Valentina Balestra

Tutori

• Rossana Bellopede
• Adriano Fiorucci

• Analysis of palaeontological finds
• Biominerals
• Environmental parameters monitoring
• Human impact in show caves
• Hydrogeology in karst areas
• Microplastic pollution in cave water and sediments
• Microplastic pollution in glaciers
• Microplastic pollution in karst systems
• Microplastic pollution in marine environments
• Microplastic pollution in protected habitats and species
• Secondary minerals in mine and cave environments
• Subterranean biology

Settori ERC

SDG

• Socio effettivo o corrispondente - Associazione Naturalistica Piemontese, Italia (2020-)
• Componente del Comitato Scientifico - S.O. CAI Bossea - Laboratorio Carsologico Sotterraneo Grotta di Bossea, Italia (2020-)
• Socio effettivo o corrispondente - Associazione Italiana Naturalisti, Italia (2019-)
• Vice-Presidente - Biologia Sotterranea Piemonte - Gruppo di Ricerca, Italia (2018-2024)

• Geosciences for a sustainable future, SGI-SIMP - Torino 2022 (19/9/2022-21/9/2022), Convener

• Operatore in attività di Educazione Ambientale e alla Sostenibilità, Regione Liguria (2019-)

• COST Priority CA20101 - Plastics monitoRIng detectiOn RemedIaTion recoverY (2022-). Partecipazione
• European Cave Protection Commission (2023-). Partecipazione
• PRIN SHOWCAVE (2020-2023). Partecipazione

• Lana, Enrico; Balestra, Valentina (2023)
  Rhagidiidae mites of the Western Italian Alps. In: 3rd International Congress of Karst, Speleology and Valorization of Natural Heritage, Rabat (MA), 2-5 November 2023
  Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding)
• Balestra, Valentina; Fiorucci, Adriano; Peano, Guido; Villavecchia, Ezechiele; Agnesod, ... (2023)
  Environmental parameters monitoring in the oldest show cave of Italy: Bossea Cave. In: 3rd International Congress of Karst, Speleology and Valorization of Natural Heritage, Rabat (MA), 2-5 November 2023
  Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding)
• Sforzi, Laura; Tabilio, Agostina; Di Lorenzo, Tiziana; Balestra, Valentina; Chelazzi, ... (2023)
  Characterisation of (micro-)plastics in groundwater bodies: insights from Italian aquifers. In: XXVII Congresso A.I.O.L. "Noi siamo acqua. Conoscere gli ecosistemi acquatici per riconnettersi alla natura", Napoli, 26-30 June 2023
  Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding)
• Balestra, Valentina; Peruzzi, Aurora; Marini, Paola; Bellopede, Rossana (2023)
  Biocorrosion of speleothems in show caves: analysis of young speleothems exposed to two years of new LED lights. In: International Congress of Karst, Speleology and Valorization of Natural Heritage, Rabat (MA), 2-5 November 2023
  Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding)
• Balestra, Valentina; Fiorucci, Adriano; Guido, Peano; Ezechiele, Villavecchia; Giovanni, ... (2023)
  Environmental parameters monitoring in the oldest show cave of Italy: Bossea Cave. In: International Congress of Karst, Speleology and Valorization of Natural Heritage, Rabat (MA), 2-5 November 2023
  Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding)
• Balestra, Valentina; Galbiati, Matteo; Lapadula, Stefano; Zampieri, Veronica; Cassarino, ... (2023)
  Microplastic pollution in the Trieste Karst (Italy) protected habitats: preliminary analysis of cave and spring water sediments. In: International Congress of Karst, Speleology and Valorization of Natural Heritage, Rabat (MA), 2-5 November 2023
  Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding)
• Balestra, Valentina; Enrico, Lana; Fiorucci, Adriano; Giovanni, Agnesod; Ragani Massimo ... (2023)
  The Underground Karst Laboratories of Bossea Cave: more than 50 years of collaborations and research. In: International Congress of Karst, Speleology and Valorization of Natural Heritage, Rabat (MA), 2-5 November 2023
  Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding)
• Lana, Enrico; Balestra, Valentina (2023)
  Rhagidiidae mites of the Western Italian Alps. In: International Congress of Karst, Speleology and Valorization of Natural Heritage, Rabat (MA), 2-5 November 2023
  Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding)
• Lana, Enrico; Balestra, Valentina (2023)
  Parabathyscia dematteisi Ronchetti & Pavan, 1953: a silent invader. In: International Congress of Karst, Speleology and Valorization of Natural Heritage, Rabat (MA), 2-5 November 2023
  Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding)
• Balestra, Valentina; Vigna, Bartolomeo (2023)
  COVID-19 pandemic: an opportunity to monitor the naturalness of show caves. In: International Congress of Karst, Speleology and Valorization of Natural Heritage, Rabat (MA), 2-5 November 2023
  Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding)
• Barzaghi, B.; Ficetola, G. F.; Grassi, G.; Creanza, T.; Zampieri, V.; Gajdošová, M.; ... (2023)
  Study on the differences of BMI between olms found in cave and the ones sampled in spring. In: XXIII European Congress of Herpetology, United Kingdom, 4-8 September 2023, pp. 94-95
  Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding)
• Balestra, V.; Galbiati, M.; Lapadula, S.; Zampieri, V.; Cassarino, F.; Barzaghi, B.; ... (2023)
  NEW THREATS IN THE TRIESTE KARST (ITALY): POLLUTION BY MICROPLASTICS IN GROUNDWATERS AND SPRINGS. In: Congresso congiunto SIMP, SGI, SOGEI, AIV "The Geoscience paradigm: resources, risk and future perspectives", Potenza (IT), 19-21 september 2023, pp. 786-786
  Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding)
• Balestra, V.; Drudi, L.; Bellopede, R. (2023)
  The invisible environmental impact of tourism in show caves: microplastic pollution in three Italian show caves. In: 18th International Conference on Environmental Science and Tecnology, Athens (Greece), 30 August - 2 September 2023
  Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding)
• Balestra, Valentina; Fiorucci, Adriano (2023)
  Studio dei parametri chimico-fisici di sei sorgenti carsiche in Piemonte. In: XXIII Congresso Nazionale di Speleologia "La melodia delle Grotte", Ormea (IT), 2-5 June 2023, pp. 365-366. ISBN: 9788889897232
  Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding)
• Balestra, Valentina; Lana, Enrico; Carbone, Cristina; De Waele, Jo; Manenti, Raoul; ... (2023)
  Valutazione della dinamica distributiva degli invertebrati ipogei. In: XXIII Congresso Nazionale di Speleologia "La melodia delle Grotte", Ormea (IT), 2-5 June 2022, pp. 41-44. ISBN: 9788889897232
  Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding)
• Balestra, Valentina; Lana, Enrico (2023)
  La macrofotografia naturalistica e le sue applicazioni nello studio della fauna ipogea. In: XXIII Congresso Nazionale di Speleologia "La melodia delle Grotte", Ormea (IT), 2-5 June 2022, pp. 477-480. ISBN: 9788889897232
  Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding)
• Balestra, Valentina; DE REGIBUS, Claudio; Fiorucci, Adriano; Vigna, Bartolomeo (2023)
  Il monitoraggio della concentrazione di CO₂ in aria nelle grotte. In: XXIII Congresso Nazionale di Speleologia "La melodia delle Grotte", Ormea (IT), 2-5 June 2022, pp. 427-428. ISBN: 9788889897232
  Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding)
• Lana, Enrico; Balestra, Valentina; Chesta, Michelangelo; Olivero, Dario (2023)
  Hypogeal fauna of the military subterranean fortification Forte di Vernante Opera 11 "Tetto Ruinas" (Piedmont, Italy). In: Genova Hypogea 2023, Genova, 29 September - 1 October 2023, pp. 401-408. ISBN: 978 88 32241 32 7
  Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding)
• Conteduca, F.; Francardo, C.; Paradiso, G.; Turdo, R.; Balestra, V.; Bellopede, R.; ... (2023)
  AKANoah Student Team experience: microplastics analysis technics on the Po River environment. In: 18th International Conference on Environmental Science and Technology, Athens (Greece), 30 August - 2 September 2023
  Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding)
• Balestra, Valentina; Trunfio, Federica; Caione, Cassandra; Tsymbaliuk, Evgenia; Marini, ... (2023)
  Detection of Microplastics in Marine Sediments: Results from Three Italian Coasts. In: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Microplastic Pollution in the Mediterranean Sea / S.N., S.L., Springer, pp. 67-74. ISBN: 978-3-031-34454-1
  Contributo in Volume
• Balestra, Valentina; Vigna, Bartolomeo; Bellopede, Rossana (2023)
  Groundwater: An Endangered Invisible Resource. Microplastic Pollution in Underground Karst Systems, from Surface Watercourses to Cave Waters. In: Proceedings of the 3rd International Conference on Microplastic Pollution in the Mediterranean Sea / S.N., S.L., Springer, pp. 89-95. ISBN: 978-3-031-34454-1
  Contributo in Volume
• Balestra, Valentina; Bellopede, Rossana (2023)
  Microplastics in caves: A new threat in the most famous geo-heritage in the world. Analysis and comparison of Italian show caves deposits. In: JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT, vol. 342. ISSN 1095-8630
  Contributo su Rivista
• Balestra, Valentina; Vigna, Bartolomeo; De Costanzo, Sean; Bellopede, Rossana (2023)
  Preliminary investigations of microplastic pollution in karst systems, from surface watercourses to cave waters. In: JOURNAL OF CONTAMINANT HYDROLOGY, vol. 252. ISSN 0169-7722
  Contributo su Rivista
• Giardino, Matteo; Balestra, Valentina; Janner, DAVIDE LUCA; Bellopede, Rossana (2023)
  Automated method for routine microplastic detection and quantification. In: SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT, vol. 859. ISSN 0048-9697
  Contributo su Rivista
• Bellopede, Rossana; Balestra, Valentina; DE REGIBUS, Claudio; Isaia, Marco; Marini, ... (2022)
  Biocorrosion of speleothems driven by lampenflora: preliminary observations in Bossea show cave (NW-Italy). In: "Geosciences for a Sustainable Future" SGI-SIMP Congress, Torino 19-21 September 2022, Torino, 19-21 September 2022
  Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding)
• Balestra, Valentina; Bellopede, Rossana (2022)
  Microplastic pollution in show cave sediments. In: "Geosciences for a Sustainable Future" SGI-SIMP Congress, Torino 19-21 September 2022, Torino, 19-21 September 2022
  Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding)
• Balestra, Valentina; Carbone, Cristina; De Waele, Jo (2022)
  Secondary minerals in minothems at Fragnè Mine (Turin, Italy). In: "Geosciences for a Sustainable Future" SGI-SIMP Congress, Torino 19-21 September 2022, Torino, 19-21 September 2022
  Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding)
• Galliano, Yuri; Carbone, Cristina; Balestra, Valentina; Belmonte, Donato; De Waele, Jo (2022)
  Secondary Minerals from Minothem Environments in Fragnè Mine (Turin, Italy): Preliminary Results. In: MINERALS, vol. 12. ISSN 2075-163X
  Contributo su Rivista
• Manenti, R.; Barzaghi, B.; Mauri, E.; Restaino, M.; Zampieri, V.; Cassarino, F.; ... (2022)
  Activity of the olm (Proteus anguinus) in surface habitats: ecological and evolutionary insights. In: 21st European Congress of Herpetology, Belgrade, 5-9September 2022. ISBN: 978-86-80335-19-3
  Contributo in Atti di Convegno (Proceeding)
• Piano, Elena; Nicolosi, Giuseppe; Mammola, Stefano; Balestra, Valentina; Baroni, ... (2022)
  A literature-based database of the natural heritage, the ecological status and tourism-related impacts in show caves worldwide. In: NATURE CONSERVATION, vol. 50, pp. 159-174. ISSN 1314-3301
  Contributo su Rivista