Prof. Dr. Paola Vannucchi, professor at the University of Florence in Italy, will be researching for 12 months at the GFZ Helmholtz Center for Geosciences. As a fellow of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, she is a guest of Prof. Dr. Claudia Faccenna in Section 4.1 “Dynamics of the Lithosphere”. With the Humboldt Research Fellowships, the Foundation enables outstandingly qualified postdoctoral researchers and experienced scientists from all over the world to spend six to 24 months conducting research in Germany.
Paola Vannucchi's scientific interests lie in the field of tectonics and marine geology. Her research focuses in particular on the balance of accretion and erosion in subduction zones. She studies both modern submarine subduction systems and fossil systems exhumed in mountain belts, as well as their significance for continental development.
Vannucchi is currently investigating the interfaces between subduction plates and analyzing how and where strain is released on different spatial and temporal scales in modern and fossil subduction systems. Her work also focuses on the tectonic processes that lead to the deformation, destruction and reformation of forearcs, as well as the role of marine transform fault and fracture zone (TF/FZ) systems in triggering subduction.
Paola Vannucchi studied geology at the University of Florence and graduated in 1993. She completed her PhD in 1998 in a joint program of the Universities of Bologna and Modena and Reggio Emilia, with research stays at the University of California, Santa Cruz. After postdoctoral research in Wales and later as a researcher and lecturer in Italy and the UK, she became Professor at Royal Holloway, University of London in 2017. During her scientific career, she has been involved in various international research projects, including as part of the International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP). Since 2020, she has been Professor of Tectonics and Structural Geology at the University of Florence.
She has received several awards for her scientific achievements: in 2015, she was appointed “Distinguished Lecturer” of the European Consortium for Ocean Research and Drilling (ECORD). In 2004 she received the Arne Richter Outstanding Young Scientist Award from the European Geosciences Union, and in 2000 she was honored with the Best Young Author Award from the Geological Society of London.
Paola Vannucchi is currently Vice President of the TS Division (Tectonics and Structural Geology) of the European Geosciences Union and an active member of the American Geophysical Union and the Società Geologica Italiana.
While at GFZ, Vannucchi will particularly focus on the interactions between climate, sedimentation, and tectonics in subduction zones, and hopefully on additional questions stimulated by her visit and her interactions with other GFZ researchers.
