Charles Balagizi

Dr Charles Balagizi is Geochemist and Geohazards researcher working for the Goma Volcano Observatory since 2009, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. His research focuses on volcano monitoring, volcanic gases studies, natural hazards assessment and water quality monitoring in the western branch of the East African Rift where he has been studding and monitoring Nyiragongo and Nyamulagira active volcanoes and Lake Kivu; as well assessing the related hazards. Since 2018 he is an associated researcher at the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV, Roma). Since 2017, he coordinates the Virunga Volcanoes Supersite (http://geo-gsnl.org/supersites/permanent-supersites/virunga-supersite/) which is a GEO-GSNL voluntary international partnership aiming to improve, through an open science approach, geophysical scientific research and geohazard assessment in support of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR). GEO-GSNL is compliant with the new GEO strategic plan, and with the role of science as envisioned in the Sendai Framework for DRR 2015-2030. The Virunga Volcanoes Supersite he coordinates is the first Supersite established on the African continent with the aim of putting together local and international scientists and agencies, support them access to Earth Observatory data and potentially to equipment for ground-based data collection, as well as the building of a pool of collaboration. This is expected to improve the early warning capacity for volcanic eruption awareness of local scientists and agencies involved in natural hazards assessment and volcano monitoring, risk reduction and management. Dr Balagizi holds a PhD in fluid geochemistry from the University of Naples II (Italy), a Master in Environmental Geochemistry from the University of Liège (Belgium), a masters in Chemistry from ISP/Bukavu (DR Congo) and a post graduate in assessing volcanic hazards and monitoring active volcanoes from the University of Hawaii. He is a member of the International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth’s Interior (IAVCEI). balagizi.charles@gmail.com https://x.com/CharlesBalagizi (@CharlesBalagizi) https://www.linkedin.com/in/charles-balagizi-0b440831