It is called the Antarctic summer that, with 24 hours of light a day and average temperatures ranging from 0 ° C to -35 ° C, hosted ninety people for four months, including Italian and foreign technicians and researchers, "XXXIa Antarctic summer campaign ".
The expedition, included in the PNRA (National Research Program in Antarctica) ended with the closure of the Italian Base "Mario Zucchelli", located in the Bay of Terra Nova, in the Italian-French station "Concordia", the most extreme of the bases in 3270 meters above sea level and with the return of the ENEA researchers, the National Agency for New Technologies and Sustainable Economic Development, and the Italian joint force contingent.
In the four months of the expedition, the ENEA team of technicians and researchers made use of the collaboration of 24 Italian soldiers from the Army, Navy, Air Force and Carabinieri, who provided substantial help both in routine and extraordinary activities: from forecasts weather for the safety of aerial operations, participation in operations at high altitude with mountain guides and in those at sea with divers.
To feel proud to be Italian and to have been part of this adventure, which sees Italian science as the protagonist, Lt. Col. Ajello, Team Leader of the Italian joint contingent who declared "As military we all feel obliged to give our best, our knowledge, our experience to contribute to the success and security of this Antarctic campaign.".
It is from the 1985 that Italy is present in Antarctica with the PNRA In 31 years were employed in total 318 Italian military divided between Army (118) Navy Military (121) Aeronautica Militare (78) and Carabinieri (1). The research activities coordinated by the CNR concern: biodiversity, evolution and adaptation of Antarctic organisms, Earth sciences, glaciology, environmental contamination, atmospheric and spatial sciences, monitoring activities at the permanent meteorological, meteorological and geophysical observatories.
Antarctica is the only continent that is still largely unexplored and uncontaminated and is therefore a privileged place to observe physical phenomena that have relevance for the entire planet in the climatological, oceanographic, geological and biological fields. This is also why the Washington Treaty (known as the Antarctic Treaty) has been in force on the continent since 1961, according to which the member countries (including Italy) undertake to use the territory and the surrounding seas exclusively for scientific and peaceful purposes, respecting its environment and biodiversity.
(Photo: SMD)
Video at the link http://bit.ly/1ol9iXq
