On 22 August 2018, 21:30 local time Polarquest2018’s sailboat Nanuq has successfully completed the circumnavigation of the Svalbard archipelago closing the loop in Isfjord, just outside Longyearbyen, where the Svalbard leg of the expedition started on August 4, logging 1500 nautical miles and reaching the outer boundary of the ice shelf at 82°07 N at 16h50 UTC on August 13. The sailing conditions were “exceptionally favorable, with absolutely no ice until very high latitude and only one gale with gusts up to 50 knots” – said Captain Peter Gallinelli, upon arrival. “More than weather and ice, the real challenge were a few very poorly or completely uncharted areas, especially on the East coast of the Nordaustlandet island, where we were often surprised by unmarked shoals and sailed inside completely uncharted fjords”.
In addition to its nautical feats, the expedition has scored remarkable achievements in all the scientific projects on board.
A total of 30 microplastic sampling stations were carried out, with one at the record latitude of 82°07 N, right on the edge of the ice, by 19-year-old microplastic operator Safiria Buono. The samples will be analyzed by the Marine Institute (ISMAR) of CNR (National Research Council of Italy), but “one of the conclusions which can already be drawn from a simple visual check is that, even at these high latitudes, the quantity of macro plastic loitering the most remote and wildest beaches of our planet is astonishing” she says. “A piece of plastic was caught in the Mantanet even at 82°N!”. Frédéric Gillet, one of the scientists supporting the Mantanet sampling, also placed a PCB (polychlorinated biphenyls) sensor 20 km south of Ny Ålesund, to measure their presence in areas distant from urbanized regions and understand the transfer and accumulation mechanisms of this powerful industrial pollutant, banned since the 1970’s in many countries, in the oceans and in the atmosphere. He will collect the sensor in 2020 for analysis by the University of Savoy, France.
The high latitude reached by Nanuq marks a record also for the PolarQuEEEst cosmic ray detector, assembled at CERN with the participation of school students and installed on board by physicists from Centro FERMI of Rome and INFN (The Italian Institute for Nuclear Physics). “We have a unique dataset of the cosmic ray flow at the highest latitudes ever reached at sea level”, says Ombretta Pinazza, physicist (INFN Bologna), “and we are now very excited to look for correlations with the two other identical detectors which are taking data in continental Norway and Italy. The area covered exceeds 5000 km2 and is the most effective to confirm the existence of cosmic showers generated by high energy radiation colliding with our atmosphere (EEE programme, Centro Fermi)”. In addition to contributing to understanding the origin of high energy cosmic rays, these correlations will also enable scientists to study how cosmic rays influence cloud formation and the correlation of Supernovae rate with climatic periods over 500 million years, thus contributing to a better understanding of climate change.
The objectives of the AURORA project conducted on board Nanuq by prof. Gianluca Casagrande of the European University of Rome and the Italian Geographical Society have been fully achieved. “Using our low-cost drones and citizen science sensors, we were able to carry out expeditive, high-resolution mapping and thermal and near-infrared observations of remote and scarcely visited areas all around the archipelago” says Casagrande. “Our tools proved effective both for scientific data acquisition and for communicating Arctic environments.” One of the surveys had a special symbolic value, as it produced, for the first time, a detailed 3-D rendering of Alpiniøya, the island discovered by Italian officer Gennaro Sora, who was in the area on his way to rescuing the survivors of the ITALIA airship crash in 1928.
Umberto Nobile’s polar expedition – Polarquest2018’s historical inspiration – was of course not neglected. On August 13, the area from where the first SOS message was radioed by ITALIA crew member Giuseppe Biagi from the Red Tent (81°14 Nm 25°25 E) was reached by Nanuq and a short ceremony was celebrated in the open Arctic Ocean by captain Peter Gallinelli, Polarquest2018 project leader Paola Catapano and geographer Gianluca Casagrande. Soon after, technical coordinator Mike Struik deployed an innovative 3-D multibeam sonar of NORBIT Subsea, for the search of any potential metallic wreck of the lost Airship, following the route considered to be one of the most likely search paths, based on Umberto Nobile’s indications after the crash. This is the first documented targeted attempt at locating the wreck of airship ITALIA in 90 years. The data collected with the beamer will be analyzed by Norbit Subsea and the results will be made available by the end of September. “It will be really exciting to see the data from the sonar, not just for the airship but because that area of the Arctic Ocean has never been sounded before and we will get precious information on its bathymetry” says Morten Stendhal, director of Norbit Subsea in Trondheim.
“I still can’t believe that our POLARQUEST2018 has been so successful on 100% of such a varied interdisciplinary programme with zero margins and limited resources”, says project leader Paola Catapano. “Amazingly, everything worked at the first attempt.”
For photos and film requests, interviews and further information contact:
Maddalena Monge, Polarquest2018 Press officer
+39 348 76 33 188 maddalena.monge@gmail.com, polarquest2018@gmail.org
Polarquest2018 has been made possible thanks to the following partners and sponsors:
Elysia Capital, the crowdfunding platform Global Giving, Loterie Romande, and
The Dudley Wright Foundation ,Geneva.
Research: Museo Storico e Centro e Ricerche Enrico Fermi, Rome, INFN, CERN, CNR, Université de Savoie, GREAL Università Europea di Roma, Società Geografica Italiana, and CRS4 Cagliari.
Technology partners: NORBIT Subsea, B&G, Survitec, Drone Capture Systems, ALLIANZ, Advanced Tracking, HAMILTON Watches, Drift + Noise Polar Services, Fly-to-Discover, EWOL, Gréments Import, Weather Dock, and SPADE.
Food providers: Marramiero Vini D’Abruzzo, BARILLA pasta, Eli Prosciutti Parma, Oleificio Andreassi Pescara, RODOLFI Pomodoro a Parma, and Caseificio Battistero Parma per il Parmigano Reggiano.
Special Thanks to The Italian Arctic Research Station of CNR (National Research Council of Italy) “Dirigibile Italia”, in Ny Ålesund and the descendants of the crew of airship ITALIA.
Polarquest2018’s sailing vessel Nanuq arrives in Longyearbyen, Sptitzbergen.
Longyearbyen, 1 August 2018, … (CEST). After crossing the Greenland Sea for 10 days and exploring the southernmost part of the Svalbard archipelago, Polarquest2018’s self-sustaining sailboat Nanuq has arrived in Longyearbyen, the capital of Spitzbergen, according to plan. The crossing conditions were “almost optimal, except for some fog and lack of wind on the approach to the South coast of Spitzbergen” – said Captain Peter Gallinelli, upon arrival.
“Time was different on the boat. No night, no day, no meal hours. Everything was at the rhythm of our shifts and all in U. T. (Universal Time),” said Safiria Buono (19) who carried out fifteen stations of microplastic sampling on behalf of the Marine Institute (ISMAR) of CNR (Italian Research Council). The most important part for sampling was between Greenland and Jan Mayen, where two ocean currents meet, creating an accumulation of microplastics, also called “garbage patches..
Ombretta Pinazza, physicist at CERN for INFN Bologna, together with physics student Alberto Rolandi (20) of EPFL Lausanne, have been making sure that the PolarQuEEEst cosmic ray detector takes data correctly. This detector was built at CERN and installed on board Nanuq under the coordination of Centro FERMI of Rome. The researcher has already managed to send some data samples to her colleagues on land using the Iridium satellite phone. “At times, we had to try eight times until it worked!” said Alberto.
The skipper and his international crew of sailors, scientists and communicators will now take a short rest in Longyearbyen and a well-deserved hot shower (no such facilities exist on board) before casting off again at noon on Saturday 4 August to Ny Alesund. There they will take part in the 90th anniversary commemoration of the ITALIA Airship polar expedition at the Italian Research Station “Dirigibile ITALIA”, managed by CNR, on Sunday August 5. Representatives from the families of the ITALIA Airship 1928 crew are flying to Longyearbyen on 4 August to take part in the commemoration.
Nanuq will finally cast off from Ny Alesund on 6 August to circumnavigate the archipelago and reach, for the first time in 90 years, the ITALIA crash site. While continuing its research programme, the Nanuq crew will also attempt to locate the ITALIA airship wreck under the sea North-East of Nordauslandet. For their search, they will use a new 3D multi-beam sonar developed by the Norwegian company NORBIT Subsea.
On Saturday 4 August at 11:00 CEST (Central European Summer Time), Polarquest2018 has organized a press event at the North Pole Exploration Museum with members of the Nanuq crew, representatives of the ITALIA Airship crew families, Prof. Gianluca Casagrande of the Società Geografica Italiana (who will embark on Nanuq in Longyearbyen to carry out a drone-based geographical exploration), and Tenente Colonnello Adelio Roviti of the Italian Airforce. The press event will be moderated by Polarquest2018 project leader Paola Catapano. Interested journalists and public can take part in person at the Museum or by joining the live on Polarquest2018’s facebook page.
For press registration in Longyearbyen, interview requests and information about the press event:
polarquest2018@gmail.org
info@northpolemuseum.com (+ 47 91 38 34 67 + 47 95 73 57 42)
Press officer Maddalena Monge +39 348 76 33 188 (maddalena.monge@gmail.com)
Polarquest2018 is made possible thanks to the following partners and sponsors:
Elysia Capital, the crowdfunding platform GlobalGiving, Loterie Romande, and
Fondation Dudley Wright Geneva.
Research: Museo Storico e Centro e Ricerche Enrico Fermi, Rome, INFN, CERN, CNR, Université de Savoie, GREAL Università Europea di Roma, Società Geografica Italiana, and CRS4 Cagliari.
Technology partners: NORBIT Subsea, B&G, Survitec, Drone Capture Systems, ALLIANZ, Advanced Tracking, HAMILTON Watches, Drift + Noise Polar Services, Fly-to-Discover, EWOL, Gréments Import, Weather Dock, and SPADE.
Food providers: Marramiero Vini D’Abruzzo, BARILLA pasta, Eli Prosciutti Parma, Oleificio Andreassi Pescara, RODOLFI Pomodoro a Parma, and Caseificio Battistero Parma per il Parmigano Reggiano.
Special Thanks to:
for their precious collaboration.
Links:
Cast off! The adventure begins!
July 22, 2018 At 18.35 local time in Iceland, Nanuq cast off! The crew has embarked on the first leg of the PolarQuest mission: a ten-day trip on rough Greenland seas, across the Polar Arctic circle, to reach Longyearbyen, Svalbard archipelago, on board Nanuq, the self-sufficient and sustainable sailboat of the expedition.
Currently on board, an international team of arctic sailors, researchers and communicators, some of them very young: Safiria, 19, in charge of microplastic sampling, Kai, 19, in charge of photos and videos, Alberto 20, following up data acquisotion of the cosmic ray detector on board, and Mathilde, 20, co-skipper.The crew includes CERN and INFN research staff, and aims to bringing together scientific research and communication on several relevant phenomena involving the Arctic environment, to be conducted until September 4
Follow Polarquest2018 on the live tracker at any time accessible from the expedition website!
Links:
POLARQUEST2018 – SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION ON A SAILBOAT IN THE ARCTIC TO SAMPLE MICROPLASTIC, IS READY TO CAST OFF FROM ISAFJORDUR, ICELAND
Six expedition members have now joined Captain Peter Gallinelli in Isafjordur, in North West Iceland and are busy finalizing the preparation Peter's self-sufficient and sustaibnable sailboat Nanuq (polar bear in Inuktitut, as well as all the scientific experiments on board. They will be joined by the rest of the team this Friday to cast off according to plan, Saturday July 21st for a crossing of the Greenland Sea via Jan Mayen, for a quite rough high sea sailing before they reach Longyearbyen, in the Svalbard Archipelago, the Northernmost “capital” in the world, on August 1.
The rough seas will not prevent Nanuq from starting its scientific programme right away with two of the four experiments:
COMMUNICATION - All the scientific activities of Polarquest2018 will be documented and shared - as much as possible - live through social networks and Polarquest2018.org website, live connections with Italian TVRAI-Uno and through the production of a documentary that will be broadcast on various international channels.
Do follow us online throuhg Italian TV, our website and our socials @Polarqest2018 and share, like and RT!!!
And right before departure, we would like to extend big thanks to all of our supporters in the Global Giving Network as well as our Institutional Partners and Sponsors, in particular:
GOLDEN PARTNERS. Elysia Capital and the crowdfunding platform Global Giving, Loterie Romande, Fondation Dudley Wright Geneva.
SCIENCE PARTNERS: Museo Storico e Centro e Ricerche Enrico Fermi, Rome, INFN, CERN Geneva; CNR-ISMAR; CNR-Presidenza; GREAL Università Europea di Roma; Società Geografica Italiana; CRS4 Cagliari.
TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS: NORBITSubsea, B&G; Survitec, Drone Capture Systems, ALLIANZ, Advanced Tracking, HAMILTON Watches, Drift + Noise Polar Services, Fly-to-Discover, EWOL, Gréments Import, Weather Dock, SPADE.
FOOD ON BOARD : Marramiero Vini D’Abruzzo; BARILLA pasta; Eli prosciutti Parma; Oleificio Andreassi Pescara; RODOLFI – Pomodoro a Parma; Caseificio Battistero Parma.
SPECIAL Thanks to: Museo della Scienza e della Tecnica Leonardo da Vinci of Milan, to the descendants of the airship crew ITALIA and to RAI Uno – La Vita In Diretta Estate for the precious collaboration.
THE POLARQUEST2018 CREW !
Links:
2 MONTHS COUNTDOWN TO EXPEDITION START !
It seems unbeliavable, but today, May 21st we are starting our 2 month countdown to Nanuq's departure from Iceland. Thanks to your donations, we are fully in the IMPLEMENTATION STAGE and our project is now a reality! A lot of work has gone in the past months and we're pleased to share a short report of the main highlights with you.
MARCH 2018: MANTANET FOR MICROPLASTIC TRAINING @ISMAR CNR LERICI
On March 2018, Polarquest2018 project leader Paola Catapano and Mantanet junior scientist Safiria Buono attended a training session with world reknown microplatics expert and marine scientist Stefano Aliani at ISMAR (the Marine research Institute) of CNR (National Research Council) in Lerici (La Spezia, Italy). They learned how to sample microplastics with two different methods, the “Mantanet sampling”, ideal when the sea is smooth and there is not too much ice on the water surface, the second, “bottle sampling”, implemented when the mantanet can’t be used due to weather and ice conditions. Prof. Aliani explained in detail the protocol for sampling microplastics from the sea as well as how to preserve samples for later analysis avoiding contamination. He also designed a map of sampling stations both in Iceland and Svalbard, indicating the yet unsampled sixth "microplastic island" in the Arctic, a gateway for microplastics situated near the Beaufort Gyre, the wind-driven ocean current in the Arctic Ocean region. Polarquest2018 will be the first expedition to sample it! Samples will be sent to the CNR-ISMAR laboratory in Lerici (Italy) to be analysed by our expert Stefano Aliani and his team. Our training is documented with photos on the Polarquest2018 website. They also took the opportunity to record a video interview with prof. Aliani, where he gives the current status of the microplastics problem in the world oceans and provides indication for solutions. The interview is on the Polarquest2018 website.
APRIL 2018
A small team from Polarquest2018 visited the Svalbard archipelago on a 10 day survey trip to prepare for the summer expedition. Most of their trip, they were off the grid – without access to the internet or modern communications. But they did manage to post photos and short clips as soon as they were back in civilisation! On the last day just before departure (Friday 13 April), the went live on Facebook from the North Pole Exploration Museum in Longyearbyen (Svalbard's only city) to share the knowledge acquired there on Arctic research thanks to their meetings with scientists working there at the moment, such as Frederic Vivier, oceanographer of CNRS Paris, who also took part in the fb live, and to their meeting with the local research in Svalbard authorities.
MAY - PATCH COMPETITION
We launched a mission patch competition for school students to get acquainted with Polarquest2018 's scientific missions: microplastics, cosmic rays and drone spectrogametry and cartography. Early May we proclaimed 3 winners, who won trips to Geneva, to take part in the cosmic detector assembly at CERN, to Lerici to get to know more about the the ISMAR CNR marine lab microplastic research and to the Science Museum in Milan, to attend a conference celerating Arctic research today and at the time of pioneers, on the occasion of the ITALIA Airship expedition 90th anniversary.
MAY - COMEMMORATION EVENTS
Polarquest2018 has partnered with three prestigious Italian institutions to commemorate the 90th anniversary of this pioneering flight over the North Pole with three events open to the press and the public, on each of the anniversary days of Nobile’s expedition:
WE TEST cancelleation and new Citizen Science project
The fundraising campaign for the Citizen Science project WeTest that we launche to support the University of Alberta for the development of a smartphone APP toassess the quality of the water was not succesful withdrawn it from the Global Giving website. We agree that this project is in a too eraly stage to be fully tested on board Nanuq. Since we fully believe in the value of Citzen Science, we became member of the @solarimpulse World Alliance for Efficient Solutions with a citizenscience mantanet for microplastics and hope to be chosen among the#1000solutions by Bertrand Piccard's movement too http://bit.ly/WorldAlliance. Announcements due on UN World Environment Day June 5. We believe we stand good chances of being selected because this year's edition theme is “Beat Plastic Pollution”, an apeal to the world to coming together to combat single-use plastic pollution. Fully in tune with our mission!
MEDIA & COMMS
This period has also been fully busy dealing with media partnerships and communications. We have 2 producers for our documentary, social media are more and more actve and media coverage is starting to heap up. We recommend you to follow us un twitter, facebook and Instagram and regularly check our news and media coverage sections on the website!
Thanks for your support and keep supporting us as the mission time approaches! We are not far from the 60K USD mark and we're hopeful to reach this goal before oir expedition starts next July!
Yours Polarques2018 project leader
Paola Catapano
On behalf of the whole team!
Links:
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