Victoria Land (Antarctica) shows a great abundance of seismic signals related to many different types of natural sources such as volcanoes, cryosphere dynamics and ocean-solid Earth interactions. Concerning the former, Melbourne and Rittmann are active volcanoes located in Victoria Land, relatively close to the Italian research station Mario Zucchelli. The main aim of the ICE-VOLC project (www.icevolc-project.com) is the assessment of the state of Melbourne and Rittmann, and the investigation of their dynamics by acquisition, analysis and integration of multiparametric geophysical, geochemical and thermal data. Complementary objectives of ICE-VOLC include investigation of the relationship between seismo-acoustic activity recorded in Antarctica and cryosphere-ocean-atmosphere dynamics, evaluation of the impact of volcanic gas in atmosphere, and finally dissemination of the project outcomes. The project involves three institutions: Università degli Studi di Catania, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia e Università degli Studi di Perugia. To achieve the project objectives, we collected seismic data by temporary broadband 3C stations in different sites of Victoria Land (located on Mt. Melbourne, Mt. Rittmann and Tethys Bay) during various Italian expeditions in Antarctica.

Seismological observations can be useful in the monitoring of ice stream dynamics and evolution. A temporary seismic array was deployed around the David Glacier, Victoria Land, during the austral summers 2015-16. Target of the experiment is the collection of seismometric data in order (i) to contribute to filling the gap in global seismic instrumentation, (ii) to monitor the Antarctic seismicity despite its weakness, (iii) to study the lithospheric and deep structure of the continent, (iv) to study interconnections between geodynamics and icecap and glacial evolution.

The SENECA project aims to provide first evaluations of gas concentrations and emissions from permafrost and/or thawing shallow strata and to derive a first estimate of the CO2 and CH4 emission at Southern Polar Hemisphere. The obtained results can also be used to assess uncovered new problems and opportunities, such as how the Antarctica environment can increase to permanent and temporal scale the global temperatures. The project is organized in four major tasks: (1) soil gas content and origin; (2) CO2 and CH4 degassing output; (3) geophysics exploration and petrographic characterization of the soils; (4) seasonal trend of CO2 soil concentration. PETROLOGICAL DATA Soil sampling and analyses: During field activities, soil was described, and specimens were collected in such a way to obtain a homogeneous areal distribution of the samples, representative of the investigated regions. Soil sampling sites were usually coincident with soil gas measuring and collecting sites, which were located on a pre-determined grid, unless specific geomorphological units off the grid were considered of interest. Soil was described and documented at 83 locations in the Taylor Valley and 30 locations in the Lower Wright Valley. The number of soil samples collected in the Taylor and in the Lower Wright Valleys was 57 and 14, respectively. Some of the samples also included sub-samples, in order to separate the different horizons that constituted the soil. In selected sites, a sub-sample of the underlying permafrost was also collected. The number of permafrost sub-samples collected in the Taylor and in the Lower Wright Valleys was 33 and 14, respectively. Criteria for the selection of the sites where to collect permafrost thus included, in addition to the representativeness of the specific site in terms of soil textural and petrographical features, the values of soil gas measured at that site. Soil was generally constituted by lose sediments with different grain size. Locally, the upper part of the soil was weakly cemented. In these cases, an undisturbed sub-sample of the cemented soil was also collected within a rigid plastic vial. 5 sub-samples of this type were collected from the Taylor Valley and one from the Lower Wright Valley. At each considered site, the stratigraphy of the soil was described on a vertical section obtained by digging a pit down to permafrost, over an area of maximum 40x50 cm. Soil texture, grain size distribution, sedimentary structures, colour, nature of clastic elements, water content, depth and type of permafrost were described and photographically documented. Nature and dimension of gravel at the surface were also annotated. In addition, air temperature was measured using a XS Temp 7 PT 100 thermometer. Temperature was also measured at soil surface, at depth of 5 cm, 10 cm, and at every additional 10 cm depth, at the base of soil, in contact with permafrost, and within permafrost, by inserting the probe in a 5 to 10 cm deep hole made with a chisel. Weather conditions during measurements were also annotated. After measurements and sample collection, the pit was filled up again and the site recovered at our best to minimise impact. As concern the analyses, all the sampled soils have been subjected to: XRF - X-ray Fluorescence Spectroscopy ICP Ms - Inductively coupled plasma – mass spectrometry XRD - X-ray Diffraction Granulometry analysis On 20 selected samples we performed also: Gamma-ray spectrometry analysis Radon emission coefficient On permafrost sub-samples, TOC were measured On the 6 undisturbed samples, micro tomography analysis was also performed

L'esplorazione radar anche su aree estese è alla base della glaciologia e svolge diversi ruoli nello studio dei ghiacciai per determinarne lo spessore e il volume, la stratificazione interna del ghiaccio, dei primi strati di nevato (firn), la topografia del bedrock, inclusa la caratterizzazione delle aree crepacciate. Il metodo, ampiamente utilizzato con pieno successo nelle aree polari, incontra maggiori difficoltà se applicato al rilevamento di ghiacciai di montagna come quelli alpini e himalayani. Tali difficoltà sono dovute alle diverse caratteristiche fisiche del ghiaccio temperato e alle problematiche tecniche logistiche legate allo svolgimento di operazioni di campo ad alta quota su aree dove sono presenti crepacci, seracchi e cascate di ghiaccio, rendendo estremamente varia la superficie del ghiacciaio. A seconda delle condizioni del ghiaccio, l'orografia delle zone e la sua estensione, vengono utilizzate differenti tecniche di misura con differenti mezzi d'indagine. Misure da terra: Le misure da terra vengono utilizzate per effettuare indagini di dettaglio in zone di particolare interesse come siti di perforazione o piccoli ghiacciai. La strumentazione viene posta all'interno di mezzi meccanici idonei come motoslitte (ski-doo) o gatti delle nevi, le antenne vengono montate su slitte e trainate lungo i percorsi d'indagine prescelti. Misure da elicottero: Le misure da elicottero vengono effettuate in zone non estese e in luoghi remoti e non facilmente raggiungibili con i mezzi terrestri o inaccessibili e per questo vengono facilmente utilizzati nello studio dei ghiacciai Alpini e nelle zone costiere dell'Antartide. Sulla base della nostra esperienza nella realizzazione di sistemi RES, abbiamo sviluppato un'unità funzionante a 40 MHz (4 kW di potenza di picco massima) con un ampiezza di impulso di inviluppo variabile tra 25 ns (1 ciclo) e 500 ns (20 cicli). Le antenne sono state posizionate su un supporto di legno (Bygol-1) sospeso a 18 m sotto la fusoliera dell'elicottero per mezzo di una fune baricentrica mentre l'elettronica del radar occupa un posto sul sedile posteriore. Per facilitare le manovre in volo dell'elicottero, negli ultimi anni si è utilizzato un montaggio fisso dell'antenna a fianco al carrello dell'elicottero attraverso un sistema di sostegni meccanici molto efficaci. Misure da aereo: In Antartide, dove le aree di rilevamento sono molto estese, si ricorre necessariamente agli aerei. Nelle spedizioni antartiche (1997, 1999, 2001 e 2003), il gruppo italiano di "Radioglaciologia" ha utilizzato un aereo DE HAVILLAND DHC-6 Twin Otter (TO), che è stato anche a disposizione del PNRA con l'intero equipaggio per altri servizi nella campagna italiana per tutto il periodo della spedizione annuale. Il TO, sebbene leggermente sovradimensionato per i rilievi radar, si è rivelato particolarmente utile in quanto permette di avere due antenne VHF a dipolo ripiegate a λ/2 circa un metro sotto le ali che agiscono da riflettori. Essendo dotato di strumentazione di bordo come altimetri laser e dispositivi di geo-localizzazione, il TO è in grado di volare a un'altitudine di 300 m seguendo le rotte pianificate. Di solito un altro sistema di geo-localizzazione, costituito da un altro ricevitore satellitare GPS, è direttamente interfacciato al computer di acquisizione della traccia radar. La frequenza di ripetizione degli impulsi deve essere rapportata alla velocità (circa 270 km/h) del TO e alla capacità di elaborazione del computer di acquisizione. Misure da drone: Con l'avvento dei droni in tempi recenti si è cominciato a studiare la possibilità di utilizzarli anche per le misure RES. Nel caso di misure in aree estese il drone ad ala fissa sembra essere la migliore soluzione considerando oltre alle grandi distanze da percorrere anche il peso della strumentazione RADAR. I droni ad ala fissa, con motore a scoppio, possono anche percorrere 1000 km in completa autonomia.

Seismological observations can be useful in the monitoring of ice stream dynamics and evolution. A temporary seismic array was deployed around the David Glacier, Victoria Land, during the austral summers 2003-04. Target of the experiment is the collection of seismometric data in order (i) to contribute to filling the gap in global seismic instrumentation, (ii) to monitor the Antarctic seismicity despite its weakness, (iii) to study the lithospheric and deep structure of the continent, (iv) to study interconnections between geodynamics and icecap and glacial evolution.

The geomagnetic observatory MZS has been installed during the 1986-87 Campaign. The regular operation of the observatory consists of unmanned, continuous measurement of the variations of the geomagnetic field. Also, absolute magnetic field measurements are manually taken during each summer campaign. The recorded data are: - 1 sec measurements of the variations of the three geomagnetic field components - 1 min averages of the variations of the three geomagnetic field components - 5 sec measurements of the geomagnetic field scalar intensity - 1 min averages of the geomagnetic field scalar intensity - absolute measurements only during the summer campaign. All the automatic recordings are delivered in real-time to the INGV data portal. For each campaign, data and activities are reported in the yearbook.

An automatic geomagnetic station for monitoring the Earth’s magnetic field variations has been installed in December 2020 at Talos Dome, a remote site on the Antarctic Plateau, about 300 km away from the permanent geomagnetic observatory at Mario Zucchelli Station (MZS). Designed and assembled at the laboratory of electronics of the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) in Rome, this autonomous station is formed by a vector magnetometer specifically manufactured by Lviv Institute (Ukraine) for very low temperatures and a low-power system supplied by batteries charged by wind generator and solar panel. Data, sampled at 1 Hz, are locally stored and can be downloaded once a year during the Antarctic summer expeditions. The goal was to integrate observatory data for better monitoring the geomagnetic field from an uncovered Antarctic area. In fact, it is well known that the distribution of geomagnetic observatories strongly favors the northern hemisphere and each new instrumental installation in Antarctica should be considered as a useful attempt to balance the geomagnetic monitoring in the two hemispheres. The achieved goal was to obtain a long data series, keeping the station working even during the austral winter when the temperature can reach −60°C; we recorded 4 years of data.

During the fourth Italian expedition to northern Victoria Land in 1988–1989, a new volcanic centre named Mount Rittmann was discovered on the eastern shoulder of Aviator Glacier, north of Mount Brabec, in the Mountaineer Range. Mount Rittmann is still active and shows fumarolic activity mainly concentrated along a steep slope on the east flank of the volcano, uncovered by perennial ice. In the framework of the ICE-VOLC project (www.icevolc-project.com), we are assessing the state of this volcano, as well as of Mt. Melbourne, and investigating their dynamics by acquisition, analysis and integration of multiparametric geophysical, geochemical and thermal data. Complementary objectives of ICE-VOLC project include investigation of the relationship between seismo-acoustic activity recorded in Antarctica and cryosphere-ocean-atmosphere dynamics, evaluation of the impact of volcanic gas in the atmosphere, and finally dissemination of the project outcomes. The project involves three institutions: Università degli Studi di Catania, Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia e Università degli Studi di Perugia. To achieve the project objectives, we developed and installed in 2017 a permanent seismo-acoustic station on the top of Mount Rittmann (Contrafatto et al., 2018, https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5023481). This station continuously acquires three-component broadband seismic data, as well as infrasonic signals.

Seismological observations can be useful in the monitoring of ice stream dynamics and evolution. A temporary seismic array was deployed around the David Glacier, Victoria Land, during the austral summers 2005-06. Target of the experiment is the collection of seismometric data in order (i) to contribute to filling the gap in global seismic instrumentation, (ii) to monitor the Antarctic seismicity despite its weakness, (iii) to study the lithospheric and deep structure of the continent, (iv) to study interconnections between geodynamics and icecap and glacial evolution.

A permanent seismological observatory, international code TNV, is operating at MZS Italian Antarctic station: Seismological VBB data are recorded and collected according to the international SEED standard. Two independent parallel chains are running: 1) Streckeisen STS-1 Sensors + Quanterra Q330HR datalogger, marked with location code 01; 2) Streckeisen STS-2 Seismometer + Quanterra Q330HR datalogger, marked with location code 02. All data are available for the international seismological community. Research activities: global seismicity of the Earth studies; studies of local and regional seismicity; lithospheric structure studies.