Fulvio Franchi

Since my MSc (“Lower Cretaceous stratigraphy and facies analysis of the Tataouine basin (Tunisia): discussion about the associated bone beds”), I have been involved in field-related projects in sedimentology and stratigraphy.

For my PhD I’ve joined Prof. R. Barbieri in the study of origin and diagenesis of Devonian carbonate mounds in Morocco: “Comparative geomicrobiology of the mounds in the Moroccan Sahara: implications for Mars astrobiology”. The project was divided in 2 parts: 1) petrographic and geochemical characterization of the mounds; 2) study of a region on Mars dotted by conical mounds. In the first part of the PhD I’ve performed petrographic analyses, stable isotope analyses, XRF, XRD, Raman, SEM-EDX, ICP-MS and EPMA. Part of this research (Prof. A. Hoffman, University of Johannesburg) led to the publication of a paper on REE distribution within the carbonates. I have also collaborated in the comparative study of the mineralogical composition of the mounds in relation with results coming from Furier Transform analyses (Prof. M. Sgavetti, University of Parma). During the second part of my PhD, in collaboration with A.P. Rossi (Jacobs University, JU) and M. Pondrelli (IRSPS, Pescara, Italy), I have processed remote sensing data creating detailed DEM and high resolution imagines of Mars equatorial region.

In Novembere 2012 I won a Post-Doc position at ISMAR-CNR (“Geochemical and petrographic study of carbonate conduits linked to hydrocarbon-enriched fluid escape”) with Dr. M. Taviani. My ongoing collaboration with CNR includes the petrographic and geochemical characterization of biocostructions in the northern Adriatic Sea (Dr. P. Montagna) and authigenic siderite from venting sites in the Tyrrhenian Sea (Dr. M. Rovere).

In February 2015 I’ve joined BIUST with a position as lecturer in Sedimentology and Stratigraphy. My ongoing research at BIUST includes the study of Palaeoproterozoic stromatolites in the Lower Transvaal Supergroup and alleged spring mounds in the Makgadikgadi Pan (Botswana).