This work describes the geochemical and hydrogeological characteristics of Santa Cesarea Terme, an active sulfuric acid speleogenetic system located along the Adriatic coastline (Apulia, southern Italy). It represents a very peculiar site, where rising thermal and acidic waters mix with seawater creating undersaturated solutions with respect to CaCO₃, able to dissolve and corrode limestone and create caves. The Santa Cesarea Terme system is composed of four caves: Fetida, Sulfurea, Gattulla, and Solfatara. Hypogene morphologies and abundant deposits of native sulfur (especially in Gattulla Cave) and sulfate minerals are present in these caves. Fetida and Gattulla caves were investigated primarily because they are easily accessible throughout the whole year through artificial entrances, the other caves being reachable only from the sea. Geochemical analysis of water, monitoring of cave atmosphere, and measurement of the stable isotopes of S, O, and H helped to identify the main processes occurring in this complex cave system. In particular, changes in Ba²⁺and Sr²⁺concentration allowed for the identification of two main domains of influence, characterized by marine and rising acidic waters.

The results of a series of continuous characterizations of physical parameters (flow, temperature, water conductivity) and chemical analyses in water springs fed by karst aquifers located in the Piedmont region (northwestern Italy) are presented in this work. Rock masses in carbonate rocks, characterized by very different hydrogeological situations, linked to a different degree of karstification, fracturing, and development of the saturated zone, were examined. A series of data-loggers were installed, operating for several years, and different water sampling missions and subsequent chemical analyses (main ions, metals, and rare earth elements) under different hydrodynamic conditions were carried out. The results show very different trends of chemical–physical water parameters, particularly following significant infiltrative events. Aquifers characterized by a high karstification and reduced saturated zone highlight water mineralization decreases, even within a few hours, as a result of significant flow rate increases (prevalent substitution). Aquifers with a well-developed saturated zone, during an entire flood event, highlight an increase in mineralization linked to the remobilization of water present in the less permeable sectors of the aquifer (piston flow phenomenon). Lastly, aquifers fed by very fractured rocky masses and reduced karstification have a water flow rate with mild annual variations and constant chemical–physical parameters over time (homogenization phenomenon).

Critical and Strategic Raw Materials European Union’s policies are targeting the production of fundamental raw materials from internal sources, fostering the recovery of relevant quantities of materials from the existing mining facilities in Europe. Northwest Italy was an important mining area until the mid-1900s, as reported by the Italian inventory of closed mining waste storage facilities, referring to 92 mining waste facilities. Three sites were chosen to better define their historical and bibliographical framework. The selected sites comprise the Traversella Mine (Piedmont), Libiola Mine (Liguria) and Herin Mine (Aosta Valley). Currently, there are relevant amounts of abandoned mining waste in the surrounding areas of these closed mines. The potential recovery of the residual valuable fraction of these materials could be crucial for both critical raw materials’ recovery and environmental valorization of the involved territories.

Climate change is significantly affecting ecosystem services and leading to strong impacts on the extent and distribution of glaciers and vegetation. In this context, species distribution models represent a suitable instrument for studying ecosystem development and response to climate warming. This study applies the maximum entropy model, MaxEnt, to evaluate trends and effects of climate change for three environmental indicators in the area of the Alpi Marittime Natural Park under the Municipality of Entracque (Italy). Specifically, this study focuses on the magnitude of the retreat of six glaciers and on the distribution of two different plant communities, Alnus viridis scrub and Fagus sylvatica forest associated with Acer pseudoplatanus and tall herbs (megaforbie), in relation to predicted increases in mean temperatures. MaxEnt software was used to model and observe changes over a thirty-year period, developing three scenarios: a present (2019), a past (1980) and a future (2050) using 24 “environmental layers”. This study showed the delicate climate balances of these six small glaciers that, in the next 30 years, are likely to undergo an important retreat (≈−33%) despite the high altitude and important snowfall that still characterize the area. At the same time, it is predicted that the two plant communities will invade those higher altitude territories that, not so long ago, were inhospitable, expanding their habitat by 50%. The MaxEnt application to glaciers has shown to be an effective tool that offers a new perspective in the climate change field as well as in biodiversity conservation planning.

The geologic investigation of water-covered areas is often difficult and inefficient with only the use of traditional surveying techniques (i.e., local drilling and sampling). Waterborne geophysical surveys can offer a valuable alternative to achieve adequate data coverage in a cost-effective way. Two geophysical waterborne methods were combined in this study for the delineation of the submerged subsurface geology along a 5 km stretch of the Po river, within the urban area of Turin. The adopted methods were: continuous vertical electrical sounding (CVES) and ground-penetrating radar (GPR). Special attention was devoted to the accurate geo-referencing of both surveys for combined interpretation. GPR results provide a high-quality representation of the river bed forms, with identification of clear sand dunes in the finer alluvial sediments. CVES resistivity sections enable a deeper characterization, identifying the interface between the shallow alluvial deposits and the deeper low-resistivity marls of the Turin-Hill succession. Our work strengthens the effectiveness of waterborne surveys for geologic prospecting of water-covered and difficult-to-access areas.