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The MIMA muon tracker, developed by the INFN Unit of Florence and the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Florence, has been designed to test the application of muon radiography (or muography) to multidisciplinary case studies, to demonstrate its validity as an imaging tool in different fields and to develop dedicated data analysis strategies. The MIMA detector is a scaled-down version of the muon trackers developed for the "Mu-Ray" INFN R&D project and the MURAVES (MUon RAdiography of VESuvius) "Progetto Premiale", financed by the Italian government. Thanks to its compactness, MIMA allowed the use of slightly different technical solutions with respect to the other detectors. Its construction was completed in the first half of 2017 and since then it has been used for several different measurements. In the second half of 2017 the detector was installed in the Bourbon Gallery inside Mount Echia, a hill in the center of Naples containing a complicated system of tunnels and cavities that have been dug over many centuries. The installation of the MIMA tracker was required to validate with an independent detector the results obtained in two previous measurements by the Mu-Ray tracker. After this measurement, the detector has been used in the Tuscany region, mainly for investigating two possible fields of application: geo-hydrological risk assessment and mining activity. The preliminary results of these tests and the future perspectives are shortly presented in this paper.

Muon absorption radiography is an imaging technique based on the measurement of the absorption of cosmic ray muons. This technique has recently been used successfully to investigate the presence of unknown cavities in the Bourbon Gallery in Naples and in the Chephren Pyramid at Cairo. The MIMA detector (Muon Imaging for Mining and Archaeology) is a prototype muon tracker for muon radiography for application in the fields of archaelogy and mining. It is made of three pairs of X-Y planes each consisting of 21 scintillator bars with a silicon photomultiplier readout. The detector is compact, robust, easily transportable, and has a low power consumption: all of which makes the detector ideal for measurements in confined and isolated environments. With this detector, a measurement from inside the Temperino mine in the San Silvestro archaeo-mining park in Tuscany was performed. The park includes about 25 km of mining tunnels arranged on several levels that have been exploited from the Etruscan time. The measured muon absorption was compared to the simulated one, obtained from the information provided by 3D laser scanner measurements and cartographic maps of the mountain above the mine, in order to obtain information about the average density of the rock. This allowed one to confirm the presence of a partially accessible exploitation opening and provided some hints regarding the presence of a high-density body within the rock.

Il presente lavoro è il risultato di analisi statistiche condotte su alcuni parametri archiviati nella banca dati nazionale della microzonazione sismica (di seguito DB-MS, disponibile per la consultazione su www.webms.it, realizzato da CNR IGAG per il Dipartimento della Protezione Civile nazionale), derivanti dalle indagini raccolte negli studi di microzonazione sismica (MS) realizzati in tutto il territorio nazionale, successivamente abbinate a un primo tentativo di omogeneizzazione della cartografia geologico-tecnica a scala nazionale. Il lavoro è finalizzato alla realizzazione di prodotti cartografici di riferimento per studi sulla pericolosità e sul rischio sismico.

A novel algorithm developed within muon radiography to localize objects or cavities hidden inside large material volumes was recently proposed by some of the authors (Bonechi et al. 2015 J. Instrum. 10, P02003 (doi:10.1088/1748-0221/10/02/P02003)). The algorithm, based on muon back projection, helps to estimate the three-dimensional position and the transverse extension of detected objects without the need for measurements from different points of view, which would be required to make a triangulation. This algorithm can now be tested owing to the availability of real data collected both in laboratory tests and from real-world measurements. The methodology and some test results are presented in this paper. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Cosmic-ray muography'.

Nell'ambito del progetto PON GOVERNANCE 2014-2020 per la riduzione del rischio sismico, vulcanico e idrogeologico ai fini di protezione civile, viene proposta una metodologia semplificata, metodo FabFal, per la valutazione della suscettibilità sismica di frane da crollo in roccia su scala territoriale. L'analisi di suscettibilità e la valutazione della probabilità di crollo sismoindotto vengono messe in relazione alla probabilità che infrastrutture stradali e/o ferroviarie potenzialmente esposte al rischio da crollo possano perdere la loro funzionalità. La procedura è stata implementata in ambiente GIS e applicata su un'area test, il tratto stradale di collegamento tra i Comuni di Visso, Ussita e Castelsantangelo sul Nera, che a seguito del terremoto del 26 ottobre 2016 è stato interessato da numerose frane in roccia.

A novel algorithm developed within muon radiography to localize objects or cavities hidden inside large material volumes was recently proposed by some of the authors (Bonechi et al. 2015 J. Instrum. 10 , P02003 ( doi:10.1088/1748-0221/10/02/P02003 )). The algorithm, based on muon back projection, helps to estimate the three-dimensional position and the transverse extension of detected objects without the need for measurements from different points of view, which would be required to make a triangulation. This algorithm can now be tested owing to the availability of real data collected both in laboratory tests and from real-world measurements. The methodology and some test results are presented in this paper. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue ‘Cosmic-ray muography’.

International audience; Study of the tectonically active L'Aquila Basin offers new insights into both the creation of the extensional intermontane basins of the central Apennines of Italy and their tectono-sedimentary evolution through time. The combination of large mammal remains, ostracods, molluscs, Mousterian tools, and 14 C dating allows better definition of the onset and stratigraphic evolution of the L'Aquila Basin. Interpretation of a seismic reflection profile and well-log data allow evaluation of the subsurface setting of this sedimentary basin and its tectono-sedimentary evolution. The occurrence of a wedge-shaped seismic unit at the base of the basin sedimentary succession defines the first phase of basin fill during a late Piacenzian–Gelasian synrift stage. Activity along the main fault of the extensional fault system responsible for the onset and subsequent development of the western sector of the L'Aquila Basin (L'Aquila– Scoppito subbasin) migrated from southwest to northeast, reaching the presently active Mount Pettino normal fault only in the late Pleistocene–Holocene. The onset of sedimentation in the L'Aquila Basin was synchronous with the onset in the Tiberino Basin, and so the idea that these extensional GSA Bulletin; Month/Month 2017; v. 129; no. intermontane basins become progressively younger from the Tyrrhenian toward the Adriatic side of the central Apennines is rejected. In the northern and central Apen-nines, only two major syndepositional ex-tensional domains can be recognized: a late Miocene rifting area, which includes all the late Miocene extensional basins in Tuscany, and a late Pliocene to earliest Pleistocene rifting area, which possibly includes all the intermontane basins from the Tiberino Basin to the Sulmona Basin. The different time gaps between compressional and exten-sional deformation at any given locality in the central Apennines could indicate a partial decoupling of processes responsible for the migration of shortening and extension toward the foreland. Diachroneity between the eastward migration of shortening in the foreland and extension in the inner part of the orogen supports the notion that the central Apennines were created as a result of a partially decoupled collision zone. Study of the onset of the central Apennine extensional intermontane basins, together with their seismic activity, indicates that the central Apennine postorogenic extensional domain represents an archive of ~3 m.y. of continued crustal extension. These findings help to refine models of the long-term extensional rate of the central Apennines, and they provide a basis for more reliable seismotectonic models for one of the most seismically active sectors of the central Mediterranean area.

Trabajo presentado en el 10th International Workshop on Grapevine Trunk Diseases, celebrado en Reims (Francia), del 4 al 7 de julio de 2017

Foliar symptoms of grapevine leaf stripe disease (GLSD, a disease within the esca complex) are linked to drastic alteration of photosynthetic function and activation of defense responses in affected grapevines several days before the appearance of the first visible symptoms on leaves. The present study suggests a methodology to investigate the relationships between high-resolution multispectral images (0.05 m/pixel) acquired using an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), and GLSD foliar symptoms monitored by ground surveys. This approach showed high correlation between Normalized Differential Vegetation Index (NDVI) acquired by the UAV and GLSD symptoms, and discrimination between symptomatic from asymptomatic plants. High-resolution multispectral images were acquired during June and July of 2012 and 2013, in an experimental vineyard heavily affected by GLSD, located in Tuscany (Italy), where vines had been surveyed and mapped since 2003. Each vine was located with a global positioning system, and classified for appearance of foliar symptoms and disease severity at weekly intervals from the beginning of each season. Remote sensing and ground observation data were analyzed to promptly identify the early stages of disease, even before visual detection. This work suggests an innovative methodology for quantitative and qualitative analysis of spatial distribution of symptomatic plants. The system may also be used for exploring the physiological bases of GLSD, and predicting the onset of this disease.

This paper focuses on the chemical and isotopic features of dissolved gases (CH4 and CO2) from four meromictic lakes hosted in volcanic systems of Central-Southern Italy: Lake Albano (Alban Hills), Lake Averno Phlegrean Fields), and Monticchio Grande and Piccolo lakes (Mt. Vulture). Deep waters in these lakes are characterized by the presence of a significant reservoir of extra-atmospheric dissolved gases mainly consisting of CH4 and CO2. The delta C-13-CH4 and dD-CH4 values of dissolved gas samples from the maximum depths of the investigated lakes (from -66.8 to -55.6% V-PDB and from -279 to -195% V-SMOW, respectively) suggest that CH4 is mainly produced by microbial activity. The delta C-13-CO2 values of Lake Grande, Lake Piccolo, and Lake Albano (ranging from -5.8 to -0.4% V-PDB) indicate a significant CO2 contribution from sublacustrine vents originating from (1) mantle degassing and (2) thermometamorphic reactions involving limestone, i.e., the same CO2 source feeding the regional thermal and cold CO2-rich fluid emissions. In contrast, the relatively low delta C-13-CO2 values (from -13.4 to -8.2% V-PDB) of Lake Averno indicate a prevalent organic CO2. Chemical and isotopic compositions of dissolved CO2 and CH4 at different depths are mainly depending on (1) CO2 inputs from external sources (hydrothermal and/or anthropogenic); (2) CO2-CH4 isotopic exchange; and (3) methanogenic and methanotrophic activity. In the epilimnion, vertical water mixing, free oxygen availability, and photosynthesis cause the dramatic decrease of both CO2 and CH4 concentrations. In the hypolimnion, where the delta C-13-CO2 values progressively increase with depth and the delta C-13-CH4 values show an opposite trend, biogenic CO2 production from CH4 using different electron donor species, such as sulfate, tend to counteract the methanogenesis process whose efficiency achieves its climax at the water-bottom sediment interface. Theoretical values, calculated on the basis of delta C-13-CO2 values, and measured delta C-13(TDIC) values are not consistent, indicating that CO2 and the main carbon-bearing ion species (HCO3-) are not in isotopic equilibrium, likely due to the fast kinetics of biochemical processes involving both CO2 and CH4. This study demonstrates that the vertical patterns of the CO2/CH4 ratio and of delta C-13-CO2 and delta C-13-CH4 are to be regarded as promising tools to detect perturbations, related to different causes, such as changes in the CO2 input from sublacustrine springs, that may affect aerobic and anaerobic layers of meromictic volcanic lakes.

We have addressed the origins of methane in fumarolic, thermal and cold emissions discharging from a diversity of geological settings spread all over the Italian Peninsula and at Panarea and Pantelleria islands. Fluid discharges from the main geothermal systems of the peri-Tyrrhenian area (including Mt. Amiata, Larderello, Latera and Manziana) show ?13C-CH4 and ?D-CH4 values >-28? V-PDB and >-160? V-SMOW, respectively, and C1/C2 + concentration ratios > 1000. These patterns suggest that CH4 discharged from these systems is primarily generated by abiogenic reduction of CO2 and/or CO. Methane seems to have, at least partially, a different origin than the higher hydrocarbons that might be entirely related to the thermal decomposition of organic matter or, alternatively, to methane polymerization. Fumaroles from the volcanic systems of Solfatara, Vesuvio, Panarea and Pantelleria have C1/C2 + concentration ratios in a wide range (from 17 to 4300), but ?13C-CH4 and ?D-CH4 values >-21? V-PDB and >-120? V-SMOW, respectively. Such isotopic values are very similar to those reported for CH4 discharging from ultramafic hydrothermal systems. In agreement with recent evidence provided for Solfatara and Pantelleria we, therefore, infer that the CH4 in the volcanic fumaroles is mainly abiogenic, too. The ?13C-CH4 (from - 21.6 to - 36.9? V-PDB) and ?D-CH4 (from - 113 to - 164? V-SMOW) values, as well as the C1/C2 + concentration ratios (from 19 to 2240), in the CO2-rich fluid discharges located between the geothermal-volcanic systems and the Apennine sedimentary chain tend to decrease eastwards as the temperatures of the fluid reservoirs progressively diminish, suggesting that the CH4 production is mainly related to thermogenic processes. According to this general trend, the CH4-dominated fluids from mud volcanoes located eastwards of the CO2-rich emissions are fed by an almost pure thermogenic source. The easternmost fluid discharges from the Po valley and the Adriatic coast, where organic matter evolves at relatively shallow depths in the presence of a low geothermal gradient, record the lowest ?13C-CH4 and ?D-CH4 values, i.e. as low as - 69? V-PDB and