Martino Marisaldi
Position
Professor
Research groups
Short info
Research
Atmospheric electricity
Research on Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs), gamma-ray glows, and related high-energy atmospheric phenomena related to thunderclouds and lightning discharge.
The main questions we want to answer:
- how are TGFs produced?
- what is the relation between high-energy processes in the atmosphere and the lightning discharge?
- do TGFs and related high-energy phenomena have any impact on atmospheric chemistry and dynamics?
The tools we use:
- data from the Airborne Lightning Observatory for FEGS and TGFs (ALOFT) flight campaign
- data from the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) mission onboard the International Space Station (ISS)
- data from the Astrorivelatore Gamma a Immagini LEggero (AGILE) mission
- dedicated laboratory experiments and modelling
High-energy astrophysics
Research on cosmic Gamma-Ray Bursts (GRB).
The main question we want to answer:
- how can we use timing information to extract properties of the GRB progenitors?
- can we exploit the timing and spectral performance of ASIM for GRB science?
The tools we use:
- data from the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor (ASIM) mission onboard the International Space Station (ISS)
High-energy detectors and systems
- we have built the gamma-ray detector for the ALOFT flight campaign
- we are building the Electrical Ground Support Equipment (EGSE) for X- and Gamma-ray Imaging Sensor (XGIS) of the Transient High-Energy Sky and Early Universe Surveyor (THESEUS), a medium-class mission candidate for the European Space Agency, currently in Phase A.
Teaching
Bachelor / Master course responsibilities:
- 2024 – PHYS251 The Near Earth Space, department of Physics and Technology, University of Bergen, Norway (main course responsible, 10 ECTS)
- 2016 – PHYS113 Mechanics II and Thermodynamics, department of Physics and Technology, University of Bergen, Norway (main course responsible, 10 ECTS)
Supervisor / co-supervisor of the following PhD Thesis:
- Ingrid Bjørge-Engeland, The connection between lightning currents, TGF intensities and Elves, University of Bergen, Norway, 2024.
- Chris A. Skeie, Aircraft and spacecraft observations of high-energy radiation associated with lightning leaders, University of Bergen, Norway, 2022.
- Anders Lindanger, Spectral Analysis of Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes and Their Connection to Lightning Discharges, University of Bergen, Norway, 2022.
- Carolina Maiorana, Characteristics and Meteorological Environment of Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes, University of Bergen, Norway, 2021.
- Alessandra Tiberia, High-energy radiation from thunderclouds: on the relationships between terrestrial gamma-ray flashes and cloud structure, University of Ferrara, Italy, 2019.
- Alessandro Ursi, Short-duration gamma-ray transients Detection of Short Hard Bursts and Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes by the AGILE satellite, Sapienza University of Rome, Italy, 2016.
Supervisor of the following Master Thesis:
- Andreas Ramsli, Observation of cosmic Gamma-Ray Bursts with the ASIM mission onboard the International Space Station, University of Bergen, Norway, 2023.
- Anders Lindanger, Search for Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes in AGILE data by correlation with ground-based lightning measurements, University of Bergen, Norway, 2018.
- Alessandro Ursi, A search for Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes in the BeppoSAX Gamma-Ray Burst Monitor data archive, University of Ferrara, Italy, 2013.
Contribution to research schools:
- 2024 invited teacher at the 1st International School on Satellite Meteorology (ISSM), 2-6 Sep. 2024, Naples, Italy.
- 2019 Co-organizer and teacher at the Birkeland Centre Research School “Atmospheric Electricity and Hard Radiation from Thunderclouds”, University of Bergen, Norway
Publications
I am coauthor of 142 refereed publications, with an H-Index of 40 (Web of Science, accessed 12/09/2024).
My top research publications are the following
- M. Marisaldi, N. Østgaard, A. Mezentsev, et al. (2024), Highly dynamic gamma-ray emissions are common in tropical thunderclouds, Nature, accepted, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07936-6.
- N. Østgaard, A. Mezentsev, M. Marisaldi, et al. (2024), Flickering Gamma-Ray Flashes, the Missing Link between Gamma Glows and TGFs, Nature, accepted, DOI: 10.1038/s41586-024-07893-0.
- A. Castro-Tirado, N. Østgaard, E. Gögüs, et al. (2021), Very-high-frequency oscillations in the main peak of a magnetar giant flare, Nature 600, https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-04101-1
- M. Marisaldi, et al. (2019), On the high-energy spectral component and fine time structure of terrestrial gamma-ray flashes, J. Geophys. Res. (Atmospheres), 124. https://doi.org/10.1029/2019JD030554
- M. Marisaldi, et al. (2015), Enhanced detection of terrestrial gamma-ray flashes by agile. Geophys. Res. Lett., 42(21):9481–9487, https://doi.org/10.1002/2015GL066100
- M. Marisaldi, F. Fuschino, M. Tavani, et al. (2014) Properties of terrestrial gamma ray flashes detected by AGILE MCAL below 30 MeV. J. Geophys. Res. (Space Physics), 119:1337–1355, https://doi.org/10.1002/2013JA019301
- M. Tavani, M. Marisaldi, C. Labanti, et al. (2011), Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes as Powerful Particle Accelerators. Physical Review Letters, 106(1):018501, https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.106.018501
- M. Marisaldi, et al. (2010), Gamma-Ray Localization of Terrestrial Gamma-Ray Flashes. Physical Review Letters, 105(12):128501, https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.105.128501
- M. Marisaldi, et al. (2010), Detection of terrestrial gamma ray flashes up to 40 MeV by the AGILE satellite. J. Geophys. Res. (Space Physics), 115:0, https://doi.org/10.1029/2009JA014502
- C. Labanti, M. Marisaldi, et al. (2009), Design and construction of the Mini-Calorimeter of the AGILE satellite. Nucl. Instrum. and Meth. in Phys. Res. A, 598:470–479, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nima.2008.09.021
A complete list of my publications with metrics can be retrieved from the Astrophysics Data System (ADS).
Below are my publications listed in the CRIStin database.
Projects
Active projects:
- 2024 – 2026 Principal Investigator, Conceptual design and prototyping of the Electrical Ground Support Equipment for THESEUS XGIS. Funding: European Space Agency.
- 2023 – 2025 Principal Investigator, From lightning to the dawn of time: study of the timing structure of cosmic Gamma-Ray Bursts with the Atmosphere-Space Interactions Monitor. Funding: Peder Sather Center for Advanced Study. Collaboration project with the Astronomy Department at the University of Berkeley, USA.
- 2021 – 2026 Principal Investigator, TGF Airborne Observatory (TAO): Understanding the link between lightning, terrestrial gamma-ray flashes and gamma-ray glows. Funding: Research Council of Norway. Partly funding the ALOFT flight campaign. Here are the main outputs of the project.
Past projects as Principal Investigator:
- 2019 - 2022. Principal Investigator of the International Team 'Understanding the properties of the Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flash population' at the International Space Science Institute (ISSI), Bern, Switzerland.
- 2015 – 2016 International fellowship: Fulbright Research Scholar (6 months) at Duke University, Department of Electrical and Computing Engineering, NC, USA.
- 2012 – 2014 Principal Investigator, ‘PICO: Picosecond Cherenkov Observatory’. Funder: National Institute for Astrophysics (INAF), Italy. R&D project for the exploitation of ultra-fast solid-state detectors for high-energy astrophysics in the TeV band.