GMPV
Geochemistry, Mineralogy, Petrology & Volcanology
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Simona Gabrielli

Simona Gabrielli is a geophysicist working on attenuation tomography and surficial geology interactions in volcanic settings (e.g. Mount St. Helens)

Minerals and Art: a centuries-old connection

January 28, 2022
Minerals and Art: a centuries-old connection
Featured image from https://unsplash.com/photos/QGQz-IBBl5w

Since ancient times, colours have been fundamental for artistic expression: pigments have always been created from fruits, leaves-flowers, and minerals. During the centuries, new material discoveries and techniques increased the shades we can still see and use nowadays. Once upon a Prehistoric time… El Castillo Cave, in Spain, is one of the earliest known cave paintings, dated to more than 40,000 ...[Read More]

Volcanoes and Wines, Part 2

and September 9, 2021
Volcanoes and Wines, Part 2

  And here we go, with the second part of “Volcanoes and Wines”! In Part 1 blog post we introduced you to the inevitably bond between wine and geology, with a focus on volcanic areas and minerals. We are sure we left you with a taste of volcanic soil in your mouth, wondering where you can savour red and white glasses of wine at the foot of a volcano. Today we introduce you to some unusual and ...[Read More]

Volcanoes and Wines, Part 1

and August 5, 2021
Volcano and Wine pt1 frontpage
On the left picture of Bromo Mountain in East Java Indonesia, photo by ibrahim kusuma on Unsplash. On the right a view of Mt Vesuvius through a vineyard from the Pompeii ruins near Naples, Italy. Photo by Pieter Biesemans on Unsplash

Why talk about wine on the GMPV blog? Well, this geologist-favourite drink is not only good memories of the EGU General Assembly but also a topic that spans among all the GMPV categories. Indeed, wine composition, flavour, structure and quality are inevitably bound to the mineralogy and geochemistry of the soil, making it so common and appreciated since ancient times. And what gives us a nice comp ...[Read More]

A lava for (almost) every colour

June 30, 2021
A lava for (almost) every colour
Blue Lava at Kawah Ijen volcano, Indonesia. Photo by Martin Rietz

When we think about a volcanic eruption, one of the first things that come to our mind are lava fountains and flows with a characteristic bright orange and red colour. The colour of lavas can be associated with the temperature reached at the surface: dark red at low temperatures (475°C), orange at 900°C and white at extremely high temperature (>1150°C) (Kilburn, 2000). However, some places on E ...[Read More]