Giovanni Leone (geophysicist)

Giovanni Leone

Giovanni Leone (10 February 1967 in Agrigento, Italy) is an Italian geophysicist and volcanologist.[1][2][3] His main activity is the study of planetary geology and volcanology of the solar system.

In 2014 Leone proposed that the Valles Marineris on Mars was formed by lava and not water.[4][5][6][7][8][9][10] In the same year, he published the results of his 3D computer simulations showing that the Martian dichotomy was formed by the Great South Polar Impact as an alternative hypothesis to the Great North Polar Impact. Some 2D models of the Large South Polar Impact were already developed by other authors since 2006.[11]

In 2016, Leone found a confirmation of this hypothesis with the discovery of 12 volcanic alignments in the southern hemisphere of Mars, just as the 3D model had predicted.[12] His observations of large Martian canyons and networks of lava channels from volcanoes, together with the presence of olivine unaltered since the Noachian, are challenging past visions of a hot and humid Mars with an Earth-like environment.

  1. ^ Leone, Giovanni (May 2014). "A network of lava tubes as the origin of Labyrinthus Noctis and Valles Marineris on Mars". Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 277: 1–8. Bibcode:2014JVGR..277....1L. doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2014.01.011. ISSN 0377-0273.
  2. ^ Leone, Giovanni; Tackley, Paul J.; Gerya, Taras V.; May, Dave A.; Zhu, Guizhi (2014-12-26). "Three-dimensional simulations of the southern polar giant impact hypothesis for the origin of the Martian dichotomy". Geophysical Research Letters. 41 (24): 8736–8743. Bibcode:2014GeoRL..41.8736L. doi:10.1002/2014gl062261. ISSN 0094-8276.
  3. ^ Leone, Giovanni (January 2016). "Alignments of volcanic features in the southern hemisphere of Mars produced by migrating mantle plumes". Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 309: 78–95. Bibcode:2016JVGR..309...78L. doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2015.10.028. ISSN 0377-0273.
  4. ^ "Journal Club, Settembre 2019". Il Diabete. 3 (3, settembre 2019). 2019-09-01. doi:10.30682/ildia1903f. ISSN 1720-8335.
  5. ^ "The two faces of Mars". ethz.ch. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  6. ^ Wylie, Robin. "Giant Asteroid Collision May Have Radically Transformed Mars". Scientific American. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  7. ^ Meyer, Guido (2015-03-16). "Einschlag ließ Mars einst zur Hälfte schmelzen". DIE WELT. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  8. ^ Zeitung, Süddeutsche (6 August 2015). "Mars-Mission "Curiosity" - Der leblose Planet". Süddeutsche.de (in German). Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  9. ^ Burks, Robin (2015-01-31). "Why Mars' Two Hemispheres Are Drastically Different". Tech Times. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  10. ^ "Mars: 'Water gullies' indicate glaciers advanced and retreated many times". International Business Times UK. 2015-01-31. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  11. ^ Leone, Giovanni; Tackley, Paul J.; Gerya, Taras V.; May, Dave A.; Zhu, Guizhi (2014). "Three-dimensional simulations of the southern polar giant impact hypothesis for the origin of the Martian dichotomy". Geophysical Research Letters. 41 (24): 8736–8743. Bibcode:2014GeoRL..41.8736L. doi:10.1002/2014GL062261. ISSN 1944-8007.
  12. ^ Leone, Giovanni (2016-01-01). "Alignments of volcanic features in the southern hemisphere of Mars produced by migrating mantle plumes". Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research. 309: 78–95. Bibcode:2016JVGR..309...78L. doi:10.1016/j.jvolgeores.2015.10.028. ISSN 0377-0273.