Global warming has begun to make its grip felt, causing 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 .
Science, therefore, has the duty to urgently propose energy sources that do not involve such a sudden climatic gradient with devastating consequences for humanity. Italy contributes only 1% to global CO2 emissions, so it's not an energy conversion process that we can tackle alone. However, we can and must contribute to finding solutions to the problem.
INGV is at the forefront of the European project SaveMedCoasts-2 which, over the years, has measured the impact of climate change on sea level rise for the coastal areas of the Mediterranean. A project, told by its manager Marco Anzidei, which has made Mediterranean communities aware of the mitigation of the risks deriving from the combined effects of the rising sea level and the lowering of the soil in the deltas of the main rivers and in the lagoon areas where human activities , economic and natural resources are at serious risk of conservation in the coming decades.
INGV is also involved in the exploitation of geothermal energy produced by the internal heat of the planet. It is an energy resource which, if activated according to international safety standards, guarantees the necessary standards of environmental sustainability. Italy has been a pioneer in Tuscany with geothermal energy, where currently, in the Larderello area, energy equivalent to approximately one nuclear reactor is produced.
The guest of honor of our virtual living room is Professor Elisabetta Erba of the University of Milan. Winner of the prestigious Lamarck Medal 2022, she is an expert in calcareous nannofossils, through which it is possible to define the age of rocks and reconstruct, over geological time, the characteristics of the oceans such as temperature, fertility and salinity of surface waters. These studies help to understand the resilience of the ocean ecosystem and the results represent a valuable aid in understanding what is happening today and help formulate future scenarios.
The understanding of natural risks and their mitigation for the protection of society is the basis of the study of earth mechanisms and ground accelerations. In this way it is possible to develop and implement the best anti-seismic techniques that make our communities resilient to the seismic energy to which they are exposed. These tools, in fact, are essential to protect not only people but also the building and artistic heritage. Analyzing and learning about the earthquakes that hit the Po Valley in 2012, which this year marks its tenth anniversary, and the one that hit Florence and the surrounding area heavily in 1895 is essential for transmitting the historical memory of these events, helping society to have greater awareness of the territory.
Our journey into geosciences continues with the eruption that changed the history of volcanology. In 1980 a very violent explosion obliterated the entire flank of the Saint Helens volcano in the State of Washington, becoming a true legend for generations of volcanologists.
Our itinerary ends in Sicily with a stop at the Palermo Section and at the Cartography Laboratory of the Etna Observatory, at the forefront of volcanological studies and environmental phenomena.
In the Sicilian capital, the INGV Section has made the sea one of its main objects of study and research. It is home to numerous scientific laboratories in which the marine depths are observed through geochemistry and the hydrothermal fluids of the Aeolian islands are monitored, also actively participating in the search for alternative energy sources.
The Catania Lab, on the other hand, maps the effusive activities and morpho-structural reliefs associated with the eruptive dynamics also with a fleet of drones, and by photographing the structures from above, it offers researchers the possibility of monitoring the thermal state of the craters and volcanic fractures .
Another trip to the center of the Earth before leaving for the holidays. Enjoy the reading!