The Arctic Marine Geophysical Campaign of the Alliance ship has begun, which this year includes the Coherent Localization and Detection (COLD), Northern Recognized Environmental Picture – Arctic Observation (NREP-ACO) and High North (HN) 23 exercises: cooperation between NATO, the Navy and the national and international scientific community aims to conduct research in the Arctic marine environment.
Alliance ship, left the port of La Spezia on May 17 and headed for the Norwegian port of Tromsø, from where the scientific campaign began. The mission, in a first phase, will involve the Norwegian Sea and then go beyond the Arctic Circle.
Together with the 44 members of the Alliance ship’s crew, led by frigate captain Federico Carleo, three scientific teams will also operate during the various phases of the intense research activity. The first two will be managed and coordinated by the NATO Center for Maritime Research and Experimentation in La Spezia, while the last exercise of the campaign – the High North 2023 – will be followed by the staff of the Italian Navy Hydrographic Institute.
The ship will sail the polar waters, characterized by the widespread presence of ice, and it is precisely in this peculiar environment that the researchers on board, with the support of the crew, will carry out measurements of the main physical parameters of the marine ecosystem, geochemical analysis, the speed of propagation of sound in water, bathy-thermographic surveys, bathymetry and meteorological surveys.
The impact of human activities in these remote locations will also be studied, also through the analysis of the presence of microplastics in water. Thus the commitment of the Italian Navy in terms of presence and scientific research in the Arctic Sea continues, ensuring a precious opportunity for national research in the sector.
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