UNDERSTANDING LATE-STAGE EXHUMATION USING AN INTEGRATED MULTIDISCIPLINARY APPROACH: A CASE STUDY IN THE INNER COTTIAN ALPS (NW ITALY)

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Energy and environmental assessment of industrial hemp for building applications : a review

Buildings significantly contribute to global environmental pollution due to consumption of both natural and primary-energy resources as well as to emission of carbon dioxide in their life-cycles. Therefore, to enable construction of more sustainable buildings, it is important and urgent that new low-environmental impact materials are developed, mainly by reducing the use of non-renewable resources. In this regard, the recent advances in the development of natural fibres represent a significant opportunity to produce improved-materials and energy from renewable resources. For this purpose, assessments of energy and environmental performances are needed to support both the design and the production of the aforementioned materials so as to identify solutions for enhanced contribution to global sustainability. In this context, this study presented a review of the papers published so far that have focussed upon the assessment of the environmental and energy impacts related to the use of hemp-based materials for building applications. The reviewed studies aimed at testing and improving hygro-thermal properties and eco-friendliness of these materials so as to enable reduction of both embodied and operational energy, whilst preserving both indoor air quality and comfort. Doing so would enable limiting the use of energy resources and, as a consequence, their impacts to human health and to the environment, so contributing to making buildings healthier and more environmentally sustainable throughout their life-cycles. Based upon the findings of the studies reviewed these materials have strengths and weaknesses and their use is strictly dependent on the given structural situation and on specific requirements of thermal, moisture, fire and sound protection. In particular, all studies concluded that the main strength in the use of hemp-based materials comes from the production phase because of the “green” origin of these materials, mainly associated with the carbon sequestration during plantation growth

Terrestrial Remote Sensing techniques to complement conventional geomechanical surveys for the assessment of landslide hazard: The San Leo case study (Italy)

The San Leo village, located near to Rimini (northern Italy), was built in the medieval period on the top of a calcarenite and sandstone plateau, affected by lateral spreading associated with secondary rock falls and topples. In fact, a number of landslides endangered the historical town since centuries. In order to describe the structural features driving these slope instability phenomena, a complete Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) survey all around the San Leo cliff was performed. Moreover, Close-Range Photogrammetric (CRP) surveys and conventional geomechanical surveys on scanlines have been carried out. The 3D geometry of the cliffs was extracted and critical areas have been investigated in detail using dense Digital Surface Models (DSMs) obtained from CRP or TLS. The results were used to define the structural features of the plateau, to recognize more fractured areas, and to perform kinematic analyses, in order to assess the joint sets predisposing to slope instability at the cliff scale. The creation of a 3D model was also fundamental for the implementation of the geological model to be used in numerical modelling for hydrogeological characterization and slope stability analyses

Quantification of the environmental impact of lumpfish farming through a life cycle assessment

Embargo until November 11, 2023Infestations by the salmon louse (Lepeophtheirus salmonis Krøyer) represents the major fish health problem that the Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) industry has to face. Sea lice infestation has a large impact on the economy of fish farmers, which are looking for a cost-effective and environmentally sustainable alternative to chemical or mechanical treatments to delouse fish. The biological control of sea lice using the so-called cleaner fish has been individuated as a feasible delousing approach of Atlantic salmons. In particular, in recent years the lumpfish (Cyclopterus lumpus) has been extensively farmed to be used as a ‘biological weapon’ in salmon farming because of its effectiveness in delousing also in harsh environmental conditions. However, the environmental impact of lumpfish farming is still largely unknown. Thus, the present study aimed at assessing the potential environmental impact of lumpfish production through a life cycle assessment (LCA) approach. Feed and electricity consumption, both for 8 of the 18 evaluated midpoint indicators, are the main responsible of the environmental load while for the Freshwater and Marine eutrophication about 90% of the impact is related to the emission of nitrogen and phosphorous compounds by fishes. These data lay the foundation for further, sustainable improvement of lumpfish farming.acceptedVersio