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Ground penetrating radar (GPR) systems are sensors that are able to acquire underground images by scanning the surface of the soil/pavement under investigation. Usually, a GPR system records its own position along the scan line, using a mechanical odometer, i.e., a rolling wheel in contact with the ground. This simple and cheap solution can be ineffective on uneven terrains. In this paper, a positioning system based on an interferometric radar is presented. This kind of radar is able to detect small displacements of the targets in its field of view. Such a capability was used to track the GPR position along a line. The system was validated with simulations and tested in a realistic experimental scenario.

Interferometric radars are widely used for static and dynamic monitoring of large structures such as bridges, culverts, wind turbine towers, chimneys, masonry towers, stay cables, buildings, and monuments. Most of these radars operate in Ku-band (17 GHz). Nevertheless, a higher operative frequency could allow the design of smaller, lighter, and faster equipment. In this paper, a fast MIMO-GBSAR (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output Ground-Based Synthetic Aperture Radar) operating in W-band (77 GHz) has been proposed. The radar can complete a scan in less than 8 s. Furthermore, as its overall dimension is smaller than 230 mm, it can be easily fixed to the head of a camera tripod, which makes its deployment in the field very easy, even by a single operator. The performance of this radar was tested in a controlled environment and in a realistic case study.

The authors propose an interferometric multiple-input multiple-output radar specifically designed for monitoring/testing bridges. It makes use of compressive sensing and synthetic aperture radar techniques for providing coherent images of its field of view. The radar prototype has been tested in controlled environment and in operative conditions during the static test of a pedestrian bridge.

In this paper, a multilevel architecture able to interface an on-board computer with a generic UAV flight controller and its radio receiver is proposed. The computer board exploits the same standard communication protocol of UAV flight controllers and can easily access additional data, such as: (i) inertial sensor measurements coming from a multi-sensor board, (ii) global navigation satellite system (GNSS) coordinates, (iii) streaming video from one or more cameras, and (iv) operator commands from the remote control. In specific operating scenarios, the proposed platform is able to act as a “cyber pilot” which replaces the role of a human UAV operator, thus simplifying the development of complex tasks such as those based on computer vision and artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms which are typically employed in autonomous flight operations.

This paper reports the results of a ground penetrating radar (GPR) survey of the ground-floor of Academia Gallery (Florence, Italy) where the Michelangelo’s David is exhibited to the public. The equipment used was a step-frequency GPR operating in the 100 MHz-1 GHz band, named ORFEUS. The survey covered an area of 13 m × 7.3 m, and the scans were performed along two orthogonal directions. Acquisitions in the same direction were separated by 0.25 m from each other. The GPR was able to confirm the underground structure, as it can be deducted by planimetry and historical documentation. In particular, the radar clearly detected the air-conditioning ducts under the floor and an approximately circular foundation below the basement of the statue.

In recent years, interferometric radar has been extensively used as a sensor for static and dynamic monitoring of bridges. Generally speaking, a radar can only detect displacement components along the view direction. As the movement of a real bridge or of a large structure can be rather complex, this limitation can be a significant drawback in engineering practice. In order to overcome this limitation, in this article, a multi-monostatic radar for retrieving the displacement vector is proposed. It is basically a multiple input, multiple output (MIMO) interferometric radar, equipped with a transponder that consists of a pair of antennae, with relative amplifiers, connected to the radar with a radiofrequency (RF) cable. This arrangement allows for the simultaneous detection of two independent displacement components. The radar was successfully tested both in a controlled environment and in the field on a real bridge crossing the Arno river in Florence, Italy.

There is the urgent need to study the effects of immunomodulating agents as therapy for Covid-19. An observational, cohort, prospective study with 30 days of observation was carried out to assess clinical outcomes in 88 patients hospitalized for Covid-19 pneumonia and treated with canakinumab (300 mg sc). Median time from diagnosis of Covid-19 by viral swab to administration of canakinumab was 7.5 days (range 0–30, IQR 4–11). Median PaO2/FiO2 increased from 160 (range 53–409, IQR 122–210) at baseline to 237 (range 72–533, IQR 158–331) at day 7 after treatment with canakinumab (p 9/L, respectively, p p

Lodoicea maldivica (J.F.Gmel.) Pers. (Arecaceae), 'Coco de Mer', is a palm, growing as endemic in the Seychelles islands. Its fruit weighs up to 20 kg and is characterized by a fleshy and fibrous envelope surrounding the nutlike portion. The present work combines a morpho-anatomical and a phytochemical analysis of the fruit exocarp and mesocarp. The exocarp is composed by a layer of palisade cells. The mesocarp is characterized by vascular bundles and by sclereids. In the aerenchyma, the internal zone of the mesocarp, cells aggregates were positive to phenols, while idioblasts were positive to terpenes. We performed a GC/MS analysis with a semi-quantitative relative amount calculation of the recorded compounds. The GC/MS essential oil profile revealed the dominance of acyclic sesquiterpenoids (53.95 %), followed by bicyclic sesquiterpenoids (31.69 %), monoterpenes (11.89 %) and monocyclic sesquiterpenoids (2.44 %). The terpenes detected in higher amounts, s-caryophyllene and bicyclogermacrene, are known for activity against insect larvae, but have been proposed as antiviral candidates against SARS-CoV-2. The third compound in amount, aromadendrene, is active against bacteria and, again, known to possess insecticidal properties.

A monostatic/bistatic radar for retrieving the three-dimensional (3D) displacement vector is proposed for static and dynamic monitoring of bridges. The radar is particularly suitable for dynamic test, as it is able to detect the three components at high sampling frequency (132 Hz, in the reported case study). The monostatic/bistatic technique makes use of a multiple input multiple output (MIMO) interferometric radar equipped with two transponders. Each single transponder consists of an antenna and an amplifier and it is connected to the radar with a radiofrequency (RF) cable. A simulation has preliminarily estimated the expected accuracy in terms of positing error of transponders. The equipment and the method were experimentally tested in a controlled scenario using a vertical steel bar as target. Finally, the method was applied on a real case of interest: the dynamic monitoring of a bridge (“Ponte Nuovo sull'Arno” in Lastra a Signa, Firenze, Italy) excited by the vehicular traffic. The 3D displacement vector was detected in time and the modal frequencies of each component were estimated.

Ground penetrating radar (GPR) systems are equipment able to acquire underground images scanning the surface of the soil/pavement under investigation. Usually GPR records its own position along the scan line using a mechanical odometer, i.e., a rolling wheel in contact with the ground. Unfortunately, this simple and cheap solution can be not effective on uneven terrains. In this article, a completely different solution is proposed for retrieving the radar position along the scan. An additional couple of transmitting/receiving (TX/RX) antennas detects the distance of one or two corner reflectors (CRs). As the signal backscattered by the CR appears in GPR trace (with a suitable delay for separating air and ground signals), the position data are co-registered in the radar trace itself and no external synchronization is necessary. The technique has been successfully tested both for detecting the position of the radar along a line (1-D case) and on a surface (2-D case).

Although stroboscopic pulse (SP) ground penetrating radar (GPR) is the most popular and widespread equipment for subsoil investigation, continuous-wave (CW) radar has better performance in terms of noise, system dynamic range, and penetration depth, at the expense of greater complexity and cost of the components. The aim of this letter is a direct comparison between SP GPR and CW GPR through an extensive measurement campaign in five different locations representative of the different conditions where a GPR could operate.

In recent years, interferometric radars have been extensively used as sensors for static and dynamic monitoring of bridges. Generally speaking, a radar can only detect the displacement component along its view direction. As the movement of a real bridge or a large structure can be rather complex, this limitation can be a significant drawback in engineering practice. In order toovercome this limitation, in this article, a multi-monostatic interferometric radar with radio link is proposed. This radar is able to detect a second component of displacement using a transponder. The transponder is connected to the radar through a radio link. The radio link allows the installation of the transponder far away from the radar, and even in the opposite direction. The equipment is based on a MIMO radar, two transceivers for the radio link, and a transponder. The transceivers and the transponder are essentially two antennas and an amplifier system. The equipment is experimentally tested in controlled scenarios and in the case study of Indiano Bridge, Florence, Italy.

Aims. Metis is the first solar coronagraph designed for a space mission and is capable of performing simultaneous imaging of the off-limb solar corona in both visible and UV light. The observations obtained with Metis aboard the Solar Orbiter ESA-NASA observatory will enable us to diagnose, with unprecedented temporal coverage and spatial resolution, the structures and dynamics of the full corona in a square field of view (FoV) of ±2.9° in width, with an inner circular FoV at 1.6°, thus spanning the solar atmosphere from 1.7R⊙to about 9R⊙, owing to the eccentricity of the spacecraft orbit. Due to the uniqueness of the Solar Orbiter mission profile, Metis will be able to observe the solar corona from a close (0.28 AU, at the closest perihelion) vantage point, achieving increasing out-of-ecliptic views with the increase of the orbit inclination over time. Moreover, observations near perihelion, during the phase of lower rotational velocity of the solar surface relative to the spacecraft, allow longer-term studies of the off-limb coronal features, thus finally disentangling their intrinsic evolution from effects due to solar rotation.Methods. Thanks to a novel occultation design and a combination of a UV interference coating of the mirrors and a spectral bandpass filter, Metis images the solar corona simultaneously in the visible light band, between 580 and 640 nm, and in the UV H ILyman-αline at 121.6 nm. The visible light channel also includes a broadband polarimeter able to observe the linearly polarised component of the K corona. The coronal images in both the UV H ILyman-αand polarised visible light are obtained at high spatial resolution with a spatial scale down to about 2000 km and 15 000 km at perihelion, in the cases of the visible and UV light, respectively. A temporal resolution down to 1 s can be achieved when observing coronal fluctuations in visible light.Results. The Metis measurements, obtained from different latitudes, will allow for complete characterisation of the main physical parameters and dynamics of the electron and neutral hydrogen/proton plasma components of the corona in the region where the solar wind undergoes the acceleration process and where the onset and initial propagation of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) take place. The near-Sun multi-wavelength coronal imaging performed with Metis, combined with the unique opportunities offered by the Solar Orbiter mission, can effectively address crucial issues of solar physics such as: the origin and heating/acceleration of the fast and slow solar wind streams; the origin, acceleration, and transport of the solar energetic particles; and the transient ejection of coronal mass and its evolution in the inner heliosphere, thus significantly improving our understanding of the region connecting the Sun to the heliosphere and of the processes generating and driving the solar wind and coronal mass ejections.Conclusions. This paper presents the scientific objectives and requirements, the overall optical design of the Metis instrument, the thermo-mechanical design, and the processing and power unit; reports on the results of the campaigns dedicated to integration, alignment, and tests, and to the characterisation of the instrument performance; describes the operation concept, data handling, and software tools; and, finally, the diagnostic techniques to be applied to the data, as well as a brief description of the expected scientific products. The performance of the instrument measured during calibrations ensures that the scientific objectives of Metis can be pursued with success.

In this paper a no-contact high-frequency large-bandwidth ground penetrating radar (GPR) scanner specially designed for investigating floors is presented. It operates at 10 GHz central frequency with 4 GHz bandwidth. Its mechanical positioner is able to scan a surface 0.3 m wide and 1.9 m large. The aim of this radar is to gather information about the shallow layers (coat, screed, embedded heating or water pipes) up to 0.5 m depth. The radar has been tested in laboratory and in a real case study: the second floor of the Bellariva sport Centre in Florence (Italy). This floor is under investigation because an evident long crack.

The dynamic impact factor (IM) is a widely accepted parameter to account for the effect of vehicles on bridges. An accurate evaluation of this IM is of paramount importance in bridge engineering, both for designing safe and economical new bridges, and for the assessment of the existing ones. At the state of the art, the current procedure for the experimental assessment of the IM of a bridge relies upon the deployment of a sensor network. The aim of this article is to propose the use of a remote sensor, the interferometric radar, for assessing the IM without the deployment of any sensor on the bridge, with evident advantages in terms of cost, time and safety of the workers. Two different case studies of bridges in Northern Iran are reported. In both cases the interferometric radar has been demonstrated an effective and reliable measurement equipment for this kind of in-field assessment.

Resilience has become a key concept in the era of global environmental change in both academic and policy circles. Social scientists have singled out adaptive governance as the most appropriate regulatory strategy to build resilience. Although adaptive governance scholars are proponents of participatory decision-making, they have not explored in depth the democratic potential of adaptive governance. Questions of who should be represented and why have not been fully addressed from a normative viewpoint. Building on political theories of justice and green political thinking, this article explores more in depth the issue of procedural justice and representation in adaptive governance. In doing so the article makes a first attempt at developing the theoretical foundations for ‘just resilience’.

Real-aperture radar are commonly used for remote monitoring/testing of bridges. They are fast, accurate and reliable, but they cannot provide two-dimensional images of the bridge under test. Interferometric multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar is an emerging technology that promises to give good-quality two-dimensional interferometric images of buildings and bridges. During the static test of the Vespucci bridge in the city of Florence, Italy, a X-band MIMO radar has been operated simultaneously with a real-aperture interferometric Ku-band radar. The experimental results obtained by the two different radar have been successfully compared.

Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) radar allows to reduce the number of antennas maintaining performances comparable to a phased array radar. The Compressive Sensing (CS) approach is a processing technique that promises to reduce further the number of antennas. The strict control of the unwanted phase shift and of the position on each antenna is a critical condition in any MIMO array for radar application. So an open question is if CS approach makes the MIMO more o less sensitive to possible phase errors and positioning error. The aim of this paper is just a compared analysis of the effects of phase/positioning error for conventional MIMO radar (with dense pattern of antennas) and CS-MIMO (with random pattern of antennas). The results of the simulations show that both MIMOs are rather sensible to phase error and positioning error along $y$ (the direction in front of the radar), but rather robust to positioning error along $x$ (the direction of the synthetic aperture) and $z$ practically. Furthermore, C-MIMO seems a bit more robust to phase error then dense MIMO.

The “Ponte delle Grazie” is a three spans bridge, with a total length of 72 meters, built between 1948 and 1952 in Faenza, Italy. The reinforced concrete main beams of the deck have undergone a strong deterioration over the years. In detail atmospheric agents and chemical aggressions caused a strong deterioration of the concrete, up to the point of making the structure not accessible and at risk of collapse. In fact, the five main beams were heavily damaged, as well as the concrete bearings were strongly compromised. So, an urgent intervention was necessary to save the structure of this historic bridge. A delicate restoration has allowed to remove the deteriorated concrete and to restore the resistant sections with new materials compatible with the old remaining structures. In particular, a specific rehabilitation procedure was studied using fiber-reinforced cement mortar with low elastic modulus, that is shrinkage compensated, in combination with composite materials reinforcements. Without modifying the structural behavior of the bridge, the deteriorated concrete was restored and reinforced, in a sustainable way, in order to make the structure safe and usable again. After the restoration and reinforcement the bridge capacity satisfy a reduced live load useful for urban traffic. After the restoration and reinforcement the bridge capacity satisfy a reduced live load useful for urban traffic. Even if the structure has returned to be suitable for vehicular traffic, it has been necessary to set up a real-time monitoring system, which monitors the live load and the behavior of the bridge. In detail it is used a system of geophones, that are able to detect the displacement of structures by integrating in time their response. They can provide continuous health monitoring of the bridge by transmitting the data to a remote server.

Step-frequency continuous-wave (SFCW) modulation can have a role in the detection of small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) at short range (less than 1&ndash, 2 km). In this paper, the theory of SFCW range detection is reviewed, and a specific method for correcting the possible range shift due to the Doppler effect is devised. The proposed method was tested in a controlled experimental set-up, where a free-falling target (i.e., a corner reflector) was correctly detected by an SFCW radar. This method was finally applied in field for short-range detection of a small UAV.

Summary This paper presents the results of a Ground Penetrating Radar survey on a historical building taking part of the “Bellariva” sport Centre, designed and built in Florence (Italy) in 1957-1960 years by the Word-famous Italian engineer Pier Luigi Nervi. The building under survey hosts the locker rooms of the swimming pool and a bar at the first floor, a restaurant at the second where an evident crack was observed. A Ground Penetrating Radar survey was performed in order to determinate the internal structure of the floor, dimensions and disposition of steel bars, and to gather information about the connections between perimeter beams and balcony at the level of the restaurant. The survey confirmed what were reported on the original drawings of the building. The results of the survey will be used for defining a numerical model and to design possible retrofit interventions.

Compressive sensing (CS) is a recent technique that promises to dramatically speed up the radar acquisition. Previous works have already tested CS for ground-based synthetic aperture radar (GBSAR) performing preliminary simulations or carrying out measurements in controlled environments. The aim of this article is a systematic study on the effective applicability of CS for GBSAR with data acquired in real scenarios: an urban environment (a seven-storey building), an open-pit mine, and a natural slope (a glacier in the Italian Alps). The authors tested the most popular sets of orthogonal functions (the so-called ‘basis’) and three different recovery methods (l1-minimization, l2-minimization, orthogonal pursuit matching). They found that Haar wavelets as orthogonal basis is a reasonable choice in most scenarios. Furthermore, they found that, for any tested basis and recovery method, the quality of images is very poor with less than 30% of data. They also found that the peak signal–noise ratio (PSNR) of the recovered images increases linearly of 2.4 dB for each 10% increase of data.

A small TEM horn antenna for ground penetrating radar (GPR) applications is proposed in this paper. TEM horn antennas are appropriate for GPR applications due to their wide bandwidth, high gain, and good efficiency. The operative band of a GPR antenna is a trade-off between the penetration depth and desirable resolution. At low frequency, radar has more penetration depth but the possible problem is the big size of antenna. So the aim of this study is to design a small size horn antenna with low cut-off frequency. The band is extended to the lower frequency with three major changes with respect to a standard horn: 1) using the TEM double-ridged waveguide with a cylindrically shaped cavity as transition section; 2) putting absorbing material in the back plate of the antenna; 3) using a semi-circle of radius 5 mm set on the top of the flare end section. The proposed antenna has a small size of $(311 \ \mathbf{mm} \times 265 \ \mathbf{mm} \times 385 \ \mathbf{mm})$ , and the simulated results demonstrated good impedance matching from 100 MHz to 2.5 GHz under a return lass $(\mathbf{S}_{11} \leq-10\ \mathbf{dB})$ , and good radiation pattern. The designed TEM horn antenna is modeled in free space and in contact with the ground. The capability of the antenna for detecting buried objects is confirmed with simulation.

The aim of this paper is a direct comparison between: 1) a double-ridged horn antenna; 2) the same doubleridged horn filled with sawdust; 3) a bow-tie antenna operating in (approximately) the same band (0.5 GHz 1.5 GHz). The three antennas have been simulated and experimentally tested. The best performances in terms of capability to detect a target behind a 40 cm wall have been obtained with the horn antenna filled with sawdust.

In this paper the authors propose a novel Ground-based Synthetic Aperture Radar (GBSAR) system able to acquire both monostatic and bistatic images. Monostatic images are acquired in a few minutes but they provide only 2D information about the targets in its field of view. Bistatic images require several hours, but they give 3D information. This 3D imaging capability can be of interest when the radar equipment is used to image complex scenarios, where the altitude (z-axis) is not an unambiguous function of the (x,y) position. The letter reports the working principle and an experimental test of the equipment.

In this paper a no-contact ground penetrating radar for investigating painted walls is presented. It operates at 10 GHz central frequency with 4 GHz bandwidth. Its mechanical positioner is able to scan a surface 1.4 m wide and 1.9 m high. This equipment has been specifically designed for investigating the painted walls of the Tutankhamon tomb in the Kings' valley in Egypt. The aim of this radar survey is to gather information about the shallow layers (the plaster and the existence of possible plaster voids affecting the future stability of paintings) up to 0.5 m depth.

PROBA3 is the first high precision formation flying (FF) mission under responsibility of the European Space Agency (ESA). It is a technology mission devoted to in-orbit demonstration of the FF techniques, with two satellites kept at an average inter-satellite distance of 144m. The guiding scientific rationale is to realize a diluted coronagraph with the telescope (ASPIICS) on one satellite and the external occulter on the other satellite to observe the inner Solar corona at high spatial and temporal resolution, down to 1.08R⊙. The two spacecraft will be orbiting in a high eccentricity geocentric trajectory with perigee at 600km and the apogee at 60000Km and with an orbital period of 19hrs. The FF acquisition and operations will last about 6 hrs around the apogee and different metrology systems will be used for realizing and controlling the FF. The alignment active most critical sub-system is the Shadow Positioning Sensors (SPS), a series of Si-PM (Silicon Photomultiplier) disposed around the ASPIICS telescope's entrance aperture and measuring the proper positioning of the penumbra generated by the occulter at the center of the coronagraph’s optical reference frame. The FF alignment measurement accuracies required to the SPS are: 500μm for lateral movements and 50mm for longitudinal movements. This paper gives an overview of the opto-mechanical and electronic design and of the software algorithm for the FF intersatellite positioning. The expected performance of the SPS metrology system are reported.

The aim of this study is to assess the feasibility of aspiration mechanical thrombectomy in patients with massive and submassive pulmonary embolism (PE) and contraindications to thrombolysis. Eighteen patients presenting massive (8/18) or submassive (10/18) PE were prospectively enrolled between October 2016 and November 2017. All the patients enrolled had contraindications to thrombolysis (haemorrhagic stroke n = 1, ischaemic stroke in the preceding 6 months n = 7, central nervous system damage or neoplasms n = 1, recent major trauma/surgery/head injury in the preceding 3 weeks n = 5, gastrointestinal bleeding within the last month n = 4). Eight patients out of 18 (44.44%) were women and 10 (55.55%) were men, with an average age of 74.76 years (range 51–87 years). All the patients were stratified according to the PE severity index (PESI) and the simplified PESI score. Technical and procedural success was achieved in 18 patients (100%), as per the Society of Interventional Radiology reporting standards definition, while clinical success was achieved in 14 out of 18 patients (78%), with a significant improvement in the pre- and post-procedural right ventricular/left ventricular (RV/LV) ratio, pulmonary oxygen saturation (SpO2), heart rate, pulmonary artery systolic pressure and the Miller score with a consistent p value of

GB-InSARs (Ground-Based Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar) have been demonstrated able to detect changes and even the target elevation when they are provided with a mechanical system for rising the radar head. In this paper a novel acquisition mode is proposed that uses a GB-InSAR with a transponder for obtaining the target elevation, without the need to move the radar head.

Since the number of flying small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) is expected to increase dramatically in the next years, their radar detection has become a priority. In this paper Continuous Wave Step Frequency (CWSF) is evaluated as possible modulation for radar sensors aimed to detect small quadcopters at short range.

ArcSAR is a Synthetic Aperture Radar which recently has been receiving increasing interest in scientific literature. It operates exploiting the spatial diversity of the data acquired by an antenna fixed to a rotating arm. Its great advantage is its capability to synthesise images at 360° with constant resolution in azimuth. The ArcSAR, in addition to operate as interferometric differential radar, can detect the elevation of the targets, i.e. it is potentially able to generate digital elevation models of the surrounding field of view.

In this paper Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) technique has been applied for obtaining 2D and 3D radar images of a small quadcopter. The aim is to prove the capability of radar technology for 3D imaging small drone targets.

Interferometric radar is popular equipment able to perform remote dynamic testing of large structures (towers, bridges, and buildings) by detecting the displacement in time in the line of s...

Measurement of molten glass level in glass furnaces is a key issue for the control of the production process. Nowadays several different technologies shall be used for this purpose, with their advantages and drawbacks. In this paper a novel level sensor is proposed, it is based on radar interferometry technique, and it is designed to provide high accuracy measurements, high reliability and a very low maintenance.

The paper presents a synergic and multidisciplinary approach where laser scanner survey, radar interferometric monitoring and finite element (FE) numerical modelling are used for expeditious and no-contact dynamic identification of monumental masonry towers. The methodology is applied to a real case of great historical interest: the “Torre del Mangia” (Mangia's tower) in Siena (Italy). The tower geometry was acquired through Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) techniques. The tower oscillations were detected using an interferometric radar in “Piazza del Campo”, the square facing the Mangia's Tower, along three alignments, and movement of the structure at several heights were recorded. A FE model, built on the basis of the geometry acquired through the TLS, was used to interpret and verify the physical meaning of the experimental results. Through the discussion of the case study, the paper shows that the proposed approach can be considered as an effective and expeditious method for assessing the dynamic behavior of monumental buildings (and to plan interventions) on territorial scale.

Terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) and interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) allow the acquisition of data on an observed surface with high spatial sampling rate. The data provided by TLS observation of a landslide ground surface can be used to generate a very detailed digital model of this surface, and multitemporal observations with TLS or continuous or multitemporal observation with InSAR can provide a reliable displacement map. In order to acquire useful information about the analogies, differences, and capabilities, as well as limitations of these techniques, a joint experimentation of TLS and InSAR was performed over two years in various sites in the Italian Alps. The results have indicated that these techniques can provide high-quality data, can be very useful in the monitoring intended for the mitigation of hydrogeological risk in a wide range of cases, and must be supported by a topographical georeferenced network.

Ground-based/terrestrial radar interferometry (GBRI) is a scientific topic of increasing interest in recent years. This article is a bibliographic review, as much complete as possible, of the scientific papers/articles published in the last 20 years, since the pioneering works in the nineties. Some statistics are reported here about the number of publications in the years, popularity of applications, operative modalities, operative bands. The aim of this review is also to identify directions and perspectives. In the opinion of authors, this type of radar systems will move forward faster modulations, wider view angle, MIMO (Multiple Input Multiple Output) systems and radar with capability to detect the vector of displacement and not only a single component.

Interferometric radars are sensors able to remotely detect the dynamic displacements of large structures such as bridges and towers, but they have to be positioned on stable ground. There are several applications for which this limitation is critical, so in this paper the authors propose and evaluate in field a possible solution for overcoming this requirement. The basic premise is to install an accelerometer inside the radar head to detect its own movement. This device with suitable data process chain, in the best conditions, is able to mitigate the effects of movements of the radar head above 30 dB. Lower values have been obtained in operative conditions.

Interferometric radar is a rather popular equipment able to remotely perform dynamic testing of large structures (towers, bridges, buildings …) by detecting the relative displacement in the line of sight between the radar and geometric discontinuities in the engineering structure under test. This technique has been demonstrated effective when the radar is positioned at ground on a stable position. Unfortunately there are practical cases for which a suitable stable position is not available. This is the case of the towers of San Gimignano (Italy) that are embedded in the narrow streets of the old town. A solution to monitor the towers is to install the radar on the top of a tower, which is located in a central position of the town. The tower is not a stable arrangement for the radar and in this paper the authors propose and test the use of an accelerometer fixed to the radar head for detecting and removing its own movement.

Establishing marine protected areas (MPAs) is a key conservation strategy to safeguard marine biodiversity from anthropogenic pressures. Designing MPAs is, however, not a simple task due to the complexity and fluidity of marine social-ecological environments. How best can we plan MPAs in such environments with no well-defined social and natural boundaries and in a way that is procedurally just? This article attempts to consider these issues, focusing on the ongoing UK legal efforts in establishing an ecologically coherent network of MPAs under section 123 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. The network is to be made up of European marine sites, Ramsar sites, the marine component of Sites of Special Scientific Interest and marine conservation zones (MCZs), a new type of MPA established under section 116 of the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009. The designation criteria of MCZs are considered in detail and compared with those of other marine protected sites to understand what MCZs are adding to existing MPAs designated under European and international law. The article also grounds the legal discussion by critically considering the ongoing implementation of the MCZs' designation.

Most of Ground Penetrating Radars (GPR) are pulsed system, nevertheless there are a number of applications for which Continuous Wave Step Frequency (CWSF) radar can be advantageous. Generally speaking, CWSF systems are more complex then pulse radar, but they can manage larger bandwidth, have larger time efficiency and better control of the band. Furthermore, power, integration time and step of each single frequency can be controlled. In this paper the authors, that work in the CWSF field since several years, are aimed to give some guidelines and a practical example of CWSF designing.

This article is concerned with rights and property paradigms within the context of conservation law in England and Wales. Property is a relational concept. However the ways in which its relationality unfolds are multiple, as are its impacts on the conservation of nature. This article argues that property's relationality can be interpreted by reference to two distinct paradigmatic views: the first emphasizing its socio-legal relationality, the second focussing on property's ecological relationality. The first paradigm finds its justification in modern property law theory and culminates with a conceptualization of property as stewardship. The second paradigm, anchored in phenomenological thought, places the accent upon practices, movement and dwelling; it emphasizes the ecologically embedded nature of property by defining property as the contingent product of humans and non-human animals’ interactions with the land. It is argued here that UK conservation law operates with an understanding of property stemming uniquely from the first paradigm, yet the context it seeks to regulate is also permeated by the manifestation of ecologically embedded property. What counts as property is therefore contestable, and certain answers are marginalized by current conservation law. This article shows that the marginalization of ecologically embedded property rights is problematic from an environmental perspective. Using the example of upland common land in England and Wales, it is demonstrated that without acknowledgment of the presence of the two meanings of property, conservation law is unlikely to achieve full environmental effectiveness. Some reflections are also offered in relation to the implications of property pluralism for the discourse on the right to property as a human right. It is concluded that reconciliation between the two property paradigms can be achieved by accentuating the reflexive elements in conservation law.

Common land in England presents us with a complex proprietary system: although privately owned, third parties have common land use rights over it, which differ greatly in kind because of varied customary traditions. The paper will begin by tracing the modern history of the property rights on the commons, focusing on the eradication of customary proprietary traditions by modern legislation (Commons Registration Act 1965). The analysis of the evolution of property rights will be linked with that of environmental governance mechanisms and designations to which many commons are subject today and with the quest for sustainable management of common land. Using the analytical framework of legal pluralism, the paper will investigate the power relations between three principal legal orderings applicable to common land governance: environmental management, current property law, and soft and customary law. This analysis will be grounded in the lands of three case studies. Looking at the interrelations of the three legal spheres, it will be possible to provide an analysis of the interplay between property rights and environmental protection as well as offering practical solutions for their reconciliation through the formation of self-regulatory statutory Commons Councils, corporate bodies envisaged by Part II of the Commons Act 2006.

The Leaning Tower of Pisa, one of the world-famous architectural marvels of Italian heritage, needs continuous surveying to assess its stability. In this letter, remote-sensing equipment recently developed by the authors, based on the principle of microwave radar interferometry, has been experimented to measure the frequency response of the Tower without requiring any contact with its structure. Wind and human traffic were used as natural excitation sources, allowing the natural frequencies of the first vibration mode of the Tower to be measured in the north-south and in the west-east directions. Modal shapes of the Tower vibrations were also obtained from data acquired by the radar.

Interferometric radar has been recently proposed as a measurement instrument for static and dynamic testing of large structures, such as bridges, towers, dams. At the state of the art, the equipment has been demonstrated able to follow the displacements of a bridge provided that vertical bending movements are predominant with respect to torsional ones. In this paper, the authors propose and experimentally test an advancement of the interferometric technique able to overcome the previous assumption and to retrieve the effective displacement of each single section of a bridge in case of both vertical bending and torsional movements.

Radar interferometry, capable of remote detection of displacements and deformations of a structure, has been successfully experimented in a number of case studies. Radar interferometry offers high-speed range imaging and range displacement measurement capability, but it lacks in the identification of the different kinds of modes usually excited in a dynamic test. In this paper an approach to the measurement capable of identifying bending and torsional oscillation modes is described. The basic idea rely on the application of suitable loads to the structure under test in order to cause controlled changes of its frequency response. The results of such a dynamic test, performed on a canopy, are reported.

PRISMA (PRecursore IperSpettrale della Missione Applicativa) hyperspectral instrument is an advanced hyperspectral sensor including a panchromatic camera at medium resolution. The instrument is the focus of the new Earth observation mission that a consortium of Italian companies has started developing under contract of Italian Space Agency. Key features of the instrument are the very high requirement for signal-to-noise and the high quality of data that have to be provided. To meet these demanding figures the optical system has been based on a high transmittance optical system, including a single mirror telescope and two prism spectrometers based on an innovative concept to minimize number of optical elements, while high performance detectors have been chosen for the photon detection. To provide the required data quality for the entire mission lifetime an accurate calibration unit (radiometric and spectral) will be included in the instrument optomechanical assembly. The thermo-mechanical design of the instrument is based on innovative concepts, considering that the use of prism spectrometers implies a tight control of temperature variations to guarantee the stability of all instrument features once in orbit. The presented paper describes the concepts and design principle of the optomechanical assembly of the instrument, at the present status of development.