From 17 to 27 April 2018, the IRPI researcher Marco Cavalli was hosted at the Universidad Austral de Chile (UACh), with which IRPI has signed a MoU, as part of the bilateral project Italy-Chile CONICYT / ITAL170004 “Volcanic eruption vs. human impact: a comparative analysis between natural and artificial morphological changes along gravel bed rivers in Chile and Italy. Learning from different impacts to better manage the affected riverine environments”.

The project, funded by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Commission for Scientific and Technological Research of Chile (CONICYT), intends to study the morphological evolution of channels in basins affected by volcanic eruptions and anthropic impacts for a better understanding of sediment transport processes and related risk management.

The activity, carried out in collaboration with Prof. Andrés Iroumé of the Faculty of Forest Sciences and Natural Resources (UACh), Prof. Bruno Mazzorana of the Faculty of Sciences (UACh) and Dr. Lorenzo Picco of the University of Padua, conisted in field surveys in Chilean basins affected by volcanic eruptions and undergoing monitoring activities, and meetings aimed at planning joint research lines for the study of sediment dynamics through the application of geomorphometric techniques.

During the visit, Marco Cavalli held a seminar in the postgraduate course in Geomorfologia Fluvial Avanzada – CITI308 – curriculum of “Magister en Ciencias – Mencion Recursos Hidricos”.

An article containing an interview with Marco Cavalli has been published on the UACh website and can be viewed at the following link: http://noticias.uach.cl/principal.php?pag=noticia-externo&cod=115594