PHOTO | The North Pole without ice anymore, here's what Italian scholars found

The first Italian sampling campaign that reached the North Pole has just ended:it was created by researchers from Cnr-Isp

ROME – It has just ended the first Italian sampling campaign in the Arctic Ocean, at the geographic North Pole.For the first time Italian researchers have arrived as far as the geographic North Pole to do research, reaching 90 degrees north.Until now, however, the Italian oceanographic campaigns in the Arctic had taken place mainly between the Svalbard Islands, Norway and Greenland.The scholars took samples that will be used for cunderstand how the Arctic system works.Meanwhile, it quickly became apparent that the North Pole is feeling the effects of global warming:indeed researchers have found very little sea ice.And the message must be clear to everyone:“What happens to this ecosystem affects us too, does not remain confined to the Arctic.”For this reason, having arrived to do research at this latitude represents a fundamental step for the study of climate change."

THE SAMPLING CAMPAIGN

The campaign was carried out by researchers from the Institute of Polar Sciences of the National Research Council (Cnr-Isp), thanks to the ELENO project (Habitat template, microbiaL signaturEs and icoNic life in a changing Arctic Ocean), winner of the international call PONANT-ARICE (Arctic Research Icebreaker Consortium) H2020, which gives the international scientific community the opportunity to access extreme places thanks to collaboration with fleets of icebreaking vessels of various countries around the world equipped with laboratories and research equipment.The objective of the ELENO project is to carry out sampling in the Arctic Ocean for studies on hydrography, the carbon cycle and the presence of pollutants such as micro and nanoplastics.

THE RESEARCHERS

The expedition was attended by Carlo Barbante, director of Cnr-Isp;Maurizio Azzaro, project coordinator and head of the Cnr-Isp headquarters in Messina;Francesco Filiciotto, Cnr-Isp researcher and Alessandro Ciro Rappazzo, Cnr-Isp technician.The research team arrived at the geographic North Pole at the end of August on board the icebreaker “Le Commandant Charcot” of the Ponant company.During the mission the researchers sampled multiple hydrological stations and carried out measurements of bioaerosols on a daily basis, which are key data to study the state of health of this delicate ecosystem, which will then be analysed in the Cnr-Isp laboratories.

ALSO THE ARCTIC OCEAN COMPROMISED BY THE 'PLUE' OF PLASTIC

“It was exciting to reach 90° N  and have had a chance to collect unique samples to reconstruct the puzzle of the functioning of the Arctic marine environment", says Maurizio Azzaro. “The Arctic system is indeed rapidly changing and knowledge of the role of microbes, for example, still needs to be explored further.The project also includes the study of microplastics present to understand how compromised the Arctic Ocean is from this global threat.Thanks to this project and its twin CASSANDRA (funded by the Arctic Research Programme) conducted within the international Synoptic Arctic Survey project (https://synopticarcticsurvey.w.uib.no/) we will essentially be able to understand how the Arctic system works to develop policies that allow for effective management".

THE SEA ICE IS NO LONGER THERE

For the moment, the research team highlights how large stretches of the Arctic Ocean are no longer impassable due toretreat of the marine ice cover.“It is truly impressive to sail at these latitudes and find so little sea ice, a clear sign of global warming,” Carlo Barbante continues.“What happens to this ecosystem affects us too, does not remain confined to the Arctic.For this reason, having arrived to do research at this latitude represents a fundamental step for the study of climate change."

THE FIRST TIME AT 90 DEGREES N

The Arctic research program (PRA) was born a few years ago and prior to this Cnr-Isp mission, the Italian oceanographic activities (basically by Ogs and Cnr and in recent years by the Navy Hydrographic Institute) were carried out only on ships with a class of ice that does not allow it to reach 90 degrees to the North.“So far, the Italian oceanographic campaigns in the Arctic have been carried out mainly between the Svalbard Islands, Norway and Greenland,” concludes Barbante."This it is the first time that Italians have arrived as far as the geographic North Pole to do research, a result obtained thanks to the activity of the Institute of Polar Sciences of the CNR which, since it was founded in 2019, has been committed to studying all polar ecosystems at all latitudes".