Due to water shortage, in the wards of Ngarenanyuki and Oldonyosambu (Arumeru District, Northern ... more Due to water shortage, in the wards of Ngarenanyuki and Oldonyosambu (Arumeru District, Northern Tanzania), the per capita daily water consumption is 8 liters as.average, The avaleability goes down to 3-4 liters in the dry seasons when most of the population cannot resort to seasonal ponds or streams and so it is compelled to concentrate around the few perennial water points. This datum is quite far from the Millennium Goal objectives that foresee a quantity of at least 20 l/d/p (litres per day per person) for the Development Countries population, within 2015. Problems are also related to water quality, in particular, the high concentration of fluoride that characterises the waters in East Africa Rift System
Developing a protocol for the multidisciplinary investigation of historical monumental complexes ... more Developing a protocol for the multidisciplinary investigation of historical monumental complexes in urban environments covers a paramount role in protecting the architectural and landscape heritage. To this purpose, integrating the investigation methodologies typical of architecture with the geophysical ones has proved useful in assessing the conditions of the places and of the works, so as to identify and represent their modifications. Comparing data from different disciplinary contributions (historical, archaeological and geophysical ones) has specifically allowed the organisation and assessment of an investigating protocol aiming to the representation, protection and valorisation of the bastion layout; in particular, it has contributed to define its stylistic architectural features, and improve knowledge of the military work operation and of its current layout, even in view of any further planning intervention in an area where, furthermore, the realisation of a parking lot buried...
This research was aimed at finding fresh and safe groundwater easily deliverable to an area, loca... more This research was aimed at finding fresh and safe groundwater easily deliverable to an area, located in northern Tanzania, within the western branch of the Rift Valley. The study area suffers from water shortage, moreover, due to widespread alkaline volcanism, high fluoride contents (F − up to 70 mg/l) affects the groundwater.
Hydrogeological and geophysical surveys confirm that the aquifers of the Capoterra plain in Sardi... more Hydrogeological and geophysical surveys confirm that the aquifers of the Capoterra plain in Sardinia (Italy) constitute a complex, multilayer system. In the north-east of the plain, this system is composed of a shallow aquifer of recent alluvium and a deeper aquifer separated from the former by a clay layer; in the south-west there is no separation between the two aquifers.
In the study of coastal plains affected by soil and water salination, a knowledge of several geol... more In the study of coastal plains affected by soil and water salination, a knowledge of several geological aspects, such as structural features, depth to basement, stratigraphy of sedimentary cover, relationships between the phreatic aquifer and underlying aquifers, and the latter's structure, is basic to gaining an adequate understanding of both the causes and possible evolution of salination. In this framework, geophysical techniques can play a very important role.To improve the available geophysical information about the Muravera coastal plain, Sardinia, Italy, which is affected by severe soil and water salination, previously acquired electrical resistivity, reflection seismic and gravity data have been reprocessed, and a new seismic reflection survey has been conducted. Moreover, in order to give better support to the geological and hydrogeological interpretation of geophysical data, three boreholes were drilled. Reprocessed electrical data indicate the presence of a wide, elec...
2018 Metrology for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage (MetroArchaeo)
This paper shows some results of a multidisciplinary study including digital surveys integrated w... more This paper shows some results of a multidisciplinary study including digital surveys integrated with geophysical investigations. The procedure is applied in the city of Cagliari, Italy, in the area of the ancient walls between the bastion of Santa Croce and the fourteenth-century Elephant Tower. This sector consists of the curtain of Santa Chiara, designed in 1575 and completed in the years 1576-1578 by the military engineer Giorgio Paleari. The archival documents offer precise indications on the collapses and the reconstructions/expansions that took place in that period, so facilitating a recognition of the events. Compared to the medieval walls, the work of Paleari brought forward the line of defense by means of a robust embankment and incorporated two of the fifteenth-century towers described in the drawings of the military engineers of the time. In the eighteenth century, the front was completed with the construction of a lowered embankment leaning against the southern side of the bastion of Santa Croce and the curtain of Santa Chiara. More recently, both the bastion and the sixteenth century curtain have been reinforced by means of several restoration and consolidation works. The latter changed the profile of the parapet –in the origin it was inclined-and the static balance of the constructive system by means of reinforced concrete piles. The survey methods and techniques used in this study provide interesting information about the current structure of the bastion system, such as the presence of vaulted passages functional to the military work. A further study campaign mainly based on seismic tomography techniques is proposed.
Due to water shortage, in the wards of Ngarenanyuki and Oldonyosambu (Arumeru District, Northern ... more Due to water shortage, in the wards of Ngarenanyuki and Oldonyosambu (Arumeru District, Northern Tanzania), the per capita daily water consumption is 8 liters as.average, The avaleability goes down to 3-4 liters in the dry seasons when most of the population cannot resort to seasonal ponds or streams and so it is compelled to concentrate around the few perennial water points. This datum is quite far from the Millennium Goal objectives that foresee a quantity of at least 20 l/d/p (litres per day per person) for the Development Countries population, within 2015. Problems are also related to water quality, in particular, the high concentration of fluoride that characterises the waters in East Africa Rift System
Developing a protocol for the multidisciplinary investigation of historical monumental complexes ... more Developing a protocol for the multidisciplinary investigation of historical monumental complexes in urban environments covers a paramount role in protecting the architectural and landscape heritage. To this purpose, integrating the investigation methodologies typical of architecture with the geophysical ones has proved useful in assessing the conditions of the places and of the works, so as to identify and represent their modifications. Comparing data from different disciplinary contributions (historical, archaeological and geophysical ones) has specifically allowed the organisation and assessment of an investigating protocol aiming to the representation, protection and valorisation of the bastion layout; in particular, it has contributed to define its stylistic architectural features, and improve knowledge of the military work operation and of its current layout, even in view of any further planning intervention in an area where, furthermore, the realisation of a parking lot buried...
This research was aimed at finding fresh and safe groundwater easily deliverable to an area, loca... more This research was aimed at finding fresh and safe groundwater easily deliverable to an area, located in northern Tanzania, within the western branch of the Rift Valley. The study area suffers from water shortage, moreover, due to widespread alkaline volcanism, high fluoride contents (F − up to 70 mg/l) affects the groundwater.
Hydrogeological and geophysical surveys confirm that the aquifers of the Capoterra plain in Sardi... more Hydrogeological and geophysical surveys confirm that the aquifers of the Capoterra plain in Sardinia (Italy) constitute a complex, multilayer system. In the north-east of the plain, this system is composed of a shallow aquifer of recent alluvium and a deeper aquifer separated from the former by a clay layer; in the south-west there is no separation between the two aquifers.
In the study of coastal plains affected by soil and water salination, a knowledge of several geol... more In the study of coastal plains affected by soil and water salination, a knowledge of several geological aspects, such as structural features, depth to basement, stratigraphy of sedimentary cover, relationships between the phreatic aquifer and underlying aquifers, and the latter's structure, is basic to gaining an adequate understanding of both the causes and possible evolution of salination. In this framework, geophysical techniques can play a very important role.To improve the available geophysical information about the Muravera coastal plain, Sardinia, Italy, which is affected by severe soil and water salination, previously acquired electrical resistivity, reflection seismic and gravity data have been reprocessed, and a new seismic reflection survey has been conducted. Moreover, in order to give better support to the geological and hydrogeological interpretation of geophysical data, three boreholes were drilled. Reprocessed electrical data indicate the presence of a wide, elec...
2018 Metrology for Archaeology and Cultural Heritage (MetroArchaeo)
This paper shows some results of a multidisciplinary study including digital surveys integrated w... more This paper shows some results of a multidisciplinary study including digital surveys integrated with geophysical investigations. The procedure is applied in the city of Cagliari, Italy, in the area of the ancient walls between the bastion of Santa Croce and the fourteenth-century Elephant Tower. This sector consists of the curtain of Santa Chiara, designed in 1575 and completed in the years 1576-1578 by the military engineer Giorgio Paleari. The archival documents offer precise indications on the collapses and the reconstructions/expansions that took place in that period, so facilitating a recognition of the events. Compared to the medieval walls, the work of Paleari brought forward the line of defense by means of a robust embankment and incorporated two of the fifteenth-century towers described in the drawings of the military engineers of the time. In the eighteenth century, the front was completed with the construction of a lowered embankment leaning against the southern side of the bastion of Santa Croce and the curtain of Santa Chiara. More recently, both the bastion and the sixteenth century curtain have been reinforced by means of several restoration and consolidation works. The latter changed the profile of the parapet –in the origin it was inclined-and the static balance of the constructive system by means of reinforced concrete piles. The survey methods and techniques used in this study provide interesting information about the current structure of the bastion system, such as the presence of vaulted passages functional to the military work. A further study campaign mainly based on seismic tomography techniques is proposed.
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Papers by Roberto Balia