Elena Zanella is a researcher of Geophysics at the Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, University
of Torino. Her research activity focuses on rock magnetism. She cooperated with Roberto Lanza
to develop the Laboratory of Rock Magnetism at the University of Torino (ALP Laboratory,
Peveragno).
She applies paleomagnetic methodology to non-traditional research fields, such as volcanology
and archaeology. She participated to interdisciplinary research projects (INGV, PNRA, CNR,
EU). She has been scientific responsible for the project Vesuvius (V3_4/16 – Vesuvio, INGVPDC), 2005-2007, and for the project “Application of a new archaeomagnetic method (PiRM) to
dating Maya sites, Mesoamerica” (CNR – Progetto giovani), 2000.
One of the main research topic concerns the paleosecular variations of the Earth’s magnetic field
recorded at Aeolian Islands and their use as a correlation tool in the stratigraphy of the volcanic
deposits. The systematic study of recent volcanic units allowed the reconstruction of the
paleosecular variation curves for the Tyrrhenian area during the last 135 kyr. These curves may
be used for magnetostratigraphic correlations in the area.
In archaeology, she improved the pictorial remanent magnetization (PiRM) methodology by its
systematic application to the Pompeii paintings and to some pre-Columbian sites in Mexico, in
order to get some preliminary chronological information.
In volcanology, she mainly studied pyroclastic deposits, by rock magnetic analysis, in order to
obtain depositional parameters for the volcanic hazard modelling. In particular, she contributed to
the first systematic study of the deposition temperature of the pyroclastic deposits of the 79 AD,
Pollena and Avellino eruptions (Vesuvius); she also contributed to the volcanic hazard evaluation
of the Campi Flegrei, by determination of deposition temperatures and flow directions of the
deposits of the Agnano – Monte Spina eruption, and to the experimental study of the interaction
between pyroclastic density currents with human settlements both at Pompeii and at the Bronze
Age village of Afragola.
She is co-author of more than 30 international papers and she is frequent reviewer for scientific
journals.
1