In the Italian base Mario Zucchelli in the Ross sea are continuing the research activities begun last October in the context of the XXXIII Italian expedition in Antarctica.
Fifty research projects on ecosystems and climates and numerous national and international researchers are supported in their activities by a large number of soldiers of the Italian Armed Forces in relation to their institutional duties.
In particular, the first phase of underwater activities carried out by the team of interforces divers operators led by the Navy divers to whom theAntarctic Technical Unit of ENEA has entrusted the coordination of all the dives carried out during the Italian expeditions as well as the management and management of the decompression chamber present in the Mario Zucchelli base set up to provide assistance in case of need.
During this activity 24 dives under the ice were conducted in favor of many scientific research projects, for a total of 1.240 minutes of diving to the maximum depth of 30 meters. The team of divers, consisting of two divers, an incursor of Comsubin and an Incursor of the 9 ° "Col Moschin" assault regiment, has plunged to carry out sampling on marine fauna (molluscs, arthropods, sea urchins, etc.) .), acquire sediments from the fund and place different scientific equipment for the acquisition of environmental and biological data on behalf of many universities and research institutions.
The underwater activities carried out under the ice, similar to diving in a confined environment, although fascinating can be very dangerous, so you need professional skills and underwater materials made specifically to allow the diver to operate even at water temperatures below zero.
The choice made by ENEA to assign to the men of Diving Operations Group Comsubin's management of diving in the Antarctic is based precisely on the experience of over 100 years of diving in the field of military diving, which allows them today to operate up to 1.500 meters of depth, in any operational scenario.
For this reason the divers of the armed forces and the Armed Corps of the State are trained at the School Group of Comsubin which, through dedicated training courses, enables them to conduct shallow water dives according to their respective skills.
In the coming days, following the break of the pack, a new phase of diving will begin that will engage the Navy and Army operators in "free" underwater activities, carried out in a more traditional way, through the support of a dinghy.
