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    The project aims to determine the mass balance components in the Dome C drainage area and to study and monitor local glaciers in Victoria Land. The goal is to define the mass balance of the ice cap through the analysis of its altimetric variation with satellite systems and through the determination of the values of the positive (snow accumulation) and negative (flow of glaciers to the anchor line) components of the balance mass. Trought the study of the snow cores (collected as part of the ITASE project (XVII/XVIII expedition)), was determined the annual stratigraphy and evaluated the snow accumulation, the isotopic temperature and the chemical composition of the snow cores. Moreover analysis of geophysical data (GPR, GPS, RES, spectroradiometry) and remote sensing data were carried out for the study of the variability of snow accumulation, of the dynamics of the ice cap and of the flow of glaciers to the anchor line.

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    The TALos Dome Ice CorE (TALDICE) is a European ice core research project (Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, United Kingdom) aimed at retrieving an ice core reaching back through the previous two interglacials (about 250,000 years), from a peripheral dome of East Antarctica, and want to reconstruct a reliable chronology, thanks to the presence of numerous layers of volcanic dust given the proximity of several volcanoes. Talos Dome is an ice dome (159°11'E - 72°49'S, 2316 m asl) on the edge of the East Plateau of Antarctica, about 290 km from the Southern Ocean, 250 km from the Ross Sea, 275 km from Mario Zucchelli Station, 550 km North of Taylor Dome , 1500 km NW of Simple Dome, and 1100 km East of Dome C. The TALDICE project started in the field in November 2004 and ended on December 23, 2007, at the final depth of 1620.20 m. Ice Thickness 1795 m Mean annual temperature -41°C Mean annual atmospheric air pressure 721±10 hPa Ice velocity 0.14 m yr-1

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    It is a program that, by means of surface crossings thousands of kilometers long, collects information on the behavior of the ice sheet and the related changes in the global sea level as a result of climatic and environmental changes over the last 200 years. Aims of the projects are: Determine the environmental variability in Antarctica over the last 200 yrs, and where the data are available the last 1000 years. Environmental proxies could include: sea ice variation, ocean productivity, anthropogenic impacts; and other, extra-Antarctic continental influences

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    The IPICS-2kyr-Italia project, through multiple perforations in the Antarctic ice sheet, aims to provide new data on climatic variability over the last 2000 years. The ice caps are natural archives of the Earth's climatic and environmental history. The extraction of snow and ice cores have taken place during the summer Antarctic campaign (November 2013 - January 2014). The drilling site GV7 (70°41'S, 158°52'E; 1950 m), was chosen for the high snow accumulation and was located about 500 km from Mario Zucchelli Station.

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    The project aims to estimate the current mass balance of glaciers and in particular of the Antarctic ice sheet by studying the space-time variations of the balance of snow accumulation through the integration of meteo-climatic and glaciological data. Analysis of weather-climatic and snow measurements collected by AWS stations (Dome C, C3, High Priestley, Talos Dome and a Nansen Ice Sheet) using sensors for measuring snow transport and measuring poles. Snow radar data collection of the Dumont d’Urville-Dome C traverse. Analysis of the chemical and isotopic composition of the collected snow samples. Analysis of satellite data to define the path of the Talos Dome-Dome C-Vostok-Dome B-Dome A crosspiece. High resolution chemical / isotopic analyzes (samples in trenches) for the study of post-depositional diffusion / re-emission processes that occur in the part of the snow closest to the surface. Study of the spatial variability of the snow accumulation at the TD site and along the ITASE traverse. Continuation of the analysis of the samples and geophysical data collected in the previous ITASE traverses.

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    The project aims to estimate the current mass balance of glaciers and in particular of the Antarctic ice sheet by studying the space-time variations of the balance of snow accumulation through the integration of meteo-climatic and glaciological data. Analysis of weather-climatic and snow measurements collected by AWS stations (Dome C, C3, High Priestley, Talos Dome and a Nansen Ice Sheet) using sensors for measuring snow transport and measuring poles. Snow radar data collection of the Dumont d’Urville-Dome C traverse. Analysis of the chemical and isotopic composition of the collected snow samples. Analysis of satellite data to define the path of the Talos Dome-Dome C-Vostok-Dome B-Dome A crosspiece. High resolution chemical / isotopic analyzes (samples in trenches) for the study of post-depositional diffusion / re-emission processes that occur in the part of the snow closest to the surface. Study of the spatial variability of the snow accumulation at the TD site and along the ITASE traverse. Continuation of the analysis of the samples and geophysical data collected in the previous ITASE traverses.

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    The geochemical dataset includes: 1. **Soil gas sampling/flux measurements:** Soil gas surveying involves collecting gas samples from the active layer zone to measure the concentrations of various gaseous species in the soil pores. Samples were collected by inserting a steel probe vertically into the soil to a depth ranging from 0.2 m to 0.6 m, depending on the thickness of the active layer. Soil gas samples were taken from the probe using a 60 cc plastic syringe and stored in 15 ml glass vials. The collected gas samples were analyzed with a chromatograph (CP4900 by Varian) to determine the concentrations of the following gaseous species: He, Ne, H2, O2, N2, CH4, C2H2, C2H4, C2H6, CO2, H2S. Radon (222Rn) and Thoron (220Rn) were measured directly in the field using a Durridge RAD7 instrument, performing three or four measurements with a 5-minute integration time. A total of 231 samples were collected during this expedition. Measurements of exhalation flux of CO2 and CH4 from the soil into the atmosphere were conducted using the West System (West Systems TM) accumulation static closed-chamber method. 2. **Continuous monitoring of CO2 concentrations in the active layer:** Continuous monitoring of CO2 concentrations in the bottom of the active layer was recorded. GasPro CO2 Monitoring Probes were designed to measure temperature and CO2 concentration in the unsaturated soil horizon. CO2 concentrations were measured using a Non-Dispersive Infra-Red (NDIR) sensor (model IRCA1 Alphasense). The probes collected one measurement per hour during the period 2020 - 2023 (with gaps) at strategic points within the Taylor and Wright valleys. 3. **Water samples:** We sampled shallow waters from all streams, ponds, and lakes in the studied areas. Physical-chemical parameters such as water temperature, pH, redox potential (Eh), electrical conductivity, and alkalinity were determined in situ. Water samples were collected and stored in high-density polyethylene flasks for laboratory analysis in the following quantities: - 2 flasks of 50 ml for major anions and cations - 1 flask of 50 ml for minor and trace elements - 1 flask of 100 ml for isotopic analyses - 1 serum glass bottle of 155 ml for dissolved gases in the water. Major anions and cations were sampled from filtered and acidified samples, respectively. Minor and trace elements were collected from filtered and acidified samples. An unfiltered sample was collected for the determination of stable isotope analyses (18O, D). The chemical composition analysis of dissolved gases (He, Ne, H2, O2, N2, CH4, CO2), extracted from water samples collected in serum glass bottles and sealed with gas-tight rubber plugs according to the method of Capasso and Inguaggiato (1998), was carried out in the Scott Base Laboratory using an Agilent 4900 CP Micro-gas chromatograph equipped with two TCDs and Ar as carrier gas. The dissolved gas composition (expressed in mmol/L at STP) was calculated from the composition of the exsolved gas phase based on the solubility coefficient of each gas compound (Whitfield, 1978). The analytical error was <5%. A total of 15 water samples were collected during this expedition.

  • The main goal of our proposal is to characterize the surface radiative budget as well as cloudiness which features at the Argentine Bases Marambio and Belgrano II during the YOPP-SH Special Observing Period (SOP) as well as the YOPP Consolidation Phase. Specific objectives to secure our main goal during the SOP will be: 1 - develop a compact Radiation Measurement UNIT (RMU) robust enough to allow continuous measurements in harsh environment through which to make shortwave, longwave observations as well as to record status of the sky. 2 - secure UV measurements at both stations. 3 - develop specific tools to analyse on a daily basis (weakly for clouds) collected data and extract parameters of interest. For radiation these will include QA/QC SW and LW downwelling and upwelling fluxes, diffuse and direct components of solar radiation, UV spectral flux and doses. For clouds these will include, on a continuous base, cloud fraction derived both from radiometric measurement and sky camera observations, cloud type and cloud effect on SW radiation. In addition cloud base (or cloud ceiling) will be obtained by routine observations performed at the two stations. From UV measurements columnar ozone content will be also derived. Moving forward to YOPP consolidation phase, we plan to: 1 - extend dataset and its analysis, start to collect information on seasonal and inter-annual variability, determine Cloud radiative Forcing (CRF) 2 - perform extensive comparison between automatic and visual cloudiness observation methods. They being very useful to better understand quality and value of historical datasets at the two stationsù 3 - make comparison with cloudiness regime of Ross Sea and Antarctic Plateau. Make similar comparison for UV fluxes in the Peninsula and at Concordia.

  • The ANT-Biofilm research project (PNRA16_00105) concerned the study of microbial colonization processes in coastal environments of Terra Nova Bay (Ross Sea), through the analysis of the microbial biofilm (bacteria, microalgae) and macrobenthic settlement on plastic substrates, with the aim of determining their possible variations caused by natural or anthropogenic disturbances (variations in salinity or the presence of contaminants, respectively). Microbial biofilms, which play a key role as a substrate for larval settlement of many species of invertebrates, constitute hot-spots of microbial diversity; and it is also known that the communities a microbial are capable of responding rapidly to changing environmental conditions, acting as potential "sentinels" of natural or anthropic perturbations that recently are threatening the Antarctic biota. During the first year of activity (XXXIII Italian expedition, November 2017) stainless steel structures were fixed on the seabed of Road Bay and Tethys Bay mounting panels of artificial substrates (Polyvinyl Chloride, PVC and PolyEthylene, PE) for colonization, which during the XXXIV expedition (November 2018) were retrieved in order to study the fouling formation processes at different levels of biological complexity (from microbial community including bacteria and microalgae to benthic invertebrates) and to evaluate their evolution in two coastal sites differently exposed to natural or anthropogenic forcings.

  • Trophic interactions underlie coexistence mechanisms between species, define the functional role of specie within communities, affect biodiversity and bioaccumulation processes of heavy metal. Sea-ice dynamics, which at Terra Nova Bay is characterized by an extraordinary seasonality, drives interspecific interactions and the exchange of materials between ecosystem compartments. Indeed, the activation of the primary production after sea-ice break up opens alternative trophic pathways for consumers. The “next generation SRPs” represent a highly appropriate framework for the present project which follows the results obtained with the previous project ISOBIOTOX (PNRA 2013) and aims at (i) determine topological and functional metrics of sympagic and pelagic food webs at Terra Nova Bay under different conditions of sea-ice coverage along a distance gradient from the nearest open water polynya to areas were the seasonal sea-ice coverage persists longer; (ii) evaluate bioaccumulation and biomagnification of heavy metals in trophic sources at the base of the food web and in target species along food chains, including fishes of commercial interests and top predators, both in the presence and absence of sympagic and pelagic primary producers. High resolution food webs will be reconstructed by means of the simultaneous elemental and isotopic analysis of different elements (C and N) and the bioaccumulation of pollutants. The research program integrates complementary research approaches: (a) Elemental analysis coupled with mass spectrometry for stable isotope analysis (δ13C, δ15N) in animal and vegetal tissues and dead organic matter, (b)analyses of heavy metals accumulation (Chromatography) in the constituent species of the Antarctic food web.