Address book

Contacts

Staff Structures

ALESSANDRO FONTANA

Back to the list

Position

Professore Associato

Structure

Dipartimento di Geoscienze

Address

VIA G. GRADENIGO, 6 - PADOVA

Telephone

0498279118

E-mail

alessandro.fontana@unipd.it

Alessandro Fontana (1975) is associate professor in the Department of Geosciences at the University of Padova. He is a geomorphologist and Quaternary geologist with interest in the geomorphology of the alluvial and coastal environments and in the geoarchaeological aspects. His research focused on the interplay between fluvial systems, sea-level variations and ancient human settlements.
Laurea cum laude in Geological Sciences (1999) and PhD in Man and Environment (2003) at the University of Padua. Research fellow and surveyor of the Geological Map of Italy (2004-06), since 2006 assistant professor in Physical Geography and Geomorphology at the Department of Geography of Padova; since 2012 at the Department of Geosciences.
He was responsible of the course of Geomorfologia Applicata for the master course in Geology since 2007 and since 2021 is responsible for the courses “Earth Surface Processes and Deposits” and “Quaternary Geology” for the master degree in Environmental Geology and Earth Dynamics (in English) and the course “Geomorphology for Archaeological landscapes and sites” of the master degree in Archeology – Applied Sciences to Cultural Heritage (in English). He was memeber of the board for the PhD in “Men and Environment” between 2007and 2011 and of the PhD board in Earth Sciences since 2020. He was secretary of AIQUA (Italian Association of Quaternary Sciences) in 2009-2012 and, in 2016-2019, he was secretary of the "HEX: Palaeohydrology and fluvial archives - extreme and critical events" (1622F), an International Focus Group of INQUA. Between 2019-2023 he was responsible memeber of the TERPRO Commission on continental deposits and History for the INQUA and led also the INQUA Focus Group HYPEDAE.
Geomorphologist with experience in Quaternary geology, pedology and geoarchaeology, dealing with the Late Pleistocene and Holocene evolution of alluvial and coastal-lagoon environments through field survey, boreholes, remote sensing and geophysical investigations. Interested in reconstruction of sea-level change through geomorphological, stratigraphical and archaeological indicators; expert in geomorphological and geological mapping, director of the survey of several sheets of the new Geological Map of Italy (CARG Project) and the goelogicla units of the plain of Friuli Venezia Giulia Region. He mainly studied the Late Pleistocene and Holocene evolution of the Venetian-Friulian Plain and of the Adriatic Sea, but joined also some missions abroad (Hungary, Burkina Faso, Croatia, Slovenia, Monte Negro). He supervised the geoarchaeological study of about 70 archaeological excavations and, in collaboration with CNR-ISMAR (Bologna), he joined 5 oceanographic missions in Adriatic on research vessel Urania.

Notices

Office hours

  • Wednesday from 10:30 to 11:30
    at Dipartimento di Geoscienze
    Disponibilità anche in altri giorni e orario, previo accordo via mail o telefonico. Available also in other days and hours, according to previous phone or email appointments.

Teachings

Publications

VANZANI F., FONTANA A., RONCHI L., BOAGA J., CHIARINI, V., HAJDAS, I. (2024) - The Dunes of Belvedere–San Marco of Aquileia: Integrating High-Resolution Digital Terrain Models and Multispectral Images with Ground-Penetrating Radar Survey to Map the Largest System of Continental Dunes of Northern Italy. Remote Sensing, 2024, 16, 765.
FONTANA A., VINCI G., RONCHI L., MUSCIO G., VISENTINI P., MOCCHIUTTI A., BASSETTI M., NOVELLINO M.D., BADINO F., MUSINA G., BONOMI S. (2023) - The largest prehistoric mound in Europe is the Bronze-Age Hill of Udine (Italy) and legend linked its origin to Attila the Hun. Scientific Reports, 13, 884.
CERRONE C., VACCHI M., FONTANA A., ROVERE A. (2021) - Last Interglacial sea-level proxies in the western Mediterranean. Earth System Science Data, 13, 4485-4527.
VACCHI M., MARRINER N., MORHANGE C., SPADA G., FONTANA A., ROVERE A. (2016) - Multiproxy assessment of Holocene relative sea-level changes in the western Mediterranean: Sea-level variability and improvements in the definition of the isostatic signal. Earth-Sciences Review, 155, 172-197.
FELJA, I., FONTANA, A., FURLANI, S., BAJRAKTAREVIĆ, Z., PARADŽIK, A., TOPALOVIĆ, E., ROSSATO, S., ĆOSOVIĆ, V., JURAČIĆ, M. (2015) - Environmental changes in the lower Mirna River valley (Istria, Croatia) during the Middle and Late Holocene. Geologia Croatica, 68 (3), 209-224.
ROSSATO S., FONTANA A., MOZZI P. (2015) - Meta-analysis of the Holocene 14C database of the Venetian-Friulian alluvial plain (NE Italy). Catena, 130, 34-45. doi:10.1016/j.catena.2014.10.033
FONTANA, A., MONEGATO, G., DEVOTO, S., ZAVAGNO, E., BURLA, I., CUCCHI F. (2014) - Geomorphological evolution of an Alpine fluvioglacial system at the LGM decay: the Cormor type megafan (NE Italy). Geomorphology, 204, 136-153.
FONTANA A., MOZZI P., MARCHETTI M. (2014) - Alluvial fans and megafans along the southern side of the Alps. Sedimentary Geology, 301, 150-171.
FONTANA A. (2012) - Introduction to the thematic issue: "Alluvial Geomorphology in Italy". Géomorphologié: Relief, Processus, Environment, 2/2012, 123-131.
FONTANA A., MOZZI P., BONDESAN A., DE GUIO A., KOTÉ L. (2010) - Late prehistory and environmental changes along the Débé River in the lower Sourou valley (Burkina Faso, West Africa). Il Quaternario - Italian Journal of Quaternary Sciences, 23(2), 199-216.
FONTANA A., MOZZI P., BONDESAN A. (2010) - Late Pleistocene evolution of the Venetian–Friulian Plain. Rendiconti Lincei Scienze Fisiche e Naturali, Volume 21, Supplement 1, 181-196.
ANTONIOLI F., FERRANTI L., FONTANA A., AMOROSI A., BONDESAN A., BRAITENBERG C., FONTOLAN G., FURLANI S., MASTRONUZZI G., MONACO C., SPADA G., STOCCHI P. (2009) - Holocene relative sea-level changes and vertical movements along the Italian and Istrian coastlines. Quaternary International, 206, 101-133.
NINFO A., FONTANA A., MOZZI P., FERRARESE F. (2009) - The map of Altinum, ancestor of Venice. Science, 325, 577.
FONTANA A., MOZZI P., BONDESAN A. (2008) - Alluvial megafans in the Venetian–Friulian Plain (north-eastern Italy): Evidence of sedimentary and erosive phases during Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Quaternary International, 189, 71-90.
FONTANA A. (2006) - L’evoluzione geomorfologica della bassa pianura friulana e le sue relazioni con le dinamiche insediative antiche. Monografie del Museo Friulano di Storia Naturale, 46, Udine, 288 pp. Enclosed Geomorphological Map of the Low Friulian Plain, scale 1:50,000.

Thesis proposals

Researches about geomorphology and late-Quatenrary stratigraphy of alluvial and coastal plains.
Geoarchaeological researches about the ancient settlement systems and single sites from the Upper Paleolithic to the Middle Age.
Sea-level variations along the Quaternary in the Mediterranean Sea.