Gasperini Luca

Education

• 1982 July - General Certificate of Education, Technical High School, Aldini Valeriani, Bologna (Electronics), marks 58/60.
• 1990 Sequence Stratigraphy short course, Prof. P.R. Vail, Palermo, Italy.
• 1991 July - University of Bologna, Italy, Diploma di Laurea (Master equivalent) in Geological Science with full marks (110/110 cum laude). Thesis title: Depositional systems and Quaternary tectonics of the Eastern Tyrrenian Margin.
• 1994 - 6-months fellowship in: “Morphobathymetric and Gravimetric data processing” at Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University, N.Y., USA (tutor: W.F. Haxby).
• 1998 - Morphobathymetric data processing course (CARAIBES-IFREMER), Institute of Marine Geology, Bologna .

Current Position

From 1st February 1988:  Research Scientist, Istituto di Geologia Marina, (now Istituto di Scienze Marine, ISMAR) Italian National Research Council, Bologna
Main Interests:

• Marine Technologies;
• Geophysical methods;
• Structural Geology;
• Seismic Stratigraphy;
• Plate Tectonic reconstructions;
• Submarine Paleoseismology.
• Impact Cratering.

He took part to, or organized, several oceanographic expeditions, in the Mediterranean Sea and in the Atlantic and Pacific and Subantarctic oceans.

Chief Expedition

• MARMARA2009, 22 Sept.-12 Oct. 2009; R/V Urania; Funding E.C. (ESONET)
• MAGIC-AUGUSTA, 13-18 Apr. 2009 R/V Urania, Eastern Sicily Offshore, Funding Protezione Civile.
• TUNGUSKA08, Central Siberia, Funding: CNR, Fondazione Tunguska.
• MARMARA2005, Sea of Marmara (Turkey), Funding MIUR-Istanbul Municipality.
• TRASI-05, M/N Grifone, Lake Trasimeno; Funding APAT-Regione Umbria.
• TRASI-04, M/B Alsea, Lake Trasimeno; Funding APAT-Regione Umbria.
• MARMARA2001, 24 May – 21 June 2001, R/V Urania, Sea of Marmara (Turkey), Funding CNR, MIUR, NATO.

Project coordinator:

• Progetto SWAP – Shallow-WAter Prospector; Study and design of an Unmanned Surface Vehicle (USV) for geophysical and geochemical surveys of shallow-water areas. Project Tecnopoli; Fundings: Regione Emilia Romagna;
• 2007-2009: Italy-China bilateral project: “Integrated management of the coastal zones in Italy and in China: experiences and proposals for the future”. Funding Ministero degli Esteri;
• 2006-2009: Environmental survey of Lake Trasimeno (Italy). Funding Regione Umbria;
• 2005-2006: Geophysical Survey of lake Trasimeno: Foglio Geologico n. 310 Passignano sul Trasimeno”. Funding: Regione Umbria;
• 2004-2006: Techniques and Studies for evaluating local effect in seismic hazard.(Regione Toscana). Funding Regione Toscana.
• 2000-2006: Macquarie Project: The Macquarie Triple Junction in the SW Pacific Ocean. Funding:  Programma Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide.
• 1999-2007: The Tunguska Event: geological/geophysical studies close to the epicenter. Funding: Ministero dell'Universita' e della Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica, Ministero degli Affari Esteri, Universita' di Bologna, Regione Emilia Romagna, Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio in Bologna, Alenia Aerospazio.
• Mesozoic and Cenozoic geological evolution of the Ross Sea and adjacent areas. Programma Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide; from 1996 al 1999; Funding Programma Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide.

Operating Unit (or Work Package) leader:

• 2009-2011:  Foglio 32 “Augusta” MaGIC (Marine Geohazard along the Italian Coasts) Project. Fundings Protezione Civile.
• 2008-2010: O.U. ISMAR-Bologna (WP-4) - E.C. project “Marmara Demo-Mission MARMESONET”, in the frame of European Sea Floor Observatory Network (ESONET). Funding E.C.;
• 2009-2011: O.U. ISMAR-Bologna: “Marine Geological-Geophysical data acquisition” in the frame of the project: PROGETTO DI RICERCA PER IL MONITORAGGIO DELLA FASCIA COSTIERA DELL’ISOLA DI PIANOSA (Parco dell’Arcipelago Toscano), collaborazione tra Istituto di Biologia ed Ecologia Marina di Piombino e CNR Dipartimento Terra e Ambiente Roma (resp. R. Bedini).
• May-Sept. 2008: O.U. ISMAR-Bologna for a preliminary geophysical survey offshore Numana (Adriatic Sea). Contractor: ISMAR-GAZ de France.
• 2000-2001: O.U. ISMAR (IGM), project E.C.-MAST SEISCAN.
• July 2000: O.U. Lake Maggiore (Italy) Geophysical data acquisition (Contractor: ENICHEM): Studio dei sedimenti del Lago Maggiore (Resp. Mauro Frignani).
• 1999-2001: O.U. IGM, PNRA project: “Ground-Penetrating Radar (GPR) study of the Meso-Cenozoic Lineaments in the Northern Victoria Land (Antarctica)”. Funding PNRA, resp. M. Pipan.
• 1997: U.O. Geophysical Acquisition in the project: “Ripristino ecologico della Valle Fattibello (Comacchio)”. Funding: Regione Emilia Romagna. Resp. F. Frascari.

He published several scientific papers in ISI journals, some popularisation articles on Italian and International magazines, such as Scientific American, Darwin, Le Scienze, l’Astronomia, and a book, “Blowin’ in the wind: la vita e il lavoro di Marco dopo dieci anni dopo, Uni Service, Trento, 2008”. He took part to several documentary movies and interviews on Italian and international Broadcasts (National Geographic Channel (USA); BBC and Channel4 (UK); NTV (Russia); RAI-1,-2,-3 (Italy); Radio 1, Radio 3 (Italy); etc...

An updated list of his recent papers is available, when permitted, in open access

Google Scholar Profile

• Gasperini, L; Bonatti, E; Albertazzi, S; Forlani, L; Accorsi, CA; Longo, G; Ravaioli, M; Alvisi, F; Polonia, A.; Sacchetti, F. Sediments from Lake Cheko (Siberia), a possible impact crater for the 1908 Tunguska Event. TERRA NOVA, 21 (6): 489-494 DEC 2009
• Cagatay, MN; Eris, K; Ryan, WBF; Sancar, U; Polonia, A; Akcer, S.; Biltekin, D; Gasperini, L.; Gorur, N.; Lericolais, G.; Bard, E. Late Pleistocene-Holocene evolution of the northern shelf of the Sea of Marmara, MARINE GEOLOGY, 265 (3-4): 87-100 SEP 15 2009
• Gasperini L., Stanghellini G., SEISPRHO: An interactive computer program for processing and interpretation of high-resolution seismic reflection profiles, COMPUTERS & GEOSCIENCES   Volume: 35   Issue: 7   Pages: 1497-1507   Published: JUL 2009
• Geli L, Henry P, Zitter T, ...Gasperini L...et al. Gas emissions and active tectonics within the submerged section of the North Anatolian Fault zone in the Sea of Marmara EARTH AND PLANETARY SCIENCE LETTERS   Volume: 274   Issue: 1-2   Pages: 34-39   Published: SEP 30 2008
• Gasperini L, Bonatti E, Longo G. Lake Cheko and the Tunguska event: Impact or non-impact?
  TERRA NOVA   Volume: 20   Issue: 2   Pages: 169-172   Published: APR 2008
• Gasperini L, Alvisi F, Biasini G, et al. A possible impact crater for the 1908 Tunguska Event, TERRA NOVA   Volume: 19   Issue: 4   Pages: 245-251   Published: AUG 2007
• Dal Forno Giulio and Luca Gasperini ChirCor: a new tool for generating synthetic chirp-sonar seismograms, Computers & Geosciences, COMPUTERS & GEOSCIENCES   Volume: 34   Issue: 2   Pages: 103-114   Published: FEB 2008.
• Cormier M.-H., L. Seeber, C. M.G. McHugh, _A. Polonia_, N. Çagatay, Ö. Emre, L. Gasperini, N.Görür, G. Bortoluzzi, E. Bonatti, W.B.F. Ryan, K. R. Newman, North Anatolian Fault in the Gulf of Izmit (Turkey): Rapid vertical motion in response to minor bends of a nonvertical continental transform, J. Geophys. Res., 111, B04102, doi: 10.1029/2005JB003633.
• Bonatti E., Brunelli D., Buck W.R., Cipriani A., Fabretti P., Ferrante V., Gasperini L., Ligi M., Flexural uplift of a litospheric slab near the Vema transform (Central Altlantic): Timing and mechanisms, EPSL, 240 (2005) 642-655
• Gasperini L., Extremely shallow-water morphobathymetric surveys: the Valle Fattibello (Comacchio, Italy) test case. Marine Geophysical Researches (2005) 26:97–107 DOI 10.1007/s11001-005-3710-0
• Polonia A,  Gasperini L., Amorosi A.  Bonatti E, Cagatay N,  Capotondi L, Cormier M.-H., Gorur N., McHugh C.  Seeber L.  Holocene Slip rate of the North Anatolian Fault beneath the Sea of Marmara, EPSL, 427, 411-426, 2004
• Marco Ligi, Enrico Bonatti, Luca Gasperini, Alexei N.B. Poliakov. Oceanic broad multifault transform plate boundaries. Geology, January 2002, v.30, no.1,; p. 11-14; 2002.
• Bonatti E., Ligi M., Brunelli D., Cipriani A., Fabretti P., Ferrante V.,  Gasperini L., Ottolini L.  (2003)  Mantle thermal pulses below the Mid Atlantic Ridge and temporal variations in the oceanic lithosphere.  Nature  423  499-505
• Bernoulli D., L. Gasperini, E. Bonatti. Dolomitization in pelagic limestones and diatomites, Romanche Fracture Zone, equatorial Atlantic. JOURNAL OF SEDIMENTARY RESEARCH, VOL. 74, NO. 6, NOVEMBER, 2004, P. 924–932
• Bonatti E., M. Ligi, D. Brunelli, A. Cipriani, P. Fabretti, V. Ferrante, L. Gasperini and L. Ottolini, Mantle thermal pulses below the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and temporal variations in the formation of oceanic lithosphere, Nature, 423, 499-505, 2003.
• Ligi M., E. Bonatti, L. Gasperini, and A.N.B. Poliakov,  Oceanic broad multifault transform plate boundaries, Geology, 30,  11-14,  2002.
• Gasperini L., D. Bernoulli, E. Bonatti, A.M. Borsetti, M. Ligi, A. Negri, R. Sartori  and K. von Salis, Lower Cretaceous to Eocene sedimentary transverse ridge at the Romanche fracture zone and the opening of the Equatorial Atlantic, Marine Geology, 176,  101-119,  2001.
• Sokolov S.Y., V.N. Efimov, A.O. Mazarovich, S.B. Aver’yanov, S.A. Erofeev, L.M. Evgrafov, G. Bortoluzzi, L.Gasperini and M. Ligi, Structure of the Sedimentary Cover in the Western African-Antarctic Ridge, Southern Atlantic, Doklady Akademii Nauk /Earth Sciences Section, 366, 464-468, 1999.
• Gasperini L., E. Bonatti, M. Ligi, R. Sartori, A.M. Borsetti, A. Negri, A. Ferrari, S. Sokolov, Stratigraphic numerical modelling of a carbonate platform on the Romanche transverse ridge, Equatorial Atlantic, Marine Geology, 136, 245-257, 1997.
• Bonatti E., M. Ligi, A.M. Borsetti, L. Gasperini, A. Negri and R.  Sartori, Lower Cretaceous deposits trapped near the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, Nature,  380, 518-520, 1996.
  Bonatti E., M. Ligi, G. Carrara, L. Gasperini, N. Turko, A. Perfiliev, A. Peyve and P.F. Sciuto, Diffuse impact of the Mid Atlantic Ridge with the Romanche transform: an Ultracold Ridge/Transform Intersection, Journal of Geophysical Research, 101, 8043-8054, 1996.
• Bonatti E., M. Ligi, L.Gasperini, A.Mazarovich, Y.Raznitsin and Y.J.Chen - Transform migration and vertical tectonics at the Romanche fracture zone, equatorial Atlantic, Journal of Geophysical Research, 99, 21779-21802, 1994.