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National collaborations
The Institute of Polar Sciences collaborates with several National Research Institutes and Universities and provides technical and scientific support and know-how in cooperation projects with public bodies and private companies.
Many research topics are developed in collaboration with other Institutes of the Department of Earth System Sciences and Environmental Technologies (DSSTTA) of the National Research Council of Italy, including for instance the Institute of Marine Sciences (ISMAR), the Institute for the Study of Anthropogenic Impact and Sustainability in the Marine Environment (IAS), the Institute for Marine Biological Resources and Biotechnology (IRBIM), the Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate (ISAC) and the Institute of Atmospheric Pollution Research (IIA). This allows to extend and integrate the ISP skills in a complementary and multidisciplinary way.
Research topics related to the geology and hydrology of the polar regions are developed in collaboration with the Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources (IGG) and the Institute of Environmental Geology and Geoengineering (IGAG), which are also involved in Arctic and Antarctic polar research.
Research activities on terrestrial ecosystems are conducted in collaboration with the Research Institute on Terrestrial Ecosystems (IRET).
ISP actively collaborates also with other National Research Institutes, including ENEA, INGV, OGS, INRiM, INAF, and Universities, such as the Chemistry Departments of the Universities of Florence, Pisa, Perugia, Turin and Genoa and the Department of Environmental Sciences, Informatics and Statistics of Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. Other collaborations in different areas of research are underway with the University of Insubria, La Sapienza, Messina, Florence, Naples, the Milan Polytechnic and the University of Milano-Bicocca.
Roberto Colombo is professor of Remote Sensing at the Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Milano Bicocca. The main research interest is to develop remote sensing tools for quantitative estimation of land surface properties. He works with a wide range of Earth Observation data at different scales and geophysical methods, assimilating multi-source, multi-spectral and multi-temporal remote sensing data, from field spectroscopy to satellite level for modelling terrestrial and environmental dynamics, with focus on vegetation fluorescence and snow properties. Current activities include space mission concepts and definition, airborne campaigns and field cal/val strategies, engineering and design of proximal remote sensing instruments, algorithm development, environmental modelling and new applications.
He joined the Institute of Polar Sciences in November 2020 as a Scientist. He got a Master degree in Geology (2009) and a PhD in Environmental Science (2013) during which he honed his skills at the University Center in Svalbard (UNIS). He is a CNR permanent staff since 2001 after working in the technical staff of the Istituto Talassografico in Trieste (2001-2004) and at the Marine Science Institute (2004-2020) in the Climate and Paleoclimate Research Group. Since 2015, he is also Adjunct Professor in Glaciology at the Department of Mathematics and Geosciences of the University of Trieste.
His Research centers around the interactions between the cryosphere (glaciers, permafrost, ice caves) and the climate, spanning from the end of the Last Glacial Maximum to the Holocene. Key research topics are glacial and periglacial geomorphology, glaciology, weather/climate monitoring with a focus on high elevated alpine areas, quaternary geology, ice deposits in caves.
He took part in several scientific expeditions in Antarctica (2015 and 2016) with the British Antarctic Survey, in Pakistan-Karakorum (2013) and in the Chilean Andes (2012). In 2014-2017 was a Council Member of the European Meteorological Society.
Present Responsibilities:
- Italian Representative of the International Permafrost Association
- Scientific Editor of the Journal of Mountain Science (Springer)
- Guest Editor Special Issue Interactions between the Cryosphere and Climate (Change) - Atmosphere
- Topical Editor of the International open-access proceeding s journal Advance in Science and Research
- President of the Alpine-Adriatic Meteorological Society
Scopus - Author ID: 7003357799 
0000-0001-8344-5723 Google Scholar
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.
Researcher; her main fields of research are quantification and identification of small microplastics (1-100 µm) in different environmental matrices (permafrost, biota, sediments, etc.) via MicroFTIR, quantification and identification of microplastic fibers via MicroFTIR, speciation of trace elements in Antarctic waters, geospeciation of trace elements and REEs in sediments and soils, bioaccumulation of trace elements and REEs in feathers, microscopical techniques and ancillary analyses. Author of several peer-reviewed articles, she has participated to national and international congresses and is reviewer for journals such as STOTEN (Science of the Total Environment) Estaurine Coastal and Shelf Science, International Journal of Environmental Pollution and Remediation, Scientific Reports Nature. She is member of the Scientific Committee of ICEPR – International Conference on Environmental Pollution and Remediation. She is member of the Institute Committee (CdI) and she is also CNR representative on the Executive Board of District of Venice Research and Innovation (DVRI) and is member of the Leonardos group for Science Gallery Venice.
Scopus - Author ID: 7801412352 http://orcid.org/0000-0002-7484-9600 ResearchGate Google Scholar
She is a senior researcher and assistant Professor at the Department of Physical, Earth and Environmental Sciences (DSFTA) of the University of Siena (Italy) since 1 November 2001. She is currently a lecturer in the following courses: Ecotoxicology of Remote Areas (Master's Degree); Marine Ecology (Bachelor's Degree). She is responsible for the Curriculum in Biology, Ecology, Biodiversity of the PhD of National Interest in Polar Sciences (Ca' Foscari University of Venice); she is a member of the Board of Professors of the PhD in Environmental, Geological and Polar Sciences and Technologies.
She collaborates with colleagues from Italian and foreign universities/research institutions. Since 1994 she works in the Italian National Antarctic Research Programme (PNRA) and has participated in seven Antarctic Expeditions. She is part of the international program TUNU-Programme: Euro-Arctic Marine Fishes—Diversity and Adaptation, coordinated by UiT The Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø, participating in six expeditions in the Arctic; in this programme she has studied the ecotoxicology of the Greenland shark (Somniosus microcephalus). She is president of the Action Group "Input Pathways of Persistent Organic Pollutants to Antarctica, ImPACT" of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). Since 2019 she has been a member of the Expert Group on POPs of the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (AMAP). She is P.I. of the Laboratory of Ecotoxicology and Remote Areas (ERRe LAB) of the DSFTA.
The main research interests include the ecotoxicology of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in the Polar Regions, and marine ecology. In particular: study of POPs and emerging contaminants under climate-driven changes; POP fluxes between abiotic and biotic ecosystem compartments and from tissue to community levels; bioaccumulation in predators and trophic webs; risk assessment (TEQ); POPs in food and human risk (TWI, EDI); ecology of seabirds (1994-2005).
CTER IV livello – IT Manager
System administrator of the CNR-ISP Messina detached branch. In this context, it carries out the following activities:
- Access Port Manager (APM) - technical reference to the GARR;
- maintains the network infrastructure of the Messina institute;
- maintains network services and, in particular, the servers (e.g. file server, web server, firewall, DNS, NAT, etc…) for the delivery of transversal and local services;
- management of transmission networks (LAN and wireless);
- management of routing polices (router CISCO and firewall);
- hardware and software assistance and support to workstations in offices and laboratories;
- support for videoconferencing;
- use of statistical software for processing and interpretation of experimental results (in particular through the use of R, a specific development environment for statistical analysis of data).
He also manages the local staff institute data: attendance, absence, skills, meal vouchers, through ePAS, the system for detecting and managing attendance of CNR staff.
Research interests
Development of mass spectrometry-based advanced analytical methodology for trace and ultra-trace determinations in environmental, biological and agrifood matrices; long-term paleoclimate and atmospheric chemistry from ice cores; heavy metals in polar and temperate ice and snow.
Scopus - Author ID: 35495278300 http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8796-4176 ResearchGate Google Scholar
She received her Ph.D. in Science and Engineering of sea (2010) at the University “Federico II” in Naples. She is currently a researcher at the Institute of Polar Sciences (ISP-CNR). Her research is mainly focused on Marine Microbiology and Biotechnology in particular on: i) Structure and function of microbial marine microbial community associated to oil contaminated area; ii) Genetic and physiology of marine bacteria for biotechnological application; iv) Bioremediation and monitoring in marine environment (focus on technology and biotechnology in situ and ex situ). She spent one year at the College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics Cal State Fullerton University California, United States working on artificial vectors engineering and in vitro techniques for transformation and conjugation of bacteria cells. She had many occasions for international and national collaboration since she has participated to several national research programs (PRIN, PON, PNRA) and international programs (KBBE FP7 es. MAGIC-PAH, KILLSPILL, BRAAVOO)
She is author/co-author of over 30 international peer-reviewed publications, and 4 book chapters
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4917-893X Scopus - Author ID: 36898246500
The increasingly evident melting of the ice sheets and glaciers with the consequent changes in sea level, together with the destruction of the ice shelves, highlight how this part of the cryosphere is an extremely fragile portion of the Earth system. Glaciers are unique climate archives that give us the opportunity to investigate the climate of the past and to assess the changes taking place with a long-term perspective. However, these changes are also evident from the melting of the permafrost, which has a dramatic impact in polar and high-altitude mid-latitudes areas. In the difficult context of climate change, the researchers of the Institute of Polar Sciences, through their interrelated research activities, deal with the study of snow and ice, their chemical composition and their main physical parameters, the evolution of the permafrost and the impact of increased melting on the atmosphere, biosphere and hydrosphere at both regional and global levels.
Snow cover
As well as affecting the mass balance of glaciers and polar ice caps, snow preserves the chemical composition of the atmosphere and interacts dynamically with all other environmental components of the polar regions. It represents an extremely reactive portion of the cryosphere where multiple post-depositional processes can occur. The study of snow cover in these regions is therefore essential to understanding the processes, interactions and changes that are occurring as a result of climate change and help us to assess the impacts on the global system. It is also critical for understanding the mechanisms of re-emission and release of compounds accumulated during the polar night and the significant impact that these releases may have on polar bio-geochemical cycles.
Photo by Elena Barbaro (CNR-ISP)
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Federico Dallo received his Master’s degree in Chemistry (LM-54) from the University of Ferrara in 2013, specializing in theoretical and computational chemistry under Prof. Celestino Angeli. In 2017, he earned a Ph.D. in Environmental Sciences from Ca’ Foscari University of Venice, focusing on volatile organic compound diffusion in snowpack under Prof. Carlo Barbante. From 2017 to 2020, he was a Research Fellow at CNR-IDPA/CNR-ISP, working on low-cost environmental monitoring technologies at the Col Margherita meteo-climatic observatory in alpine and polar regions. From 2021 to 2023, he was a Marie Skłodowska-Curie Postdoctoral Fellow, conducting research on wireless sensor networks in collaboration with the University of California, Berkeley. Since 2024, Federico has been a full-time researcher at CNR-ISP in Venice, focusing on the relationship between human behavior and environmental hazards to inform policy and interventions for societal resilience and public health.
Federico is an affiliated researcher at:
• the University of California, Berkeley
• the University of Sydney
Research Projects
• healthRiskAdapt (HORIZON-MISS-2023-CLIMA-01)
• MISO (HORIZON-CL6-2022-GOVERNANCE-01-07)
• PIONEER (MSCA-IF-2018)
Full Professor at the University of Perugia, where he teaches Environmental Chemistry and Biogeochemistry and coordinates the ECT (Environmental Chemistry and Technology) research group and the TRACES (Trace Analysis for Chemical Speciation) Laboratory. Founding member of the Italian Aerosol Society, member of the Italian Glaciological Committee, and operator of WGMS (World Glacier Monitoring Service). Author of more than 200 scientific publications on multidisciplinary topics, he has participated in numerous campaigns in the Arctic and coordinated research projects to conduct experiments assessing the properties of atmospheric aerosols and their potential impacts on the cryosphere and climate change. Fellow of the National Academy of Sciences, known as the Accademia degli XL.
Graduated in Physics in 1993, he is currently researcher at the National Research Council, Institute of Polar Sciences (CNR-ISP). He has over 20 years of experience in the field of marine meteorology at the micro- and meso-scale, through the use of remote sensing with active microwave instruments in the marine environment, on satellite and on observation platforms during campaigns at sea (Adriatic Sea: Acqua Alta tower, platforms ENI; Kikeneiz research platform on the Black Sea).
He deals with analyzing historical series of meteorological-marine data acquired both through in situ and remote sensing data. He is co-author of some works on wind characterization at the air-sea interface through the analysis of SAR images with the continuous wavelets technique. He participated in the MIUR RITMARE project dealing with the acquisition and interpretation of remote sensing scatterometric data for the determination of the wind at the sea surface.
He participated in the ESA eSurge-Venice project on the expansion of the possibility of using satellite data to predict storm surges. Recently he has carried out research in the ESA Sea Level Climate Change Initiative (SL_CCI), in carrying out the ESA SL_CCI Bridging Phase project, dealing with applications of satellite altimetry.
He participates in the ESA Radar Altimetry for the Coastal Zone and Inland Waters project, which involves the development of specific applications of SAR satellite altimetry in coastal areas and inland waters.
He has been the scientific manager of three research projects funded by the Tide Forecasting and Reporting Center (Municipality of Venice). His main scientific interests include microwave remote sensing of the marine environment and the interpretation of synthetic aperture radar images; continuous wavelet transformation techniques; time series analysis of wind, sea level and backscatter radar; storm surge forecasts; complementarity of atmospheric modeling and satellite remote sensing. He is the author/co-author of more than 30 indexed products (source Scopus) as articles published in international journals or as acts of international conferences. Its scientific production can be quantified by a number of citations equal to 242 and an h-index equal to 9 (source Scopus).
Scopus - Author ID: 6603102453 http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6250-9588
Master’s degree in Forest and Environmental Science (University of Padua), PhD in Land Environment Resources and health (University of Padua).
Current position: Researcher at Institute of Polar Sciences-CNR, Venezia; permanent position. Since 2010, my research activities have been on mountain and environmental science with a focus on the relationship between climate change and snow and ice dominated high altitude environments.
After my master’s degree, my activities were on geomorphology, hydrology and glaciology at TESAF department of the University of Padua. I have analyzed the interaction between the climatic variations of the last century (e.g. modification of the thermo-pluviometric regimes) and the changes of the Alpine cryosphere (e.g. variations in volume, variation of the seasonal snow cover etc.) as well as the consequences of global warming on the evolution of the glacial masses over thousands of years. During last years, I collaborated with international research projects such as Ortles project (a paleoclimatic research project) and POLLiCE project (analysis of pollen present on ice cores from the Alps).
My topic is on the analysis of climate evolution during the last 2000 years through the study of Alpine and Apennine ice cores. Since 2017, I am in the Italian team of Ice Memory, an international mountain glaciers salvage program research project. At the same time, I'm collaborating to the Col Margherita Atmospheric Observatory (MRG) project with the aim of measuring the atmospheric composition above 2500 m in the Dolomitic region.
Scopus - Author ID: 56674114400
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
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