I'm particularly interested in mountain permafrost, both in equilibrium with present climate conditions and relict. Rock glaciers and protalus ramparts are characteristic landforms of the periglacial domain often used as markers for the occurrence of permafrost in mountain terrains. Relict rock glaciers can be also used for paleoclimate reconstructions. 

 

High resolution (1.0 m cell size or less) digital terrain model (DTM) interpolated from airborne laser scanning (LiDAR) are at present the best tool for the recognition of landforms buried by vegetation where orthophotos are poorly useful. I've been working on high altitude and high latitude permafrost areas of the world such as the Alps, The Chilean Andes, The Karakoram in Hymalaia, maritime Antarctica, and Greenland.

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Nowadays, I'm trying to understand the connection between relict rock glacier forms in the southeastern Alps and paleoclimate, as well as the present existence of permafrost patches and ground ice in the abruptly warming landscape of the Alps.

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Since 2019 I'm the Italian Representative of the International Permafrost Association (IPA), as such I'm part of the IPA council