Green Earth Research Articles

A spectroscopic study of Punic-Hellenistic polychromy on wall paintings at the Lilybaeum archaeological site

An integrated spectroscopic study of painted plaster fragments of the Punic-Hellenistic period (4th-1st century BCE) from the Lilybaeum archaeological site in Sicily is presented. Elemental and molecular composition of the painted wall fragments is obtained via ED-XRF and FTIR spectroscopies. This study is the first ever performed on finds from Lilybaeum urban area. A wide colour palette is identified examining a significant set of 14 polychrome wall plaster fragments. Hematite, orpiment, massicot, green earths, Egyptian blue, and manganese black are discovered. Based on interdisciplinarity, this work spans from chemistry/physics to archaeology through the interpretation of the spectroscopic results in the ancient Mediterranean context. The methodological approach used may be extended to other similar projects.

Non-Invasive Characterisation of the Wall Paintings in the Byzantine Church of Palazzo Simi (Bari, Italy) and Digital Photogrammetric Survey for a Pigment Mapping

The paper illustrates the results of a non-invasive characterisation of pigments and their mixtures in the pictorial surfaces of the wall paintings (10th century) found in the Byzantine church of Palazzo Simi in Bari (Italy). The investigation techniques included portable digital polarised microscopy, fibre optic reflectance spectroscopy (FORS) and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF). Data comparison supported the recognition of red and yellow ochres, green earth, vine black, minium and Egyptian blue. The presence of some pigment mixtures demonstrated the recurrence of specific technical expedient used by local medieval artists in order to simulate more expensive pigments, which enabled contribution to the understanding of the valuable artistic tradition of the Apulian Middle Age. Both for purposes of conservation and fruition of the site, which is not always accessible, and due to the complexity in taking suitable photographs for the representation of results, the latter was performed on orthophotos extracted from a digital photogrammetric 3D model of the whole archaeological site. By means of chromatic overlapped layers, an interactive compositional map of the pictorial surfaces was produced.

On Devotional Artworks: A Non-Invasive Characterization of Pigments of the Madonna della Croce Wall Painting in Triggiano (Bari, Southern Italy)

Devotional artworks represent a valuable form of art, as they are evidence of religious worship and the demo-ethno-anthropological, as well as historical-artistic, heritage of a community, which is why they definitely belong to the cultural identity of a geographic area. The Madonna della Croce wall painting is an example of devotional art preserved today in the homonymous church in Triggiano (Bari, Italy). The presented study concerns the characterization of pigments used in the painting. The identification of pictorial materials had the aim of providing a contribution to knowledge about the painting, the history of restorations, and other historical events, and to increase the information about the Apulian painting to better reconstruct the social, cultural, and economic contexts of the region. Through a non-invasive and fast methodological approach, including portable digital microscopy, colorimetry, fibre optic reflectance spectroscopy (FORS), and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF); 42 points considered on coloured areas were analysed in situ, and results on pigment identification were achieved. According to the local wall painting tradition, red and yellow ochres, green earth, vine black, massicot, and lead-tin yellow were found. Furthermore, both indigo-woad dye and a mixture of vine black and yellow ochre to obtain a blueish colour on the Virgin’s mantle were highlighted.

The Wall Paintings in the Russian Church St. Nicholas in Sofia: a Technological Study by Integrated Analytical Approach

For the first time, wall paintings of 20th century Russian artists in Bulgaria were analysed by means of complementary analytical methods. Representative samples collected from the Russian church St. Nicholas in Sofia, decorated by the famous Russian artists Vasily Perminov, Michail Maletski and Nikolay Shelehov during different periods of time, were examined by means of micro-Raman spectroscopy, attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopy and X-Ray fluorescence (XRF). The results of the study reveal that colourful palette was achieved by using various pigment mixtures of traditional and modern synthetic pigment as titanium white, barium white, calcite, chrome green, green earth, hematite, ultramarine, madder lake, carbon black, vermilion, Naples yellow. The analysis of the paint binders allow to conclude that Maletski and Shelehov have used egg tempera as painting technique, while Perminov has worked in two painting techniques - oil and egg tempera.

Italian Influence in a Portuguese Mannerist Painting (Part I): A New Palette with Original Orange and Green Pigments

ABSTRACT The palette used by the Portuguese painter Pedro Nunes (1586–1637) in the large panel depicting The Descent from the Cross (460 × 304 cm) painted in 1620 for Évora’s cathedral was investigated with a combination of the visual inspection of the paint surface and the analysis of the paint layers with microscopic, spectroscopic, and chromatographic techniques. Green earth and an orange artificial arsenic sulphide, two pigments identified for the first time in Portuguese paintings of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, were found to be abundantly used in large areas of the composition. The results further reveal the choice of a rich palette also containing lead-white, lead-tin yellow, ochre, vermilion, verdigris, smalt, azurite, vegetable carbon black, and a red lake made of brazilwood and cochineal. All the pigments were bound in an oil-based medium. The introduction of two pigments new to the Portuguese conventional palette is a direct consequence of the painter’s training in Rome in the first decade of the seventeenth century.

The establishment of the national key ecological functional zone and the county’s ecological green development

Ecological green development is the development of conforming to nature and promoting the harmonious coexistence of man and nature. As the most basic and supportive grassroots political unit, the county level occupies a special key position in the overall national green development strategy. How to evaluate the ecological green development of the county, protect the green earth, and respond to climate change, have become a new problem facing various countries around the world. To this end, China is determined to implement the establishment of a national key ecological functional zone pilot policy to study its ecological green development from the perspective of the county. Based on the literature review and theoretical mechanism, this paper selects 1997 county-level data indicators in mainland China from 2007 to 2019 to explore the role of the establishment of national key ecological function areas on the ecological green development of counties. The implementation of the national key ecological function zone policy can significantly increase the vegetation normalization index by about 0.035–0.037 units. The implementation of the policy has greatly expanded the capacity and range of above-ground and below-ground biomass. The reduction of large-scale investment by the government, the improvement of quality and efficiency of enterprises in the region, and the increase artificial afforestation are important transmission mechanisms for the implementation of policies to affect the green development of counties. The implementation of the policy has a positive green spillover effect on adjacent areas, which can realize regional coordinated ecological governance. Each additional hectare of artificial afforestation can absorb about 134,800 tons of carbon emissions each year, bringing additional benefits of 730 million yuan. It releases about 98,000 tons of oxygen a year, which can be used for 1.312 billion people for oxygen respiration consumption every year.

A study by portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) of the painting “Still Life with Vase, Plate and Flowers” (1886–1888)

Portable energy-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (pXRF) was employed in the characterization of the pigments present in the painting “Still Life with Vase, Plate and Flowers”, of unknown authorship, but previously attributed to Vincent van Gogh, belonging to the collection of the São Paulo Museum of Art (MASP). In situ pXRF measurements were carried out by means of a portable system in order to provide the museum with a scientific documentation about the materials in the painting. Spectra were taken at different color regions and different hues in the pictorial layer. Some of the materials identified in the painting were chalk and/or gypsum, lithopone, lead white, zinc white, bone black, barium yellow, chrome yellow, yellow ochre, chrome green, Prussian blue, cobalt blue, vermilion and red earth. Besides that, it was possible to suggest the use of a lake pigment. The pigments whose use is suggested by this work are in total agreement with those available to European artists in the end of the 19th century.

Spectroscopic and chemometric characterization of green earth pigments employed by ancient Romans in the wall decoration of buildings in the X Regio (Venetia et Histria)

In this work the study of the green pigments employed by ancient Romans in the decoration of 50 wall fragments from buildings of different ages located in seven archaeological sites of the Augustean X Regio (Venetia et Histria) is presented. The pigments are green earths—celadonite and glauconite, the latter associated to variable amounts of smectites—as found through mid-Infrared Fourier Transform Spectroscopy and as confirmed by Principal Component Analysis. The investigation was performed in suitable spectral ranges that while accounting for all the most intense absorptions of green earths allowed to minimize the influence of absorptions due to accessory minerals in the pigment ores or to the mineral species contained in the preparatory layers of the painted fragments (carbonates, quartz, kaolinite and gypsum) and sampled with the pigment. Three commercial green pigments consisting of the minerals celadonite and glauconite were also considered to check the soundness of the approach followed for the identification of the historical pigments and the reliability of the results obtained. For the first time it is shown that Principal Component Analysis is an effective tool to confirm the results of conventional spectroscopic analysis of the two green earths celadonite and glauconite.

Multi-Analytical Characterization of Stone Relics from Meili Section of the Ancient Tea Horse Road in Yunnan, China

The stone relics in the Meili section of the ancient Tea Horse Road in Yunnan, China, are important for Sino-Tibetan cultural heritage. However, these relics were exposed to the risk of hydraulic erosion due to the construction of a hydroelectric power station, and thus protecting these relics is now imperative. Preliminary investigations and analyses of stone relics are crucial for their subsequent conservation and restoration. Thus, in this study, multi-analytical characterization including the microstructure, mineralogical characteristics, elements, and chemical compositions of the stone relics was conducted using optical microscopy (OM), scanning electron microscopy-energy dispersive spectrometry (SEM-EDS), polarized light microscopy, x-ray diffraction (XRD), and attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR). In addition, the contaminants and pigments on the surfaces of the stone relics were identified and analyzed by Raman spectroscopy. OM, SEM and Raman spectroscopy indicated that the surface contaminants mainly comprised of moss and soil dust, and some of the stone relics exhibited porosity and weathering. Polarized light microscopy revealed that the mineralogical morphology of stone samples mainly appeared as allotriomorphic, hypidiomorphic, and colloform structures. ATR-FTIR, and XRD confirmed that the stone relics mainly consisted of quartz, muscovite, illite, and chlorite. In addition, Raman spectroscopic analysis showed that the pigments on the relic surfaces included chalk, barium white, langite, green earth, amorphous carbon black, chrome red, and chrome yellow. The findings of this study may provide scientific support for the conservation of the stone relics.

Progress, challenge and significance of building a carbon industry system in the context of carbon neutrality strategy

Carbon dioxide storage and utilization has become an inevitable trend and choice for sustainable development under the background of global climate change and carbon neutrality. Carbon industry which is dominated by CO2 capture, utilization and storage/ CO2 capture and storage (CCUS/CCS) is becoming a new strategic industry under the goal of carbon neutrality. The sustainable development of carbon industry needs to learn from the experiences of global oil and gas industry development. There are three types of “carbon” in the earth system. Black carbon is the CO2 that has not been sequestered or used and remains in the atmosphere for a long time; grey carbon is the CO2 that has been fixed or permanently sequestered in the geological body, and blue carbon is the CO2 that could be converted into products for human use through biological, physical, chemical and other ways. The carbon industry system covers carbon generation, carbon capture, carbon transportation, carbon utilization, carbon sequestration, carbon products, carbon finance, and other businesses. It is a revolutionary industrial field to completely eliminate “black carbon”. The development of carbon industry technical system takes carbon emission reduction, zero carbon, negative carbon and carbon economy as the connotation, and the construction of a low-cost and energy-efficient carbon industry system based on CCUS/CCS are strategic measures to achieve the goal of carbon neutrality and clean energy utilization globally. This will promote the “four 80%s” transformation of China's energy supply, namely, to 2060, the percentage of zero-carbon new energy in the energy consumption will be over 80% and the CO2 emission will be decreased by 80% to ensure the carbon emission reduction of total 80×108 t from the percentage of carbon-based fossil energy in the energy consumption of over 80%, and the percentage of CO2 emission from energy of over 80% in 2021. The carbon industry in China is facing three challenges, large CO2 emissions, high percentage of coal in energy consumption, and poor innovative system. Three strategic measures are proposed accordingly, including: (1) unswervingly develop carbon industrial system and ensure the achievement of carbon neutrality as scheduled by 2060; (2) vigorously develop new energy sources and promote a revolutionary transformation of China's energy production and consumption structure; (3) accelerate the establishment of scientific and technological innovation system of the whole CO2 industry. It is of great significance for continuously optimization of ecological environment and construction of green earth and ecological earth to develop the carbon industry system, utilize clean energy, and achieve the strategic goal of global carbon neutrality.

A Multi-Analytical Approach for the Characterisation of Pigments from an Egyptian Sarcophagus Cover of the Late Dynastic Period: A Case Study

This work is concerned with a multi-analytical identification of the colour palette utilised in the decoration of the cover of an Egyptian sarcophagus dated to the Late Dynastic Period and belonging to a private collection. In this study, six different points were analysed with a portable Raman spectrometer; then, in these same points, six micro-fragments were taken from the sarcophagus for laboratory analysis performed by scanning electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDXS), attenuated total reflectance-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR-FTIR) and visible induced luminescence imaging (VIL). Raman spectra collected in situ showed the characteristic bands of calcite, red ochre and black carbon. SEM-EDXS analyses highlighted the presence of a copper-based pigment in the light blue, blue and black fragments; then, the ATR-FTIR spectrum of the light blue sample only displayed the peculiar bands of Egyptian blue. The latter result was confirmed by VIL analysis, which successfully identified the same pigment in blue-black fragments as well, leading to the possible authentication of the finding. Moreover, the presence of calcite, red ochre, green earth and some organic material was assessed by FTIR spectroscopy, confirming some of the results of in situ Raman analyses. Regarding organic materials, whose investigation is still ongoing, some hypotheses were made on the basis of their FTIR spectra.

Optical microscopy and SEM-EDS on wall-painting fragments from the St. George’s cathedral at Novgorod

This paper presents the latest data obtained from the analyses of fragments of Russian-Byzantine wall paintings recovered from the architectural excavations carried out in the church of St. George in the Yuriev Princely Monastery built in 1119 at Veliky Novgorod, one of the oldest cities in Russia and UNESCO World site. In the last 7 years the archaeologists of the Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow excavated the 12th century layers and extracted a large number of wall-paintings fragments, which are extremely important for the reconstruction of the history of Novgorod and for the study of Russian-Byzantine art in general. The pigments employed for the paintings and the painting techniques, together with color layers, substrates and mortars, have been studied and analyzed in the last two years in the Laboratory of the Architectural Archaeology and Multidisciplinary Methods for Architectural Research, Institute of Archaeology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The employed analytical methods were optical microscopy (OM), X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry (XRF) and Scanning Electron Microscope with Energy Dispersive Spectrometry (SEM-EDS). OM permits to distinguish the superficial painting method, the inclusions in the mortars, the intonaco and intonachino layers and the various substrates. XRF was applied for a first screening of the fragments and for the first pigment identification. The samples of painted mortar were then mounted in epoxy resin and polished for the analysis with SEM-EDS. The analytical data we possessed up to now indicate a very classical Byzantine technique with the use of expensive pigments such as lazurite and cinnabar, but also green earth, various types of ochres and mixtures of pigments. Special care was taken for the identification of the substrates.

Identification of materials in oil paintings through studies of correlations and ratios between the element line intensities during LIBS stratigraphy

Small fragments of the oil paintings “Emmaus Dinner” by Bellini (XVII century) and “Annunciation” by Brughi (XVIII century) were taken to laboratory because of insufficient information collected in-situ. At first, the samples were analyzed by SEM-EDX and FTIR Spectroscopy in order to identify the elemental and molecular composition of the surface layers, mostly covered by Ca-based patina (calcium oxalate and carbonates). Afterwards, the depth profiling by LIBS made possible to distinguish surface contaminations and retouches from the original pictorial materials. Stratigraphic variations of the chemical composition were established by a proper normalization of the element line intensities, necessary due to large changes of overall plasma intensity during ablation of heterogeneous samples. So obtained layer separations were confirmed by Principal Component Analysis (PCA). Studies of the correlations and ratios between intensities of the analytical element lines were effective to identify pigments and priming layers and, in some cases, to indicate also a possible material provenance. In the Bellini's painting we identified Natural Umber, Azurite, Green Earth, Goethite, Lead-Tin Yellow and Lead White, the latter detected in all examined fragments. The surface contamination by debris and retouches by modern pigments containing Ba, Cr and Zn were also detected. The presence of K and Na in the priming layer suggests the use of glass, commonly employed in the XVII century. In the Brughi's painting we identified a thin layer of Ultramarine Blue placed over Green Earth layer while the priming layer was mainly constituted by gypsum. On this painting, we also detected surface restoration by Ba based modern pigments.

Triboelectric Nanogenerator Enabled Wearable Sensors and Electronics for Sustainable Internet of Things Integrated Green Earth

AbstractThe advancement of the Internet of Things/5G infrastructure requires a low‐cost ubiquitous sensory network to realize an autonomous system for information collection and processing, aiming at diversified applications ranging from healthcare, smart home, industry 4.0 to environmental monitoring. The triboelectric nanogenerator (TENG) is considered the most promising technology due to its self‐powered, cost‐effective, and highly customizable advantages. Through the use of wearable electronic devices, advanced TENG technology is developed as a core technology enabling self‐powered sensors, power supplies, and data communications for the aforementioned applications. In this review, the advancements of TENG‐based electronics regarding materials, material/device hybridization, systems integration, technology convergence, and applications in healthcare, environment monitoring, transportation, and smart homes toward the future green earth are reported.

Exploring a safer alternative to eosin in soft tissue staining.

Hematoxylin-eosin (H&E) stain has stood the test of time as the standard stain for histologic examination of human tissues. Haematoxylin is a natural dye, on the contrary, its counterstain eosin is a synthetic dye which belongs to the xanthene group. Synthetic dyes are hazardous to human and animal health. With the increasing awareness of a green earth, it is advisable to use environment-friendly and biodegradable materials. Therefore, an attempt was made to develop as biofriendly substitute in the form of food colour as a counterstain for haematoxylin. To assess the staining ability of food colouring agents in routine staining and to compare its staining efficacy with Eosin. Two food colours were obtained and stain was prepared by using 70% ethyl alcohol as counterstain for haematoxylin. Different tissue structures such as epithelium, keratin, collagen fibers, muscles, salivary glands, adipocytes, blood vessels, RBCs were observed and evaluated. Group A -10 slides stained with green food colour, Group B - 10 slides stained with tomato red food colour and Group C - 10 slides stained with conventional H and E. The stained sections were assessed and graded for nuclear staining, cytoplasmic staining, clarity, uniformity and crispness of staining. The non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis and Mann-Whitney U tests were performed for statistical analysis. There was no statistically significant difference between the three study groups with respect to all the parameters except crispness of staining. The crispness of Tomato Red and H and E was better compared to green food colour. Food colouring agents can be used as a safe, biofriendly and inexpensive substitute to eosin in conventional soft tissue staining.

Characterization an wooden Pietà sculpture from the XVIII century using XRF and microct techniques

In this work the pigments, ground layer and the structure of a polychrome wooden Pietà sculpture from the 18th century was characterized using X-ray fluorescence and computed microtomography (microCT) techniques. It was possible to detect the elements: Ca, Ti, Fe, Cu, Zn, Ba, Au, Hg and Pb. It was possible to characterize the pigments Azurite, Prussian Blue, Green Earth, Vermilion, Lead white, Zinc white, and Gold foils. In the regions where there were restorations, it was possible to identify the presence of the lithopone pigment, indicating that these processes occurred from the 19th century. The microCT showed that the statue is a carved wood sculpture with a painting layer with high density pigments. Two different blocks of wood were identified joined together with a wooden pin. The statue was attached to its wooden base with different types of nails, showing that this step took place in a period of time later than the statue manufacturing. Details of the attaching of the eyes and damages due to insect galleries could be also found in this statue.

Biodiversity bad situation and human population study in Patna Town by considering the Heavy utilization of underground water in May.

Abstract: Freshwater is discovered in thirty percent of the ground which lands located by several water sources and humans living there along by eighty percent of bio-diversity. The human population is growing and requiring freshwater. Now humans are relevant eighty percent of freshwater to underground water for farming and daily activities in urban areas. By considering the heavy utilization of underground water, the surface water sources are influenced, especially in the summer. Patna is the capital of Bihar state (India), and the urban zone is developing so quickly now loaded by about 2 million people restricted with Sone, Punpun, and Ganga by Gandak rivers. The ground is plain and there are a dozen ponds for recharging the underground water. In May, the Punpun River includes little water, Sone and Ganga contain lower than ten percent of water in October. People are utilizing underground water by mainly utilizing tube well of >200 feet depth that is go down thirty to fifty feet deeper every year according to slightly restore velocity. It is according to minimum rainwater production. Most of the rainwater runoff is in the Ganga River. Patna requires twelve billion liters of water for billions of rupees in May, and the temperature increases 5 to 7 Degree Celsius higher than the temperature of April generating an alarming condition in the community, especially for fishes, amphibians, birds, and even mammals. The condition becomes so difficult while air contamination, fluoride, and arsenic toxic generate death to organisms cause extinction. for meeting this threatening condition, each rainwater drop must be gathered by the pond's network. At least > ten percent of the land is needed for ponds for meeting the need for water of the increasing human and other organisms for saving green earth.

Advances on value-added application of waste soot materials

In recent years, sustainable management has become the focus of research throughout the world. The present study is undertaken on the same line, that is, to address the potential applications of waste soot in various fields. Reuse/recycle of waste soot will reduce the health and environmental problems, and will lead to cleaner and greener earth; and also, will offer value-added products for various possible applications. In the present review, the potential sources of soot, its collection, refinement and utilization in various fields are addressed. The quality and application of waste soot depend on its carbon content. To the best of our knowledge, the present information will be useful to the business visionaries/researchers to develop suitable processes for mitigating the global problems associated with waste generation and its emissions into the atmosphere, and also to develop value-added products from the waste soot.

Passive design for green buildings by using green glass space and earth air tunnel

In recent years, an increasing number of buildings have adopted passive technologies to meet the needs of energy saving and urban sustainable development. A conflicting relationship exists between energy saving and improving thermal comfort in buildings. Green glass space (GGS), as one of the passive technologies, is a transitional space consisting of glass facades that have the potential to balance thermal comfort and energy savings. Nevertheless, the heat transfer through the glass facades at times of high solar irradiation in summer can lead to overheating, further affecting the balance. In this work, ‘green glass space’-‘earth air tunnel’ coupled system (GGS-EATS) is proposed to improve thermal comfort in a passive way, which can reduce cooling loads. The parameters of GGS-EATS (e.g., supply air temperature (Tsu) and air changes per hour (ACH)) are optimized based on a comprehensive evaluation. A comprehensive evaluation index (CEI) is proposed, which is considered as thermal comfort, sensible cooling capacity and cost of investment. Results indicate that GGS-EATS is effective in solving overheating problems. The maximum sensible cooling capacity and investment cost reduction can reach 11.5 times and 35.6% respectively with Tsu of 25 °C and ACH of 14. The findings can provide the reference for green building design, further to promote sustainable urban development.

‘Why We Build the Wall’: Hegemony, memory and current events in Hadestown

Through its unique jazz-inspired score, creative sets and costume design, the 2019 Tony award-winning musical Hadestown tells the classic Greek mythology story of Orpheus and Eurydice, in which Orpheus ventures to the underworld to save his love from an eternity of suffering. In this rhetorical analysis of the musical’s script, cast recording, sheet music and Broadway production, I explore how Hadestown makes statements about hegemony and memory that connect with current events. Hadestown presents the underworld as an industrial wasteland that contrasts with Persephone’s green earth, placing industry and the environment at odds with one another and bringing the audience’s attention to issues including climate change, refugeeism, homelessness and poverty. Hades is presented as an industrial tycoon and a hegemon who exploits his workers, and the song ‘Why We Build the Wall’ serves to highlight the many hegemonic tactics used to maintain control over a populace. I also explore how the references to Hades’ wall provide audiences experiencing the musical after 2016 with a biting critique of Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign promise to build a wall to curb immigration at the United States’ southern border, and I suggest that the penultimate song provides audiences with a message that aligns with Hannah Arendt’s view of the purpose of memory: that we must remember the past or, in the words of Hadestown, ‘tell the sad tale’, because we hope that it might turn out differently this time. The messages in Hadestown encourage theatregoers to remember the lessons of history, including difficult memories related to hegemony, because only through remembering can we learn from the past and take the actions necessary to face our current challenges.