1. Geoscience of the Water Cycle

Life on Earth depends on water and its sustainable use is crucial for continued

human existence. Earth’s water resources include surface/ground water, ocean

water, and ice. The study of Earth’s water involves understanding and managing

both surface and groundwater systems, including sources, contamination,

vulnerability and history of water systems.

2. Geohazards: Mitigating the Risks

Geohazards include earthquakes, volcanic activity, landslides, tsunamis, floods,

meteorite impacts and the health hazards of geologic materials. Geohazards can

range from local events such as a debris slide or coastal erosion to events that

threaten humankind (e.g., supervolcano eruption or meteorite impact). Earth

scientists undertake research to better understand such hazards and contribute to

risk reduction.

3. Earth Resources: Sustaining our Society

Earth resources include minerals, hydrocarbons, geothermal energy, air, and water.

The future well-being of society depends on sustainable use of these resources. The

environmentally responsible exploitation of these resources is a challenge for

geoscience research. The progress of technological development is equally bound

to this premise.

4. Global Change and Evolution of Life: Evidence from the geological record

Changes in the Earth’s climate and of life on Earth are preserved in the rock

record. Ice and dust records, terrestrial and ocean sediments, and sequences of

fossil plant and animal assemblages all comprise parts of this record. Life has

impacted Earth’s atmosphere, oceans, and land surface. Several major extinctions

have punctuated Earth’s history, associated with dramatic environmental and

ecosystem change. Past environmental lessons shed light on present and future

challenges.

5. The Deep Earth: How it controls our environment

The Earth’s surface, including our habitable environment, is a product of, and

controlled by deep Earth processes. The study of this environment (ranging from

changes in the Earth’s magnetic field to plate tectonics) using for example,

geophysical and geodynamical techniques, enhances our understanding of the

working of System Earth.

 

 

Dear Manuel,

I am glad to hear about the new UNESCO proposal (that you are preparing) on "Caribbean plate tectonics, geologic hazards and mitigation", for at least two reasons: the first is that we  have been talking about it in Florence 2004; the second is that I am working exactly on the geologic hazards in Latin America, and in particular in the Caribbean, since 2003.

As I said you, at the same time of my researches on the Caribbean Plate Tectonics,  before the 2003 I also carried out projects on geologic hazards in various localities, i.e. Panama, Venezuela, Mexico, Guatemala, etc, under the coordination of IILA (Instituto Italo-Latino Americano) and always with the latin-american colleagues. The last activity on this matter has been the organization and leadership of the  “Encuentro Italo-LatinoAmericano sobre Mitigacion de Riesgos Naturales en Centro America” held in La Antigua Guatemala in April 2005, with the participation of  several specialists coming from Central America and Italy (I will send you the schedule and the CD of acts, when published).

At the moment, according to the  La Antigua Guatemala decisions,  I am working on the meeting “follow-up”, including a project of researches and professional training on analysis of geologic hazards in Central America, as in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras. This project should start in the next months, in cooperation with central-american organisms and universities, waiting for financial support, at the moment from IILA and Italian Cooperation, and soon after maybe from European Union. In order to organize the future activities and to study some areas from the seismotectonic, volcanological and geomorphological aspects, I should go in Central America in the next november.

The research group is composed by Italian and Latinamerican specialists, coordinated by:

-Giuseppe Giunta (tectonics), leader;  -Mario Panizza (geomorphology and morphotectonics); 

-Alessandro Amato (seismology); -Antonio Caprai (volcanism); -Giuseppe Imbesi (urbanistic).

As you can understand, we will be very interested, and of course happy, to be included  in the  above mentioned UNESCO proposal, carrying out research and educational activities in agreement with the aims of the proposal itself.

I will inform you about our next programs and results of the central-american  trip.

Looking forward to work together again, waiting for your news,

All the best.

Giuseppe

 

Looking forward for a future collaboration, useful for us and for the Caribbean countries, and waiting for your opinions, I send you my best greetings.

Giuseppe