By Paola Catapano | Project leader
Dear donors,
As you might remember from our latest report sent on Aug 28, Polarquest2018 successfully completed the circumnavigation of the Svalbard archipelago on board sailboat Nanuq (60ft) on August 22, closing the loop in Isfjord, just outside Longyearbyen, where the Svalbard leg of the expedition had started on August 4, logging 1500 nautical miles (3500 since the expedition start in Iceland on July 22) and reaching the outer boundary of the ice shelf at 82°07' North at 16h50 UTC on August 13. In addition to its nautical feats, the expedition has scored remarkable achievements in all the scientific projects on board, focusing on microplastics in the sea, industrial pollutants in the air, and cosmic rays from outer space.
Since the successful conclusion of the expedition, we have been busy organizing a series of dissemination events in Switzerland and Italy and working on two TV documentaries, while our team of scientists is analyzing the data from the scientific campaign in the Arctic.Here’s a report summarizing these activities and giving information on what’s next.
EVENTS - Polarquest2018 public events aiming at engaging people in our extraordinary expedition and describing our scientific accomplishments.
1- On Sept. 6, project leader Paola Catapano and chief cosmic ray scientist prof. Luisa Cifarelli, President of of Centro Fermi presented Polarquest2018 in Rimini to 150 high school students selected to take part in the Italian Physics Olympics team.
2- On September 26, prof. Luisa Cifarelli was invited to present the first results from the PolarquEEEst cosmic detector, which took data throughout the expedition on board sailboat Nanuq, within the prestigious series of CERN colloquia (reserved to top scientists and Nobel Laureates) in CERN’s Main Auditorium, entitled Measuring Cosmic Ray Showers up to the North Pole.
3- On Sept. 30th, project leader Paola Catapano was invited speaker at prestigious Wired Netfest in Florence to report about the expedition and the microplastic sampling in particular. See the recording of her presentation on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BNLBNPParibas/videos/689486851432841/
4- On October 1, the Polarquest sailing adventure was presented to the CERN Yachcting Club in Geneva by Peter Gallinelli, skipper, and Paola Catapano. The presentation focused on the circumnavigation of the Svalbard archipelago, the microplastics research and the exploration of yet uncharted shores and islands accomplished by the team on board Nanuq using commercial drones and thanks to the unprecedent lack of ice in the area. Other expedition members who were present answered the numerous questions from the audience.
5- On Nov. 1the students from College Voltaire in Geneva, who assembled the PolarQuEEEst detector that travelled aboard Nanuq took part in the seventh edition of the cross-border symposium “Mon TPE/TM en 15 minutes” (“My project in 15 minutes”) at CERN. The students gave a presentation on their work with Polarquest, describing the overall scientific aims of the PolarquEEEst detector, how they approached its construction, and gave a summary of the successes of the expedition.
6- On Nov 2 project leader Paola Catapano and chief scientist Luisa Cifarelli presented the expedition and its preliminary scientific results at the Genova Science Festival in front of more than 500 people
http://www.festivalscienza.it/site/home/programma/raggi-cosmici-al-polo-nord.html
7- On Nov. 10 the voyage of Airship ITALIA was commemorated at the event “Ritorno al Polo Nord” in the Italian Navy Museum in La Spezia (Italy). The event featured talks by Italian and international researchers and historians, including Polarquest’s project leader Paola Catapano and geographer Gianluca Casagrande.
PHOTO EXHIBITION - “82°07 North”, an exhibition of photographs taken during the Polarquest2018 expedition, is now travelling since its inauguration at CERN on September 26. It features 33 beautiful photos conveying the spectacular Arctic environment all along Nanuq’s circumnavigation of the Svalbard archipelago, till the edge of the polar ice shelf.After a 10-day period at CERN in the Main Building, it has been on show at:
- Collège Voltaire in Geneva (Oct. 15 – 23)
- Genova Science Festival (Oct. 25 - Nov. 4)
http://www.festivalscienza.it/site/home/programma/8217607146-nord.html
- The Italian Navy Museum in La Spezia (Nov. 9 -16)
Next destination: the Italian Airforce Museum and Umberto Nobile documentation Centre in Vigna di Valle (Rome) as of Nov. 27.
FORTHCOMING EVENTS - Two important events are coming up, where the Polarquest scientists and expedition leader will present to the press, academia, schools and partners the preliminary scientific results of the expedition:
on November 27 november in Rome at the headquarters ofSocietà Geografica Italiana, with
- Gianluca Casagrande, on the geograhical observation tecniques and results obtained ;
- Peter Gallinelli, skipper ed expedition leader, on the sailing and exploration miliestones;
- Luisa Cifarelli, on the comsic rays observation
- Stefano Aliani, marine biologist and oceanographer of CNR-ISMAR di Lerici, on the methodology and sampling plan of the microplastic project PolarQuest 2018;
- Aleksandra Kruss, oceanographer (SMAR-CNR Venezia and NORBIT Subsea), on the research of the potential wreckage of the ITALIA airship and acustic imaging of the sea bottom in the Artcic
- On November 28 In Museo Storico dell’Aeronautica Militare in Vigna di Valle (Bracciano Lake), Historical Workshop Storico “90 years after Umberto Nobile’s Polar Expedition”, in collaboration with CNR, with speeches by Paola Catapano, Mike Struik, Gianluca Casagrande and the descendants of the Airship Italia crew.
PRESS COVERAGE -The press coverage has been extensive since the very start of the project, before during and after the expedition with press articles in prestigious dailies and magazines and live TV programmes. You can take a look at our media page: http://www.polarquest2018.org/media/
WHAT’S NEXT? MICROPLASTC SAMPLES ANALYSIS AND TV DOCUMENTARIES
Thanks to your support and to the dedication of its members, the Polarquest2018 team has managed to accomplish a lot in such a short time after the expedition, in spite of having to return to their regular jobs. Two major objectives arenow coming up:
As special partners in this endeavour, you can enjoy a private preview of a video demo at the following link, using password Nanuq:
https://vimeo.com/294914891
(not to be shared please!)
CALL FOR ACTION!!! We are taking the great opportunity of Giving Tuesdayto ask you to support us and help us carry out the two remaining important objectives of Polarquest2018 on this special day. Your donation will be enhanced by the special campaign GlobalGiving has launched for GIVING TUESDAY. The Polarquest2018 team will be delighted to offer donors giving 100 USD and above a selection of our best picturesfrom this fantastic expedition in high resolution. Donors giving 1000 USD or more will benefit from special printsand will be thanked in the credits of our documentary(unless they wished to remain discreet).
Thank you for your continued support ad happy Giving Tuesday!
And follow us on Twitter/facebook @polarquest2018
Instagram: @scienceadventurers
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