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Sede: Catania
Telefono: 00390957165820
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Sito web: www.ct.ingv.it

1993 - Degree in Geological Sciences at the University of Catania (110/110)
1995-96 - CNR fellowship at the Department of Physics, Geophysics and Environmental Physics, University of Messina
1997-2000 - PhD at the Department of Geological Sciences, University of Catania
2000 - Specialization Course: “Field Studies in Volcanology”, Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of New Mexico (USA)
2001-03 - Post-Doctoral fellowship at the Department of Geological Sciences, University of Catania
2004-05 - Research fellowship at Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), sezione di Catania
01/12/2005 - Researcher, scientific area: Volcanology, at INGV, sezione di Catania
01/01/2008 - Senior Researcher, scientific area: Volcanology, at INGV, sezione di Catania

2014-2017 - Responsible of the Activity Research V1 “Storia e struttura dei sistemi vulcanici” of INGV

09/01/2017 - Responsible of Volcanological Monitoring of INGV, sezione di Catania

Current Research Interest
His research is focused on geological and stratigraphic investigations of Etna and Stromboli volcanoes and on the reconstruction of historical and prehistorical eruptive activity of Etna. He also deals with the monitoring of active Sicilians volcanoes. The research includes also geology and geomorphology of volcanic areas, volcano stratigraphy and tephrostratigraphy, volcano instability and the relationship with the sedimentary basement, volcanoes and environmental change, volcano dynamics and regional tectonic, reconstructing historical volcanic eruptions. He also undertakes research on the retrieval, cataloging and valorization of the iconographic and photographic heritage of Italian volcanoes.


Selected Publications

  • Azzaro R., Branca S., Giammanco S., Gurrieri, S., Rasà R., Valenza M. (1998). New evidence for the form and extend of the Pernicana Fault System (Mt. Etna) from structural and soil-gas surveying. J.Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 84, 143-152.
  • Branca S., Ferrara V. (2001). An example of river pattern evolution produced during the lateral growth of a central polygenic volcano: the case  of the Alcantara river system, Mt Etna (Italy). Catena, 45/2, 85-102.
  • Di Stefano, A., Branca, S. (2002). Long-term uplift rate of the Etna volcano basement (Southern Italy) from biochronological data of the Pleistocene sediments. Terra Nova, 14, 1, 61-68.
  • Branca S. (2003). Geological and geomorphologic evolution of the Etna volcano NE flank and relationships between lava flow invasions and erosional processes in the Alcantara Valley (Italy). Geomorphology, 53, 247-261.
  • Branca S., Carbone D., Greco F. (2003). Intrusive mechanism of the 2002 NE-Rift eruption at Mt. Etna (Italy) inferred through continuous microgravity data and volcanological evidences. Geoph. Res. Lett., 30, NO. 20, 2077, DOI:10.1029/2003GL018250.
  • Branca S., Del Carlo P. (2005). Types of eruptions of Etna Volcano AD 1670-2003: Implications for short-term eruptive behaviour. Bull. Volcanol., 67, 732-742.
  • Coltelli M., C. Proietti, S. Branca, M. Marsella, D. Andronico, L. Lodato (2007). Analysis of the 2001 lava flow eruption of Mt. Etna from three-dimensional mapping, J. Geophys. Res., 112, F02029, doi:10.1029/2006JF000598.
  • Branca S., Coltelli M., De Beni E., Wijbrans J. (2008). Geological evolution of Mount Etna volcano (Italy) from earliest products until the first central volcanism (between 500 and 100 ka ago) inferred from geochronological and stratigraphic data. Intern. J. Earth Sci., 97:135–152. doi: 10.1007/s00531-006-0152-0.
  • Branca S., Del Carlo P., Lo Castro D., De Beni E., Wijbrans J. (2009). The occurrence of Mt Barca flank eruption in the evolution of the NW periphery of Etna volcano (Italy). Bull. Volcanol, 71: 79-94. doi: 10.1007/s00445-008-0210
  • Calvari S., Branca S., Corsaro R.A., De Beni E., Miraglia L., Norini G., Wijbrans J., Boschi E. (2011). Reconstruction of the eruptive activity on the NE sector of Stromboli volcano: timing of flank eruptions since 15 ka. Bull. Volcanol., 73, 101-112. doi: 10.1007/s00445-010-0412-5
  • Branca S., Coltelli M., Groppelli G. (2011) Geological evolution of a complex basaltic stratovolcano: Mount Etna, Italy. Ital. J. Geosci., 130 (3), 306-317, DOI: 10.3301/IJG.2011.13
  • Branca S., Ferrara V. (2013) The morphostructural setting of Mount Etna sedimentary basement (Italy): implications for the geometry and volume of the volcano edifice and its flank instability. Tectonophysics, doi: 10.1016/j.tecto.2012.11.011
  • Branca S., De Beni E., Proietti C. (2013) The large and destructive 1669 AD Etna eruption: reconstruction of the lava flow field evolution and effusion rate trend. Bull. Volcanol., 75:694, 2-16. DOI: 10.1007/s00445-013-0694-5
  • Branca S., Azzaro R., De Beni, E., Chester D., Duncan A. (2015) Impacts of 1669 eruption and the 1693 earthquakes on the Etna Region, (Eastern Sicily, Italy): an example of recovery and response of a small area to extreme events. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 303, 25-40.
  • Branca S., Condomines M., Tanguy J.C. (2015) Flank eruptions of Mt Etna during the Greek-Roman and Early Medieval periods: new data from 226Ra-230Th dating and archaeomagnetism. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 304, 265–271.
  • Branca, S., Vigliotti L. (2015) Finding of an historical document describing an eruption in the NW flank of Etna in July 1643 AD: timing, location and volcanic products. Bull. Volcanol., 77:95
  • Branca S., Branciforti M.G., Chiavetta A.F., Corsaro R.A. (2016) The geology of the II century AD amphitheatre area of Catania (Italy): historical eruptions affecting the urban district.Geoarchaeology, 31, 3-16, doi 10.1002/gea.21534
  • Branca S., De Beni E., Chester D.K., Duncan A., Lotteri A. (2017) The 1928 eruption of Mount Etna (Italy): reconstructing lava flow evolution and the destruction and recovery of the town of Mascali. J. Volcanol. Geotherm. Res., 335, 54-70. doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2017.02.002
  • Del Carlo P., Branca S., D’Oriano C. (2017) New findings of Etna pumice fall deposits in NE Sicily and implications for distal tephra correlations in the Mediterranean area. Bull. Volcanol., 75:50, 2-17. DOI: 10.1007/s00445-017-1135-7

 Geological maps

  • Servizio Geologico d’Italia (2009) Foglio 625 Acireale, scala 1:50.000. CNR-ISPRA.
  • Servizio Geologico d’Italia (2009) Foglio 634 Catania scala, 1:50.000. Università di Catania-ISPRA.
  • Servizio Geologico d’Italia (2010) Foglio 613 Taormina, scala 1:50.000. Università di Catania-ISPRA.
  • Servizio Geologico d’Italia (2010) Foglio 633 Paternò, scala 1:50.000. Regione Sicilia-ISPRA.
  • Bellotti F., Branca S., Groppelli G. (2010) Geological map of Mount Etna West Rift (Italy). J. of Maps, v2010, 96-122. 10.4113/jom.2010.1115.
  • Branca S., Coltelli M., Groppelli G., Lentini F. (2011) Geological map of Etna volcano, 1:50,000 scale. Ital. J. Geosci., 130 (3), 265-291, doi: 10.3301/IJG.2011.15. 
  •         Branca S. (2014) in: Carta Geologica della Sicilia, scala 1:100.000, Lentini F. & Carbone S. (Eds). S.E.L.CA., Firenze

Books

  • Bonaccorso A., Branca S., Del Carlo P., Piccione C. (2005): Terre di Fuoco. Etna, Stromboli e Vulcano nelle Collezioni Alinari. Alinari Editore, Firenze, ISBN: 887292491X, 109 pp.
  • Bonaccorso A., Branca S. (2010): Fotografia storica alla luce del vulcano. Fondo Fotografico Gaetano Ponte (1876-1955). Le Nove Muse Editore, Catania. ISBN: 978-88-87820-47-8, 192 pp.
  • Abate T., Branca S., Monaco C. (2013): Le eruzioni dell'Etna nell'opera di Orazio Silvestri (1835-1890). Il disegno come strumento per l'osservazione scientifica. Edizioni Caracol, Palermo. ISBN: 978-88-98546-00-8, 80 pp.
  • Abate T., Branca S. (2015): ILLUSTRATING AND MAPPING ETNA’S ERUPTIONS. The progress of iconography since the 16th century. Edizioni Caracol, Palermo. ISBN: 978-88-98546-29-9, 111 pp.