There icebreaker Laura Bassithe only Italian capable of operating at the poles, reached the Mario Zucchelli Station in Antarctica to carry out the 41st Italian research expeditionwithin the National Antarctic Research Program (PNRA). The mission, which began in October, will last four months and involves activities that include the transport of extracted ice cores, the study of marine sediments and their interactions with ice and ocean, the management of the network of marine observatories and the study of underwater surveys. Antarctica, thanks to the geography of its territory and its isolation, is a ideal scientific laboratory to study the dynamics that affect our planet. The ship is named after the scientist Laura Bassi, the first woman in the world to obtain a university professorship.
The Laura Bassi is in Antarctica: it is the 41st mission
Italy carries out scientific missions in Antarctica since 1985with the coordination ofAENEAS (National Agency for new technologies, energy and sustainable economic development), del CNR (National Research Council) and theOGS (National Institute of Oceanography and Experimental Geophysics).
This year’s mission includes two research campaigns. The first, lasting 25 days, concerns logistical support activities at the Mario Zucchelli Station and the transfer of ice cores to Antarctica collected all over the world as part of the international Ice Memory initiative, which aims to create an archive of climate data. The second, which will last 58 days starting from December 30th, will be dedicated to five different research projects. The projects include:
- the study of the processes that occur in marine sediments after their deposition on the seabed;
- there reconstruction of environmental and climatic evolution starting from the Pliocene of the continental margin of the Sabrina Coast, in Southeast Antarctica;
- theanalysis of interactions between ice, ocean and sediments in the Eastern Ross Sea to understand how the ice sheet responds to climate change;
- there management of the marine observatory networkwhich provide data on ocean waters;
- the study of underwater surveys observed in the Ross Sea at depths between 400 and 1200 m, capable of influencing ocean circulation and hosting particular organisms.
Characteristics of the Laura Bassi icebreaker
During the Italian Antarctic missions, the technicians and researchers involved stay and operate in the Concordia permanent station and in the Mario Zucchelli summer resort. There Concord it is located at 3233 m above sea level in south-eastern Antarctica and is equipped with astronomical, geophysical and meteorological observatories. There Zucchelliused between mid-October and mid-February, is located on the coast of southern Antarctica, hosts laboratories and has land, sea and air transportation. The planning and logistical organization of the activities at the Antarctic stations is entrusted to ENEA, while the scientific activities are coordinated by the CNR. The OGS instead deals with the technical and scientific management of icebreaker Laura Bassi. This ship is the only Italian one currently capable of operating at the poles. AND 80 long and 17 wide and its robustness allows it to operate in ice-covered seas without risking structural damage. Its purpose is support scientific activity and carry heavy loads and from this year, thanks to a modernization, it will offer better conditions for research and life on board.
