Since 2022, Francesco Pintori has been a researcher at the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Bologna Section, where he carries out research in the fields of geodesy, geophysics, and the analysis of geodetic data.
His scientific interests focus in particular on the analysis of ground displacement time series from GNSS measurements, the spatio-temporal characterization of crustal deformation signals, and the study of deformation induced by hydrological processes.
Since the 2025/2026 academic year, he has also been an adjunct professor at the Department of Physics and Astronomy “Augusto Righi” of the University of Bologna.
Education
He graduated in Physics from the University of Bologna in 2012 and obtained a Master’s Degree in Physics of the Earth System in 2015, with a thesis on gravity variations generated by deformation processes in an elastic half-space.
In 2019, he obtained a PhD in Geophysics from the University of Bologna with a thesis entitled Hydrological crustal deformation in the Eastern Southern Alps, focused on the study of crustal deformation induced by hydrological processes in the Eastern Southern Alps.
Scientific and Professional Career
Since 2019, he has carried out research activities at the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, Bologna Section, working on the analysis of geodetic time series, the detection and characterization of transient deformation signals, hydrological modelling, and the study of the effects of water storage variations on the Earth’s crust and active faults.
His work lies at the intersection of GNSS geodesy, geophysical modelling, hydrology, and seismology. He has applied multivariate statistical methods to the analysis of GNSS time series, integrating them with meteorological, climatic, hydrological, and seismological data. He also has experience in the development of mechanical and numerical models for the representation of deformation sources and for the calculation of stress variations associated with natural processes.
He is currently also working as a seismologist analyst for the Centro di Monitoraggio del Sottosuolo (CMS).
Teaching Activity
He teaches the module Fisica dei Solidi e dei Fluidi for the Bachelor’s Degree Programme in Physics at the University of Bologna.
Scientific Activity
His scientific output includes articles in international journals, datasets, codes, and contributions to national and international conferences.
He has published in journals such as Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, Geophysical Research Letters, Solid Earth, Frontiers in Earth Science, Earth and Space Science, and Seismological Research Letters.
His research has addressed, among other topics, common-mode signals and vertical velocities in the Alpine region from GNSS data, the mechanical response of the crust to groundwater variations, hydrological effects on seismic-noise monitoring, and deformation associated with drought and hydrological variations.
He has participated as a speaker in national and international conferences, including AGU and EGU, presenting contributions on crustal deformation, hydrology, and geodetic signals.
