs; paths that allow young people to redraw the places to returning them to the communities that live there as a common heritage to be lived and protect. The experience described refers to the realization of the pilot project "Towards an Eco Museum of the Castelli Romani". The project, proposed and implemented by a group of researchers of the Laboratory of Education and Science Communication of National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in collaboration with the Regional Park of the Castelli Romani, involved students of the Classic and Psycho-Pedagogical High School of the Mancinelli Falcone Institute of Velletri (RM). Educational activities carried out in the academic year 2009-2010, were structured on multidisciplinary training programs designed to create eco museum routes. These training programs have been grouped into three main areas (historical, archaeological and literary, geological and town planning, ecological and naturalistic) that are particularly representative of the complexity of geological and anthropological territory of the Nemi Lake. The eco-museum is a revolutionary concept compared to traditional museum because it adds to the traditional museum the social dimension. The environment is described through history, culture, landscapes, activities, society putting in relation to aspects of life, material and spiritual, and tying them to the places, territories and the culture that created them. Very often the age of globalization takes us to lose sight of the concept of place in favor of the non-place, an environment free of characteristics and boundaries. This trend, if on one hand helps to share problems and solutions related to environmental protection, other hand risks producing a variety of effects that lead communities to disown the values of their territory. Instead the experience realized takes us in an opposite direction. We believe that educational projects structured on eco museum itineraries can promote in young people an experiential path of rediscovery and enhancement of the territory (genius loci). The active techniques used in the project (dramatization, creative writing, music, etc.) favored boys in the acquisition of knowledge and skills that allow enhance of territorial resources and sharing it with the community. 2013-04-08T22:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2122/8701 Title: Testing the IONORT-ISP system: A comparison between synthesized and measured oblique ionograms Authors: Settimi, A.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia; Pezzopane, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia; Pietrella, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia; Bianchi, C.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia; Scotto, C.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia; Zuccheretti, E.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia; Makris, J.; Technological Educational Institute of Crete, P.O. Box 1939 Chania, Crete, Greece Abstract: The three-dimensional (3-D) electron density representation of the ionosphere computed by the assimilative IRI-SIRMUP-P (ISP) model was tested using IONORT (IONOspheric Ray-Tracing), a software application for calculating a 3-D ray-tracing for high frequency (HF) waves in the ionospheric medium. A radio link was established between Rome (41.8°N, 12.5°E) in Italy, and Chania (35.7°N, 24.0°E) in Greece, within the ISP validity area, and for which oblique soundings are conducted. The ionospheric reference stations, from which the autoscaled foF2 and M(3000)F2 data and real-time vertical electron density profiles were assimilated by the ISP model, were Rome (41.8°N, 12.5°E) and Gibilmanna (37.9°N, 14.0°E) in Italy, and Athens (38.0°N, 23.5°E) in Greece. IONORT was used, in conjunction with the ISP and the International Reference Ionosphere (IRI) 3-D electron density grids, to synthesize oblique ionograms. The comparison between synthesized and measured oblique ionograms, both in terms of the ionogram shape and the maximum usable frequency characterizing the radio path, demonstrates both that the ISP model can more accurately represent real conditions in the ionosphere than the IRI, and that the ray-tracing results computed by IONORT are reasonably reliable. 2013-05-02T22:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2122/8700 Title: Magnetic anomalies of steel drums: a review of the literature and research results of the INGV Authors: Marchetti, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia; Sapia, V.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia; Settimi, A.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia Abstract: The detection and evaluation of the status of disposal sites that contain hazardous waste materials is becoming an increasingly important element in environmental investigations. Close cooperation between the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV; National Institute of Volcanology and Geophysics) in Rome and the Italian environmental police has resulted in numerous underground investigations of different buried materials. Among the geophysical investigation tools, magnetometry is the most effective, rapid and precise of all of the geophysical methods for localizing buried steel drums. Analysis of magnetic map anomalies can provide a variety of information about buried materials, including extension, distribution and depth, with processing of the acquired magnetic data. This information is also very useful in case of excavations that are aimed at the recovery of hazardous waste. This study determines the most relevant analyses reported in the literature, with modeling of magnetometric methods for environmental applications both theoretically and experimentally. Some studies and research results achieved by the INGV in relation to magnetic anomalies produced by buried steel drums are also reported, as found in field operations and as achieved from test sites. 2013-04-18T22:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2122/8699 Title: On the Divergenceless Property of the Magnetic Induction Field Authors: Severini, S.; Centro Interforze Studi per le Applicazioni Militari (CISAM), Via Bigattiera Lato Monte 10, San Piero a Grado, 56122 Pisa, Italy; Settimi, A.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia Abstract: Maxwell’s equations beautifully describe the electromagnetic fields properties. In what follows we will be interested in giving a new perspective to divergence-free Maxwell’s equations regarding the magnetic induction field: divB=0. To this end we will consider some physical aspects of a system consisting of massive nonrelativistic charged articles, as sources of an electromagnetic field (e.m.) propagating in free space. In particular the link between conservation of total momentum and divergence-free condition for the magnetic induction B field will be deeply investigated.This study presents a new context in which the necessary condition for the divergence-free property of the magnetic induction field in the whole space, known as solenoidality condition, directly comes from the conservation of total momentum for the system, that is, sources and field. This work, in general, leads to results that leave some open questions on the existence, or at least the bservability, of magnetic monopoles, theoretically plausible only under suitable symmetry assumptions as we will show. 2013-02-28T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2122/8694 Title: Cognitive Behavioural Systems Authors: Esposito, A.; Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, Caserta, Italy; International Institute for Advanced Scientific Studies (IIASS), Vietri sul Mare, Italy.; Esposito, A. M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione OV, Napoli, Italia; Vinciarelli, A.; School of Computing Science, University of Glasgow; Hoffmann, R.; Laboratory of Acoustics and Speech Communication, Technische Universität Dresden; Müller, V. C.; Dept. of Humanities and Social Sciences, Anatolia College/ACT Editors: Esposito, A.; Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, Caserta, Italy; International Institute for Advanced Scientific Studies (IIASS), Vietri sul Mare, Italy.; Esposito, A. M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione OV, Napoli, Italia; Vinciarelli, A.; School of Computing Science, University of Glasgow; Hoffmann, R.; Laboratory of Acoustics and Speech Communication, Technische Universität Dresden; Müller, V. C.; Dept. of Humanities and Social Sciences, Anatolia College/ACT 2011-12-31T23:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2122/8693 Title: On the Recognition of Emotional Vocal Expressions: Motivations for an Holistic Approach Authors: Esposito, A.; Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, Caserta, Italy; International Institute for Advanced Scientific Studies (IIASS), Vietri sul Mare, Italy; Esposito, A. M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione OV, Napoli, Italia Abstract: Human beings seem to be able to recognize emotions from speech very well and information communication technology aims to implement machines and agents that can do the same. However, to be able to automatically recognize affective states from speech signals, it is necessary to solve two main technological problems. The former concerns the identification of effective and efficient processing algorithms capable of capturing emotional acoustic features from speech sentences. The latter focuses on finding computational models able to classify, with an approximation as good as human listeners, a given set of emotional states. This paper will survey these topics and provide some insights for a holistic approach to the automatic analysis, recognition and synthesis of affective states. 2012-09-30T22:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2122/8683 Title: Repeat-station surveys: implications from chaos and ergodicity of the recent geomagnetic field Authors: De Santis, A.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia; Qamili, E.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia; Cianchini, G.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia Abstract: The present geomagnetic field is chaotic and ergodic: chaotic because it can no longer be predicted beyond around 6 years; and ergodic in the sense that time averages correspond to phase-space averages. These properties have already been deduced from complex analyses of observatory time series in a reconstructed phase space [Barraclough and De Santis 1997] and from global predicted and definitive models of differences in the time domain [De Santis et al. 2011]. These results imply that there is a strong necessity to make repeat-station magnetic surveys more frequently than every 5 years. This, in turn, will also improve the geomagnetic field secular variation models. This report provides practical examples and case studies. 2013-04-17T22:00:00Z http://hdl.handle.net/2122/8678 Title: STORIA DEL SITO WEB DELL'OSSERVATORIO VESUVIANO E ATTUALE VERSIONE REALIZZATA CON IL CMS JOOMLA! Authors: Giudicepietro, F.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione OV, Napoli, Italia; Scarpato, G.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione OV, Napoli, Italia; Peluso, R.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione OV, Napoli, Italia; D'Auria, L.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione OV, Napoli, Italia; Esposito, A.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione OV, Napoli, Italia; Macedonio, G.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione OV, Napoli, Italia; Orazi, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione OV, Napoli, Italia; Ricciolino, P.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione OV, Napoli, Italia; Sansivero, F.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione OV, Napoli, Italia 2012-12-31T23:00:00Z