Maria Teresa BRUNETTI

Research personnel
Senior Researcher
+39 075 5014410
+39 075 5014420
maria.teresa.brunetti (at) irpi.cnr.it
Via della Madonna Alta, 126 06128, Perugia
Perugia


https://iris.cnr.it/cris/rp/rp25364
Before 2007, she worked in the fields of astrophysics and particle physics in international collaborations with NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), ESA (European Space Agency), and CERN (Conseil Européen pour la Recherche Nucléaire). She was involved mainly in: (1) data analysis in astrophysics experiments, (2) development of simulation codes for the simulation of particles-matter interactions, (3) calibration and validation of particle detectors and microelectronic circuits for space and terrestrial applications.
At present, she works in the terrestrial and planetary geomorphology, and in the natural hazard fields. Her main research topics are: (1) definition and validation of empirical rainfall thresholds for the possible initiation of landslides, (2) reconstruction of rainfall events, and of rainfall conditions responsible for landslide occurrence, (3) landslide early warning systems, (4) detection and mapping of landslides on Mars, the Moon, and Mercury, and (5) comparison between terrestrial and extraterrestrial landslide size (area and volume) distributions.

Dr. Maria Teresa Brunetti (f) received her MS degree in Physics and PhD in Earth Sciences and Geotechnology. Before 2008, she worked in the fields of astrophysics and particle physics in international collaborations with NASA and CERN. In 2008, she joined CNR-IRPI as a researcher. Her main research interests are in the prediction of rainfall induced landslides and in the development of landslide early warning systems (LEWS) at different geographical scales. She is particularly concerned with the use of satellite rainfall products for geo-hydrological applications in scarcely gauged regions. She participated in several research projects for developing tools and methods to predict rainfall induced landslides. Among them, she worked at the development of LEWS for the Italian Civil Protection Department (DPC) and for the Italian Railway Network (RFI). She participated in the MORFEO project funded by ASI for the monitoring of landslide and risk with Earth Observation data; in the LANDSLIP project, founded by NERC and SHEAR, aimed at implementing predictive models in regional-scale, operational LEWS in two areas in India; and in the U-Geohaz project, funded by the European Commission, working on defining rainfall thresholds for rockfall triggering in the Canary Islands. Since 2017, he has been the scientific responsible for the collaboration agreements between CNR-IRPI and the regional Agency for the Environmental Protection of Liguria Region (ARPAL), and between CNR-IRPI and the Civil Protection of Sardinia Region for the development of two regional LEWS for the development of two regional LEWS. Since 2022, she has represented CNR-IRPI as an Alternative Board Member at the International Consortium on Landslides. She is also involved in terrestrial and planetary geomorphology, working on surveying and mapping landslides on Mars, Moon and Mercury and comparing size distributions of terrestrial and extra-terrestrial landslides. She is co-leader of the CNR working group "Planetary Geosciences" and has been vice-president of the Italian Society of Planetary Sciences "A. Coradini" since 2023. She has taught at the undergraduate level at the University of Perugia and has been involved in the supervision of six master's students, one doctoral student and one research associate. She has authored more than 190 publications, including more than 70 journal articles (more than 10k citations, H-index=33 with Scopus) and more than 50 articles in peer-reviewed conference proceedings and book chapters. She has given more than 40 presentations at conferences and workshops and has been convenor of sessions at national and international conferences (e.g., Italian Geological Society, Plinius Conference, World Landslide Forum). She is on the editorial board of Results in Earth Science. She has served as a reviewer for projects of the Agence Nationale de la Recherche (ANR) and for numerous international journals (e.g., BOEG, ENGEO, EPSL, EPSP, GEOMOR, HYDROL, ICARUS,  LASL, NCOMMS, NHAZ, NHESS).