Connecting earth sciences to policy and decision making

An emerging international leader in volcanology, Franklin College faculty member Mattia Pistone serves as a principal investigator on research projects underway in Sicily, Ecuador, the Arctic poles, and the Italian Alps. 

For Pistone, assistant professor of petrology and volcanology in the Department of Geology, drilling into the Earth to understand the past and future of its processes is a mission he takes seriously – and passion he shares generously. His lab, “Magma Mia!”, an homage to his Italian roots, is designed to investigate the mineral record from magmatic and metamorphic rocks, study volcanic eruption dynamics, and quantify volatile cycles in the Earth’s interior – work that connects humanity’s future and the ground beneath our feet:

Geologists have long explored the transition from the Earth’s crust to its mantle, the thick layer of rock that comprises nearly 85% of our planet’s volume, playing a vital role in heat transfer and geological processes. For decades, reaching the mantle has been deemed impossible. Drilling equipment simply can’t make it that far down without being crushed by the immense pressure exerted by rocks. Now, however, an international team of scientists has found a way around that obstacle.

Pistone serves as one of seven principal investigators leading the DIVE project—Drilling the Ivrea-Verbano Zone—supported by the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program. Comprised of scientists from Italy, Switzerland, Austria, Germany, France, and the United States, the DIVE team has set up operations at a location in the Western Alps where, thanks to how the mountains were formed, the crust-mantle interface resides quite close to the surface. In some places, it is just one kilometer deep, rather than the usual 35 to 40 kilometers. This unique topography means that what used to be an impossible dream—drilling into the mantle—is now within striking distance.

“It’s a little bit like cheating,” Pistone said. “But in a very smart way. We’ve found a way to explore rocks that otherwise would not be accessible anywhere else on the planet.”

Read more about Pistone, his work around the world, and students in this terrific UGA Research Communications feature.

Image: Mattia Pistone looks at Chimborazo, a volcano in Ecuador’s Andes Mountains - photo courtesy of Mattia Pistone.