E. Qamili

Geosystemics: A Systemic View of the Earth’s Magnetic Field and the Possibilities for an Imminent Geomagnetic Transition

Geosystemics is a way to see and study the Earth in its wholeness together with the eventual couplings among the subsystems composing our planet. This paper will provide this view for the Earth’s magnetic field, reviewing most of the results obtained in our recent works. The main tools used by geosystemics are some nonlinear quantities, such as some kinds of entropy. Through them, it is possible to: (a) establish the chaoticity and ergodicity of the recent geomagnetic field in a direct and simple way; and (b) indentify the most extreme events in its history, as the most rapid and the slowest ones, i.e., jerks and polarity changes (reversals or excursions). In particular, regarding the latter phenomena, with the help of these entropic concepts and together with the use of the theory of critical transitions, some clues can be given for a possible imminent change of the geomagnetic field dynamical regime.

A first insight into the Marsili volcanic seamount (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy): Results from ORION-GEOSTAR3 experiment

The Marsili Seamount is the largest European underwater volcano. It is Plio-Pleistocenic in age, rising up to more than 3000m from the seafloor in the SE Tyrrhenian basin (Central Mediterranean), a back arc basin which began progressively opening 10 Ma ago (Kastens et al., 1988). The seamount lies in a key area for understanding the evolution of the Tyrrhenian region, characterized by high values of heat flow (Della Vedova et al., 2001) and low values of Moho isobaths (Locardi and Nicolich, 1988). In spite of the large dimensions of the Marsili seamount, we still have limited knowledge of its present activity. Ocean explorationis dependent on available technology and infrastructure, which started to develop strongly only after the 1980s.