SWD and DIF solar fluxes. Institute of Polar Sciences data from a local source.

TNB1 and TNB2 continuous GNSS stations There are currently two continuous GNSS stations, TNB1 and TNB2, nearby the Italian base MZS (Mario Zucchelli Station). Collected data, in RINEX format, are sent daily in Italy and are available for download at the Database page of this website. TNB1 continuous GPS station was monumented during the 1997-1998 campaign on a granite outcrop. It was originally equipped with an Ashtech Z-12 GPS receiver and an Ashtech 700936D Dorne Margolin antenna with chokering. Installed on a concrete pillar, TNB1 continuously collected data of the GPS constellation for about 17 years. In November 2015, the instrumentation was completely renewed. Currently, the station is equipped with a Leica GS25 GNSS receiver and a Leica AT504 Dorne Margolin antenna with chokering. TNB1 collect data of GPS and GLONASS constellations.

The ideal site for the measurement of solar and terrestrial radiation for meteorological purposes is one that has a completely flat horizon. The WMO Guide to Meteorological Instruments and Methods of Observation (WMO No. 8) recommends that if possible no obstruction should be present, particularly within the azimuth range of sunrise and sunset over the year. This dataset describes the horizon at the BSRN radiation site DOM as additional information on the site's surroundings.

Permafrost hosts a potentially large pool of microorganisms, which is supposed to be the only life forms known to have retained viability over geological time. Thawing of the permafrost renews their physiological activity and exposes ancient life to modern ecosystems (Gilichinsky et al, 2008). The adaptation mechanisms of microorganisms, at species or population level, make them susceptible to extreme environmental conditions. The survival of microorganisms in permafrost raises the question of what constitutes the limit for microbial life (Steven et al., 2006; Wagner 2008).

The raw SeaSpy magnetometer data presented here were collected in the Southern Ocean (SO) as part of the ISOBatA PNRA project during the XXXVII and XXXVIII Italian Antarctic expeditions on board the icebreaker Laura Bassi. The ISOBatA project (Italian Southern Ocean Bathymetry from consistent exploitation of opportunistic seafloor datasets in the Antarctic region and surrounding areas) aimed to improve the understanding of the Southern Ocean through a novel approach that systematically integrates the collection of bathymetric and magnetometric data during the Laura Bassi voyages in poorly charted regions between the Macquarie Triple Junction – MTJ and the Emerald Fracture Zone n-EFZ. This dataset spans two field campaigns (2021-2022 and 2023) collected through optimized navigation strategies, including reducing vessel speed during transits and following pre-planned corridors to enhance data quality and spatial coverage. The project was a collaboration between OGS (PI D. Accettella), UniMIB (A. Savini), IGAG-CNR (M. Cuffaro) and INGV (F. Muccini). The work was supported by the Programma Nazionale di Ricerca in Antartide - PNRA and benefited from the joint efforts of the Laura Bassi research teams on board. Keywords: Southern Ocean, Bathymetry, ISOBatA, Laura Bassi, Antarctica, IBCSO.

The knowledge of properties and quantitative measurement of solid precipitation in Antarctica is of fundamental importance as precipitation represents the main input of Antarctic ice sheet mass, the variations of which have a direct and non-negligible effect on the average level of the oceans at global scale. Characterization and quantification of the precipitation is crucial in defining and validating global climate models and numerical weather prediction models, as well as anchoring and validating space-borne remote sensing estimates from missions like CloudSAT and EarthCARE. A snow and cloud microphysics observatory has been set up at the Italian Antarctic station Mario Zucchelli (MZS), integrating the pre-existing instrumentation for weather measurements. In particular, a 24-GHz vertical pointing Doppler radar, the METEK's Micro Rain Radar 2 (MRR-2), and a laser disdrometer, the OTT Parsivel, have been integrated with the advanced weather stations, radiosoundings and the ceilometer already present at MZS. The synergy between the set of instruments allows for characterizing precipitation and studying properties of Antarctic precipitation such as dimension, shape, fall behavior, particle number density, particles size distribution, particles terminal velocity, reflectivity factor and information on their vertical extent. APP started as a four-year project in July 2017, covering the Special Observation Period (SOP) in the Southern Hemisphere of Year of Polar Predicition (YOPP) period. APP can provide specific measurements for precipitation occurring over the Antarctic coast at high temporal resolution, in particular specific snow products such as snow rate, snow depth and their water equivalent. In November 2023 the observatory received an additional instrument, the Thies Clima 3D Stereo imaging disdrometer, which was previously installed for one year in Italy for testing, at the Casale Calore (AQ) meteorological observation site from the University of L'Aquila. The research team of the first two years was coordinated by Nicoletta Roberto, with operational units at the Rome unit of the CNR-ISAC (Luca Baldini, Elisa Adirosi, Stefano Dietrich) and at the Department of Physics and Astronomy of the University of Bologna (Rolando Rizzi, Federico Porcù, Tiziano Maestri, Alessandro Bracci). From 2020 the coordination of the project passed to Luca Baldini (CNR-ISAC) and the work team was extended with the research fellows Giacomo Roversi and Sabina Angeloni.

The Antarctic Seismographic Argentinean Italian Network (ASAIN) is a permanent broad-band seismic network that has operated since 1995 in the Scotia Sea region, the Antarctic peninsula, and the polar area. It was deployed and is managed in the framework of cooperation between the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics and Dirección Nacional del Antártico–Instituto Antártico Argentino and is financially supported by the Programma Nazionale di Ricerca in Antartide. The network consists of eight seismological stations with broadband sensors. ASAIN provides data to Incorporated Research Institutions for Seismology, Observatories and Research Facilities for European Seismology, and GEOFOrschungsNetz. It improves the worldwide seismic networks’ detection capabilities and contributes to refining regional earthquake locations released by the U.S. Geological Survey. The proximity of the seismic stations to the Antarctic continent and their continuous operation in the long term also allows for having a privileged observatory on the ice-related seismicity along the Antarctica peninsula.

The bacterial communities in rocks and soils of three different localities (Battleship Promontory, Richard Nunatak, Trio Nunatak), where stations are collecting climatic data, have been compared with a DNA metabarcoding approach. In addition samples have been trated with Propidium Mono-Azide (PMA) which binds to DNA of damaged cells and inhibit its replication via PCR. The comparison between samples treated with PMA and samples not treated allows to check the bacterial cells that are intact and potentially alive in these substrates. The results showed a strong differentiation in the communities diversity and composition between the two substrates, with an higher diversity in soils compared to rocks. In addition, the PMA treatment revealed the presence of an high proportion of death cells, whose amplification in traditional metabarcoding approaches obscures the correlation trends in this environment.

The fungal communities in rocks and soils of three different localities (Battleship Promontory, Richard Nunatak, Trio Nunatak), where stations are collecting climatic data, have been compared with a DNA metabarcoding approach. The results showed a strong differentiation in the communities diversity and composition between the two substrates, with an higher diversity in soils compared to rocks.

This dataset reports the snow density, temperature and hardness observations from the surface to 1 m depth at the Concordia Station, Antarctica. A snow trench is dig once per month (or every three months during winter) in the clean area near the Station (< 1 km). The snow density measurements are taken inserting a core barrel (with a diameter of 4.5 cm and a length of 25 cm) horizontally into the snow every 10 cm from 0 to 1 m depth. The snow density is calculated from the weight. For each layer the temperature and the hardness (ranging from 1 to 6) are also recorded.