High-altitude weather and climate observatory of Col Margherita (MRG)
Regional Station GAW-WMO

The Col Margherita High Altitude Observatory (MRG) is located on the southern slope of the Eastern Alps (46.37 N, 11.79 E), at an altitude of 2543 meters above sea level. The site is located within the Dolomites, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and is considered strategic, because despite not being at a particularly high altitude, it is representative of the synoptic conditions of the south-facing Eastern Alps, where there is no similar station. The main characteristics of the site are that it represents the synoptic conditions of the free troposphere at that height and pressure (700 hpa), as there are few the orographic barriers in the surrounding area and there is an absence of local pollution sources.

Instrumentation currently installed at the observatory:
   - full meteorological station: temperature, humidity, wind speed and direction, atmospheric pressure, incident and reflected solar radiation, sensors for the measurement of atmospheric precipitation and snow cover height;
    - mercury analyser;
    - temperature controlled bulk deposition sampler for the collection of precipitation for mercury analysis;
    - bulk deposition samplers to collect samples for the analysis of organic, inorganic and stable isotopes in precipitation.

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History
The Col Margherita Observatory was built in 2012 in the framework of GMOS Project (2013-2015) and it was subsequently operational within the Nextdata (2016-2018) and I-GOSP (2018-2020) projects. The observatory is equipped with a complete meteorological station, an ozone analyser and a total gaseous mercury analyser. The station is fully automated. It is connected to the main power grid and is also equipped with a solar power backup system with ~200ah of batteries in case of network failure. The observatory is equipped with a remote control via GSM/GPRS technology. The site, due to its proximity to the cable car of the San Pellegrino Ski is accessible, and can be used for seasonal sampling campaigns for snow, and wet and dry atmospheric deposition.

MS (2003) and PhD (2006) in Environmental Marine Sciences (University of Bologna).
Dr. Tesi research focuses on climate change in present and ancient systems affecting sea ice and permafrost. He was awarded with two Marie Curie fellowships to work at the Oregon State University (USA) and University of Stockholm (Sweden). He is in the Editorial Board of the Marine Chemistry journal (Elsevier) with focus on marine organic biomarkers and Guest Editor of the Ocean Science journal (Copernicus). He is the Italian representative and member of IASC (International Arctic Science Committee) Marine Working Group. He has published 50 scientific papers in peer-reviewed journals dealing with the use of fossil biomarkers to investigate modern and paleo climate change. He served as chairman at the European Geosciences Union (EGU) meeting in Vienna (Austria) and at the American Geophysical Union (AGU) Fall meeting in San Francisco (USA). He has participated to 17 oceanographic expeditions in the Mediterranean Sea and Arctic combined accounting for over 200 days of at sea activities.

http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1686-3375

Director of Research at the CNR Institute of Polar Sciences (ISP) in Bologna, involved in polar research and management since 1986, both in Antarctica and in the Arctic. I am an expert of radiative transfer processes into the atmosphere, with research focus on radiation budget and role that atmospheric composition and surface characteristics play in modulating Shortwave (SW) and Longwave (LW) radiation components, determining their seasonal and inter-annual variability. In the last 10-15 years, I also promote implementation of complex and multidisciplinary observing platforms, as the Amundsen-Nobile Climate Change Tower at Ny Alesund, to investigate coupling processes at the air-snow-land interface and in the Atmospheric Boundary Layer (ABL).
Research activities in this period included also (i) studies on effects of ozone depletion events in the Arctic on UV surface fluxes and their propagation at lower latitudes, (ii) investigation of snow surface albedo (broadband, spectral) and melting process, (iii) observations of aerosol vertical profiles (stratification) in polar (ABL) with tethered balloon (iv) improvement of polar night aerosol measurements thanks to the new lunar photometric technique. Always interested to improve observation capabilities in/for harsh environments, developing also custom instrumentation. At the moment, efforts are devoted to develop new systems for snow optical characteristics (spectral albedo, BRDF reflectance), as well as to improve atmospheric measurements over the ocean in general, and in particular quality, continuity and accuracy of ship measurements of radiation, cloudiness characteristics, and columnar aerosol (AOT).

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0978-8976   Scholar

Degree in Geological Sciences - University of Bologna, 1999. Researcher at the CNR ISMAR in Bologna, 2000- 2019. Researcher at the CNR-ISP in Bologna, 2019-present.
She deals with sedimentological, mineralogical and biogeochemical reconstructions, transport pathways and depositional processes of the bottom sediments and suspended particles; assessments of impact by inputs of nutrients and contaminants from urban, industrial, harbours, aquaculture and offshore activities in lakes, transitional environments, and coastal to deep marine ecosystems. She specialized in the phosphorus cycle to identify the causes of the onset of dystrophic crises, anoxic crises and mucilaginous phenomena. She studies the biogeochemical cycles of carbon, nutrients and metals, their speciation, early diagenesis processes, bioavailability and benthic flows at the water-sediment interface.
She has been participated to the deployment and management of permanent automatic buoy stations and moorings and the development, calibration and validation of sediment incubators, benthic chambers and landers for the measurement, sampling and analysis of marine environmental parameters for marine researches and monitoring.
She is involved in the study of carbon, nutrients, contaminants and organic matter in particulates and in their calculations of mass balance, vertical flows and lateral transport from the continental shelf to deep basins.
Participation in EC, PRA and PNRA Projects, Conventions with Italian Regional Authorities and Contracts with large and small-medium Enterprises. PI or WP leader of national and international projects. More than 50 oceanographic cruises (25 as Chief Scientist). Supervisor and tutor in over 30 degree thesis and traineeships. Author and co-author of ca. 100 scientific reports, 20 publications, 50 abstracts, 149 citations, H index = 8 (Scopus).

http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5662-2659    Scopus