Research interests
- Sedimentary records of natural hazards
- Paleoseismology
- Lacustrine and marine geology
- Subaquatic landslides and turbidites
- Marine geophysics and geotechnics
Research projects
Principal Investigator
- "QuakeScene Chile": Evaluating megathrust earthquake scenarios in South Central Chile using new strategies in lacustrine paleoseismology (FWF, Austria, 2022-2026). More info
- "Tiefer Sehen": Tyrolean lakes as geological archives. Science Communication Project (FWF, Austria, 2021-2022) More Info
- Altausseer See 3D: A limnogeological analysis of Lake Altaussee (collaboration with BOKU; Walter Munck Foundation for the Oceans). More Info
- "Tyrol on Shaky Slopes": Did strong earthquakes trigger the rockslide clusters in Tyrol (Austria)? Evidence from lacustrine sedimentary records (Tiroler Wissenschaftsförderung TWF, 2018-2020) More info
- Quantitative lacustrine paleoseismology in Carinthia (Austria) (FWF, Austria, 2017-2021) More info
- "Process understanding in subaquatic paleoseismology: Earthquake-triggered remobilization of surficial sediments at ocean margins and lacustrine basins" (Nachwuchsförderung – University of Innsbruck, 2016-2018). More info
- “Spatio-temporal patterns of earthquake recurrence in South-Central Chile: quantitative analysis of lacustrine paleoseismic records” (FONDECYT, Chile, 2015)
- Tsunami deposits in coastal lakes in South-Central Chile (Ghent University, Belgium, 2011-2014)
- PhD and Postdoc fellowship (FWO and IWT Flanders, 2006-2011)
Co-Principal Investigator
- Post-Doc Project Walter Menapace: Mud volcanism and turbidites occurrence as joint tools to identify paleoearthquakes in the Gulf of Cadiz and adjacent abyssal plains (FWF Lise-Meitner grant, 2021-2023)
- Post-Doc Project Yin Lu: Developing a 220 kyr-long continuous earthquake record in the Dead Sea Basin (FWF Lise-Meitner grant, 2020-2022). More info
- IODP Proposal 866 (funded): Expedition 386 Japan Trench Paleoseismology
- Studying the significance of subaqueous slides in Austrian lakes (ÖAW, 2019-2020)
- Recurrence of great earthquakes and tsunamis in Central Chile (FONDECYT, Chile, 2015-2018)
- Lacustrine paleoseismology in Alaska (FWO Flanders, Belgium, 2012-2017)
- Geotechnical characterization of subaquatic slope stability (MARUM, Germany, 2013)
Collaborator
- ICDP LIBRE Project - Lake Izabal Basin Research Endeavor
- GEO-STATE Tyrol: Groundbreaking Evidence of Postglacial Seismotectonic Activity in the Achen Valley, Tyrol? (Tiroler Wissenschaftsförderung, 2020-2022).More info
- SLATE - Submarine Landslides and their impact on European continental margins (ITN: Marie-Skłodowska-Curie program, European Commission, 2017-2021). More info
- Core-XCT: X-ray Computed Tomography as new tool in Earth Science for non-destructive core analyses (Nachwuchsförderung – University of Innsbruck, 2018-2019)
- ARMONIA: Harmonising administration and public institutions for trans-frontier risk prevention and disaster management. (Interreg V-A, 2018-2021)
- Earthquake archive in the geological record of the Japan Trench (FWF, Austria, 2016-2020)
- Lacustrine paleoseismology in Switzerland (SNSF, Switzerland, 2011-2015)
- Lacustrine paleoclimate records in Chile (FWO Flanders, Belgium, 2008-2012)
- Tephrostratigraphy in South-Central Chile (University of Oxford, UK, 2013-2016)
- Paleoclimate record of lake Challa, East Africa (ESF, Ghent University, 2007-2011)
Teaching
- Geophysics (BSc)
- Applied Geophysics (MSc)
- Analytical Lab Methods (BSc)
- Engineering Geology: Introduction to Natural Hazards (BSc)
- Supervisor for Earth Science Practicum (BSc)
- Limnogeology (MSc)
- Natural Hazards in Mountain Regions (MSc)
At previous positions (UACh, ETHZ): - Geophysics (BSc)
- Seismology (BSc)
- Limnogeology (BSc)
- collaborations in Marine Geology (MSc), Geomorphology (BSc) and Applied Seismology (MSc)
Supervision / mentoring of 10 Ph.D, 14 M.Sc. and 15 B.Sc. students (some ongoing)
Training of students and guest researchers in geophysical data acquisition, processing and interpretation; sediment coring; geochemical, petrophysical and sedimentological logging and analyses; granulometry; standard geotechnical tests, etc.
Organization of field courses in Limnogeology, Applied Geophysics, Geomorphology.
Other scholarly activities
- Invited conference talks: American Geophysical Union Fall Meeting (AGU), online, 2020 // European Geosciences Union General Assembly (EGU), Vienna, Austria, 2013
- Invited lectures: DGGV #Sedimentology.Lunch (online), 2021 // MARUM Research Seminar (University Bremen), 2020 // LMU Munich, International Colloquium in Geological Earth Surface Processes, 2019 // Geo-Colloquium, University of Innsbruck, 2017 // Faculty of Sciences, Universidad Austral de Chile, 2014 // United States Geological Survey, Anchorage, USA, 2012 // Belgian National Committee of Geodesy and Geophysics, Ghent, Belgium, 2010
- Reviewer for funding agencies and several journals including Nature Geoscience, Geology, Marine Geology, Geomorphology, Quaternary Science Reviews, Journal of Geophysical Research, G-Cubed, Geological Society of America Bulletin, Tectonophysics, Quaternary International.
- Co-Convener at the International Sedimentology Congress 2014 (Geneva) “Sedimentology of extreme events”, EGU 2018/2019/2020/2021 (Vienna) ) “Limnogeology”, INQUA 2019 “Subduction Zone Paleoseismology”, IAL/IPA 2021 "lacustrine event deposits"
- Co-Editor GSL Spec. Pub. 500: Subaqueous Mass Movements and their Consequences
- Participation at conferences: EGU, AGU, ISC, INQUA, IGC, ILIC, GEOSUR, AGU Chapman, ESF and national conferences
- Public outreach: presentations at several events for the promotion of science in Belgium and in Chile; publications and comments in newspapers in Austria, Belgium and Chile. Documentary, public talks and interviews about earthquakes and volcanic eruptions in Chile. TV Interviews on Austrian lake projects.
- Participation at workshops: ECORD Summer School on “Submarine Landslides, Earthquakes and Tsunamis”, Bremen, Germany, 2012; Submarine Paleoseismology Workshop: Using giant piston coring within IODP to fill the gap in long-term records of great earthquakes, ETH Zürich, Switzerland, 2015
- Research stays: MARUM Bremen, 2012 (4 months): Geotechnical analysis of lake sediments. GFZ Potsdam, 2008 (3 weeks): Impregnation and microfacies analysis of lake sediments. MARUM Bremen and ETH Zürich (4 weeks): core scanning (XRF and MSCL)
- Scientist board member in Research Centers (RC) / Doctoral Programs (DP): DP Natural Hazards in Mountain Regions (UIBK); RC Geodynamics-Geomaterials (UIBK); RC Natural Risks (UACh); RC Quaternary Research (UACh)
- Committee member in PhD/MSc commissions;
- Coordinator/instructor for the geophysical equipment (subbottom profiler, geo-electrics, GPR), grain-size lab (Mastersizer 3000) and varve lab at the UIBK
- Research expeditions: Geophysical mapping/profiling and sediment coring on lakes in Chile (18), Alaska (5), Switzerland (4), Austria (10), Italy (2) and Turkey (1) for a total of 600 days in the field. Geophysical mapping on R/V Sonne offshore Japan (SO251; 2016); R/V Belgica on the Belgian Continental Shelf (2006); R/V Guaiqueri offshore Venezuela (2005)