During the last recent years, in Quinis, a small village sited in the Alta Val Tagliamento valley (Friuli Venezia Giulia Region, NE Italy), the inhabitants faced with instability phenomena related to ...the presence of soluble rocks in the subsurface. The evaporite bedrock is mainly mantled, in fact, by high thickness deposit. This paper explains the methodological approach that we used to identify the instabilities in a very complex geo-structural environment where the urbanization limits the applicability of several investigation techniques. Different methods were used to define the bedrock morphology, to characterize the mantling deposits and to identify the processes behind. What emerged from the study is a mandatory multidisciplinary approach to characterize the subsoil, because each technique is not able individually to take to a unique result. The data collected allowed to draft a geo–hydrogeological conceptual model of the Quinis village.
The lessons learned, even if with some site-specific dependency, demonstrate the importance of broad-spectrum investigations, which are essential to understand the subsurface characteristics avoiding relevant socio-economic impact and supporting an adequate future territorial planning.
•The importance of a multidisciplinary approach in the sinkhole study.•Maximum subsidence occurs while the water table lowering.•GPR surveys record the ongoing subsidence analyzing the asphalt.
Environmental sustainability of viticulture is negatively affected by prolonged droughts. In limestone dominated regions, there is limited knowledge on grapevine water status and on methods for ...accurate evaluation of actual water demand, necessary to appropriately manage irrigation. During a dry vintage, we monitored plant and soil water relations in old and young vines of Istrian Malvasia on Karst red soil. The vineyard with young vines was additionally subdivided into two areas, based on their soil type, 1) karst silty-clay loam, and 2) mixture of crushed rocks and karst silty-clay loam (stony soil). Seasonal changes in exploited water resources were estimated via analysis of oxygen isotope composition (δ18O) of rainfall, deep soil water, and xylem sap. We hypothesized that plants are able to thrive during drought thanks to the water stored in deep soil layers, while they rely less on superficial soil horizons. Our results show that vines growing on karstic substrates have deep roots securing the use of stable water sources during summer, with consequent favourable plant water status. In fact, both young and mature vines approached the threshold of severe water stress, but never surpassed it, as midday leaf water potentials were >−1.3MPa in all study sites. Vines roots showed flexible water uptake, i.e. the ability to absorb water from deep or shallow soil horizons during drought and after late-summer thunderstorms, which was particularly evident in vines growing on the stony soil. In fact, precipitations of 20mm were enough for plant water status recovery, due to fast infiltration. On the other hand, at least 50mm of rainfall were necessary to induce water status recovery in more compact soil (karst silty-clay loam). Our findings provide new knowledge on the rooting depth and water needs of vines growing on shallow soils overlying fractured limestone bedrock.
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•Vines' water requirements and sourcing on limestone soils are not well understood.•Deep roots ensured the uptake of stable water resources during summer drought.•Stony soil favoured fast water infiltration and its absorption by vines roots.•Roots of young vines were sufficiently developed four years after planting.•Pre-dawn water potential estimates accurately plants water needs in karstic areas.
In this paper we address the problem of structured feature selection in a multi-class classification setting. Our goal is to select groups of features meaningful to all classes simultaneously, and to ...this purpose we derive a new formulation of Group LASSO – the MC-GrpLASSO – and a solution of the obtained functional based on proximal methods. We then apply the algorithm to a typical multi-class problem – face recognition. On this respect we focus on finding an effective and fast to compute (that is, sparse) representation of faces, detected in low quality videos of unconstrained environments. We start from a classical over-complete representation based on Local Binary Patterns (LBPs), descriptors endowed with a characteristic internal structure that can be preserved by selecting features in groups. We present an extensive experimental analysis on two benchmark datasets, MOBO and Choke Point, and on a more complex set of data acquired in-house over a large temporal span. We compare our results with state-of-the-art approaches and show the superiority of our method in terms of both performances and sparseness of the obtained solution.
Although karst aquifers are highly vulnerable and represent an important water resource, they are often inadequately protected. Furthermore, national water resource protection policies lack precision ...regarding the criteria for delimitation of source protection zones in karst. Usually either vulnerability assessment or travel time is considered. The proposed integrated protocol considers both. It is specifically designed for large karst aquifers where i) an additional distinction between areas of different liability to contamination within the aquifer, and ii) a certain generalisation of protection classes should be made for practical reasons. The protocol includes a detailed description of the separate steps of the protection zoning procedure. Information obtained from both artificial and natural tracers is used to account for the variability of groundwater flow under different hydrologic conditions. Analysis of groundwater physico-chemical parameters time series is better employed under high flow regimes and analysis of artificial tracers breakthrough curves under low flow conditions. Source protection zones are divided into three levels of protection, which should be further generalised, validated and adjusted to land use plans. The protocol has been applied to the Classical Karst Region transboundary aquifer (NE Italy and SW Slovenia). The results enable a uniform delineation of protection zones encompassing water sources that have not been protected to date, and improve the understanding and management of transboundary aquifers. The proposed protocol can be used in other karst aquifers, and adjusted to national protection legislation and spatial planning frameworks.
Multiview Matching of Articulated Objects Zini, Luca; Odone, Francesca; Cavallaro, Andrea
IEEE transactions on circuits and systems for video technology,
2014-Nov., 2014-11-00, 20141101, Letnik:
24, Številka:
11
Journal Article
Recenzirano
We address the problem of multiview association of articulated objects observed using possibly moving and hand-held cameras. Starting from trajectory data, we encode the temporal evolution of the ...objects and perform matching without making assumptions on scene geometry and with only weak assumptions on the field-of-view overlaps. After generating a viewpoint invariant representation using self-similarity matrices, we put in correspondence the spatio-temporal object descriptions using spectral methods on the resulting matching graph. We validate the proposed method on three publicly available real-world datasets and compare it with alternative approaches. Moreover, we present an extensive analysis of the accuracy of the proposed method in different contexts, with varying noise levels on the input data, varying amount of overlap between the fields of view, and varying duration of the available observations.
•A conceptual framework to provide early visual capabilities to impaired people.•A bio-inspired framework with identification and recognition capabilities.•Multi-functional aids based on Computer ...Vision for scene understanding and wayfinding.•Examples of integrated functionalities that are shown on a selection of use cases.
We present a conceptual framework inspired by biological vision which integrates low-level vision functionalities oriented to actions – typical of the so-called “where” dorsal pathway – with identification and recognition capabilities – common to the “what” ventral pathway. Although they proceed independently, these complementary vision models may provide a deeper scene understanding and a more efficient computational framework. In this work, we refer specifically to a set of video analysis modules, which include semantic annotations of the scene and 3D environment interpretation. We discuss and qualitatively evaluate possible connections and integrations between different functionalities, grounding our analysis on a set of specific use cases, depicting visually impaired users finding their way in unfamiliar environments.
Due to intrinsic characteristics of aquifers groundwater frequently passes between various types of aquifers without hindrance. The complex connection of underground water paths enables flow ...regardless of administrative boundaries. This can cause problems in water resources management. Numerical modelling is an important tool for the understanding, interpretation and management of aquifers. Useful and reliable methods of numerical modelling differ with regard to the type of aquifer, but their connections in a single hydrodynamic model are rare. The purpose of this study was to connect different models into an integrated system that enables determination of water travel time from the point of contamination to water sources. The worst-case scenario is considered. The system was applied in the Soča/Isonzo basin, a transboundary river in Slovenia and Italy, where there is a complex contact of karst and intergranular aquifers and surface flows over bedrock with low permeability. Time cell models were first elaborated separately for individual hydrogeological units. These were the result of numerical hydrological modelling (intergranular aquifer and surface flow) or complex GIS analysis taking into account the vulnerability map and tracer tests results (karst aquifer). The obtained cellular models present the basis of a contamination early-warning system, since it allows an estimation when contaminants can be expected to appear, and in which water sources. The system proves that the contaminants spread rapidly through karst aquifers and via surface flows, and more slowly through intergranular aquifers. For this reason, karst water sources are more at risk from one-off contamination incidents, while water sources in intergranular aquifers are more at risk in cases of long-term contamination. The system that has been developed is the basis for a single system of protection, action and quality monitoring in the areas of complex aquifer systems within or on the borders of administrative units.
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•An integrated system of hydrological and hydrogeological models has been created.•The system couples different porous media with complex water flow regimes.•The system is based on water travel time between surface and water source.•The study provides a scientific basis for an early-warning and monitoring system.•The system is applicable in transboundary water resources management.
The paper aims to present the geology of the western part of the Classical Karst (NW Dinarides), located at the border between Slovenia and Italy. The work is based on archive, published and new data ...collected by Slovenian and Italian researchers within several scientific national and Cross Border Cooperation projects. The map, produced at a scale of 1:50,000, summarizes the lithological and structural setting and is supplemented by three geological cross-sections of the study area.
This paper is aimed at mapping the submerged notch along the northeastern Adriatic coast and discussing the relations between the submerged notch, the seawater, the groundwater and the freshwater ...discharge along the coasts of the study area. Using hydrological and observational data collected during a solitary snorkel-swimming expedition along similar to 250 km-long route along the Istrian coasts and thermal and topographical data, we discuss the hydrogeological and topographical constraints on the origin and development of the submerged notch in the northeastern Adriatic Sea. The submerged notch was surveyed at depths ranging between -0.6 m m.s.l. and -2.6 m m.s.l. in the northern sector of the Gulf of Trieste (Italy), and at about -0.5/-0.7 m m.s.l along the Limski channel (Croatia). Along the Savudrija peninsula, a slightly carved submerged notch was surveyed at -0.5/-0.6 m m.s.l. The modern notch is completely lacking in the study area. Topographical data highlight that the submerged notch occurs in correspondence of plunging cliffs. Moreover, the submerged notch developed in correspondence of the submarine springs that allow mixing-zone dissolution. Data suggest that the mixing-zone dissolution, caused by the freshwater from submerged springs or from the largest rivers in the Gulf of Trieste, was a major factor in developing submerged notches. These new observations provide basic data for future studies on the development of the submerged notch along the northeastern Adriatic coast, previously linked almost exclusively to bioerosion.
Water resources are a key factor, particularly for the planning of the sustainable regional development of agriculture, as well as for socio-economic development in general. A hydrochemical ...investigation was conducted in the Friuli Venezia Giulia aquifer systems to identify groundwater evolution, recharge and extent of pollution. Temperature, pH, electric conductivity, total dissolved solids, alkalinity, total hardness, SAR, Ca²⁺, Na⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, Cl⁻, SO₄ ²⁻, NO₃ ⁻, HCO₃ ⁻ , water quality and type, saturation indexes and the environmental stable isotope δ¹⁸O were determined in 149 sampling stations. The pattern of geochemical and oxygen stable isotope variations suggests that the sub-surface groundwater (from phreatic and shallow confined aquifers) is being recharged by modern precipitations and local river infiltrations. Four hydrogeological provinces have been recognised and mapped in the Friuli Venezia Giulia Plain having similar geochemical signatures. These provinces have different degrees of vulnerability to contamination. The deep confined groundwater samples are significantly less impacted by surface activities; and it appears that these important water resources have very low recharge rates and would, therefore, be severely impacted by overabstraction.
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