Role
Dr Di Bonito is the former Course Leader for BSc (Honours) Geography. He leads the following modules:
- Level 7 (MSc/MRes): G.I.S.
- Level 6: Natural Resource Management
- Frontiers in Environmental Biogeochemistry
- Geography Dissertation
He teaches on the following modules:
- Level 6: Global Agriculture and Food Security
- Level 5: Principles and Practice in Geography
- Level 4: Introduction to Global Environmental Issues
Dr Di Bonito is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a personal tutor for students.
Career overview
Trained as a physical scientist at the University of Naples, Italy where he graduated as an Earth scientist, Dr Di Bonito specialised in Environmental Geochemistry, GIS and Spatial Analysis with various periods of study abroad (University of Granada, Spain; British Geological Survey, UK). During this period he also worked for the Italian National Research Council where he gained experience in soil science. He studied his PhD in England, where he undertook a joint project between the University of Nottingham and the British Geological Survey.
After his PhD he briefly worked for the NERC Isotope Geoscience Laboratory, where he increased his experience in analytical techniques. Dr Di Bonito then joined the Environment Agency where he has worked for 3 years in the Environment Management team, gaining invaluable experience in various aspects of the regulatory side for waste management, water quality, agriculture and pollution control.
Following this experience, he joined the University of Nottingham for a postdoctoral project funded by the European Union in Sustainability Impact Assessment. Here he continued to develop his increasing interest for multi- and interdisciplinary research cutting across physical and social science (e.g., Sustainability, Ecosystems Goods and Services), where applications of methodologies and integration with participatory approaches (e.g., the Analytic Hierarchy Process methodology) and modelling (e.g., Bayesian Belief Networks) can increase understanding of complex processes and enhance decision making. He finally joined Nottingham Trent University in September 2009.
Research areas
Member of the Natural Environment and the Ecology and Conservation research groups at ARES. His research interests include:
- Environmental geochemistry
- GIS applications (including modelling, probability and uncertainty)
- Soil protection and sustainability
- Water quality
- Contaminated land and remediation
- Inter-related aspects and impacts on the environment and society.
- Ecosystem Goods and Services
- Sustainability Science
Recent projects have included:
- Development of field method for mercury speciation analysis of environmental matrices from artisanal gold mining sites in Kenya (DoS from January 2021)
- Socio-cultural valuation of urban parks: Lessons from the Philippines (PhD project, co-supervisor since October 2019)
- Coupling Phyto- and Myco-remediation techniques to manage crude oil contaminated soils in the Niger Delta, Nigeria (PhD project, Director of Studies since April 2016).
- Sustainable intensification in agriculture: an action research (PhD project, co-supervisor since October 2014).
- Chemistry, mineralogy, mobility and bioavailability of heavy metals in soil, plants (Pistacia lentiscus L.) and soil solutions in the Rio San Giorgio catchment (Iglesias, Gonnesa, South Sardinia, Italy) to develop soil remediation strategies (PhD project, external supervisor, The University of Cagliary, Italy – 2010-2013).
- An investigation into the changing geographies of beer within the county of Nottinghamshire with reference to retail and consumption (SPUR project – 2015).
- Hazard assessment in the restless Campi Flegrei Caldera (Italy) through field and laboratory investigations (SPUR project in collaboration with INGV - June 2012).
- Catchment modelling of climate change impacts on hydrology and water quality, Ba watershed, Fiji (PhD project, external supervisor, The University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji - 2012 - 2015).
Opportunities to carry out postgraduate research towards an MPhil / PhD exist and further information may be obtained from the NTU Doctoral School.
External activity
Dr Di Bonito is a:
- Chartered Member of the British Society of Soil Science (BSSS)
- Member of the European Geosciences Union (EGU)
- Member of the Society for Environmental Geochemistry and Health
Sponsors and collaborators
Current and past research is being conducted with the collaboration, funding and /or support of:
- University of Naples , Italy, Federico II
- University of Cagliari, Italy
- Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia
- University of South Pacific, Suva, Fiji
- National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, INGV, Italy
- Italian National Research Council
- The University of Nottingham
- British Geological Survey
- NERC Isotope Geoscience Laboratory
- European Union (Leonardo programme and FP6 project)
- Institute of Mediterranean Agriculture and Forestry Systems (ISAFoM), Italy
- Centre for Environmental Management (Nottingham)
Publications
Dynamic characteristics of sulfur, iron and phosphorus in coastal polluted sediments, north China. Sun Q, Sheng Y, Yang J, Di Bonito M and Mortimer RJG, Environmental Pollution, 2016, 219, 588-595
Field sampling of soil pore water to evaluate the mobile fraction of trace elements in the Iglesiente area (SW Sardinia, Italy). Concas S, Ardau C, Di Bonito M, Lattanzi P and Vacca A, Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 2015 (158), 82-94
An investigation of 'space' and social networks in creative clusters. Bisignano A and Di Bonito M, International Small Business and Entrepreneurship Conference (ISBE 2015), Technology & Innovation Centre, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow, 11-12 November 2015
Integrating Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) for prioritising and planning conservation choices in Wales. Di Bonito M, Clarkson J, Wienhold ML, and Pecchia L, 12th International Symposium of The Analytic Hierarchy Process/Analytic Network Process (ISAHP), Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 23-26 June 2013
Sewage sludge in Europe and in the UK: environmental impact and improved standards for recycling and recovery to land. Di Bonito M, in (eds) B De Vivo, H E Belken and A Lima, Environmental geochemistry: site characterization, data analysis, case histories, Elsevier, 2008, 251-286
Extraction and characterisation of pore water in contaminated soils. Di Bonito M, Breward N, Crout N, Smith B and Young S, and H, Zhang in (eds) B De Vivo, HE Belken and A Lima, Environmental Geochemistry: Site characterization, data analysis, case histories, second edition, Elsevier, 2008, 213-249
Baseline geochemical mapping of Sardinia (Italy). De Vivo B, Boni M, Marcello A, Di Bonito M and Russo A, Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 1997, 60 (1), 77-90
Models of geochemical speciation: structure and applications. Di Bonito M, Lofts S and Groenenberg JE in (eds) B De Vivo, HE Belken and A Lima, Environmental geochemistry: site characterization, data analysis, case histories, second edition, 2008 Elsevier
Press expertise
- Soils
- Natural resources
- Waste
- Pollution
- Water