Dipartimento di Scienze Ambientali - Universitàdegli Studi di Siena

ENVIRONMENTAL GEOCHEMISTRY
	Staff Prof. Sabatini Giuseppe (Full Professor) Dr. Riccobono Francesco (Assistant Professor) Dr. Protano Giuseppe (Researcher ) Sig. Baroni Fabio (Technical Staff) Dr. Luigi Antonio Di Lella (Technical Staff) Dr. Giancarlini Luca (Post-Doct. Research fellow ) Dr. Nannoni Francesco (Post-Doct. Research fellows )
Research activities:
Research by the Environmental Geochemistry Unit is mainly focused on:

	the geochemical cycling of toxic heavy elements through the superficial geochemical spheres (i.e. atmosphere, hydrosphere, pedosphere and biosphere) and their transfer to higher organisms and human beings. Particular emphasis is given to the mobility and behavior of the heavy elements introduced into the air, surface water and soil from both natural and anthropogenic sources such as mining areas, power production and other industrial plants. Besides the well known toxic heavy elements (i.e., arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury, antimony), particular attention is paid to the geochemical behavior in the environment of new entries such as uranium, rare earth elements (REEs) and the platinum group elements (PGEs).
	Geochemical mapping, based mainly on stream sediment and soil surveys, is actively carried out by the Unit as a reference tool for evaluation of the background levels of the elements, identification of significant anomalies, both positive and negative, as well as the localization and characterization of pollution sources of natural or anthropogenic origin.
	The Research Unit performs geochemical modeling of the mobility and behavior of pollutants in the superficial geochemical spheres in order to predict the fate of noxious substances in the environment. Efforts are made to improve the performance of software and to implement thermodynamic databases in order to simulate the diffusion and reaction paths of pollutants in industrial accidents.
	Sono, inoltre, studiati e validati, in collaborazione con i biologi del Dipartimento, interventi di bonifica in aree contaminate utilizzando tecniche innovative, friendly ed a basso costo quali la phytoremediation e la rizofiltrazione.