Alliance Ship left yesterday from the Norwegian port of Tromsø to begin the Arctic Marine Geophysics campaign "HIGH NORTH 18" between the seas of Norway and Greenland, beyond the Arctic Circle.
The mission conducted by the Italian Navy, with the scientific coordination of the Hydrographic Institute of the Navy, sees the renewal of the synergy with the NATO Maritime Research and Experimentation Center in La Spezia (NATO STO-CMRE) and the collaboration with main research institutions national (CNR, ENEA, OGS, INGV, ERI), international (Sorbonne University of Paris and Norwegian FFI) and with representatives of the national industry (e-GEOS and IDS).
"High North 18" is part of the commitment of the Navy in the Arctic and is the natural continuation of previous missions in order to consolidate and further develop the results of scientific research in particular in the study of climate change in areas of particular interest. The mission is possible thanks to the capabilities of the Alliance vessel to operate in the polar regions, confirming the consolidated operational flexibility of the Navy which, as part of its dual and complementary functions, is able to carry out scientific research with several national partners and International.
The Navy sees in the possible new trade routes that could open up to the North, an element of interest in environmental and security of navigation, as well as for the geostrategic, thalassopolitical and socio-economic aspects that this could entail for our country.
Specifically, the latest generation sensors will be used during the mission, in an area of operations at very high latitudes between Stretto of Fram, Svalbard islands and Yermak Plateau to define the mapping of unexplored areas, the characters and dynamics of the water column and the seabed in relation to sedimentary processes, circulation and ice, so as to be able to draw from research, through study, analysis and the monitoring of concrete results from the atmosphere to the seabed.
The particular polar meteorological conditions and the constant presence of light during the 24 hours will be a stimulating challenge for the 46 crew members of the Navy which, after having followed a targeted training, will constitute a valid and indispensable support for the i 23 researchers aboard the Nave Alliance.
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The Navy through the Hydrographic Institute he has participated in the Arctic Table for two years, providing specialist support to the EPPR working group (Emergency, Prevention, Preparedness and Response) of the Art Council. An important element of this activity is the role played by the Navy through the Hydrographic Institute, as a "marine focal point" of the national scientific community in the Arctic.
This important role has been achieved thanks to the establishment of the Department of Geophysics and Oceanography at the Hydrographic Institute and the high dynamism demonstrated by it since its foundation.
The Arctic polar area (along with the Antarctic twin) for its "engine" climate characteristics is crucial to understanding the evolution of climate and its impact on the planet and the global economy.
In this framework where environmental, economic, and geo-strategic aspects blend, the reason for Italy's presence in the Arctic area lies.
Nave Alliance is a polyvalent research unit that mainly carries out activities conducted by the Maritime Research and Experimentation Center (Center for Maritime Research and Experimentation - CMRE), on behalf of NATO's Science and Technology Organization (STO). Since March 2016 it has been registered in the register of military vessels and equipped with Navy personnel thanks to an agreement of December 2015 between the Navy and the CMRE.
CMRE, continuing the research activities under development in the Arctic area, will collaborate with a scientific team engaged in various activities. 5 autonomous vehicles (underwater gliders) will be used to detect phenomena related to the Atlantic current and to observe the effects of sea ice on the acoustic environment and on the wave field, an underwater towed vehicle to observe small oceanographic structures, CTD probe and other oceanographic instrumentation on board, oceanographic mooring to complement the observations collected from the ship and gliders.
Leonardo and Italian Space Agency, through e-GEOS (joint venture Telespazio / ASI), during High North 18, will make available to the Hydrographic Institute of the Navy, which will provide ancillary hydro-oceanographic data and the dynamics of the calibration and validation ice, the information from the satellite constellation COSMO-SkyMed for the experimentation and development of services to support the safety of navigation in the Arctic and for the monitoring of oil pollution in the area affected by the ship's route, both day and night. As part of this activity, called ArNaCoSky (Arctic Navigation with COSMO-SkyMed), e-GEOS will provide both the ship and the mission control centers with reports on the state of the ice, on maritime traffic and on the environmental state.
IDS - Systems Engineering will collaborate, as part of the Arctic campaign of High North 18 Marine Geophysics, with the Navy Hydrographic Institute in the optical and IR survey activities of ice and pack ice with the use of an air drone called the IDS IA Remote Piloting Air System 3 Colibri.
ENEA will study the evolution of global pollution by conducting new research on the dynamics of marine sediments of the last 100 years. Attention will be focused in particular on carbon sequestration and contamination from metals and microplastics, with the aim of preserving the ecosystem of the Arctic Sea, a thermometer of Earth's climate change. To support the scientific activity of ENEA on board the Alliance vessel in High North 18, there will also be the LIDAR laser system, which is able to measure continuously and in real time the chlorophyll and the organic substance dissolved in water to detect the state of health of the Arctic.
Oceanographic research will be carried out on Nave Alliance. Researchers of the OGS and the CNR will perform the maintenance of deep anchorages (oceanographic moorings) and to acquire new hydrological data in the west and south west of the Svalbard Islands where, for some years, the currents and water masses that represent the engine of the polar circulation and contribute to global circulation. Thanks to the use of suitably instrumented deep anchors, a series of parameters (temperature, salinity, dissolved oxygen, current speed and presence of particles) have been detected since 2014, at about 1000 m depth, which are providing valuable information on dynamics and on the annual and seasonal variability of the currents and the masses of water they carry.
ERI - European Research Institute, after the similar works carried out in the Northwest Passage in 2016, during High North 18 it will carry out sampling on plastics and microplastics in an area completely unexplored by this point of sight. The samples will then be analyzed by the Politecnico di Torino and the results will contribute to the ever more detailed knowledge of the diffusion of 'floating' plastic waste in the ocean.
The National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology, INGV, he will be involved with the team of the Portovenere office, specialized in geophysics and marine technologies, assisted on board of Nave Alliance by personnel of the Hydrographic Institute of the Navy in the acquisition of marine geophysical data for the study of gravimetric anomalies of the seabed; a precious datum that will contribute to better characterize the possible geodynamic models and to help define the geological evolution of this area of our planet which is becoming increasingly interesting.