Staff

Stefano Covelli is professor of Geochemistry and Environmental Geochemistry in the BSc Geology and MSc Geosciences at the University of Trieste. At the same university, he earned his degree in Geology in 1991 and his Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences (Marine Science) in 1998, focusing on the biogeochemical cycle of mercury in the Gulf of Trieste. His research activity mainly focuses on the contamination of marine-coastal environments, with particular attention to the biogeochemical cycles of potentially toxic trace elements, as well as their mobility, dispersion, and accumulation in sediments in relation to natural processes (fluvial inputs, processes at sediment-water-air interfaces) and anthropogenic activities (dredging, marine landfills). More recently, he has been interested in abandoned mining sites and the processes responsible for the dispersion of potentially toxic trace elements (e.g. zinc, lead, thallium) from mining residues and drainage waters of abandoned mines, as well as the resulting contamination of soils, sediments, waters, and vegetation.

Federico Floreani is a research fellow in Geochemistry and Volcanology at the University of Trieste. He obtained his Master’s degree in Environmental Sciences in 2018, a joint degree program between the Universities of Udine and Trieste, and his Ph.D. in Environmental Life Sciences in 2023 at the University of Trieste, focusing on the gaseous mercury cycle in sites contaminated by former anthropogenic activities such as mining and industrial processes. His research primarily focuses on the processes governing gaseous mercury exchanges at the interfaces between the atmosphere and various natural surfaces (soils, water bodies, vegetation), as well as its atmospheric dispersion. His current work also includes the study of mercury speciation in different environmental matrices (soils, sediments, and waters), aimed at assessing the mobility and bioavailability of this metal, and ultimately its fate once released into the environment. 

Elena Pavoni is researcher in Geochemistry and Volcanology and a lecturer in Geochemical Analyses with Data Processing for Master’s degree students in Geosciences at the University of Trieste. She obtained her Master’s degree in Environmental Sciences and Technologies in 2015 at the University of Udine, and her PhD in Chemistry in 2020 at the University of Trieste, with a dissertation on the behavior of trace elements in river estuarine environments. Her scientific activity focuses on environmental geochemistry, with particular attention to the processes governing the mobility of potentially toxic elements in both marine-coastal and terrestrial environments. Her current research investigates the geochemical behavior of thallium, lead, and zinc in decommissioned mining areas, with a focus on the interaction between tailings and water. She is also engaged in the application of sustainable remediation strategies, such as the use of biochar, to reduce the mobility of mercury and other potentially toxic elements in contaminated soils and sediments.

Elisa Petranich works at the Department of Mathematics, Informatics, and Geosciences (MIGe) as a laboratory technician of TREELab - TRace Elements in the Environment Laboratory– an interdepartmental laboratory of the University of Trieste in cooperation among MIGe, the Department of Chemical and Pharmaceutical Sciences (DSCF) and the Department of Medical, Surgery and Health (DSM).
In March 2012, she earned a master's degree in Environmental Biology (110/110 with honors) from the University of Trieste and, in 2018, a PhD in "Environment and Life" (XXX Cycle) on the “Biogeochemical cycle of mercury in a lagoon environment modified by fish farming (Grado Lagoon)”. Her work, in support of teaching and research, focuses on the geochemical analyses of organic (e.g. hair, mollusks, fish) and inorganic (e.g. sediments, soils, freshwaters and saltwater) environmental matrices, with specific reference to the analysis of heavy metals, particularly mercury, using different analytical techniques: atomic absorption spectrophotometry (AAS), atomic fluorescence spectrophotometry (AFS), X-ray fluorescence (XRF), ion chromatography (ICH), inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry (ICP-OES).

Chiara Pisoni is a PhD student in Environmental and Life Sciences at the University of Trieste. In 2023, she obtained a Master's degree in Geological Sciences, Environmental Geology curriculum, from the same institution. During the research fellowship in Geochemistry and Volcanology, she focused on the evaluation of the contamination status of marine-coastal sediments in the Northern Adriatic context as part of the PNRR Project “Ecosistema Innovazione iNEST – Interconnected Nord-Est Innovation Ecosystem”. Her PhD research focuses on the biogeochemical behaviour of potentially toxic elements in relation to extreme weather events such as floodings and drought in riverine and transitional environments.