PolarQuest 2018: tracking History and hunting cosmic rays
Nanuq, the self-sufficient experimental sailboat of the scientific expedition PolarQuest 2018, is about to cast off for a long journey. The expedition aims to bringing together scientific research and communication on several relevant phenomena involving the Arctic environment. It will take onboard an international team of scientists and communication experts.
Nanuq, which means polar bear in Inuktitut, is a 60-foot vessel designed by the Swiss architect and scientist Peter Gallinelli around passive-architecture criteria. This designing approach allows to operate in high energetic efficiency conditions with limited environmental impact.
Several research programmes are scheduled to be conducted until end of August:
- PolarquEEEst (Extrem Energy Events) Cosmic Explorer- An unprecedented programme for the measurement and study of cosmic rays at polar latitudes, with a detector developed at CERN in Geneva by the Enrico Fermi Centre Rome, in collaboration with the INFN (National Institute for Nuclear Physics), as well as with the participation of school students from Norway, Switzerland and Italy;
- Nanuq-MANTANET-Microplastics sampling programme at sea, for the first time
above 80 ° N, with a MANTANET sampling net, under the scientific responsibility of ISMAR-CNR Lerici (IT); - AURORA – Geographical observation programme with consumer-level drones from the North coast of Spitsbergen Island and the coasts of Nordaustlandet, defined by the Geographic Research and Application Laboratory (GREAL) of the European University of Rome and Società Geografica Italiana;
- Arco di Nobile – Experimentation of a new multi-beamer sonar developed by the Norwegian company NORBIT Subsea for the very detailed three-dimensional scanning of the seabed (as yet uncharted) in the area of maximum probability of the airship ITALIA crash in 1928, first targeted attempt at finding the wreckage of the missing airship. An important historical-geographical component will be the identification of certain areas (towards Nordaustlandet) where it is believed that remains of rescue missions on foot can be found, which in 1928-1929 set off in search of the ITALIA airship.
Nanuq will depart on 21 July from Iceland and will reach Svalbard (an archipelago within the Arctic Circle) for a technical stopover in early August. On 4 August, the vessel will leave the port of Longyearbyen and will attempt the circumnavigation of the islands, with a brief call to the scientific base of Ny Aalesund and several observation landings on the northern shores of Nordaustlandet. In the second half of August, if the ice conditions will allow, Nanuq will move towards the North, in the open sea, for a visit in the area were the exploration airship ITALIA was lost in 1928.
After a further stop in Longyearbyen the boat will depart again on 25 August towards Tromsø, in Norway, final destination of her journey. During the expedition, Nanuq’s international crew will constantly include 10 members (with turnovers along the route), 4 in charge of the navigation and 6 in charge of research and communication activities.
Follow the expedition on the PolarQuest 2018 website and on the social media.
- http://www.polarquest2018.org/
- https://twitter.com/Polarquest2018
- https://www.facebook.com/Polarquest2018/
