Giovanni Leone (10 February 1967 in Agrigento, Italy) is an Italian

geophysicist Geophysics () is a subject of natural science concerned with the physical processes and properties of Earth and its surrounding space environment, and the use of quantitative methods for their analysis. Geophysicists conduct investigations acros ...

and

volcanologist A volcanologist, or volcano scientist, is a geologist who focuses on understanding the formation and eruptive activity of volcanoes. Volcanologists frequently visit volcanoes, sometimes active ones, to observe and monitor volcanic eruptions, col ...

. His main activity is the study of

planetary geology Planetary geology, alternatively known as astrogeology or exogeology, is a planetary science discipline concerned with the geology of celestial bodies such as planets and their moons, asteroids, comets, and meteorites. Although the geo- prefix t ...

and volcanology of the

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Sola ...

. In 2014 Leone proposed that the

Valles Marineris Valles Marineris (; Latin for ''Mariner program, Mariner Valleys'', named after the Mariner 9 Mars orbiter of 1971–72 which discovered it) is a system of canyons that runs along the Mars, Martian surface east of the Tharsis region. At more than ...

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. It is also known as the "Red Planet", because of its orange-red appearance. Mars is a desert-like rocky planet with a tenuous carbon dioxide () atmosphere. At the average surface level the atmosph ...

was formed by lava and not water. In the same year, he published the results of his 3D computer simulations showing that the

Martian dichotomy The Martian dichotomy, is a geomorphical feature of Mars, characterized by the contrast between the Southern and the Northern hemispheres. The two hemispheres' geography differ in elevation by 1 to 3 km. The average thickness of the Marti ...

was formed by the Great South Polar Impact as an alternative hypothesis to the Great North Polar Impact. Some 2D models of the Large South Polar Impact were already developed by other authors since 2006. In 2016, Leone found a confirmation of this

hypothesis A hypothesis (: hypotheses) is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon. A scientific hypothesis must be based on observations and make a testable and reproducible prediction about reality, in a process beginning with an educated guess o ...

with the discovery of 12 volcanic alignments in the southern hemisphere of Mars, just as the 3D model had predicted. His observations of large Martian canyons and networks of

lava channel A lava channel is a stream of fluid lava contained within zones of static (i.e., solid and stationary) lava or lava levees. The initial channel may not contain levees per se, until the parental flow solidifies over what develops into the channel a ...

s from volcanoes, together with the presence of

olivine The mineral olivine () is a magnesium iron Silicate minerals, silicate with the chemical formula . It is a type of Nesosilicates, nesosilicate or orthosilicate. The primary component of the Earth's upper mantle (Earth), upper mantle, it is a com ...

unaltered since the

Noachian The Noachian is a system (stratigraphy), geologic system and early geologic timescale, time period on the planet Mars characterized by high rates of meteorite and asteroid Impact event, impacts and the possible presence of abundant surface water. ...

, are challenging past visions of a hot and humid Mars with an Earth-like environment.

Biography

Leone spent his first six years in

Agrigento Agrigento (; or ) is a city on the southern coast of Sicily, Italy and capital of the province of Agrigento. Founded around 582 BC by Greek colonists from Gela, Agrigento, then known as Akragas, was one of the leading cities during the golden ...

.after which his family moved to

Palermo Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

. As a child he soon showed a strong interest in science and

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

. At the age of 15, his father gave him a portable Newton telescope with a diameter of 114 mm, with which he began to observe the sky both from his home and from the Madonie mountains with his childhood companion, the astrophotographer Carmelo Zannelli. Together they observed

Halley's comet Halley's Comet is the only known List of periodic comets, short-period comet that is consistently visible to the naked eye from Earth, appearing every 72–80 years, though with the majority of recorded apparitions (25 of 30) occurring after ...

during the 1986 passage. After graduating from highs school in 1986,, Leone began to focus his interest on the planets of the

, with particular attention to the rocky planets. This interest led him towards the study of Geological Sciences, thanks to which he could tackle the study of the internal structure of the planets. So, he decided to enroll in a course of Geological Sciences at the

University of Palermo The University of Palermo () is a public university, public research university in Palermo, Italy. It was founded in 1806, and is currently organized in 12 Faculties. History The University of Palermo was officially founded in 1806, although it ...

, specializing in geophysics.

Career

In 1993, after obtaining his degree in Geological Sciences, Leone co-authored and presented two programmes on a local TV station in Palermo, Canale 21, entitled "''A come Astronomia''" and "''Nova''", answering questions from the public live. These were the years when he began to have his first doubts about the existence of water on Mars. In 1996 Leone began his first doctorate at the

University of Lancaster Lancaster University (officially The University of Lancaster) is a collegiate public university, public research university in Lancaster, Lancashire, England. The university was established in 1964 by royal charter, as one of several new univer ...

in the United Kingdom under the supervision of Professor Lionel Wilson. In 1997, he changed his enrolment at Lancaster University to part time and returned to Palermo. In 2001, he had the opportunity of a research grant at the

University of Lecce The University of Salento (, called until 2007 ''Università degli Studi di Lecce'') is a university located in Lecce, Italy. It was founded in 1955 by Giuseppe Codacci Pisanelli. The university of Salento commenced activities in the academic year ...

in Italy to work on the preliminary studies of the '' Spirit'' rover mission to Mars in collaboration with NASA's

Ames Research Center The Ames Research Center (ARC), also known as NASA Ames, is a major NASA research center at Moffett Federal Airfield in California's Silicon Valley. It was founded in 1939 as the second National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) laborat ...

. In 2007 Leone received his PhD from Lancaster. In 2008. he was invited by NASA to the

Jet Propulsion Lab The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) in La Cañada Flintridge, California, Crescenta Valley, United States. Founded in 1936 by California Institute of Technology (Caltech) researche ...

for a seminar on the volcanism of Io, the main research topic of his PhD thesis on the ''Galileo'' mission to Jupiter. In the following years, he decided to take another PhD at the

Swiss Federal Institute of Technology The Swiss Federal Institutes of Technology are two institutes of higher education in Switzerland (part of the ETH Domain): * Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland *Sw ...

in Zurich to complete his knowledge of planets from surface to core. During this period, Leoneused the software of his supervisor Professor Paul James Tackley and collaborator Professor Taras Gerya to model in 3D The Great South Polar Impact on Mars. This experience, which began as a simple test of thermomechanical software, became a series of discoveries. The results showed that Mars was a volcanic world quite different from what had hitherto been imagined, namely hot and humid. The image of the red planet as a volcanic but cold and arid world also emerged.

Current activities

In 2013, Leone named the following volcanic centres on Mars, names later approved by the Solar System Nomenclature Working Group: Aonia Mons, Aonia Tholus, Electris Mons, Eridania Mons, Sirenum Mons, Sirenum Tholus. Leone currently is a professor the Institute of Astronomy and Planetary Sciences at the

Universidad de Atacama University of Atacama () or UDA is a university in Chile. It is part of the Chilean Traditional Universities. UDA is in Copiapó, in the Third Region, Atacama. The university was created in 1981, as a fusion of the old Mines School of Copiapo, ...

with several interdisciplinary research projects between astronomy and planetary sciences. Leone is also editor of the ''

Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research ''Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research'' is a scientific journal that publishes recent research on the fields of volcanology and geothermal activity, as well as the societal and environmental impact of these phenomenon. Abstracting and ...

'' and editor of a book project for Springer entitled "''Mars: a volcanic world''".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Leone, Giovanni 1967 births Living people Italian geophysicists Italian volcanologists Scientists from Sicily