Corrado Venturini

Present state of tectonic stress of the Friuli area (eastern Southern Alps)

Stress orientations are determined for the Friuli area from focal mechanisms using the inversion technique of Gephart and Forsyth (1984). The data consist of 244 fault plane solutions selected for the period 1988–1995. Where the data coverage was poor, this period was extended to 1978–1996. Local magnitude ranges from 2.0 to 4.3 and the depths extend from 4 to 16 km. The Friuli area is subdivided into five seismotectonic zones on the basis of tectonic characteristics, seismic activity and focal mechanisms, and for each zone a stress tensor is determined. The results show that the active tectonic stress in the Friuli area is heterogeneous and conditioned by the complex structural pattern, which is characterized by two indented tectonic wedges. The western and central parts of the area are mainly affected by a compressional state of stress, while in the eastern part a strike-slip state of stress prevails. The orientation of the principal stresses varies from the western to the eastern part of the area, and differences are also noticeable with depth. In the central part of the Friuli area the maximum compressional stress is N–S trending at shallow depths (<10 km), changing to NW–SE at deeper levels. The maximum compressional stress is NW–SE oriented in the western part, while in the eastern part it is N–S oriented.

Permian of South Europe and its interregional correlation

This contribution is a synthesis of knowledge about the Permian of South Europe, which mainly consists of continental, terrigenous and igneous deposits. Marine sediments crop out in a few Italian areas (eastern Southern Alps, central-southern sectors of the peninsula and Sicily), as well as spread from the ex-Yugoslavia to the present Mediterranean sea, where they represent the westermost patterns of the old Tethys. In this context, data and interpretations vary sensibly from one region to another. Despite this, we have tried to establish the most typical events or features. Although the correlation and nature of some are still in doubt, the effort of reconstructing them is significant. Validity of some of our conclusions, however, stems mainly from their widespread importance.

Paleomagnetism of Upper Carboniferous limestones from the Carnic Alps

Abstract Limestones of Stephanian age belonging to the Carboniferous-Permian sedimentary sequence of the Auernig Group at Passo Pramollo (Carnic Alps) were investigated by a paleomagnetic study. These limestones represent the late-tectonic molassic stage of the Hercynian orogeny in the Paleozoic chain of the Carnic Alps. After a preliminary sampling at twenty sites, unstable magnetization was found to affect the remanence at eight sites. Of twelve sites studied in detail (about 180 specimens), 10 sites had a mean paleomagnetic direction of D = 141.8° and I = −8.1°, and α95 = 17.8° after cleaning and corrections for bedding attitudes tilted by subsequent, mainly Alpine tectonics. The corresponding virtual mean pole position lies at 243.3°E, 36.2°N, coincident with data of comparable age from Morocco, and is located east of the African poles of Late Carboniferous to Permian age. In addition, the pole from the Pramollo limestones is also comparable with the younger Permian poles from the Southern Alps and from most Mediterranean crustal blocks, showing that the area was also rotated counterclockwise with respect to Europe. Paleogeographically, the area of the Carnic Alps already belonged to the Southern Alpine domain by Upper Carboniferous times, and was located in the Northern Hemisphere at that time.

Behaviors mapped by new geographies: Ichnonetwork analysis of the Val Dolce Formation (lower Permian; Italy-Austria)

The Pramollo Basin (Italy-Austria) is one of the richest body and trace fossil sites of the Alps, and exhibits a well-preserved Permian–Carboniferous fluvio-deltaic to marginal-marine sedimentary succession. Despite the exceptionally abundant and well-preserved ichnological heritage, the trace fossils of the Pramollo Basin are not well studied, particularly those of Permian units. This study focuses on the ichnofauna of the Val Dolce Formation (Permian; partly Asselian to partly Sakmarian), with the goal of documenting its ichnological heritage and reconstructing its paleoenvironment. These research questions are addressed by applying network theory, an emerging field of complexity science that focuses on web-like systems made of interconnected entities. An ichnological system can be seen as a set of interlinked ichnotaxa, the topology of which depends on the organism-environment interactions. In addition, traditional paleontological and sedimentological observations are used to reconstruct the paleoenvironment. The following ichnotaxa are documented from the Val Dolce Formation: Archaeonassa isp., Curvolithus simplex , Cylindrichnus isp., Helminthoidichnites tenuis , Nereites missouriensis , Planolites isp., Phymatoderma isp., Pramollichnus pastae , Psammichnites plummeri , Taenidium isp., and Zoophycos isp. Network analysis indicates that the Val Dolce ichnological system is structured, with ichnotaxa organized in environment-driven ichnoassociations: Cylindrichnus - Planolites (proximal delta front), Phymatoderma - Zoophycos (prodelta with dysoxic porewaters), Cylindrichnus - Helminthoidichnites - Curvolithus - Zoophycos (distal delta front–proximal prodelta), and Helminthoidichnites - Taenidium - Curvolithus - Nereites - Zoophycos (prodelta). Furthermore, the delta front–prodelta gradient is accompanied by increasing bioturbation intensity and diversity, reflecting the decreasing intensity of major environmental stressors (hydrodynamics, freshwater input, turbidity). Centrality measures of network analysis allow the topological position of traces to be discerned within the studied system, detecting the paleoenvironmental resolution of individual ichnotaxa. As intersections of sets can be described by networks, the studied ichnoassociations can be considered as occupying intersecting behavioral niches. In analogy with the concept of a Hutchinsonian niche, an ichnotaxon’s niche exists in a multidimensional abstract space defined by environmental parameters, which are expressed as spatial variables in the paleolandscape. Consequently, ichnoassociations are not just association patterns, but represent spatial, environmental, and topological entities. This approach allows the reconstitution of spatial relationships between the geographical ranges of ichnotaxa and ichnoassociations, providing information on the physical arrangement of different subenvironments, that is, the structure of the paleoenvironment.

Strategies and Tools for Improving Earth Science Education and Popularization in Museums

Earth Science literacy is a key prerequisite to enhancing public awareness of geoheritage at the local and global level. Museums can be a key to boosting science literacy: Therefore, improving their educational potential should be a major goal for the whole geoscience community. Our methodological discussion is specifically centered on the Earth Sciences as these encompass a wide range of topics that might be suitable for science education and popularization; however, our observations could be applicable to all kinds of topics that may be illustrated in museums. We specifically focus on explanatory panels, which still play a key role in helping visitors make sense of what they are viewing in any kind of museum, especially scientific ones; we first consider the inadequacies that often characterize Earth Science exhibition panels; secondly, we put forward ways in which panels can be laid out so as to foster curiosity, enrich the exhibition-viewing experience and stimulate awareness of the need to protect, conserve and valorize geoheritage.

2014, The “year without a summer” in Italy: news media coverage and implications for the climate change debate

In 2014, there was virtually no summer in northern and central-southern Italy. Storm after storm battered the peninsula, triggering floods and landslides from Veneto to Puglia. We studied the coverage of “the year without a summer” in Italy by analyzing the content of 171 news articles from two influential online newspapers. Our software-based analysis enabled us to observe that the two newspapers hardly ever mentioned climate change in their coverage of the weather anomaly that affected Italy in the summer of 2014. This type of coverage is in line with climate science, according to which there is no evidence of a climate change-related influence on summer precipitation patterns in Southern Europe—whereas such influence has been documented for northern Europe. We compared our results with a recent paper, which documented that the same online dailies chose to represent the particularly hot summer of 2012 in Italy as a direct consequence of climate change. We corroborated this comparison also on the basis of a preliminary analysis we performed on the media coverage of the exceptionally hot and arid summer of 2015 in Italy.

Geoheritage Promotion Through an Interactive Exhibition: a Case Study from the Carnic Alps, NE Italy

Museum exhibitions can be regarded as a key tool for communicating geoheritage. However, in many countries including Italy, the viewers’ experience is often negatively affected by the old-time style of interpretive panels: In most cases, panels are unattractive, graphically poor, and made user-unfriendly by the disproportionate amount of text in relation to the amount of illustrations. This work analyzes the organization of a recent permanent geopaleontological exhibition dedicated to geoheritage and geoscience communication in the Italian Alps. The exhibition uses a number of innovative strategies aimed at reversing the above trend. In particular, we discuss the ways in which interpretive panels were created and highlight the strategies used to combine traditional popularization tools with innovative, multimedia, and interactive exhibits. We also delve into the role played by a balanced distribution of the topics across the exhibition: The contents need to be consequentially organized and illustrated through simple and intuitive explanations, thereby helping to reinforce the viewers’ perception that the topics they are exploring can be thoroughly understood, and ensure an adequate degree of information sustainability.