THE EDITORIAL
Global warming has begun to make its grip felt, leading to social, economic and, therefore, geopolitical upheavals. New arid lands, seas which year after year take away available coasts for cultivation, fresh water from rivers which, becoming salinized, become unusable for irrigating fields, sudden and whirling storms which devastate the territories, dramatic droughts. Never before has man found himself facing a problem of which he is the architect considering that atmospheric CO2 has reached 415 ppm, the highest value in the last 800 years. At the beginning of the 900s the level was less than 300 ppm and from the 60s onwards this value was always increasing up to 2016 when it was steadily over 400 ppm. These are irrefutable elements to direct humanity to change policy in energy production: even today if we suddenly stopped emitting climate-altering gases, nature would need centuries to digest this chemical alteration and reabsorb carbon dioxide in the oceans, sediments and plants .
L'GUEST OF HONOR
From the passion for the moon to the depths of the oceans: an interview with Prof. Elisabetta Erba
Graduated in Geological Sciences, she is Full Professor at the “Ardito Desio” Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Milan. Winner of the prestigious Lamarck Medal 2022, she coordinated national and international research projects. We are talking about Professor Elisabetta Erba, an expert in calcareous nannofossils through which it is possible to define the age of rocks and also to reconstruct, over geological time, the characteristics of the oceans such as temperature, fertility and salinity of surface waters. Guest of our virtual living room, Professor Erba told us about her professional career and her passion for Earth sciences.
Pianura Padana 2012: research, tools and resources to learn more about seismic emergency events
Mount Saint Helens: the eruption that changed the history of volcanology
Sea level rise: the risks for the Mediterranean coasts
A RESEARCHER'S LIFE
IDENTITY CARD
Qualification: researcher
Field of activity: physics of volcanic processes
INTERVIEW A
He says of himself that he has a "tolla face" (what does that mean? I didn't feel like investigating) and that he (almost) never gets angry. She's not too obsessed with the future (she does what she can… and that's welcome, I might add). She has always been attracted by the possibility of describing the phenomena of the world with a rigorous formalism, a way, let's say, of 'putting order' in science and, who knows, perhaps also in life. She especially loves to travel to places not approved for 'our' lifestyle and if she could have chosen among the discoveries of the past she would have wanted to discover the theory of quantum physics. Today we know Chiara Montagna better.
LAB EXPERIENCES
The cartography laboratory of the Etna Observatory
The cartography laboratory, also known as MAPlab, has the main objective of mapping the products of the effusive activity of Sicilian volcanoes and of the morpho-structural reliefs associated with the eruptive dynamics. We asked the manager Emanuela De Beni to tell us more about this important laboratory of the INGV Etna Observatory.
The Mavic 2 Dual Enterprise drone
THE EARTH TELLS
Florence 1895. The earthquake that devastated Tuscany
In the first half of May this year, the Florentine Chianti and the city of Florence itself were affected by a seismic sequence, with events up to a magnitude of 3.7, which alarmed the population. Although it is always thought that the greatest risk for Florence is represented by the floods of the Arno river, it must be said that the Florentine area is not new to seismic phenomena, and in the past it has been hit by even stronger events than those of this year . On 18 May 1895, in fact, a strong earthquake struck almost the entire province of Florence, causing widespread damage, even serious in some areas. It was one of the strongest earthquakes in Florentine history and also the most recent and documented. To find out what happened that day, and to learn about the characteristics of this event, we interviewed Filippo Bernardini, a geologist at the Bologna branch of INGV, where he deals with macroseismology and historical seismology.
IT HAPPENED TODAY
MANAGEMENT AND LEADERSHIP
In the capital of the largest island in Italy, Sicily, there is a Section of INGV whose history is even older than that of the Institution. A section stretching out towards the blue of the Tyrrhenian Sea, which over the years has made the sea one of its main objects of study and research. The Palermo Section is a center of excellence of the Institute, home to numerous scientific laboratories where, through geochemistry, 'everything that moves' from Space to the depths of the sea can be observed from a privileged point of view. A point of reference for monitoring the hydrothermal fluids of the Aeolian Islands, the Section is also a scientific partner of the national industrial sector in the search for alternative energy sources. To find out more, we interviewed the Director Francesco Italiano.
EVENTS OF THE MONTH
Geosciences News TGweb of 07/07/2022
Geosciences News TGweb of 23/06/2022
PUBLISHING INGV
INGVNewsletter is a publication of the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology
2022 | Number 5 | year XVI
Responsible Director: Valeria De Paola
Reg. Court of Rome n. 80/2006 of 01/03/2006
INGV National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology
Legal representative: Carlo Doglioni
Headquarters: Via di Vigna Murata, 605 | Rome
Editorial Board: Press Office and Urp
Graphic design by the INGV Graphic and Image Laboratory - Web Design by Simone Vecchi
Contributors to this issue: Valeria De Paola, Francesca Pezzella, Sara Stopponi, Marco Cirilli
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