Dr. Mattia Pistone nominated as the 2024-2025 Distinguished Lecturer by the Continental Scientific Drilling (CSD) Division of the Geological Society of America.

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Dr. Mattia Pistone, University of Georgia: “Moho Mission to the Foundation of Continents: The ICDP DIVE Drilling Project”

Abstract: It is more difficult to access the Earth’s interior a few miles below our feet than it is to explore the surface of another planet hundreds of thousands to million miles away. Drilling has made it possible to explore the Earth’s interior and thus, go deep. But the thrill to drill is quickly contrasted by the challenging pressure exerted by the rocks with increasing depth. Since Project Mohole in the 1960s, scientists have worked to reach the boundary between the crust and the mantle known as the Moho. This boundary representing the foundations of continents is usually beyond the reach of our present-day technology. However, in some places on Earth, it is possible to reach the crust-mantle frontier without going as deep. The Ivrea-Verbano Zone in the Italian Alps is the golden target to explore the crust-mantle transition zone in less than 1 mile depth. This is because the collision between tectonic plates that generated the European Alps brought the crust-mantle boundary to a shallow depth and thus, under conditions of low pressure, present-day drilling technology can sustain a borehole to this depth. Based on the collaborative effort led by more than 50 scientists, I will present the major outcomes of Phase 1 of the ICDP DIVE (Drilling the Ivrea-Verbano zonE) project tackling key questions related to the chemistry and architecture of the crust-mantle transition, the geophysical signatures, and insights into the deep biosphere.

Dr. Pistone is Assistant Professor in Petrology and Volcanology at the University of Georgia (USA). He is director of the MAGMA MIA Laboratory, one of the seven PIs leading the ICDP DIVE (Drilling the Ivrea-Verbano zonE) project, and an enthusiastic researcher investigating the mechanics of multiphase magmas, eruption dynamics, and volatile cycles in the Earth’s interior using a combination of experimental, analytical, and field-based approaches.