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We present the first evaluation of the wind field from the ensemble of kilometer-scale simulations from the CORDEX-Flagship Pilot Study on convection, with focus on the Adriatic region. Kilometer-scale climate models, also known as convection-permitting models (CPMs), produce a good representation of small-scale topographic features and consequently a more detailed depiction of dynamical and thermal circulations. These enable a reliable view of climate characteristics of the wind field, especially in coastal regions and over complex terrain, such as the Adriatic region. We investigate the (potential) added value introduced by CPMs compared to classical "cumulus-parametrized" regional climate models (RCMs), reanalysis and station observations. For this purpose, wind components at 10 m level are used at 3-hourly frequency. All simulations cover a 10-year period, extending from 2000 to 2009. In terms of the standard statistical parameters such as correlation coefficient and temporal standard deviation, CPMs are very dependent on their parent RCM performance. However, the orographic forcing emphasizes the potential added value and CPMs contain some fine spatial scale variability (i.e., stronger extremes by 25% and more accurate wind direction) that is absent in coarser RCMs and reanalysis. The potential added value is higher in the cold season compared to the warm season due to the proportion of severe wind events. CPMs reproduce well the typical wind regimes along the Adriatic coast, namely Bora and Sirocco. The benefit of using CPMs is especially pronounced in simulating Bora maximum wind speeds in northern Adriatic and Sirocco frequencies in southern Adriatic. Based on our overall analysis, we conclude that CPMs provide added value compared to coarser models, especially in the complex coastal terrain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind generated surface waves were measured at V2 station (φ=43°29.3’ N; λ=16° 27.9’ E) in the Brački Kanal Channel area of the Middle Adriatic, in front of the port of Split. This was undertaken in the time interval from November 2007 to June 2008, by using Datawell MKIII waverider with all its compo-nents. For the analysis and description of extreme sea states maximum recorded wave height Hmax and sig-nificant wave height H1/3 were presented as well as associated wave spectra. The measurement results show that much larger waves appear in the open Adriatic compared to the Middle Adriatic channel area. Numerical modelling of wave generation in the Brački Kanal Channel area and wider island area of the Middle Adriatic Sea was performed by using Mike 21/SW numerical model. Wind field used for the forcing in numerical simulations relies on the results of the prognostic atmospheric model Aladin-CRO. For verification of model results, results of measurement at a waverider station V2 located in front of the port of Split were used. It was concluded that measured and modelled significant wave heights were very well matched.

Introduction: For patients with eosinophilic asthma with allergic characteristics, understanding the key drivers of exacerbations is important to identify optimal treatment strategies. Benralizumab is an interleukin-5 receptor alpha-directed cytolytic monoclonal antibody that significantly reduces exacerbation frequency for patients with severe, uncontrolled eosinophilic asthma. We evaluated the predictive value of baseline blood eosinophil counts vs. serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) concentrations on exacerbation risk and the association of these variables with benralizumab treatment effect.Methods: Analyses were performed with data pooled from the phase III SIROCCO and CALIMA benralizumab trials. Crude annual asthma exacerbation rates (AERs) were determined for placebo as a function of baseline blood eosinophil counts and serum IgE concentrations with prespecified blood eosinophil count categories (< 150, ≥ 150 to < 300, ≥ 300 to < 450, ≥ 450 cells/µL) and IgE concentration quartiles (< 62.0, ≥ 62.0 to < 176.2, ≥ 176.2 to < 453.4, and ≥ 453.4 kU/L). We compared AERs for patients receiving benralizumab 30 mg every 8 weeks (first three doses every 4 weeks) vs. placebo for overlapping baseline blood eosinophil count categories and serum IgE concentration quartiles via a regression approach and by continuously using locally weighted regression smoothing analysis.Results: Exacerbation risk for patients with severe asthma receiving placebo increased with increasing baseline blood eosinophil counts but not with increasing serum IgE concentrations. Addition of baseline atopy status did not influence the relationship between IgE concentrations and exacerbation risk for patients receiving placebo. Patients with blood eosinophil counts ≥ 300 cells/µL had consistent decreases in exacerbation risk with benralizumab relative to placebo across all serum IgE concentration quartiles.Conclusion: Baseline blood eosinophil counts, but not serum IgE concentrations, are an important predictor of exacerbation risk. Patients with severe eosinophilic asthma treated with benralizumab had consistent reductions in exacerbation risk, regardless of IgE concentrations.Clinical Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: SIROCCO, NCT01928771; CALIMA, NCT01914757. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The main goal of this study is to present a recently developed classification method for weather types based on the vorticity and the location of the synoptic centers relative to the Adriatic region. The basis of the present objective classification, applied to the Adriatic region, is the subjective classification developed by Poje. Our algorithm considered daily mean sea-level pressure and 500 hPa geopotential height to define one out of 17 possible weather types. We applied the algorithm to identify which weather type was relevant in the generation of the two typical near-surface winds over the Adriatic region, namely Bora and Sirocco. Two high-resolution (0.11°) EURO-CORDEX regional climate models were used, SMHI-RCA4 and DHMZ-RegCM4, forced by several CMIP5 global climate models and analyzed for two 30-year periods: near-present day and mid-21st century climate conditions under the high-end Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP8.5) scenario. Bora and Sirocco days were extracted for each weather type and a distribution over the 30-year period was presented. Our results suggest that in the winter season, climate model projections indicate a reduction in the main cyclonic types relevant in the formation of Bora over the entire Adriatic region and an increase in the number of anticyclonic types relevant in Sirocco events. In contrast, for the summer season, an increase in the main anticyclonic Bora-related weather types is found in the ensemble over the northern Adriatic region.

With hot and dry summers, the Mediterranean basin is affected by recurrent fires. While drought is the major driver of the seasonal and inter-annual fire distribution in its northern and mildest climate conditions, some extreme fire events are also linked to extreme winds or heat waves. The southern part of the Mediterranean basin is located at the driest range of the Mediterranean bioclimate and is influenced by Saharan atmospheric circulations, leading to extreme hot and dry episodes, called Sirocco, and potentially acting as a major contributor to fire hazard. The recently created fire database for Tunisia was used to investigate the ±10-day pre- and post-fire timeframe of daily weather conditions associated with fire events over the 1985–2006 period. Positive anomalies in minimum and maximum temperatures, negative anomalies in air relative humidity, and a preferential south-eastern wind during fire events were identified, which were characteristic of Sirocco winds. +7 °C anomalies in air temperature and −30% in relative air humidity were the critical thresholds for the most extreme fire conditions. In addition, meteorological anomalies started two days before fire events and lasted for three days after for large fires >400 ha, which suggests that the duration of the Sirocco event is linked with fire duration and final fire size. Lastly, the yearly number of intense Sirocco events better explained the inter-annual variability of burned area over the 1950–2006 period than summer drought based on Standardized Precipitation Evaporation Index (SPEI) indices.

ABSTRACT This study concerns the analysis of a 37-year long directional wave time series recorded since 1979 at the CNR-ISMAR oceanographic research tower, located in the Northern Adriatic Sea. The length of the time series allows to describe the wave climate in the North Adriatic and to identify trends and links with large-scale climate patterns. The northern part of the Adriatic Sea is characterized by two main wind and correspondingly wave regimes, strongly forced by the regional orography: the long-fetch south-easterly 'sirocco' and the short-fetch strong north-easterly 'bora' wind generated waves, blowing along the major and minor axis of the basin, respectively. Bora is the most frequent regime, but high waves are mostly associated to sirocco. A clear decrease of the significant wave height 99th percentile is evident, paralleled by a smaller, but distributed along the annual cycle, increase of the 50th and 75th ones. The estimated trend of the frequency of events above a certain threshold confirms an increase of the average storm frequency, with a shift from both the lower and the higher to the central part of the distribution, paralleled by a decrease of the maximum Hs values. In particular, a distributed decrease of the bora significant wave height is recognized. For sirocco the tendency is less pronounced, but with an evident increase of the frequency of the mean values. The high sensitivity of this particular area to even small variations of large-scale climate allows to explore possible links of the local wave, hence wind, activity with large-scale Northern Hemisphere circulation patterns or weather regimes. Our main interest is on the storm tracks and jet stream location/intensity over vast areas, which led us to choose four reference patterns: the North Atlantic Oscillation and the East Atlantic (EA), EA/Western Russia and Scandinavian patterns. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The eastern Mediterranean is is characterized by temperature contrasts between the east and west shores. In particular, comparative analysis of high temperatures between the Tunisian east coast and the Levantine one shows a higher exposure of the latter in terms of frequency and intensity. The regional atmospheric circulation and local factors, especially those of relief, justify these contrasts.

Aerosol particles in coastal areas result from a complex mixing between sea spray aerosols locally generated at the sea surface by the wind-waves interaction processes and a continental component resulting from natural and/or anthropogenic sources. This paper presents a physical and chemical analysis of the aerosol data acquired from May to September 2014 in the Adriatic Sea. Aerosol distributions were measured on the Acqua Alta platform located 15 km off the coast of Venice using two Particle Measuring System probes and a chemical characterization was made using an Ion Chromatography analysis (IC). Our aim is to study both the sea-spray contribution and the anthropogenic influence in the coastal aerosol of this Mediterranean region. To this end, we focus on a comparison between the present data and the aerosol size distributions measured south of the French Mediterranean coast. For air masses of marine origin transported by southern winds on the French coast and by the Sirocco in the Adriatic, we note a good agreement between the concentrations of super-micrometer aerosols measured in the two locations. This indicates a similar sea surface production of sea-spray aerosols formed by bubble bursting processes in the two locations. In contrast, the results show larger concentrations of submicron particles in the North-Western Mediterranean compared to the Adriatic, which result probably from a larger anthropogenic background for marine conditions. In contrast, for a coastal influence, the chemical analysis presented in the present paper seems to indicate a larger importance of the anthropogenic impact in the Northern Adriatic compared to the North-Western Mediterranean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Particle breakage during dry dispersion for particle sizing is of concern, yet little work has been carried out on its quantitative analysis. An integrated experimental and CFD modelling work has been carried out to study the breakage of a weak and friable powder in a Scirocco disperser at various nozzle pressures. Spray-dried burkeite powder is used as a model test material. The breakage of particles is analysed using Malvern Mastersizer 2000. The extent of breakage as a function of particle size and impact velocity is obtained by carrying out controlled breakage tests using the single particle impact test device available in our laboratory. The impact velocity of particles in the disperser at various pressures is evaluated by Eulerian–Lagrangian CFD simulation of the air flow in the unit. Particles of different sizes are found to accelerate to different velocities and break to different extents. Particle breakage is noticeable even at the lowest nozzle pressure. A remarkable unification of breakage data may be obtained when the relative change in the surface area for different particle sizes is expressed as a function of the dimensionless breakage propensity group, η , based on the impact velocity in the Scirocco, obtained from the CFD simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work focuses on a passive cooling architecture particularly popular from the Renaissance in Palermo area, as building sumptuous suburban villas became a real hobby for the Sicilian aristocracy. A Sirocco room is an artificial subterranean construction, built close to a water spring in order to reproduce the pleasant conditions of freshness that could be experienced in a natural cavern. In these places, nobles used to spend their time with friends to escape from the hot summer. The room of Villa Naselli-Ambleri is nowadays the best preserved in Palermo thanks to its owners’ conservation care and it is unique for its cooling operating principle. The above-mentioned considerations make this structure worth of deeper analysis regarding its architectural configuration along with some climatic studies. Following a well-established procedure intended for an intimate knowledge of historical architecture, the construction has been investigated from various points of view. A preliminary analysis of ancient documents (manuscripts, notary deeds, pictures) was performed to outline the historical evolution, the materials and constructive techniques used and the possible modifications it had undergone. Then, an architectural survey was performed in order to evaluate the geometrical/dimensional features. The collected data were compared with the historical quotes previously acquired. Furthermore, some thermo-hygrometric measurements were performed with the purpose of studying the unique cooling operating principle that is caused by the room peculiar architectural configuration and by the interaction water-air-limestone, recalling the antique Persian systems of passive cooling. Such a scheme was partially modified during the beginning of last century reducing de facto the cooling effect; a potential restoration project, as hoped by the owners, the Counts Naselli Dukes of Gela of the Princes of Aragona, will deal – as a central theme – with the reconfiguration and re-functionalization of the structure. The knowledge of such a construction and operating principles is also particularly important to re-discover the forgotten “places of delight” that are a fundamental element in Palermo history and culture, a central part of its population identity. Furthermore, preservation and reuse of surviving rooms represent a useful way to understand a simple passive cooling system whose principles could be reproduced in a contemporary way in modern buildings intended for a valid and functional energetic control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, the flow inside an air purifier was visualized using computational fluid dynamics (CFD), and the noise caused by airflow was predicted using computational aero-acoustics (CAA). With the obtained results, the causes of blade passage frequency (BPF) noise and turbulent flow noise that dominate the operating noise of the air purifier were investigated. The relationship between design parameters and BPF noise was subsequently derived by the kriging metamodel, and the optimum fan blade dimensions that minimize operating noise were acquired by an evolutionary algorithm (EA). The relationship between BPF noise and design parameters mentioned was intended to be used as a design guide during the early stage of fan blade design. In addition, in this study was designed to be able to estimate the origin of noise intuitively by visualizing internal flow. Lastly, the low-noise performance of the air purifier was verified through analytical and experimental methods, including the fabrication and testing of a physical mockup. Compared to the initial model, the fan blade operating noise decreased by 4.5 dB(A) in the main range. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aerosols samples were collected from Boukornine, Northern Tunisia in order to examine the temporal evolution of the principal constituents of the Tunisian aerosols under Sirocco wind circulations. High constituent concentrations registered during the period of Sirocco showed the contribution of the Sahara in terms of loading aerosols with particulate matters. The mass size distribution of the principal constituents of the aerosols under Sirocco wind circulations was obtained from measurements carried out with an inertial cascade impactor. These distributions of the aerosol showed a bimodal structure for the majority of the elements except sulfur and sodium. The mass size distribution has a significant fraction of their mass concentration in the fine particle size range. This may be explained by the effect of wind wakes and probably selective disintegration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] A presentation of the wave coupling theories and of the vertical Stokes drift. [•] A detailed presentation of the coupling library PGMCL. [•] Discussion of pitfalls and numerical problems of wave-current coupling. [•] Construction of a finite element mesh from a finite difference mesh. [•] Discussion of the effect of coupling on waves in case of bora and sirocco events. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Sea-level surges caused by sirocco wind are frequent in the northern Adriatic. Added to the local spring-tide amplitude of about 40 cm, they should not be disregarded when estimating the elevation of maritime archaeological structures in relation to their function at the time of their construction. Based on the statistical analysis of the frequency and distribution of hourly sea-level surges at Trieste, Rovinj, and Venice, realistic estimates of functional heights for sea-level reconstructions to be applied to archaeological remains of coastal structures, e.g., fish tanks, appear to be approximately 120-130 cm near Trieste and around 95-105 cm in the Rovinj area. These exceed the value of 60 cm recently proposed by a group of archaeologists. Such underestimation tends to lower by about half a meter (in relation to certain previous estimates) sea-level position in Roman times along the coast of Istria. The sea level during this period should be derived from more accurate sea-level indicators such as marine biological remains preserved on archaeological structures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A simple, rapid, high-throughput, and highly sensitive LC- MS/ MS was developed to determine anisodamine in a small volume (50 μL) of beagle dog plasma using atropine sulfate as the internal standard. The analyte and internal standard were isolated from 50 μL plasma samples after a one-step protein precipitation using Sirocco 96-well protein precipitation filtration plates. The separation was accomplished on a Hanbon Hedera CN column (100 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm) and the run time was 4 min. A Micromass Quatro Ultima mass spectrometer equipped with an ESI source was operated in the multiple reaction monitoring mode with the precursor-to-product ion transitions m/ z 306.0→140.0 (anisodamine) and 290.0→123.9 (atropine) used for quantitation. The method was sensitive with a low LOQ of 0.05 ng/mL, and good linearity in the range 0.05-50 ng/mL for anisodamine ( r2 ≥ 0.995). All the validation data, such as accuracy, intra- and interrun precision, were within the required limits. The method was successfully applied to the pharmacokinetic study of anisodamine hydrochloride injection in beagle dogs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This work is dedicated to the aerothermodynamic characterization, both in flight and at wind-tunnel conditions, of the ultrahigh temperature ceramic winglet that will embark on the European Experimental Reentry Testbed of the European Space Agency. The experimental test has been executed in the Centro Italiano Ricerche Aerospaziali SCIROCCO plasma wind tunnel on a winglet qualification model. The aim of the test was to reproduce the total thermal load, which the winglet will be subjected to during the reentry trajectory, allowing preflight qualification and verification of materials and sensing equipment. Detailed three-dimensional computations in plasma-wind-tunnel conditions have allowed the verification of the test requirements and provided information about the physical phenomena that can cause dangerous local overpressures and overheatings on the capsule thermal protection system. The actual test condition has been rebuilt after the test by means of three-dimensiomil sinmlafions; particular attention has been paid in modeling surface catalysis and emissivity. Finally, the aerothermodynamic code has been coupled with a thermal code to account for material thermal conduction. Numerical results have been compared in terms of pressure and temperature with experimental measurements showing good agreement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A feasibility study of ExoMars parachute supersonic experiment to be possibly performed in the Centro Italiano Ricerche Aerospaziali Plasma Wind-Tunnel Scirocco facility has been analyzed. To verify the test feasibility, some test conditions in terms of facility reservoir conditions have been simulated by means of computational fluid dynamics computations of a modified nozzle, and verified with respect to testing requirements mainly in terms of test article size, Mach number, and dynamic pressure. The proper functioning of the wind tunnel has also been checked. In particular, the facility makes available a 80-MW power vacuum system that guarantees inside the test chamber the low-pressure conditions of the Mars atmosphere into which the parachute is foreseen to be opened. The possibility to introduce an air heater and/or burner would assure also the matching of temperature requirement, and reduce the request of mass flow rate. Computational fluid dynamics simulations of the complete facility configuration (nozzle, test chamber, diffuser) with the test article inside have verified the right functioning of the diffuser (occurrence of tunnel blockage) and the effects of the interaction between the bow shock wave in front of the capsule and the flow exiting from the nozzle, and the pressure that establishes inside the test chamber. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Two simulations of the response of Adriatic Sea to severe wind performed by an atmosphere-ocean coupled model and the comparisons with observed data and modelled fields published in literature are presented. The model RAMS-DieCAST was applied to simulate the variations of sea currents and temperature profiles, from surface to bottom, induced by two episodes of intense wind over the Adriatic sea: a Bora wind event that occurred in January 1995 and a Sirocco wind event in November 2002. The results of the simulations are compared with observed data at the sea surface. In the Bora episode, the computed surface temperatures are compared with satellite SSTs and in situ observed temperatures; in the Sirocco event the simulated surface currents and temperatures are compared with experimental data collected by surface drifters released in different regions of the Adriatic Sea during the same Sirocco event. In both episodes the simulated temperature trends agree with the observed values and during the Sirocco episode the current fields are in quite good agreement with the drifter data. The modelled sea temperature and velocity fields show also a good concordance with other simulation results in literature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of this research was to simulate and analyze the response of the Western Adriatic Current (WAC) to an abnormal event that occurred in the Adriatic Sea in mid-summer of 2003. At this time, a combination of extremely low discharge from the Po River and from other northwestern rivers caused by the prolonged dry season and the dominant Sirocco wind produced an 'unusual' upwelling and caused the WAC to reverse along the northern and central Italian coasts. The simulations employed a high-resolution, low dissipative version of the DieCAST circulation model that was initialized with monthly averaged temperature and salinity data and spun up with a use of climatological wind data. Numerical experiments were performed with the use of COAMPS wind stress and heat flux data. The model runs performed under Sirocco wind forcing in combination with low river discharge (a quarter of the climatic mean) revealed that such these conditions do trigger upwelling and the reversal of the WAC along the Italian coast. The upwelling relaxation caused by changes in the wind direction was also studied. Qualitative simulation results were in agreement with the observations by Poulain et al. (2004). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Wind data measured at three off-shore stations in the northern part of the Adriatic Sea were considered: the Coastal oceanographic station Piran buoy (COSP), the PALOMA tower (the Gulf of Trieste) and the A. ALTA platform (Venice). Annual wind roses for all stations and additional seasonal wind roses for COSP are presented. The Weibull distribution function was applied to wind speed frequency distribution for winds from all directions and separately for bora and sirocco winds. Wind speed frequency distributions for bora winds measured at COSP and PALOMA are bimodal. One peak of this distribution of speeds belongs to nocturnal land breezes and another to bora winds. The peak separation method based on the difference in potential temperature of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) between two land stations (Udine and Zagreb) enabled the successful separation of the peaks of bora and land breeze winds. The frequency distribution of the wind speeds changed to the usual unimodal distribution when only those episodes were considered in which the potential temperature of ABL above Udine is higher than that above Zagreb. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examines spatial and time evolutions of the principal constituents of the Tunisian background aerosols under Sirocco wind circulations. Aerosols coming from the Sahara Desert were found to be loaded with particulate matter, especially silicon. The aerosols were shown to have varying geochemical behaviour along the “South-North” displacement of the Saharan plumes, depending on the wind flow characteristics, geomorphologic features and the nature of soils swept by the wind. In the south and the center part of the country, the transfer of aerosol constituents to the soil (by gravity and/or impaction) was probably predominated by localized enrichment phenomena. The latter are reinforced by the effect of turbulent winds over bare soils, wind wakes and probably selective disintegration, especially in the vicinity of the geomorphologic features of central Tunisia. These relatively high features, extending over important distances, appear to be of paramount importance for the phenomena of redistribution of aerosol constituents even during periods without Sirocco wind circulations. In the northern section of the country, aerosol constituent concentrations dropped to almost 50%, in spite of the abundance of localized turbulent winds. This may be explained by the effect of forests and the relatively dense vegetation cover, which clearly reinforces the transfer phenomena to the soil and the attenuate of dust entrainment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: A fully coupled atmosphere–ocean model, endowed with a feedback of the ocean model on the atmospheric one, was applied in order to simulate the variations of temperature and sea currents induced by the occurrence of a late-fall episode of intense Sirocco wind over the Adriatic Sea. The coupled model was made up of the RAMS atmospheric model coupled with the DieCAST ocean model with the purpose to obtain more realistic forcing conditions of the lower winds on the underlying sea surface. The two main phenomena highlighted by the simulation are: the genesis of a 10 cm s−1 north- westward current along the Italian coastline and a general cooling of the entire basin of approximately 1 °C limited to the upper 40 m. The same current shows an offshore anti-cyclonic pattern at different latitude in the whole basin. The results generally agree with experimental data collected by surface drifters released in different regions of the Adriatic Sea as a part of the international DOLCEVITA project, which also includes the same Sirocco episode considered here. The simulated currents represent the drifter trajectories quite accurately, with only few exceptions in the northernmost region of the basin, characterized by shallow water conditions. The simulated SST fields fully agree with the temperature values observed by the same drifters. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This is the first modeling reconstruction of the whole aspects (both meteorological and oceanographic) of the storm which hit Italy on 4 November 1966, producing 118 victims and widespread damages in Tuscany, at the northern Adriatic coast and in the north-eastern Italian Alps. The storm was produced by a cyclone which formed in the western Mediterranean and moved eastward towards Italy, reaching the Thyrrenian Sea, and then northward. The most peculiar characteristic of the storm has been the strong zonal pressure gradient and the consequent intensity and long fetch of the south-easterly sirocco wind, which advected a large amount of warm moist air, and determined exceptional orographic precipitation over Tuscany and the north-eastern Alps. The funneling of the wind between the mountain chains surrounding the Adriatic basin further increased the wind speed and determined the highest ever recorded storm surge along the Venetian coast. This study shows that present models would be able to produce a reasonably accurate simulation of the meteorological event (surface pressure, wind and precipitation fields, and storm surge level). The exceptional intensity of the event is not suggested by single parameters such as the sea level pressure minimum, the wind speed or the total accumulated precipitation. In fact, the precipitation was extreme only in some locations and the pressure minimum was not particularly deep. Moreover, the prediction of the damages produced by the river run-off and landslides would have required other informations concerning soil condition, snow coverage, and storage of water reservoirs before the event. This indicates that an integrated approach is required for assessing the probability of such damages both on a weather forecast and on a climate change perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We analyze time series of Strombolian volcanic tremor, focusing our attention on the frequency band [0.1-0.5] Hz (very long period (VLP) tremor). Although this frequency band is largely affected by noise, we evidence two significant components by using Independent Component Analysis with the frequencies, respectively, of ∼0.2 and ∼0.4 Hz. We show that these components display wavefield features similar to those of the high frequency Strombolian signals (>0.5 Hz). In fact, they are radially polarised and located within the crater area. This characterization is lost when an enhancement of energy appears. In this case, the presence of microseismic noise becomes relevant. Investigating the entire large data set available, we determine how microseismic noise influences the signals. We ascribe the microseismic noise source to Scirocco wind. Moreover, our analysis allows one to evidence that the Strombolian conduit vibrates like the asymmetric cavity associated with musical instruments generating self-sustained tones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]