Italian National Agency for New Technologies, Energy and Sustainable Economic Development
Antarctica: 38th italian expedition kicks off with 240 researchers and 50 projects
The arrival of the first technical crew at the Mario Zucchelli station in Baia Terra Nova marked the beginning of the 38th Italian expedition to Antarctica, which involves 240 technicians and researchers working on 50 projects, mainly focused on atmospheric sciences, geology, paleoclimate, biology, oceanography and astronomy. The research activities will be conducted at the Zucchelli and Italian-French Concordia bases as well as on board the Italian research vessel Laura Bassi and some Antarctic stations of other countries. The expedition, funded by the Ministry of University and Research (MUR), is part of the National Research Program in Antarctica (PNRA), managed by ENEA for logistical planning and the National Research Council (Cnr) for scientific planning.
A team of 20 Italian PNRA technicians that flew from the US Antarctic base at McMurdo aboard a Basler BT-67, performed the task of opening the Zucchelli station closed since last February.
In addition to resuming its full functionality, the Italian technicians will check the conditions of the sea ice where to carve out the landing strip of the subsequent flights of the C130J of the 46th Air Brigade of the Italian Air Force, which will transport materials and technical and research personnel.
The Armed Forces participate in the expedition with 23 military experts from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Carabinieri Force, that will provide support to the scientists during the entire expedition, according to their specific competences, in the following activities: external campaigns, naval and underwater activities, helicopter and aircraft operations, meteorological forecasts and completion of the landing strip. 4 members of the National Fire Brigade will also join in the activities.
The Italian icebreaker vessel "Laura Bassi", of the National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics (OGS), jointly managed by Cnr, ENEA and OGS, will also return to the polar seas. This year the activities on board will take place in a single rotation lasting two months, during which two oceanographic campaigns will be carried out. The departure from Italy to the port of Lyttelton in New Zealand is scheduled for next November 15th. From New Zealand, the ship will leave for Antarctica in early January 2023 carrying materials and personnel. The return to Lyttelton is expected in the first week of March 2023. During the two routes in the Ross Sea, the 28 researchers alternating through shifts will conduct the research activities foreseen in the 8 projects funded by the PNRA, in addition to the activities in collaboration with the Navy Hydrographic Institute.
With the arrival of the first PNRA staff at the beginning of November in Concordia - the Italian-French station on the Antarctic plateau at over 3,000 meters above sea level and 1,200 kilometers from the coast - the isolation for the 13 winterovers, which lasts from last February because, due to external temperatures reaching -80 ° C (up to -100 ° C of thermal perception), it is not possible to reach the base for almost nine months, will end. In February 2023 13 new winterovers - 5 from the PNRA, 7 from the French Polar Institute (IPEV) and 1 physician from the European Space Agency (ESA) - will remain in complete isolation until November 2023.
With the new mission in Concordia, 20 research projects will be carried out, including "Beyond Epica Oldest Ice", an international activity funded by the European Union, whose aim is to go back in time by 1.5 million years to find a record of the past Earth’s climate.
This year, as part of the Beyond Epica project- coordinated by Cnr- in which ENEA and Ca 'Foscari University of Venice also participate for Italy, the ice core drilling will start in a field set up at Little Dome C, about 40 kilometers from Concordia, with the goal of bringing the first ice samples to Italy by the end of the year.
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