User:Marinadalessa/National institute of oceanography and applied geophysics

L’Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale - The National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics, also known as OGS, is a public research body, supervised by the Ministry of University and Research, that operates in the field of the Earth and Ocean Sciences at international level.

In particular, OGS studies:


 * the marine environment and its response to climate change;
 * biodiversity and functionality of marine ecosystems;
 * the geohazards and the associated risks;
 * the sustainable and safe exploitation of biotic, abiotic and natural resources and energy.

= History = The origins of OGS date back to 20 August 1753 when, at the request of the Empress Maria Theresa of Austria, the Jesuits established the School of Astronomy and Navigation to meet the development needs of the free port of Trieste [2].

Since then, the Institute has gone through a series of reorganizations and name changes [2]:


 * 1817 - Imperial Academy of Commerce and Boating
 * 1841 - Meteorological Observatory
 * 1903 - Maritime Observatory
 * 1921 - Geophysical Institute of Trieste
 * 1941 - Thalassographic Institute of Trieste
 * 1949 - Trieste Geophysical Observatory
 * 1958 - Trieste Applied Geophysical Observatory, established as a public research body [3],
 * 1989 - Applied Geophysical Observatory [4]
 * 1999 - National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics - OGS [5].

Research fields
The research activity of OGS is aimed at basic and applied research in the following sectors [1]:

•       physical, chemical, biological and geological oceanography;

•       applied and exploration geophysics;

•       seismology and engineering seismology.

These research capabilities are applied in the fields of Earth, Sea and Polar Sciences, to contribute to the improvement of basic scientific knowledge, to technological innovation and to the practical resolution of environmental, economic and social challenges.

Missions
The Institute carries out its activities as part of the following scientific research and innovation missions [1]:


 * 1) Understanding sea and ocean to promote sustainability and ecosystem health, including: ecosystem functioning and biodiversity, observation and prediction, climate change and ocean acidification, pollutants and plastics, sustainable ecosystems and blue economy;
 * 2) Understanding Earth processes to drive sustainable development, including: Earth dynamics and basin evolution, mapping and monitoring processes, sustainable geo-resources, integrated water systems, net carbon zero solutions;
 * 3) Understanding natural risk to build prepared and resilient communities, including: hazard processes and mechanisms, forecasting and risk scenarios, integrated multi-risk, impact assessment and risk mitigation, rapid emergency response;
 * 4) Exploring polar areas to understand the Planet and its changes, including: solid Earth and cryosphere, monitoring Polar ocean, mapping subglacial lithosphere, paleoclimate and climate change, protection of polar ecosystems
 * 5) Fostering open Science to widen the user community of scientific data, including: findable, accessible, interoperable, reusable (FAIR) data; risk education and ocean literacy; high-performance computing, artificial intelligence and digital twins; Citizen Science; Science and environmental diplomacy.

Organization
The institution is organized into four scientific and technological research structures which aggregates groups of expertise [1]:

Section of Oceanography


 * Physical oceanography
 * Chemical and biological oceanography
 * Dynamics of ecosystems and computational oceanography

Section of Geophysics


 * Geology and marine geophysics
 * Applied and exploration geophysics

Center for Seismological Research


 * Seismology and geodesy
 * Engineering seismology

Center for Management of Maritime Infrastructures


 * Ship management

Locations
The main offices of the OGS are in the municipalities of Sgonico (Trieste), Trieste and Udine.

The OGS has built branch offices on specific projects in Venice, Latera (Viterbo), Milazzo and Panarea (Messina).

Research infrastructures
The OGS promotes and carries out its scientific and technological activities using global oceanographic research vessels and large research infrastructures in the fields of expertise.

Since 2019 OGS operates the Italian icebreaker R/V Laura Bassi, capable of operating in polar regions for the objectives of the National Antarctic Research Program and for supporting Italian research in polar areas [7].

The R/V Laura Bassi is in operational continuity with the R/V OGS Explora which, with its 11 Antarctic campaigns and 3 Arctic campaigns, has been the protagonist of the Italian polar scientific scene since 1989.

OGS is the national coordinator of three European infrastructures (ESFRI):


 * EURO-ARGO: the European component of the worldwide system for in situ observation of oceans, polar seas and marginal seas;
 * ECCSEL: the European infrastructure on capture, utilization, and storage of carbon dioxide;
 * PRACE: the European partnership for high-performance computing.

OGS also participates in other European infrastructures coordinated by other research bodies in the field of Earth and Ocean Sciences (EUROFLEETS, EMSO, EPOS, LIFEWATCH, EMBRC, ICOS, ECORD, DANUBIUS).

OGS directly manages its own infrastructures, observatories, and laboratories, in particular:

Oceanographic infrastructures


 * Gulf of Trieste marine platform/observatory
 * South Adriatic deep marine Observatory
 * Capo Granitola radar observatory
 * Glider station for autonomous underwater vehicles
 * National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC)
 * Oceanographic Calibration and Metrology Center (CTMO)
 * Glider Station Calibration Center
 * Center for technological development and support for acquisitions in the field (TEC)
 * Collection of marine microorganisms typical of the Italian seas (CoSMi)
 * Ship model basin
 * Marine chemistry and biology laboratories (BioMarine Lab)
 * High performance computing laboratory (HPC-TRES)

Geophysical infrastructures


 * Infrastructure for geophysical exploration (GeoExp) with equipment for onshore and offshore seismic, morphobatimetric, magnetometric, electric resistivity, gravimetric and radar surveys
 * Research aircraft for remote sensing and monitoring on land and at sea (AiRS)
 * Test site for well geophysics in Piana di Toppo (PITOP)
 * Seismic and morphobatimetric data processing center and database
 * Geophysical data distribution infrastructures
 * Multi-Sensor Core Logger laboratory for the continuous non-destructive analysis of sediment and rock cores
 * SEISLAB laboratory for the processing and analysis of geophysical data
 * Laboratories for terrestrial and marine geology

Seismological infrastructures


 * Terrestrial Monitoring System of North-Eastern Italy (SMINO) with surveillance and research tasks on the seismic activity of North-Eastern Italy, also for Civil Protection purposes [4]
 * Italy-Argentina seismometric network in Antarctica (ASAIN)
 * Everest Seismological Station (EvK2-CNR)
 * Seismic and geodetic data distribution infrastructures
 * Seismological Calibration Center
 * Mobile seismic networks
 * Monitoring networks for industrial activity
 * Geodetic monitoring networks of landslides
 * Sensor development laboratory

Other activities
OGS is engaged in international programs of higher education and scientific diplomacy in the fields of the sustainable blue economy and the prevention of natural risks, with particular reference to the areas of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, the Balkans and Central Europe, Central Asia and the two polar areas.

OGS publishes its own scientific journal Bulletin of Geophysics and Oceanography.

OGS carries out a wide range of activities focused on the so-called Third Mission both for the economic enhancement of knowledge and for the production of social, cultural and educational public assets.

Presidents
11 February 1958 - 2 December 1974: prof. Carlo Morelli

2 December 1974 - 24 June 1977: dott. Franco Puppi (government commissioner since 24 september 1976)

8 July 1977 - 19 February 1983: prof. Antonio Brambati

29 July 1983 - 25 October 1984: prof. Fabio Rocca

25 October 1984 - 20 September 1995: prof. Cesare Roda

5 January 1996 - 18 February 1999: prof. Rinaldo Nicolich

29 December 1999 - 9 August 2011: prof. Iginio Marson

10 August 2011 - 13 October 2019: prof.ssa Maria Cristina Pedicchio

30 December 2019 - present: prof. Nicola Casagli