Summary
The EDISTHO research team applies to undertake a multidisciplinary approach on sedimentary, seismic and oceanographic existing data collected within the Edisto Inlet. Indeed, data collected in the framework of past PNRA projects indicate that the Edisto Inlet preserves an expanded sedimentary record, which mainly consists of yearly to decennial diatom laminations. However, those projects had different scientific objectives from the detailed studies of diatom laminae proposed here. As such, the high-resolution analysis of those cores has never been attempted before partly because the detailed study of diatom laminae requires specific, complex and expensive techniques. We want to address our research to the detailed study of these records, not only studying the laminae sequences, but also investigating the oceanographic and geomorphobathymetry condition that lead to the deposition of such an expanded record. Also sediment cores collected in the continental shelf basins will be analysed to distinguish local climatic signals in the Edisto Inlet from the regional ones.

Objectives
The EDISTHO project aimed to: a) reconstruct the paleoclimate evolution of the Edisto Inlet region during the last 2000 years; b) discriminate between natural and anthropogenic forces on this variability; c) discriminate between local and regional forces on the record of climate variability registered in the Edisto Inlet sediments; d) create a geomorphological map of the Edisto Inlet using the multibeam data collected during past PNRA cruises; e) evaluate the influence of the seabottom geomorphology in the distribution of upwelling cells; f) analyse modern oceanographic data collected during past PNRA cruises, identifying surface water masses involved possibly in the water exchange in the Inlet and study the wind pattern to evaluate how these parameters influence modern upwelling and the formation of sea ice.

Project Partners
• Istituto Nazionale di Oceanografia e di Geofisica Sperimentale (Trieste, Italy)
• Università di Trieste, Dipartimento di Matematica e Geoscienze, (Trieste, Italy)
• Università di Genova, Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra dell'Ambiente e della Vita (Genova, Italy)

Main Publications
• T. Tesi, S.T. Belt, K. Gariboldi, F. Muschitiello, L. Smik, F. Finocchiaro, F. Giglio, E. Colizza, G. Gazzurra, P. Giordano, C. Morigi, L. Capotondi, A. Nogarotto, D. Koseo, A. Di Roberto, A. Gallerani, L. Langone. (2020) Resolving sea ice dynamics in the north-western Ross Sea during the last 2.6 ka: From seasonal to millennial timescales. Quaternary Science Reviews 237, 106299. DOI:10.1016/j.quascirev.2020.106299.
• L. Capotondi, S. Bonomo, G. Budillon, P. Giordano, L. Langone. (2020) Living and dead benthic foraminiferal distribution in two areas of the Ross Sea (Antarctica). Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze Fisiche e Naturali 31:1037–105. DOI:10.1007/s12210-020-00949-z.