Countryside near El Hierro, Canary Islands (Spain). Paleomagnetic sampling was performed on 8 Holocene lava flows to determine the eruptive chronology of the volcano (photo by Fabio Speranza).The research topics of the Department of the Environment
The Environment Department is characterized by its multidisciplinary nature and promotes research in thematic areas that range across very different disciplines and which include a considerable variety of natural processes that characterize the Earth system as a whole. These researches share the observation and study of natural geophysical phenomena and their effects on the environment. The research conducted within this line of activity therefore aims to develop knowledge of critical elements of the Earth system and their reciprocal interactions.
These researches include disciplinary sectors that are also very different from each other, which for convenience have been divided into thematic areas, which are summarized below:
In the context of Physics of the upper atmosphere the morphology and dynamics of the ionospheric plasma and its interactions with electromagnetic waves are studied.
La Marine geophysics and multiparametric observations from the seabed (link to marine geophysics) consists in the study of complex geophysical and geo-environmental phenomena and processes that take place in the marine environment, from the lithosphere to the ocean and the atmosphere, through the use of innovative multidisciplinary observations operating on the seabed.
La Environmental geochemistry and medical geology, includes geochemical studies applied to the characterization of areas used as MSW landfills and related pollution phenomena, with the characterization of areas at risk of contamination through monitoring networks for the protection of the environment and human health.
La Geophysics for environmental monitoring it includes geophysical research aimed at characterizing the territory and the subsoil aimed at mitigating natural, environmental and anthropic risks.
Il Geomagnetism is the study of the earth's magnetic field, its dynamics and its variations at different space-time scales. The analysis of variations, both of internal and external origin to the Earth, and the development of models of magnetospheric dynamics in response to solar activity, are central themes of the activity of INGV geomagnetists.
THEOceanography and Climate studies the physical properties of the waters (temperature, current salinity) of the Mediterranean area and the circum-European seas and their space-time variability. He also studies the elements that determine the current climate and climate change, including changes in sea level.
Researchers dealing with Paleoclimate, study the Earth's climate system over geological time. Paleoclimatic research is aimed at reconstructing past climate changes through the integrated analysis of proxy data in stratigraphic sequences.
Il Paleomagnetism deals with the study of the remnant magnetism of rocks, with geomagnetic, geodynamic, volcanic, stratigraphic and environmental applications.
In the topic related to Research in polar areas the dynamics of natural phenomena in these regions are analyzed – through multidisciplinary studies and observations – as areas of critical importance for the determination of many fundamental elements of planet Earth (climate, magnetic field, physics of the upper atmosphere).