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My research interests focus mainly on the characterization of microbial carbonates, their formation during the geological time and their importance for hydrocarbon exploration. I have a good expertise in Organic Geochemistry and Petroleum System Analysis. I am very interested in integrating stratigraphic and petrographic observations with other advanced techniques such as organic/inorganic geochemistry and stable isotopes analyses with the scope to shed new light on sedimentary processes and on the role of the source organisms during deposition. My postdoctoral research, funded by TOTAL, is focused on the reconstruction of paleo-environment and processes associated to hydrocarbon exploration. Four main lines of research are under investigation: a) The interplay of physical, chemical and biological factors in association with sedimentary rate in Mesoproterozoic carbonates of northern China; b) The importance of diagenesis as a control factor of porosity and permeability in ‘pseudothrombolites’ from Cambrian-Ordovician microbial carbonates of US and China; c) The primary productivity and the role of microbial communities in the Triassic carbonate platforms of northern Italy and Austria; d) Depositional control factors of continental carbonates and their interaction with mantle fluids in Cenozoic/Recent travertines and tufas of western US. All topics are focused on providing current and new information concerning the geological formation, facies, secular distribution and significance of microbial carbonates, and their interactions with the surrounding depositional environment, with the final goal of being at the forefront of understanding basic microbial carbonate research and its relevance to hydrocarbon exploration.
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