Michele Stefano de Rossi (30 October 1834,

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

– 23 October 1898,

Rocca di Papa Rocca di Papa () is a small town and (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome, Lazio, Italy. It is one of the Castelli Romani about southeast of Rome on the Alban Hills. It is close to the other communes of Velletri, Rocca Priora, Mon ...

) was an Italian

seismologist Seismology (; from Ancient Greek σεισμός (''seismós'') meaning "earthquake" and -λογία (''-logía'') meaning "study of") is the scientific study of earthquakes (or generally, quakes) and the generation and propagation of elastic ...

. He was a younger brother to

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

Giovanni Battista de Rossi Giovanni Battista (Carlo) de Rossi (23 February 1822 – 20 September 1894) was an Italian archaeologist, famous even outside his field for rediscovering early Christian catacombs. Life and works Born in Rome, he was the son of Commendatore C ...

(1822–1894). He received his education at the University of Rome, and during his subsequent career conducted research in the fields of

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of Artifact (archaeology), artifacts, architecture, biofact (archaeology), biofacts or ecofacts, ...

paleontology Paleontology, also spelled as palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of the life of the past, mainly but not exclusively through the study of fossils. Paleontologists use fossils as a means to classify organisms, measure ge ...

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

vulcanology Volcanology (also spelled vulcanology) is the study of volcanoes, lava, magma and related geological, geophysical and geochemical phenomena (volcanism). The term ''volcanology'' is derived from the Latin word '' vulcan''. Vulcan was the anci ...

and seismology. He studied the

topography Topography is the study of the forms and features of land surfaces. The topography of an area may refer to the landforms and features themselves, or a description or depiction in maps. Topography is a field of geoscience and planetary sci ...

catacombs Catacombs are man-made underground passages primarily used for religious purposes, particularly for burial. Any chamber used as a burial place is considered a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etym ...

, and collaborated with his brother on ''La Roma sotterranea cristiana'' (1864–1877). In the 1870s he developed a

seismic scale Seismic magnitude scales are used to describe the overall strength or "size" of an earthquake. These are distinguished from seismic intensity scales that categorize the intensity or severity of ground shaking (quaking) caused by an earthquake at ...

to reflect varying levels of

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

intensity. Meanwhile, in Switzerland, independent of Rossi,

limnologist Limnology ( ; ) is the study of inland aquatic ecosystems. It includes aspects of the biological, chemical, physical, and geological characteristics of fresh and saline, natural and man-made bodies of water. This includes the study of lakes, ...

François-Alphonse Forel François-Alphonse Forel (; 2 February 1841 – 7 August 1912) was a Swiss physician and scientist who pioneered the study of lakes, and is thus considered the founder. He was also professor at the University of Lausanne and the Father of limnolo ...

(1841–1912) created a similar seismic scale. When the two scientists became aware of each other's work, a combined effort resulted in the

Rossi–Forel scale The Rossi–Forel scale was one of the first seismic scales to represent earthquake intensities. Developed by Michele Stefano Conte de Rossi of Italy and François-Alphonse Forel of Switzerland during the late 19th century, it was used commonly f ...

for determining the intensity of earthquakes. In 1874 he founded the ''Bullettino del Vulcanismo Italiano'', a journal dedicated to the study of

volcanoes A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

and earthquakes.

Publications

* ''Dell'ampiezza delle romane catacombe e d'una machina icnografica ed ortografica per rilevarne le piante ed i livelli'', 1860 * ''Scoperte paleoetnologiche in Castel Ceriolo presso Alessandria'', 1868 * ''Nuove scoperte nella necropoli arcaica Albana e l'aes grave fra le rocce vulcaniche laziali'', 1871 * ''La meteorologia endogena'', 1879–82 * ''Programma dell' Osservatorio et archivio geodinamico presso il R. Comitato geologico d'Italia con istruzioni per le osservazioni'', 1883.IDREF.fr.
(bibliography)

References

Mommsen Lettere
(biographical information) {{DEFAULTSORT:de Rossi, Michele Stefano Seismologists Italian volcanologists Scientists from Rome 19th-century Italian geologists 1834 births 1898 deaths