In the Organic Geochemistry Laboratory at the Institute of Polar Sciences in Bologna, researchers and students deal with modern processes and paleo reconstructions by coupling the information provided by fossil biomarkers and stable carbon and nitrogen isotopes. Biomarkers and stable isotopes are geochemical proxies used to investigate the feedback mechanisms between the Earth climate and the biogeochemical cycles. The laboratory is equipped with various instruments to extract, purify and analyze a suite of different biomarkers, including terrestrial compounds (e.g. lignin phenols, aliphatic chain lipids, cutin-derived products) to understand land-ocean carbon exchange (e.g. permafrost thawing, river floods, etc.), alkenones for paleo-temperature reconstructions and highly branched isoprenoids for sea ice reconstructions. In addition, the laboratory is equipped with a Preparative Fraction Collector (Agilent-Gerstel) for the collection of individual compounds. This technique is especially useful for the radiocarbon analysis of biomarkers and can be very useful to derive an age model for the sedimentary archives and to investigate the processes related to permafrost thawing.

Facilities
The Organic Geochemistry Laboratory is equipped with several gas chromatographers and mass spectrometers for the analysis of carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes, measurement of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen and sulphur content in organic matter and the extraction/quantification of organic biomarkers. The analytical facilities include:
- Thermo Fisher Scientific FLASH 2000 Element Analyzer coupled with a mass spectrometer DeltaQ (EA-IRMS)
- GC Agilent GC 7820-MSD EI 5977B
- GC Agilent 8860-FID G2790A
- GC Agilent 8890 equipped by a Gerstel Preparative Fraction Collector (PFC)
For more information: Dr Tommaso Tesi - tommaso.tesi AT cnr.it

The Outreach and Communication Working Group is made up of 10 members, appointed by the Director, and with the following tasks:

  - Development and updating of the institutional website.
  - Check for updates of websites associated with national polar activities.
  - Updating the public of our activities through social media.
  - Organization of seminars.
  - Internal communication within the Institute.
  - Collection and cataloguing of ISP Communications and Dissemination activities.
  - Collaboration with the CNR Outreach site working group.
  - Collaboration with the Press Office of the CNR.
  - Collaboration with the Communication Office of the CNR.

Contact: isp-gdl-comunicazione AT isp.cnr.it

The Communication WG of the Institute of Polar Sciences consists of:

.	.	.	.
	Daniela Beatrici (Webmaster)		Warren Raymond Lee Cairns
	Francesco De Biasio		Angelina Lo Giudice
	Mauro Mazzola		Paolo Montagna
	Maria Papale		Jasmin Rauseo
	Francesca Spataro		Clara Turetta (Coordinator)
	Giulio Verazzo

Angelo Pietro Viola (Coordinator from 2019 to March 2023 )

The Gruvebadet atmospheric laboratory is located about one kilometre south of Ny-Ålesund and is dedicated to the study of the atmospheric composition and more particularly that of the aerosol. The laboratory was opened in 2010 by the CNR in the building that once housed the Ny-Ålesund miners' showers (Gruve = mine, badet = bathroom in Norwegian).
The laboratory is equipped to house a large number of instruments dedicated to the study of aerosol. There is an accessible roof for the installation of both sampling heads and actual samplers, as well as a series of "passages" for the sampling tubes between the interior of the laboratory and the roof.
The laboratory is managed by the CNR in collaboration with numerous Italian universities: Florence, Perugia, Venice, Turin etc.
The main measurements made in the laboratory are:
   - the chemical characterization (organic component and metals) of size segregated atmospheric particulate ;
   - measurement of the size distribution of aerosols and their diffusion and radiation absorption properties ;
   - the measurement of the carbon component of particulate matter (EC / OC);
   - study of new particle formation processes and their ability to form clouds.
In recent years, atmospheric activities have been accompanied by studies of the surface snowpack. The interaction between the atmosphere and snow is one of the topics that most needs to be explored as, for example, the deposition of particulate matter on the snow can accelerate its melting.
The laboratory has attracted more and more interest from foreign researchers; to date, there are numerous active international collaborations on these topics with KOPRI, NPI, the University of Helsinki etc and others.

  Gruvebadet - Aerosol laboratory on the website: artico.cnr.it

Concordia Station (75°06’ S, 123°21’ E) is located on the Antarctic plateau at Dome C, which is 3,233 m above sea level and over 1000 km from the coast.
Construction of the station, supported by an intergovernmental agreement between Italy and France and the result of the collaboration between the PNRA and the French Polar Institute Paul Émile Victor (IPEV), was completed in 2005. Since then, Concordia is a permanent station jointly managed by PNRA and IPEV as part of their respective polar programs. For more information, visit the website www.pnra.aq.

Dirigibile Italia is one of the multidisciplinary research stations managed by the CNR, providing support to numerous national and international research projects. The station, inaugurated in 1997, is located in the village of Ny-Ålesund (78°55' N, 11°56' E), on Spitsbergen Island, in the Svalbard archipelago. It is from there that the polar expedition of the General Umberto Nobile set off in 1928, and the station is named in its honour. The Department of Earth System Sciences and Technologies for the Environment (DSSTTA) of the CNR managed the station in the past, but is has now been assigned to the Institute of Polar Sciences (July 2020).
The station participates in the INTERACT and SIOS access programs, making its spaces and means available to countries that do not have access to the Arctic so they can carry out research projects.
It is also included in the Forum of Arctic Operators FARO, a country membership organization that promotes dialogue on logistics and operational support for scientific research in the Arctic.
 
Dirigibile Italia is a 323 m² structure, 170 of which are used as laboratories and offices; it can accommodate up to 7 people.
The base is open throughout the year to provide support to research activities.
Among the services that the base provides are:
 • 6 beds for staff;
 • a chemistry laboratory equipped with a laminar flow hood and an extraction hood, a precision balance, ultrapure water dispenser, freezer and more;
 • other workspaces;
 • an equipped electronics and mechanics laboratory;
 • an internal warehouse space for storing material;
 • 3 snowmobiles for winter and spring shifts, equipped with trolleys for transporting material, as well as the necessary suits, boots and helmets;
 • 3 fat-bikes with trolley for summer shifts;
 • 5 VHF radios for communication between people in the field and for their safety.

  - Contact: stationleader.arctic AT cnr.it
  - Station Welcome page
  - Facebook page of the Research Station
  

The CNR is present in various international coordination and scientific planning organizations in the Arctic and Antarctica. These include the International Arctic Science Committee (IASC), the European Polar Board (EPB), the Forum of Arctic Research Operators (FARO), the Ny-Ålesund Scientific Managers Committee (NySMAC) and the Sustaining Arctic Observing Networks (SAON).

Furthermore, thanks to signed treaties or political agreements, the CNR actively supports the presence of our country, with its experts, in scientific organizations, committees and working groups. CNR researchers participate to the Working and Expert Groups of the Arctic Council (AC). With regards to Antarctica, the CNR takes an active part in the various permanent committees of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR).

ISP is strongly committed to guaranteeing the participation of the CNR in the SIOS (Svalbard Integrated Arctic Earth Observing System) initiative whose purpose is to integrate, optimize and coordinate resources and research in the Svalbard archipelago at an international level.

In this context, the Institute of Polar Sciences (ISP) supports the CNR’s representation on international bodies with the presence of:

Brief description
The experimental activities carried out at the BioChem Lab in Rome are focused on the study of the effects of legacy and emerging organic micropollutants on organisms belonging to different levels of the trophic web (from microbial communities to higher organisms) in the context of ongoing climate change. The analytical determinations on the biota are aimed at evaluating bioaccumulation and biomagnification processes of target pollutants. Other studies performed at the BioChem Lab focus on:
  - The degradation rates (evaluation of the half-life time - DT50 - and determination of metabolites or transformation products of target compounds) of the organic contaminants by setting up laboratory-scale experiments.
  - Evaluate the effects of organic micropollutants on specific target organisms (e.g. avoidance behaviour test in Eisenia foetida) and on the structure (PhosphoLipid Fatty Acid analysis-PLFA) and function (Community Level Physiological Profile - CLPP) of autochthonous microbial communities, through the preparation of laboratory-scale experiments and environmental monitoring.
  - Investigate the occurrence and diffusion of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and the intI1 gene which is an anthropogenic impact proxy, among natural microbial communities related to the presence of antibiotics in environmental matrices.

Environmental compartments
The bioaccumulation/biomagnification studies of organic micropollutants involve biota such as fish, molluscs, terrestrial and aquatic earthworms and terrestrial and aquatic plant species. The studies on persistence and effects of pollutants on natural microbial communities are related to different environmental compartments such as surface waters and sediments (seas, rivers, lakes), snow/ice and soils.

Analytical techniques
Studies on bioaccumulation/biomagnification/persistence of organic contaminants are performed by a combination of:
  - Pre-treatment methods (e.g. freeze-drying, filtration, etc.).
  - Extraction/Clean-up methods (solid-phase extraction-SPE, pressurized liquid extraction-PLE, liquid-liquid extraction-LL).
  - Sensitive and selective analytical methods based on the coupling of chromatographic techniques (HPLC or GC) and fluorescence, FID-ECD, and mass spectrometric (MS) detection.
  - The avoidance behaviour test is based on the exposure of organisms, specifically earthworms belonging to the Eisenia foetida species, to different sub-lethal concentrations of organic contaminants, to evaluate their escape/avoidance behaviour in the contaminated area.
  - The evaluation of the composition of natural microbial communities is carried out by PLFA (PhosphoLipid Fatty Acid) profiling. This biochemical technique includes the extraction of fatty acids from microbial membrane phospholipids in the environmental matrix and a methylation reaction followed by separation and analysis with gas chromatography.
  - The analysis of microbial diversity at a functional level is performed by the determination of the metabolic/physiological profile (CLPP). This physiological assay involves the incubation of the environmental sample in specific plates and spectrophotometric measurements at fixed times.
  - The analysis of ARGs and intI1 gene is performed by DNA extraction from the environmental samples by using specific kits and subsequent analysis by qPCR.

Equipment
The BioChem Lab is equipped with the following analytical tools:
 
Benchtop lyophilizer (freeze-dryer LABCONCO) 2.5 L capacity, equipped with a touchscreen display, for the pre-treatment of solid matrices subsequently extracted with PLE.
 
Solid Phase Extraction (SPE):12 inlets of the solid phase extractor are connected to cartridges packed with specific adsorbents for the extraction of target compounds from liquid matrices through a vacuum system.
 
Syncore® Analyst (Buchi) for the simultaneous pre-concentration of liquid phase samples.
 
Rotavapor R 100 (Buchi), equipped with an electronic interface to control the vacuum system and the recirculating chiller.
 
Gas Chromatograph (Perkin Elmer, Clarus 480) coupled to a FID-ECD detector (Flame Ionization Detector- Electron Capture Detector). The instrument is connected to an autosampler (Autosystem, Perkin Elmer) and is controlled by TotalChrom Software.
 
Gas chromatograph (Thermo Fisher, Trace 3000) coupled to a mass spectrometry (MS) detector (Thermo Fisher, ISQ7000). The device is connected to an autosampler (Thermo Fisher. AI 1310) and is controlled by a Chromeleon software.
 
HPLC (quaternary pump, column Oven mod. LC-100 and Micro Pump Series 200, Perkin Elmer, USA) coupled to a fluorescence detector (Perkin Elmer Series 200a). The device is controlled by Chromeleon Software.
 
HPLC (binary pump, Vanquish TM Core HPLC system, Thermo Scientific TM, Italy) coupled to a high-resolution mass spectrometer (Orbitrap Exploris 120, Thermo Scientific TM, Italy). The device is controlled by XcaliburSoftware (version 5.1).
 
Spectrophotometer (Biolog Microstation System, Biolog Inc.) for the reading of microplates (96 positions). This instrument is controlled by specific software.
 
Contact person: Dr. Luisa Patrolecco – luisa.patrolecco AT cnr.it

Brief description
The experimental activities carried out at the MicroChem Lab in Rome focus on the analytical determination of legacy and emerging organic micropollutants and their metabolites, in order to understand their diffusion, distribution, persistence dynamics and fate in the environment. The studies performed at the MicroChem Lab aim also to study the relationships between the climate change and the spread of contaminants at global and local scale. For these purposes, the development and optimization of highly specific and sensitive analytical methodologies for the detection of chemicals at trace and sub-trace concentration levels in the environmental matrices, is required.

Environmental compartments
The experimental activities focus on aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems, therefore the environmental matrices of interest are: Surface waters and sediments (seas, rivers, lakes), snow/ice, soils, aquatic and terrestrial vegetation, biota.

Analytical techniques
The analytical determination of the organic micropollutants is performed by the combination of:
  - Pre-treatment methods (e.g. freeze-drying, filtration, etc.);
  - Extraction/Clean up methods (solid-phase extraction-SPE, pressurized liquid extraction-PLE, liquid-liquid extraction-LL);
  - Sensitive and selective analytical methods based on the coupling of chromatographic techniques (HPLC or GC) with fluorescence, FID-ECD and mass spectrometry detection.

Equipment
The MicroChem Lab is equipped with the following analytical tools:
 
Benchtop lyophilizer (freeze-dryer LABCONCO) 2.5 L capacity, equipped with a touchscreen display, for the pre-treatment of solid matrices subsequently extracted with PLE.
 
Solid Phase Extraction (SPE): 12 inlets solid phase extractor connected to cartridges packed with specific adsorbents for the extraction of target compounds from liquid matrices through a vacuum system.
 
Sonicator (Branson, mod. 2510) for the extraction of chemical compounds from solid matrices by using suitable solvents.
 
ASE 150 (Dionex, Thermo Scientific) to perform pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) of organic pollutants from solid matrices.
 
Speed Extractor E-916 (Buchi) to perform simultaneous pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) of 6 samples, operating in different modes.
 
Rotavapor R 100 (Buchi), equipped with an electronic interface to control the vacuum system and the recirculating chiller.
 
Gas chromatograph (Thermo Fisher, Trace 3000) coupled to mass spectrometry (MS) detector (Thermo Fisher, ISQ7000). The device is connected to an autosampler (Thermo Fisher. AI 1310) and is controlled by a Chromeleon software.
 
HPLC (quaternary pump, column Oven mod. LC-100 and Micro Pump Series 200, Perkin Elmer, USA) coupled to a fluorescence detector (Perkin Elmer Series 200a). The device is controlled by a Chromeleon Software.
 
HPLC (binary pump, Vanquish TM Core HPLC system, Thermo Scientific TM, Italy) coupled to a high-resolution mass spectrometer (Orbitrap Exploris 120, Thermo Scientific TM, Italy). The device is controlled by XcaliburSoftware (version 5.1).
 
Contact person: Dr.Luisa Patrolecco – luisa.patrolecco AT cnr.it

Institute of Polar Science (CNR-ISP)

GIULIANA PANIERI Director

Giuliana Panieri is the new Director of the Institute of Polar Sciences, and her main interests are the study of extreme marine environments and their connections with climate change in the Arctic and elsewhere. For the last 12 years, she has been a full professor of Geology at the Department of Geosciences of the Arctic University of Norway. She has worked at ISMAR CNR (Italy) and at international universities in the USA, Spain, Germany and France. She has served as President of the Biogeosciences Division and Secretary General of the European Geosciences Union (EGU), managing and coordinating numerous national and international projects. Giuliana has published numerous scientific works, has been a book editor, and has been invited several times as a keynote speaker at international conferences. She has led numerous expeditions in the Arctic Oceans. Lately, she has been keen on developing tools for Ocean Literacy and supporting the UN Sustainable Development Goals, implementing specific tasks and deliverables within the framework of numerous national and international projects.
https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9411-1729    Scopus - Author ID: 56135838100    Loop profile: 835890

E-mail: direttore.isp AT cnr.it
c/o Campus Scientifico - Università Ca' Foscari Venezia
Via Torino, 155
30172 VENEZIA MESTRE (VE)

Previous directors:
• Mauro Sclavo - Interim Director (From 1st May 2024 until 31st January 2025)
• Carlo Barbante (From 1st May 2020 until 30th April 2024)
• Leonardo Langone - Interim Director (From 1st June 2019 until 30th April 2020)