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Laura Selbmann, MSc in Biological Sciences, PhD in Biological Evolution and Biochemistry, Associate Professor at the University of Tuscia, Viterbo. Regular guest at the Westerdijk Institute, The Netherlands from 2004 to 2010. Member of the Life Science Group of the Scientific Committee for Research in Antarctica (SCAR) since 2021. Member of MIRRI-Italia (Microbial Resource Research Infrastructure) since 2019. Since 2009 Scientific Director of the Italian National Museum of Antarctica (MNA), Mycological Section, Genoa, Italy. Her main field of study concerns microorganisms from extreme environments and in particular fungi, coordinator of many national and international projects (PNRA, PRIN, ASI, JGI, EMSL). He has participated in 4 Italian Antarctic expeditions (2010-11, 2015-16, 2018-19 and 2021-22), both at the "Mario Zucchelli" Station and the US "McMurdo" Station. He has dedicated his professional life to the study of Antarctic microbial cryptoendolithic communities to investigate their evolution and adaptation during extremes and explore them as early warning systems to monitor the effect of climate change. To date he has described more than 20 new fungal genera and more than 50 new fungal species, most of which from Antarctica. He has published > 140 articles and 4 book chapters. H index 41 Scopus; >8k citations.
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He received his bachelor's degree in Chemistry at the University of Florence in 2000. From 2001 to 2004, in the framework of his PhD at the Department of Chemistry, University of Florence, he worked on the development of semi-continuous ion chromatography coupled to Flow Analysis systems within the European project EPICA (European project for Ice Coring in Antarctica). On 20 April 2004 he got his PhD in Chemical Sciences. He took part in the national research campaigns in Antarctica 2001-2002 and 2003-2004 in the bases of Dome Concordia and Baia Terra Nova running chromatographic analyses in situ on a deep ice core perforated at Dome C as part of the EPICA project.
Since June 2002, he took part to several EPICA-DML and TALDICE ice core processing campaigns at the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven (D). He participated to numerous sampling campaigns in the Arctic (at the Dirigibile Italia base in Ny Alesund) for the study of climate change through the monitoring of atmospheric aerosol. From December 2004 to 31st January 2018 he was the holder of several fellowships and research grants focused on to the development and application of analytical methods on ice cores and climate archives. From 01/02/2018 to 30/11/2018 he was Fixed term Researcher (RTDa) at the "Ugo Schiff" Department of Chemistry of the University of Florence SSD CHIM / 01. Starting from 01/12/2018 he held the position of Tenure track Researcher (RTDb) at the "Ugo Schiff" Department of Chemistry of the University of Florence SSD CHIM / 01. He is associated Professor at University of Florence since 1st December 2021.
Education
2010 – PhD (Environmental Science: Marine Environment and Resource) University of Messina Italy
2005 – Degree in Biological Science (110/110 with academic price). University of Messina Italy. Erasmus student at the National University of Ireland, Galway (Ireland).
He is currently a researcher at the Institute of Polar Sciences (CNR-ISP). He is currently involved in Marine microbiology ecology and Biotechnology in particular:
• Application of omics techniques to study microbial diversity.
• Microbial biodiversity in extreme environment: deep sea, shallow and deep hydrothermal vents, hypersaline environments, Antarctic sea Ice, and subglacial lakes.
• Microbial bioremediations in oil-polluted environments
• Biotechnologies for marine bioremediation.
• Biotechnology application of microbes isolated from extremes environments.
Participant in NSF-sponsored project and different European Union Funded project Participant in several oceanographic expeditions aboard R/V Urania, R/V Europe, R/V Minerva I, R/V L’Atalante, R/V Laura Bassi. Participant in several field-work and 3 Antarctic expeditions.
Reviewer for the peer review journal for Environmental Microbiology, Environmental Pollution, Environmental Microbiology Reports, Journal of Cleaner Production, Marine Genomics, Microorgansims, Marine Science and Engineering, Diversity, Chemosphere. Extreme Microbiology (specialty section of Frontiers in Microbiology).
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8385-564X Scholar Scopus - Author ID: 15061770400
BSc Degree in Geology at the University of Pisa in April 2016, with a thesis on the acquisition of new dendrochronological curves for the implementation of the existing dataset of Larix decidua Miller in Alta Val di Sole. In October 2017 she pursued a MSc Degree in Geological Sciences and Technologies at the University of Pisa, with a dissertation on new surface exposure ages (3He) of deposits and surfaces of glacial erosion in Northern Victoria Land for the reconstruction of Pleistocene variations of the East-Antarctica sheet. Postgraduate trainee at the Scottish Universities Environmental Research Center (SUERC) in Glasgow (UK) from January to April 2018, and UniPi fellow (August-September 2018). PhD (2018-2022) in Science and Management of Climate Change (Ca' Foscari University of Venice) with a project focused on the development of a new Continuous Flow Analysis system (CFA) for the determination of biomass burning tracers, trace elements and insoluble dust particles in Alpine ice cores, with palaeoclimatological reconstructions of the Grand Combin (Switzerland) and Weißseespitze (Austria) glaciers. Currently research fellow at the CNR Institute of Polar Sciences (CNR-ISP) in Venice Mestre, for the FISR-Ice Memory-An International Salvage Program project. Her project focuses on the implementation of hardware/software systems for the development of innovative analytical techniques for the analysis of ice cores through CFA systems.
Francesca Spataro graduated in Chemistry and gained a PhD in Chemical Sciences Program at the Sapienza University in Rome; she has worked firstly with research fellows and then with a fixed-term research contract from 2005 to 2016, at the Institute on Atmospheric Pollution Research of the National Research Council (IIA-CNR). From 2016 to 2018, she carried out her research activities at the Water Research Institute (IRSA-CNR), and from 1 August 2019 she is working at the Institute of Polar Sciences (ISP-CNR), Research Area of Rome - Montelibretti .
Dr. Spataro has gained experience in field monitoring campaigns in polar (Arctic) and temperate regions, through National and International projects.
Her research activities focus on:
- Formation, transport and removal processes of gaseous and particulate nitrogenous and halogenated inorganic pollutants.
- Heterogeneous processes involving nitrogen contaminants (especially NOx, NH3, HONO, HNO3).
- Study of the persistence of legacy and emerging organic micro-pollutants in different environmental compartments.
- Development and optimization of analytical methods for the determination of emerging organic contaminants (in particular pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics).
- Determination of persistent and emerging organic micropollutants in different environmental matrices through the combination of extraction techniques (pressurized liquid extraction, solid phase extraction, separatory funnels) with analytical techniques (spectrometry, HPLC coupled with UV detection, fluorescence and mass spectrometry).
Scopus - Author ID: 36605258800
I am interested in paleoclimate and snow chemistry studies including elements and compounds post-depositional and photochemical process in surface snow and snow-atmosphere interactions. My main topic is trace elements measurements in ice cores with particular focusing on iron (includes its chemical speciation) for its role in the ocean fertilization, and halogens measurements for their connections with sea ice changes. I am also interest in the impact caused by the ancient civilization on atmospheric composition. I am involved in aerosol measurements in polar environment for understand the natural cycle of trace elements, biogenic compound and black carbon and their possible changes in the recent decades. I participate in several field expeditions in Arctic, Antarctic and Alpine regions. I am actively involved in glacier mass balance estimations.
Scopus - Author ID: 54962645400 http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8635-9193 ResearchGate Google Scholar
Director - PANIERI GIULIANA - direttore.isp AT cnr.it - Phone: +39 041-2348659
Staff
Contact with name.surname AT cnr.it
ADEMOLLO NICOLETTA - Bologna - Researcher
ANTONELLI GIUSEPPE - Bologna - Technician
ARGIRIADIS ELENA - Venezia - Researcher - Phone: +39 041-2348658
AZZARO FILIPPO - Messina - Researcher - Phone: +39 090-6015419
AZZARO MAURIZIO - Messina - Senior Researcher - Phone: +39 090-6015415
BARBARO ELENA - Venezia - Researcher - Phone: +39 041-2348504
BEATRICI DANIELA - Roma-Tor Vergata - Technician - Phone: +39 06-45488568
BECHERINI FRANCESCA - Venezia - Senior Researcher - Phone: +39 041-2346761
CAIRNS WARREN RAYMOND LEE - Venezia - Senior Researcher - Phone: +39 041-2348992
CARNIEL SANDRO - Venezia - Research Director
CARUSO GABRIELLA - Messina - Senior Researcher - Phone: +39 090-6015423
CASULA MARCO - Venezia - Technician (in temporary assignment at another facility of the Institution)
CAVALIERE ALICE - Bologna - Technologist
CESTER VALENTINA - Venezia - Technician - Phone: +39 041-2348547
CIALLI PAMELA - Roma-Tor Vergata - Administrative assistant - Phone: +39 06-45488349
COLUCCI RENATO R. - Venezia - Researcher - Phone: +39 040-3756876
CORAMI FABIANA - Venezia - Researcher - Phone: +39 041-2348658
COSENZA ALESSANDRO - Messina - Technician - Phone: +39 090-6015439
COZZI GIULIO - Venezia - Researcher - Phone: +39 041-2348935
CRISAFI FRANCESCA - Messina - Researcher
DALLO FEDERICO - Venezia - Researcher - Phone: +39 041-2348937
DE BIASIO FRANCESCO - Venezia - Researcher - Phone: +39 041-2348938
DE BLASI FABRIZIO - Venezia - Researcher
DECEMBRINI FRANCO - Messina - Researcher - Phone: +39 090-6015413
DI FRANCO SABINA - Roma-Montelibretti - Technologist - Phone: +39 06-90672394
DI LEO GUGLIELMO - Messina - Technician
DI MAURO BIAGIO - Milano - Researcher - Phone: +39 02-66173404
FILICIOTTO FRANCESCO - Messina - Researcher - Phone: +39 090-6015420
GABRIELI JACOPO - Venezia - Senior Researcher - Phone: +39 041-2348911
GIGLIO FEDERICO - Bologna - Researcher - Phone: +39 051-6398904
GILARDONI STEFANIA - Milano - Senior Researcher - Phone: +39 02-66173328
GIORDANO PATRIZIA - Bologna - Researcher - Phone: +39 051-6398902
GREGORIS ELENA - Venezia - Researcher - Phone: +39 041-2348937
IAKIMOV MIKHAIL - Messina - Research Director
LA CONO VIOLETTA - Messina - Researcher
LA MESA MARIO - Bologna - Senior Researcher - Phone: +39 071-2078838
LA SPADA GINA - Messina - Researcher
LANGONE LEONARDO - Bologna - Research Director - Phone: +39 051-6398870
LO GIUDICE ANGELINA - Messina - Senior Researcher - Phone: +39 090-6015414
LUPI ANGELO - Bologna - Researcher - Phone: +39 051-6399588
MAIMONE GIOVANNA - Messina - Technician - Phone: +39 090-6015423
MAZZOLA MAURO - Bologna - Researcher - Phone: +39 051-6399592
MISEROCCHI STEFANO - Bologna - Senior Researcher - Phone: +39 051-6398880
MONTAGNA PAOLO - Bologna - Research Director - Phone: +39 051-63988913
NOGAROTTO ALESSIO - Bologna - Technician
PALADINI DE MENDOZA FRANCESCO - Messina - Researcher
PANSERA MARCO - Messina - Researcher
PAPALE MARIA - Messina - Researcher
PATROLECCO LUISA - Roma-Montelibretti - Senior Researcher - Phone: +39 06-90672797
PESCATORE TANITA - Bologna - Researcher
PLINI PAOLO - Roma-Montelibretti - Researcher - Phone: +39 06-90672392
PORCINO NUNZIATINA - Messina - Researcher
RAPPAZZO ALESSANDRO CIRO - Messina - Technician
RAUSEO JASMIN - Roma-Montelibretti - Researcher
SACCHETTO ALESSIO - Padova - Administrative assistant
SALERNO FRANCO - Milano - Senior Researcher (temporary assignment)
SCALABRIN ELISA - Venezia - Researcher – Phone: +39 041-2348938
SCIACCA VIRGINIA - Messina - Researcher
SCLAVO MAURO - Padova - Research Director - Phone: +39 049 8295907
SMEDILE FRANCESCO - Messina - Researcher
SPATARO FRANCESCA - Roma-Montelibretti - Researcher - Phone: +39 06-90672852
SPOLAOR ANDREA - Venezia - Senior Researcher
TESI TOMMASO - Bologna - Senior Researcher - Phone: +39 051-6398864
TURETTA CLARA - Venezia - Senior Researcher - Phone: +39 041-2348947
VALENTINI EMILIANA - Roma-Montelibretti - Researcher
VARDE' MASSIMILIANO - Venezia - Researcher - Phone: +39 041-2348938
VENIER CHIARA - Venezia - Technologist
VERAZZO GIULIO - Bologna - Technologist
VITALE VITO - Bologna - Research Director - Phone: +39 051-6399595
ZANELLA JACOPO - Padova - Technician - Phone: +39 049-8295714
ZANGRANDO ROBERTA - Venezia - Senior Researcher - Phone: +39 041-2348945
ZANOTTO EMANUELA - Venezia - Technician - Phone: +39 041-2348922
ZUCCHETTA MATTEO - Venezia - Researcher - Phone: +39 041-2348937
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
Diploma of maturity achieved in 1993 at Technical-Commercial Institute Paolo Sarpi of Venice.
From February 2002 to October 2005 she worked at Pago Italia Srl in Dosson (TV) dealing mainly with the issue of active and passive invoices and payments. From June 1999 to February 2002 she was employed at Cinquegrani Sas in Quarto d'Altino where she worked on invoicing clients and suppliers, verification of payments and relations with the public. From June 1996 to March 1999 she worked in front office at the dealership VW Audi Pole Position Spa in Mestre, also dealing with billing customers and first known cash. From 2005 to 2010 temporary position at the Institute for the Dynamics of Environmental Processes (IDPA) of the CNR, Administrative Staff-Level VII; since 2010 permanent position at the Institute for the Dynamics of Environmental Processes (IDPA) of the CNR, Administrative Staff-Level VII. In 2019 she moved to the Institute of Polar Sciences (ISP).
In her activity at the CNR, Elisa Tessarin mainly deal with the procedures related to the orders of expense billing registration, management of staff attendance through dedicated computer tools, Organization of medical examinations for suitability for work, procedures for reimbursement of missions (work trips) of staff, computer protocol and is treasurer of the Institute.
In 2019, thanks to a dedicated funding program by the Ministry of University and Research (MUR), Italy acquired a research ship with ice-breaking capabilities to conduct research activities in the polar regions. The research vessel was named after Laura Bassi, the first woman in the world to obtain an official academic professorship, and she did this at the University of Bologna in the 18th century.
The vessel is owned by the National Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics (OGS) in Trieste and receives funds to conduct research activities from the National Research Program in Antarctica (PNRA). It also serves the polar scientific community thanks to an agreement between the major Research Institutes in Italy working in the polar regions and those managing the polar infrastructures (OGS, CNR and ENEA). The use of the R/V Laura Bassi has also been included in the strategic planning of the Italian Arctic Research Program (PRA).
The R/V Laura Bassi made its first expedition to the Ross Sea (Antarctica) in the austral summer of 2019-2020.
An extensive instrumental upgrade to the vessel is currently underway, with the contribution of the ISP staff, to convert it into a modern multipurpose scientific platform that can serve different scientific communities working on various research fields, including physical, chemical and biological oceanography, paleoceanography, geophysics, marine geology and atmospheric physics and chemistry.
For more information please refer to the OGS website.
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The research activities carried out within the Thematic Area Contaminants and Ecosystems are aimed at studying the sources, transport dynamics, diffusion and fate of regulated and emerging contaminants, including micro/nano-plastics and trace elements, in polar ecosystems. These ecosystems are particularly sensitive to external perturbations, such as human activities and climate change. In fact, the Polar regions constitute the final sink for many pollutants emitted at mid-latitudes and transported on a regional and global scale (long-range) through atmospheric and oceanic circulation and migratory animals: all drivers influenced by the ongoing climate change. Global warming has also favored a growing anthropic impact in the polar areas due to the development of tourist activities, mining and maritime traffic with a consequent increase in the local input of contamination, including noise pollution. The direct and indirect effects of these changes combined with the different dynamics of contamination are causing the fragmentation and destruction of habitats, the alteration of aquatic and terrestrial food webs, as well as loss of diversity with repercussions also on Arctic populations.
In this context, the multidisciplinary skills that converge in this Thematic Area constitutes an indispensable requirement for understanding the effects due to anthropic impact and climate change in polar ecosystems by following a One Health approach and aiming at a sustainable management of these vulnerable environments in the near future.
The main lines of investigation refer to the following areas: development and optimization of highly sensitive analytical methods for the detection of pollutants in the abiotic and biotic environmental compartments, understanding of transport and distribution processes in ecosystems, evaluation of the interactions with biota and the ecological effects, study of the capability of ecosystems to adapt and respond to contamination.
Main ERC panels:
• LS8 - Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution
• PE4 - Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences
• PE10 - Earth System Science
Referents: Elena Barbaro, Maria Papale, Luisa Patrolecco, Francesca Spataro
Contact: info-impacts AT isp.cnr.it
Sottotematiche
Legacy and emerging polluntants
From the development of analytical methods to the study of environmental processes
Despite the geographical isolation and limited human presence, polar regions are strongly affected by long-range transport leading to the dispersion of pollutants emitted in low and medium latitudes and on a local scale. Scientific research efforts have allowed the collection of long-term data on the presence of heavy metals and persistent organic contaminants (POPs) in the Arctic; however, there are still no systematic monitoring programs for such compounds in Antarctica.
More recently, attention has been focused on new classes of contaminants, defined as emerging, because they are not yet included in current regulations. The effects of these compounds on the organisms and environment are still not fully known. The determination of the occurrence of these substances in the environment and the evaluation of their effects on ecosystems is an important scientific challenge, especially considering their different chemical-physical properties and the continuous production of new formulations. Since many emerging contaminants are bioactive molecules with potentially harmful effects on the organisms and environment even at low concentrations, the development of suitable monitoring programs has crucial importance. The Arctic Monitoring and Evaluation Program (AMAP) has indicated that the risk due to the presence of emerging chemical pollutants but also the more investigated persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and mercury at the poles is still very high. Therefore, it is of priority interest to deepen the knowledge of this issue in the polar areas.
The main research activities concern:
• Optimization, and standardization of analytical methods for the determination of legacy pollutants (e.g. PAHs, PCBs, PBDEs, organo-chlorinated pesticides, etc.), emerging (e.g. pharmaceutical residues, fragrances, perfluorinated compounds, new generation pesticides, etc.) compounds and their metabolites/transformation products. Suspect screening analysis (performed when there is evidence/information that a given structure could be present in the samples) and non-target screening (analysis of all detected components, when no preliminary information is available).
• Development of chemical speciation methods for the identification of biologically active species or species produced by photochemical reactions.
• Continuous and long-term monitoring of organic and inorganic contaminants transported by atmospheric (Gruvebadet - Aerosol laboratory) and oceanic currents (Mooring) via permanent platforms.
• Studies on bioconcentration / biomagnification in the food web (screening assessment); evaluation of antibiotic susceptibility profiles of bacterial strains isolated from water/sediment.
• In-situ and real-time monitoring of organic and inorganic contaminants by using biosensors.
• Development and application of metabolomic analysis in environmental matrices for the study of degradative processes that determine the production of potentially polluting metabolites; this approach makes it possible to identify the presence of unknown pollutants and to relate them to the biological processes taking place in the system.
• Laboratory scale studies (e.g., microcosm and batch) to evaluate biotic and abiotic (chemical and physical) degradation processes (DT50 calculation), formation of metabolites and transformation products, and bioaccumulation in target organisms (vegetable and animal species).
• Optimization, standardization and validation of innovative biotechnologies for the in situ bioremediation and bio-mitigation of environmental matrices impacted by organic and inorganic contaminants.
Main ERC Panels:
• PE4_5 - Analytical chemistry
• PE4_7 - Chemical instrumentation
• PE4_9 - Method development in chemistry
• PE4_18 - Environment Chemistry
• PE10_1 - Atmospheric chemistry, atmospheric composition, air pollution
• PE10_8 - Oceanography (physical, chemical, biological, geological)
• PE10_9 - Biogeochemistry, biogeochemical cycles, environmental chemistry
• PE10_17 - Hydrology, hydrogeology, engineering and environmental geology, water and soil pollution
The Anthropocene Epoch is a novel, yet unofficial, unit of geologic time, used to describe the most recent period in Earth’s history when human activity started to have a significant impact on the planet’s climate and ecosystems. The Anthropocene is also a period characterized by an unprecedented technology level that allows us to measure essential variables of the climate system (ECVs) at high temporal resolution (e.g. satellites) and forecast future climate scenarios using state-of-the-art supercomputers based on Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs). However, instrumental records exist only since the mid XX century while simulations are time-limited to a few centuries. Thus, it remains elusive whether the documented and predicted changes are part of the long-term natural variability of the climate system. In this respect, climate archives such as ice cores, marine/lake sediment cores, corals, speleothems and tree-rings offer an extraordinary perspective of the past climate evolution and, thus, they represent a fundamental benchmark to place on-going climate change into a larger context of long-term natural climate variability. In particular, the past climate is punctuated by important climate events that can be used as examples (not necessarily analogues) to assess the rate of natural changes and understand the interactions between critical components of the climate system including external and internal forcings. Thus, paleo-climatology is a fundamental research field for the study of the Anthropocene as it provides insight into how Earth's climate system works and how it may change in the future. This, ultimately, improves climate models by lowering uncertainties on future projections.
Natural archives of past climate history are pillars for paleoclimatologists as they literally represent time machines. Scientists look for clues of past events in these records as biological, geochemical, and sedimentary indicators used for the empirical quantification of climatic and environmental parameters, something generally referred to as proxies. Each type of archive comes with its benefits and drawbacks. Thus, paleo-studies greatly benefit from the integration of complementary archives together to have an interdisciplinary overview on how the climate system works.
Main ERC Panels:
• PE4_5 - Analytical chemistry
• PE4_18 - Environment chemistry
• PE10_1 - Atmospheric chemistry, atmospheric composition, air pollution
• PE10_3 - Climatology and climate change
• PE10_6 - Palaeoclimatology, palaeoecology
• PE10_8 - Oceanography (physical, chemical, biological, geological)
• PE10_9 - Biogeochemistry, biogeochemical cycles, environmental chemistry
• PE10_11 - Geochemistry, cosmochemistry, crystal chemistry, isotope geochemistry, thermodynamics
• PE10_18 - Cryosphere, dynamics of snow and ice cover, sea ice, permafrosts and ice sheets
Referents: Andrea Spolaor, Tommaso Tesi
Contact: info-paleoclimate AT isp.cnr.it
Sub-themes
Ice cores
Ice cores are among the best resolved archives of the past Earth climate to the point that it is possible to describe even seasonal climate oscillations. They are drilled on mountain glaciers and ice sheets, where year-round below freezing temperatures allow undisturbed solid deposition and preservation of the original stratigraphy. Ice cores recovered from Antarctica and Greenland provide the oldest records, covering respectively the last 800 000 and 125 000 years. Yet, important climate information can also be extracted from non-polar glaciers such in the Alpine, Andes and the Himalaya regions. Among the climatic information, ice core analyses can give insight to past temperatures, volcanism, winds, precipitation, aridity, solar activity, change in biogeochemical cycle and atmospheric composition. In particular, ice core records are valuable paleo archives for the past atmospheric composition since the ice can trap the chemical compounds and their abundance as well as the gasses concentration, preserved in the ice as air bubbles of an ancient atmosphere. Physical properties of the ice layers identified in the core can also be studied and provide the past history of ice sheet dynamics.
Changes and evolution of polar systems: processes, feedback mechanisms and interactions on a global scale
The Earth system is highly interconnected. In this thematic area research activities are aimed at deepening our understanding of the processes and interactions among the different components of the climate system and assessing its responses to global changes. A more comprehensive and holistic understanding of the polar system is needed to guide future climate policy decisions. The knowledge of the characteristics of the polar atmosphere is crucial for studying the biogeochemical cycles of natural chemical species, the long-range transport processes of pollutants and climate-altering compounds and the feedback mechanisms triggered by the atmospheric warming and the interaction of the atmosphere with the cryosphere and oceans.
The cryosphere constitutes a very fragile portion of the Earth system, made even more vulnerable by climate change. Through multidisciplinary and interconnected research activities, the study of snow and ice, their chemical composition and their main physical parameters, the evolution of the permafrost and the increased melting impact on the atmosphere, biosphere and hydrosphere at both regional and global levels is being pursued.
The hydrosphere consists largely of the oceans, which influence the Earth system in all its spheres by storing and redistributing fresh water, heat, climate-altering gases, and other particulate and dissolved substances. Oceanographic research supports more accurate predictions of global changes by studying the chemical and physical properties of seas and oceans, their movements, energy exchanges with the atmosphere, the organisms that inhabit them, and the geological structure of ocean basins. Polar limnological environments are studied as both sentinels of climate change and to investigate the responses of their short trophic net to these changes, including anthropogenic perturbations.
Polar ecosystems are an important reservoir of natural resources and can partly mitigate the effects of climate change from which they are threatened today. The study of biodiversity and resilience to global changes with an ecosystem approach, integrating the influence of environmental factors, community-level interspecific relationships, and socio-economic aspects is a challenge for effective and sustainable management of natural resources.
Main ERC Panels:
• LS8 - Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology
• PE4 - Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences
• PE10 - Earth System Science
• SH2 - Institutions, Values, Environment and Space
• SH7 - Human Mobility, Environment, and Space
Referentes: Nicoletta Ademollo, Maurizio Azzaro, Fabiana Corami, Federico Giglio, Stefania Gilardoni
Contact: info-polarchanges AT isp.cnr.it
Sub-themes
Atmosphere
The atmosphere as an environmental matrix proves to be a medium of rapid global dispersion of climate-altering compounds and pollutants. Various compounds characterize the atmosphere; among these, climate-altering compounds, i.e., greenhouse gases that affect the Earth's energy and heat balance, and atmospheric aerosols, are of relevant interest. Due to its characteristics of stability and thermal inversion and the presence of the polar vortex, the polar atmosphere is an ideal observatory to be able to assess the energy exchanges and interactions of various phenomena with atmospheric circulation, including at different spatiotemporal scales, transport to high latitudes, aerosol composition, and biogeochemical cycles of the natural chemical species and pollutants present. Atmospheric aerosols play a key role in human-induced climate change because they influence the planet's radiative budget (absorption and scattering of solar radiation and surface albedo), cloud formation, and properties. In particular, atmospheric aerosols influence and amplify climate change. Atmospheric particulate matter consists of particles of natural origin (volcanic eruptions, fires, ocean emissions, resuspension of soil dust) and particles of anthropogenic origin (industrial emissions, combustion processes, micro- and nanoplastics). It is critical, thus, to identify chemical, biochemical, and biological tracers to study the origin and composition of polar aerosols and understand their climatic feedback. Although present in trace amounts, organic compounds, black carbon, sea salt, and microplastics (< 100 µm) may act as cloud condensation nuclei, thereby affecting albedo and precipitation, as well as radiation budget and climate. Black carbon, microplastics, and dust could also act as ice-nucleating particles. 
The presence of these particles in the atmosphere and sea ice impacts albedo and can alter sea ice permeability and solar radiation absorption with feedback on sea ice melt. In a rapidly changing polar area like the Arctic, microplastic pollution adds to the effects of climate change in terms of sources, transport processes, feedback, and ecological consequences. Other stressors present in atmospheric aerosols may include medium volatile organic compounds, water-soluble compounds, phenolic compounds, and trace elements. The presence of chemical stressors affects the physical dynamics of the atmosphere, mainly through interaction with both solar and terrestrial radiation, helping to amplify the increase in air temperature, which in turn impacts sea ice melting, humidity, cloudiness, and precipitation, significantly affecting the climate system. Monitoring the physical parameters and processes and the dynamics of the atmosphere through the use of various measurement methodologies (including remote sensing) is essential for the in-depth understanding of the synergies between the various components and for developing increasingly efficient weather-climate forecasting models. It is necessary to study in depth all the processes that characterize the atmospheric boundary layer to improve the quality of the results of weather and climate forecasting models.
Main ERC Panels:
• LS8 - Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Biology
• PE4 - Physical and Analytical Chemical Sciences
• PE10 - Earth System Science
• SH2 - Institutions, Values, Environment and Space
• SH7 - Human Mobility, Environment, and Space
The main activities of the thematic area Earth Observation (EO) and Polar Ecosystem Modeling include remote and proximal sensing, spatial analysis, thematic mapping, and geographic and environmental knowledge organization. The activity focuses on three main methodological pillars: remote and in situ observations, information organization, and representation by numerical and conceptual models. 
The research of this thematic area focuses on the responses of polar ecosystems to changes in air and sea temperature, in polar ice caps, in sea level height, and in persistence and thickness of snowpack and ice, also through the comparisons of climate belts. Analyses also cover permafrost evolution, coastal erosion, accretion processes, release and segregation of climate-altering gases, biogeochemical cycles, and biodiversity. The observational methodologies aim to detect environmental and climate dynamics at different spatial and temporal scales by identifying and studying multiple essential variables and their biological and geophysical interactions by integrating information from different platforms. The continuous comparison allows the combination of spatial and ecological models with observations.
The team has a group dedicated to organizing multilingual terminological knowledge, thesauri, and metadata to support data description and environmental information, focusing on polar environments. The subject area develops, by Findable Accessible Interoperable Reusable (FAIR) principles, data chains and products to support the study of terrestrial, aquatic, and cryosphere systems and the development of interoperable GIS, thematic mapping, and operational services. Figure 1: the Spegazzini Glacier (Los Glaciares National Park, Santa Cruz, Argentina, January 2010), together with the Upsala and the Perito Moreno Glaciers, feeds the Lago Argentino in the Los Glaciares National Park, in this photo, the calving-type glacier front is visible, characterized by abundant seracs, which can reach 135 m in height.
Main ERC Panels:
• LS8 - Environmental Biology, Ecology and Evolution
• PE10 - Earth System Science
• SH7 - Human Mobility, Environment, and Space
• SH2 - Institutions, Values, Environment and Space
Referents: Francesco De Biasio, Francesco Filiciotto, Emiliana Valentini, Matteo Zucchetta
Contacts: info-observation AT isp.cnr.it
Sub-Theme
Atmosphere
Characterization of the atmospheric column by remote sensing techniques and study of aerosol at the interface with the ground, use of EO data and their validation with ground-based measurements. Atmospheric chemistry, microchemistry, and climate-altering microphysics (use of thematic products of fire emissions and air pollution); physics of the atmosphere by point measurements at permanent observatories in polar and high-altitude areas, both fixed and mobile (ships); bioaerosol and its quantitative and qualitative composition. Study of the spatial structure of wind over the sea at various resolutions (from tens of km to 500 m) obtained through radar echo detections from the sea surface and Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellite images, integrated with artificial intelligence (AI) techniques in a continuous comparison with ground truth and numerical modeling.
Ministero dell'Universita e Ricerca
Programma Ricerche Artico
Programma Nazionale di Ricerca in Antartide
Ministero degli Affari Esteri e della Cooperazione Internazionale
L'Italia e l’Artico
L’Italia e l’Antartide
CNR-ISP
National Research Council
Institute of Polar Sciences
c/o Scientific Campus - Ca' Foscari University Venice - Via Torino, 155 - 30172 VENEZIA MESTRE (VE)
Phone: +39 041 2348547 - E-mail: protocollo.isp AT pec.cnr.it
Fax: +39 041 2348 549 - Codice Fiscale: 80054330586 - P.I.:02118311006
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