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GSA TODAY | AUGUST 2016 GSA 2016 ANNUAL MEETING & EXPOSITION

LUNCHTIME ENLIGHTENMENT

Claudio Margottini
“Geosciences Save UNESCO Heritage”

Wed., 28 Sept., 12:15–1:15 p.m.

Cultural heritage, both tangible and intangible, represents the legacy of humankind on Earth. It is
evidence of millennia of adaptation of humans to the environment. The protection of this cultural
heritage from geotechnical and geological hazards is at the intersection of conservation science and earth
science. Claudio Margottini, trained as a geologist and engineering seismologist, uses examples from
his experiences worldwide to demonstrate the relevance of geological sciences on the conservation of
monuments destroyed or damaged by explosions (e.g., Bamiyan, Afghanistan), landslides and rock
fall (e.g., Petra, Jordan), increasing pollution (e.g., Lumbini, Nepal), weathering (e.g., Rapa Nui, Chile),
and structural degradation (e.g., Pompeii, Italy).

A focus will be on how investigation and monitoring using modern technology is a fundamental step
in safeguarding and enhancing traditional knowledge and sustainable practices, primarily based on local
conservation techniques. In the past 20 years, working as an engineering geologist, Margottini has
supported UNESCO and local institutions on many international projects—from Afghanistan, Ethiopia,
and Syria, to Peru, Bolivia, and Chile, to North Korea, South Korea, Mongolia, Nepal, and beyond—for
the conservation of cultural heritage. He is currently responsible for the interpretation of remote sensing
data (radar interferometry) at the site of Pompeii, Italy, and is scientific coordinator of a European Union
project to investigate natural hazard and monitoring trends with radar interferometry in the European
UNESCO sites.

Claudio Margottini is a Senior Scientist at the Istituto Superiore per la Protezione e la Ricerca
Ambientale (ISPRA), Geological Survey of Italy; Vice President of the International Consortium on
Landslides; a UNESCO consultant; and an adjunct professor at Huangzou University, Wuhan, China.

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