Antarctica: Change of season with over 50 scientific projects completed
8/3/2018
The PNRA-National Antarctic Research Program, with the logistic coordination by ENEA and the scientific coordination by the CNR, wraps up the 33rd summer expedition and opens the 14th winter campaign. The last team left the Italian Station “Mario Zucchelli” based in Terra Nova Bay while at the French-Italian Station Concordia a small winter-over crew will remain in complete isolation for the next eight months, running experiments on glaciology, chemistry and atmospheric physics, astrophysics, astronomy, geophysics and biomedicine.
With over 50 scientific projects completed, the 33rd Summer Campaign of the National Antarctic Research Programme (PNRA), funded by the Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR), with the logistic coordination by ENEA, the scientific coordination by the CNR and the participation of 210 researchers and technicians from research institutions across Italy, came to a close.
After a delay due to bad weather, the last 12 participants to the mission left the Italian Station “Mario Zucchelli” in Terra Nova Bay, which closed for the season.
“Adverse metereological conditions forced us to delay the winter shutdown of the station. Strong gusty winds prevented take off towards the permanent American Antarctic base McMurdo, from where our journey continued to New Zealand before returning to Italy”, said expedition leader Alberto della Rovere of ENEA.
The “seasonal” shut down of the Italian Station does not conclude the scientific research activities Italy conducts in Antarctica, that continue at the French-Italian Station Concordia (Dome C), the permanent research station located in the Antarctic plateau at 3.300 m above sea level, where the 14th winter campaign kicked off.
“For the next eight months 13 winterovers, six Italians and a Frenchman from the PNRA, five Frenchmen from the IPEV (French Polar Institute Paul Emile Victor) and an Austrian physician from the ESA (European Space Agency), will remain in complete isolation to run experiments and conduct studies on glaciology, chemistry and physics of the atmosphere, astrophysics, astronomy, geophysics and biomedicine", Fabio Trincardi, Head of the Earth System Science and Environmental Technologies Department of the National Research Council (DTA-CNR), explained.
The summer campaign started last October with the involvement of several research teams which, in spite of the harsh environment and with the collaboration of the Army, worked to develop over 50 research projects on ecosystems and the climate.
Data collected in Antarctica will be processed in the next few months at the Italian Laboratories which participated to the projects.