Action WP

Project management and coordination (P. Macrì)

WP1 focuses on coordination of the project, operational and financial management, quality and performance control. The objectives of the project will be achieved through organized and integrated activities. WP1 is aimed at organizing project meetings, promoting cooperation and information exchange among WPs.

WP2: Paleoclimatic and Paleoenvironmental reconstruction (A. Di Roberto)

WP2 provides high-resolution paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental proxies from sedimentary sequences and speleothems. The multidisciplinary analyses will be integrated to study the past climate dynamics in the Mediterranean area

Tasks

Task 1: Sampling and Data Collection (A. Smedile)

This task is devoted to sampling and data collection activities from: 1) a major long core, and a shorter one, drilled in the Castiglione maar; 2) speleothems collected in the Lepini-Ausoni-Aurunci karst area; 3) two marine cores (NDT09 and NDT12) from the Tyrrhenian sea.

Task 2: Integrated stratigraphy from multidisciplinary investigations  (A. Di Roberto)

This task is devoted to carrying out laboratory analyses on the samples collected at Task 1. The adopted methodologies and techniques consist on: X-ray fluorescence (CS-XRF) core scanning, Paleomagnetic and rock magnetic analyses; Micropaleontological analyses; Palynological characterization; Carbon content (TC/TIC/TOC) analyses (δ18O, δ13C, δ11B, 87Sr/86Sr, 143Nd/144Nd);Tephrochronology, Radiometric Absolute dating (14C; 40Ar-39Ar; U/Th; 210Pb,137Cs);

Task 3: Data integration (C. Caricchi)

The activities in Task 3 include the combination and integration of all the measurements and analyses, for supplying high-resolution and well-dated evidence about local paleoenvironmental and regional paleoclimate variations occurred in the study areas. Assembling multidisciplinary paleoclimatic proxy data, characterized by different time resolutions, into a uniform database is highly required to address a wide range of research questions.

Climate change linked to volcanic activity and assessment and reduction of natural CO2 emission (M.L. Carapezza)

This WP aims at i) evaluating the natural CO2 output and testing the possibility of mitigating its effects; ii) estimating the possible relation existing between volcanic activity and climate change

Tasks

Task 1: Sampling and Data Collection  (D. Granieri)

Assessment of CO2  output in the Rome Metropolitan area 

Surveys of diffuse soil CO2 flux by accumulation chamber will be carried out in so far unsurveyed zones of the Rome Metropolitan area and repeated in the test site. Air CO2 concentration will be measured by IR portable Draeger devices, at different heights, together with environmental parameters at the anomalous gas releasing zone selected as test-site. δ13C analyses of CO2 emitted from the soil will be carried out, at INGV-Palermo Labs, to characterize its origin.

Soil characterization

Soil parameters in the surface layer (0-30 and 30-60 cm), will be analysed by Tellus Spin-off, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna-Pisa, with the objective of characterizing the basic conditions necessary for plant growth: soil texture, organic carbon content, pH, NPK content, and possible anomalies (e.g. heavy metals content) that may hamper plant growth.

Task 2 Evaluation and mitigation of natural CO2  output (M.L. Carapezza)

The worldwide experience will be reviewed with the aim of selecting the most appropriate CO2 absorbing vegetation suitable to be planted at anomalous gas releasing sites, considering the local environmental conditions. Soil and vegetation of the target zones will be surveyed, to acquire basic information needed to plan and implement the revegetation/afforestation intervention.

Task 3 Influence of volcanism and CO2  flux on paleoclimate (A. Di Roberto)

Climate change, volcanic activity and the effects of volcanic activity on climate change can be truly recorded in studied sediment sequences since these are major archives of volcanic eruption events. So, the comparison of the tephra record with information about climate variations developed from independent multi-proxies analyses can provide strong evidence for the impact of volcanism and CO2 emissions on climate change.

Data management  (C. Caricchi)

This WP is devoted to the storage and management of the different types of data collected during the project both in the field and in the laboratory. All samples will be inventoried in specific databases; data, metadata and publications will be stored in dedicated repositories.

Communication, dissemination, education  (A. Cascella)

The WP5 is aimed at diffusing the project results among the partners and toward the main stakeholders.

Task 1: Design of the dissemination plan (L. Minelli)

Dissemination of results will be addressed to both the scientific community and the non-specialist public audience with a particular focus on students. Results will be diffused to the scientific audience via international peer-reviewed publications and presentations at national and international conferences.

Task 2: Set up the project website and media channels (C. Caricchi)

A Project website, dedicated to the scientific community and stakeholders, will be built to illustrate general information for the public and update the evolution of the research. The information channels of INGV (the official website and social media), as well as exhibitions like the European Researchers’ Night, will be used to promote the meeting between researchers and citizens. The education program will include training at high-level with ad-hoc fellowships delivered by the present project.