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Catalano, Roberto
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Catalano, Roberto
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- PublicationOpen AccessRadioactivity content in volcanic rocks and radionuclides transfer from rocks to groundwater at Mt. Etna volcanoThe paper presents the results of a radiometric survey carried out on the eastern flank of Mt. Etna over an area of approximately 120 km2. Activity concentrations of 238,234U, 232,230,228Th, 226,228Ra, from 238U and 232Th decay chains, and potassium 40K were determined using α- and γ- spectrometry techniques. All rock samples presented activity concentrations of U, Th and Ra isotopes ranging from 20 Bq kg-1 to about 90 Bq kg-1, and they showed no particular compositional variations over the investigated area. Based on their respective elemental concentrations, the isotopic ratios of different elements were studied to check the presence of radioactive equilibrium, or disequilibrium, in the decay chains. Moreover, an attempt to calculate radionuclide transfer factors from soil to water was made, and the radiological risk resulting from ingestion of these isotopes contained in drinking water was calculated. The results were compared with current regulations on the quality of drinking water.
277 119 - PublicationRestrictedThe 1998 offshore NW Sicily earthquakes in the tectonic framework of the southern border of the Tyrrhenian Sea(2000)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;Agate, M.; Università di Palermo - Dip. di Geologia e Geodesia ;Beranzoli, L.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia ;Braun, T.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione CNT, Roma, Italia ;Catalano, R.; Università di Palermo - Dip. di Geologia e Geodesia ;Favali, P.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia ;Frugoni, F.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia ;Pepe, F.; Università di Palermo - Dip. di Geologia e Geodesia ;Smriglio, G.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Roma2, Roma, Italia ;Sulli, A.; Università di Palermo - Dip. di Geologia e Geodesia; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; The seismic sequence which occurred in 1998 south of the Island of Ustica (offshore North Sicily) has been interpreted in the frame of historical recent seismicity and the area’s tectonics. This seismic sequence, characterised by shallow-depth and low-magnitude earthquakes (Md max. 4.3), took place in the thick and complex stack of the Sicilian-Maghrebian fold-and-thrust belt. The spatial distribution of the epicentres recorded during the January-August 1998 shows a cluster roughly NW-SE trending. The few shocks which occurred immediately after the Md 4.1 shock of the 14th September were located south-east of Ustica with a rough NE-SW trend. The focal mechanisms of major shocks are of a thrust type with horizontal compressive axes generally N-S trending. In the kinematic evolution of the study area, alternating extensional and contractional events have been recognised as having taken place during the Plio-Pleistocene. The present day seismic activity pointing out a new contractional episode is well framed in this evolutionary trend. The occurrence of pre-existing faults and the large number of earthquakes with low-magnitude support the hypothesis that this seismicity could be related to a frictional (re)activation of faults. Active compression in offshore North Sicily probably reflects the northwards motion of Africa relative to the Eurasian plate.342 57 - PublicationRestrictedNatural tritium determination in groundwater on Mt. Etna (Sicily, Italy)(2014)
; ; ; ; ; ;Catalano, R.; Istituto Nazionale di fisica nucleare ;Immé, G.; Istituto Nazionale di fisica nucleare ;Mangano, G.; Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Catania ;Morelli, D.; Istituto Nazionale di fisica nucleare ;Giammanco, S.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Catania, Catania, Italia; ; ; ; Tritium is a naturally occurring radionuclide, due to interactions of cosmic-rays with the upper layers of the atmosphere; but its presence in the environment is mainly due to residual fallout from nuclear weapons atmosphere tests, carried out from 1952 till 1980. Tritium reaches the Earth’s surface mainly in the form of precipitation, becoming part of the hydrological cycle, then the interest of tritium content analysis in drinking water is both for dosimetry and health-risk and for using tritium as a natural tracer in the groundwater circulation system. This paper presents results from a survey carried out in the Mt. Etna area (east and west flanks) and in the southern side of Nebrodi in Sicily (Italy), in order to determine tritium activity concentrations in water samples by using liquid scintillation counter. The investigated areas show quite low tritium concentrations, much below the Italian limit of 100 Bq L-1 for drinking water and even comparable with the minimum detectable activity value. The effective dose due to tritium for public drinking water consumption was also evaluated.298 80 - PublicationRestrictedRadiation measurements as tool for environmental and geophysics studies on volcano-tectonic areas(2011-01)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;Morelli, D.; Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Catania ;Immé, G.; Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Catania ;Altamore, I.; Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Catania ;Aranzulla, M.; Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Catania ;Cammisa, S.; Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Catania ;Catalano, R.; Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Catania ;Giammanco, S.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Catania, Catania, Italia ;La Delfa, S.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università di Catania ;Mangano, G.; Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Catania ;Neri, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Catania, Catania, Italia ;Patané, G.; Dipartimento di Scienze Geologiche, Università di Catania ;Rosselli Tazzer, A.; Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Catania; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; In the last years there has been an increasing concern about natural- radioactivity measurements both from the point of view of the environmental survey, especially for the human health protection, and of the geophysical-events investiga- tion in volcanic areas and tectonic fault zones. We report on our activity in both these fields, in particular on the measurements of indoor radon concentration in a long-term passive monitoring in dwellings of the eastern region of Sicily. Because this region is characterized by high seismicity, besides the indoor radioactivity sur- vey, in-soil radon measurements in the region (both volcanic and tectonic area) can provide a better insight and a valuable database for the study related to radon anomalies. A synthesis is reported of the results that we obtained, in the last years, in the volcanic and tectonic area of oriental Sicily both from indoor monitoring and from geophysical-events investigation.393 74 - PublicationRestrictedIn situ and laboratory measurements for radon transport process study(2015-07-28)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;Catalano, R.; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia, 64, 95123 Catania, Italy ;Immè, G.; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia, 64, 95123 Catania, Italy ;Mangano, G.; Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Catania, Via S. Sofia, 64, 95123 Catania, Italy ;Morelli, D.; Division of Catania, National Institute for Nuclear Physics, Via S. Sofia, 64, 95123 Catania, Italy ;Aranzulla, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Catania, Catania, Italia ;Giammanco, S.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Catania, Catania, Italia ;Thinova, L.; FNSPE, Czech Technical University in Prague, Brehova 7, 115 19 Praha 1, Czech Republic; ; ; ; ; ; Characteristics of radon transport in porous media were studied through both in situ and lab-scale measurements. In situ measurements of radon activity concentration, together with soil thoron and carbon dioxide efflux, were carried out on Mt. Etna volcano. More detailed information on radon transport mechanisms has been obtained from laboratory measurements. In particular, we report the first results of a systematic study carried out at the University of Catania (Italy) by means of a facility consisting of a large cylindrical stainless steel vessel, homogeneously filled with different materials. Radon concentration vertical profiles were extracted in low-moisture samples for different advective fluxes, temperatures and porosities.226 27 - PublicationOpen AccessNatural radioactivity content in groundwater of Mt. Etna’s eastern flank and gamma background of surrounding rocks(2016)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;Kozłowska, B.; University of Silesia, Institute of Physics, Department of Nuclear Physics and Its Applications, Katowice, Poland ;Walencik-Łata, A.; University of Silesia, Institute of Physics, Department of Nuclear Physics and Its Applications, Katowice, Poland ;Immè, G.; Università di Catania, Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Catania, Italy ;Catalano, R.; Università di Catania, Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Catania, Italy ;Mangano, G.; Università di Catania, Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Catania, Italy ;Morelli, D.; Università di Catania, Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Catania, Italy ;Giammanco, S.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Catania, Catania, Italia; ; ; ; ; ; Waters of Mt. Etna are the main source of drinking water for the local population and are also distributed in municipal supply systems to neighbouring areas. Radioactivity in underground waters and surrounding rocks from the eastern flank of Mt. Etna was investigated on the basis of 9 water and 8 rock samples from 12 localities altogether. Three samples were from water drainage galleries and six from water wells. All water intakes are used for consumption. Activity concentration of uranium isotopes 234,238U, radium isotopes 226,228Ra and radon 222Rn were determined with the use different nuclear spectrometry techniques. The determination of uranium isotopes was carried out with the use of alpha spectrometry. The measurements of radium and radon activity concentration in water were performed with the use of a liquid scintillation technique. Additionally, rocks surrounding the intakes were examined with gamma spectrometry. All water samples showed uranium concentration above Minimum Detectable Activity (MDA), with the highest total uranium (234U + 238U) activity concentration equal to 149.2±6 mBq/L. Conversely, all samples showed radium isotopes activity concentrations below MDA. Radon activity concentration was within the range from 2.91±0.36 to 21.21±1.10 Bq/L, hence these waters can be classified as low-radon waters. Gamma natural background of the rocks surrounding the water sampling sites was found on the same levels as other volcanic rocks of Italy.410 207 - PublicationRestrictedIn soil radon anomalies and volcanic activity on Mt. Etna (Italy)(2020-07)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; We present here the first attempt to understand the fast dynamics of an active basaltic volcano, namely Mt. Etna using soil gas radon measured in some sites located in strategic places around the volcano. Data were measured continuously from July 2015 to February 2017 and the raw signals were treated in order to filter out all possible periodic components that are normally due to non-volcanic factors, applying a method that does not require acquisition of other parameters, which are not always available. The residual signals highlighted seven anomalous changes, with radon values reaching levels from 2 to 5 times higher than the normal background. In six out of seven cases, anomalies were almost contemporaneous in all or almost all of the sites, indicating a common source for the observed radon variations. The pattern of anomalies suggests a transient wave-like propagation in the space/time domain, compatible with pressure-induced displacement of the gas. The observed patterns are most probably caused by the rapid upward motion of gas-rich magma into the volcano conduits, as almost all anomalies precede or accompany major volcanic events. In some cases, an alternative explanation could be the strong and sudden strain releases through earthquakes swarms, with consequent variations in the permeability of rocks at a large scale, given the apparent correlation between those anomalies and intense seismicity.853 6 - PublicationRestrictedRadon transport: laboratory and model study(2015-05-13)
; ; ; ; ; ;Catalano, R.; National Institute for Nuclear Physics—Division of Catania ;Imme', G.; National Institute for Nuclear Physics—Division of Catania ;Mangano, G.; epartment of Physics and Astronomy, University of Catania ;Morelli, D.; National Institute for Nuclear Physics—Division of Catania ;Aranzulla, M.; Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Sezione Catania, Catania, Italia; ; ; ; In order to exploit radon profiles for geophysical purposes and also to estimate its entry indoors, it is necessary to study its transport through porous soils. The great number of involved parameters and processes affecting the emanation of radon from the soil grains and its transport in the source medium has led to many theoretical and/or laboratory studies. The authors report the first results of a laboratory study carried out at the Radioactivity Laboratory of the Department of Physics and Astronomy (University of Catania) by means of a facility for measuring radon concentrations in the sample pores at various depths under well-defined and controlled conditions of physical parameters. In particular, radon concentration vertical profiles extracted in low-moisture samples for different advective fluxes and temperatures were compared with expected concentrations, according to a three-phase transport model developed by Andersen (Risø National Laboratory, Denmark), showing, in general, a good agreement between measurements and model calculations.290 77