rom September 2026 to February 2027, Léa Ostorero, a researcher at the University of Milano-Bicocca in Italy, will join the Institute of Earth Sciences of Orléans (ISTO) as part of a LE STUDIUM Integration Fellowship, within the SMART Loire Valley programme.
A specialist in petrology and volcanology, Léa Ostorero focuses on magmatic processes, magma degassing, and the role of volcanic gases in climate change over geological timescales. She obtained her PhD from the Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris / Université Paris Cité in 2022, before continuing her research at the University of Milano-Bicocca through several postdoctoral projects, including the ERC-funded MATRICs project (Magmatic Triggering of Cenozoic Climate Changes).
During her stay at ISTO, Léa Ostorero will develop the CALUMET project (ClimAtic impact of Linzizong erUptions and their Magmas – TibET). The CALUMET project aims to better understand the role of Linzizong volcanism in southern Tibet in the climate changes that occurred during the Early Eocene, approximately 52–50 million years ago.
Léa Ostorero will study melt inclusions, tiny pockets of magma trapped within crystals, to determine the amount of CO₂ present in magmas prior to eruption. The project will combine high-temperature and high-pressure experiments at ISTO, volatile analyses using SIMS in Nancy, and numerical modelling.
The aim is to better quantify CO₂ emissions associated with this volcanism and to improve our understanding of the interactions between magmatic activity and climate over geological timescales.
