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Canese, Simonepietro
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- PublicationOpen AccessExceptional discovery of a shallow-water hydrothermal site in the SW area of Basiluzzo islet (Aeolian archipelago, South Tyrrhenian Sea): An environment to preserve(2018-01-04)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; The geological, biological and geochemical features of a particular field of hydrothermal vents, discovered in the Panarea Volcanic Complex during a research survey carried out in 2015, are described for the first time. The site, located at 70-80 m depth off the South-western coast of the islet of Basiluzzo, was named Smoking Land for the presence of a large number of wide and high active chimneys and was characterized in terms of dissolved benthic fluxes, associated macrofauna and megafauna communities and preliminary mineralogy and geochemistry of chimney structures. On the whole field, a total of 39 chimneys, different in size and shape, were closely observed and described; 14 of them showed emission of low temperature hydrothermal fluids of marine origin characterized by acidified chemical conditions. The CTD and benthic chamber measurements highlighted that the Smoking Land is able to form a sea water bottom layer characterized by variable acidity and high DIC and trace elements concentrations; these characteristics weaken moving away from the chimney mouths. The SEM-EDS analysis of the collected solid samples revealed a chimney structure principally composed by amorphous and low crystalline Fe-oxyhydroxides of hydrothermal origins. The ROV explorations revealed a wide coverage of red algae (Peyssonnelia spp.) colonized by the green algae Flabiella petiolata and by suspension feeders, mainly sponges, but also bryozoans, and tubicolous polychaetes. Although novent-exclusive species were identified, the benthic communities found in association to the chimneys included more taxa than those observed in the surrounding no-vent rocky areas. These first findings evidence a submarine dynamic habitat where geological, chemical and biological processes are intimately connected, making the Smoking Land an important site in terms of marine heritage that should be safeguarded and protected.124 93 - PublicationOpen AccessThe Ventotene Volcanic Ridge: a newly explored complex in the central Tyrrhenian Sea (Italy)(2016)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;; ; ; ; ; ; ; ;; New high-resolution geophysical data collected along the eastern margin of the Tyrrhenian back-arc basin, in the Pontine Islands area, reveal a ∼NW-SE elongated morphological high, the Ventotene Volcanic Ridge (VR), located on the northern edge of the Ventotene Basin. High-resolution multibeam bathymetry, combined with magnetic data, multi- and single-channel seismic profiles, and ROV dives, suggest that VR results from aggregation of a series of volcanic edifices. The summit of these volcanoes is flat and occurs at about 170 m water depth. Given their depths, we propose that flat morphologies were probably caused by surf erosion during Quaternary glacial sea level lowstands. Seismic stratigraphy together with magnetic data suggest that the volcanic activity in this area is older than 190–130 ka age and may be coeval with that of Ventotene Island (Middle Pleistocene). The submarine volcanoes, located 25 km north of Ventotene, are part of a ∼E-W regional volcanic alignment and extend the Pontine volcanism landward toward the Gaeta bay. Integration of structural data from multichannel seismic profiles in this sector of the eastern Tyrrhenian margin indicates that several normal and/or transtensional faults, striking WNW-ESE, NNW-SSE, and NE-SW, offset the basement and form alternating structural highs and depressions filled by thick, mostly undeformed, sedimentary units. Arc-related magmatism is widespread in the study area, where the VR is placed at the hangingwall of the west-directed Apennines subduction zone, which is undergoing tensional and transtensional tectonics. Bathymetric and topographic evidence shows that VR lies in between a major NE-SW trending escarpment east of Ponza and a NE-SW trending graben southwest of the Roccamonfina volcano, a NE-SW transfer zone that accommodate the extension along this segmented portion of the margin. This suggests that the interaction between NE-SW and NW-SE trending fault systems acts as a structural control on location of eruptive centers, given that main volcanic edifices develop along the NW-SE direction, compatible with the extensional setting of the Tyrrhenian basin.370 84 - PublicationOpen AccessInSEA Project: Initiatives in Supporting the consolidation and enhancement of the EMSO infrastructure and related Activities(2019-06-26)
; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; ; The observation of the phenomena occurring on our planet was in the past based mainly on ground monitoring with both temporal and spatial approaches. On the other hand, in the part covered by the oceans until a few years ago the monitoring was carried out through discrete measurement campaigns in time and space with the disadvantage of not having information on the variability of oceanic processes. Only more recently, since the 90s of the last century, technology has allowed the installation of multidisciplinary systems on the seabed for long periods (years), even at great depths (thousands of meters). From the circumscribed campaigns in space and time, we have therefore moved on to the installation of observatories on the seabed, to record in a continuous way the physical and chemical parameters, in order to know the state of the oceans and of the whole planet. This produces two advantages: A spatial improvement of the observations, because they extend from land to the 1. previously less known and more extensive part of the planet, i.e. the oceans that cover seventenths of the Earth’s surface; A scientific improvement, because the oceans represent a fundamental element in the 2. processes at the base of the Earth’s climate, whose knowledge on large time scales makes it possible to understand the future evolution of these processes [e.g. Favali et al., 2015].124 71