University scholarships

• Geophysical surveys for the characterization of glacial and periglacial environment (Proposer: Prof. Jacopo Boaga)

• Quantitative analysis of earthquake swarms with advanced seismological data analysis tools (Proposer: Prof. Piero Poli)
• Impacts of climate change on underwater and coastal cultural heritage (Proposer: Prof. Claudio Mazzoli) 

• Advanced remote sensing techniques as a support tool for geotechnical modelling of geohazards (Proposer: Prof. Mario Floris)

• Mechanism of formation of tectonic “giant pseudotachylytes” (Proposer: Prof. Giulio Di Toro)
• Impacts of acidification on past biodiversity: insights from marine vertebrates (Proposer: Prof. Manuel Rigo)
• The Norian/Rhaetian boundary: evidence of a new global event (Proposers: Prof. Manuel Rigo, Prof Tetsuji Onoue, Dr. Honami Sato) 
• The Gelasian-Calabrian climate transition: a central Mediterranean perspective (Proposer: Prof. Luca Capraro)

 "Dipartimenti di Eccellenza" scholarships

3 Scholarships funded by Dipartimento di Geoscienze su fondi "Budget MUR - Dipartimenti di Eccellenza"

Projec Title: " Le Geoscienze per lo Sviluppo Sostenibile", Scientific Coordinator: prof. Nicola Surian

Scholarship 1 - Water resources and soils: conservation, remediation and management

Environmental protection and enhancement play a key role in sustainable development. This project is focused on two crucial environmental aspects, water resources and soils. Since overexploitation and pollution of groundwater and soils are widespread environmental issues, there is a need for identifying effective strategies for conservation, remediation and management of such natural resources.Examples of topics that are addressed in this project are: (i) water resources and pollution in different environments, including periglacial environments where rapid changes are going on; (ii) SPAC (soil-plant-atmosphere continuum) characterization and monitoring. Different techniques will be used for analysing water resources and soils, including applied geophysics which provides a multidimensional suite of methods suitable to investigate subsurface structures, and time-lapse techniques to monitor the dynamics of groundwater and, in the case of contaminated sites, crucial biogeochemical reactions.

• Monitoring natural and waste water circulation in the shallow crust with velocity variation from ambient seismic noise (Proposer: Prof. Piero Poli)
• Geophysical prospecting for the periglacial environments: risks and resources from the climate change adaptation (Proposer: Prof. Jacopo Boaga)
• Hydrogeophysical techniques for SPAC (soil-plant-atmosphere continuum) characterization and monitoring of state and fluxes of mass and energy (Proposer: Prof. Giorgio Cassiani)

Scholarship 2  - Georesources for energy transition and geomaterials

The sustainable exploitation of georesources and geomaterials for green and energy transition represents a strategic field of research. The massive consumption of virgin raw materials, associated with enormous emissions of anthropogenic CO2, and generation of huge amounts of waste, requires the deployment of strategies aimed at minimizing the environmental footprint associated with the extraction and processing of such georesources. Different branches of geoscience can be integrated to pursue such an overarching goal, with specific objectives that can include: upcycling of mineral waste aimed at mitigating the depletion of primary resources and the direct impact of quarrying and mining activities; implementation of carbon capture and storage approaches, also by means of CO2 mineralization; utilisation of local mineral resources for the manufacturing of low-CO2 geomaterials; exploitation of georesources for green energy generation; utilization of geomaterials for soil amendment and water decontamination.

• Data-driven and life-cycle analyses of sustainable cements for Sub-Saharan Africa (Proposer: Prof. Luca Valentini)
• Integration of CO2 mineralization with mining (Proposer: Dr. Valentina Prigiobbe) 

Scholarship 3 - Climate change impacts and mitigation of related risks

There is concern, at global scale, about some effects of climate change, such as increase in the frequency of extreme events (e.g. floods and droughts) and sea-level rise. Understanding such effects is crucial for identifying adaptation and mitigation strategies that are needed for planning and development of sustainable and resilient communities. The project aims to address different research topics, dealing both with processes (storms, flooding, landslides) and related risks in a changing climate. Some of the topics that will be addressed are: (i) the relationship between storm types and extreme precipitation; (ii) slope instability in different environments, in the Alps as well as in submarine settings; (iii) use of remote sensing and artificial intelligence to assess geohazards. A further aim of the project is to increase our knowledge about compound and cascade hydrogeomorphic hazards and risks, that is the complex feedback and interactions between hillslopes and fluvial processes.

• Contribution of different storm types to future extremes of precipitation and wind: identification and classification of storms from climate model simulations based on the dominant processes, and analysis of the emerging extremes (Proposer: Dr. Francesco Marra)
• Advanced numerical modelling and remote sensing techniques for the characterization and assessment of geohazards at multiple scales (Proposer: Prof. Mario Floris)
• Submarine landslide hazard in different geological settings: causes and impact of climate change  (Proposer: Prof. Filippo Catani)
• Artificial Intelligence in geohazards and risk analysis: Integrating artificial intelligence into Geo-Hydrological hazard assessment strategies (Proposer: Dr. Ascanio Rosi)

For more details on single research lines please feel free to contact the proposer

 Fixed Topic scholarships

• Analysis of biomarkers from pre-protohistoric archaeological contexts by means of separation techniques coupled with mass spectrometry (Proposer: Prof. Cristiano Nicosia)