Man was only to first set sight on the Antarctic at the beginning of the last century. Surrounded by a thick screen of fog and stormy seas, this distant and terribly hostile continent, completely uninhabited and totally different from any other known lands, was presented to the public of the time as an unknown and awful world, characterized by superhuman limits. The extraordinary nature of this wonderful continent immediately gave rise to great interest. Its exploration has involved many heroic protagonists from several countries, all of whom managed to express the best human and technological energies of their times. Its particular outlines, so unusual compared to the rest of the planet, are still more or less unaltered, in spite of the fact that today it is possible to reach the great ice sheet in a few hours by air and that satellite images can provide detailed documents of the most hidden corners of the continent. Scientific interest in the oceans, atmosphere, forms of life and the ice of the Antarctic has remained unchanged, if anything, it has increased even more. Alimentary and energetic resources of great importance are preserved in the ocean and on the continent. The Earth's white heart is composed of an enormous mass of ice, which represents a rich reserve of uncontaminated fresh water, regulates the variations in sea level and conditions the climate on a world scale. Moreover, the Antarctic ice sheets have registered all the moments in the evolution of the climate and environment, covering a long period in the history of the planet. In these last few years, research on the continent of ice has attracted a growing number ofscientists from the international community. Italy contributes to this undertaking with the National Programme of Antarctic Research (P.N.RA.) which, since 1985, has made it possible for many Italian researchers to carry out scientific investigation on the continent of ice. An enormous amount of work has been done. A great amount of energy and effort were involved in the research and in the construction of the Italian base. In co-ordinating this volume, together with a travelling exhibition, I have tried to make a contribution to knowledge on the Antarctic for the general public. The various experiences of the Italian expeditions are contained in this book and have been kindly sent us by some of the researchers involved in Antarctica. A primary role has been given to the original photographs, those from historical archives, as well as the illustrations completing the scientific theses. There is also an article on life in the Antarctic and a description ofthe Italian base, built at TerraNova Bay, on the Ross Sea. A special chapter, briefly illustrating the activities carried out by the single sectors of research of the P.N.R.A., has been directly written by the relative co-ordinators or compiled on the basis of official documents placed at our disposal by the Antarctic Project.
Antartide. Il cuore bianco della Terra - Antarctica. The Earth's white Heart
BARONI, CARLO;
1991-01-01
Abstract
Man was only to first set sight on the Antarctic at the beginning of the last century. Surrounded by a thick screen of fog and stormy seas, this distant and terribly hostile continent, completely uninhabited and totally different from any other known lands, was presented to the public of the time as an unknown and awful world, characterized by superhuman limits. The extraordinary nature of this wonderful continent immediately gave rise to great interest. Its exploration has involved many heroic protagonists from several countries, all of whom managed to express the best human and technological energies of their times. Its particular outlines, so unusual compared to the rest of the planet, are still more or less unaltered, in spite of the fact that today it is possible to reach the great ice sheet in a few hours by air and that satellite images can provide detailed documents of the most hidden corners of the continent. Scientific interest in the oceans, atmosphere, forms of life and the ice of the Antarctic has remained unchanged, if anything, it has increased even more. Alimentary and energetic resources of great importance are preserved in the ocean and on the continent. The Earth's white heart is composed of an enormous mass of ice, which represents a rich reserve of uncontaminated fresh water, regulates the variations in sea level and conditions the climate on a world scale. Moreover, the Antarctic ice sheets have registered all the moments in the evolution of the climate and environment, covering a long period in the history of the planet. In these last few years, research on the continent of ice has attracted a growing number ofscientists from the international community. Italy contributes to this undertaking with the National Programme of Antarctic Research (P.N.RA.) which, since 1985, has made it possible for many Italian researchers to carry out scientific investigation on the continent of ice. An enormous amount of work has been done. A great amount of energy and effort were involved in the research and in the construction of the Italian base. In co-ordinating this volume, together with a travelling exhibition, I have tried to make a contribution to knowledge on the Antarctic for the general public. The various experiences of the Italian expeditions are contained in this book and have been kindly sent us by some of the researchers involved in Antarctica. A primary role has been given to the original photographs, those from historical archives, as well as the illustrations completing the scientific theses. There is also an article on life in the Antarctic and a description ofthe Italian base, built at TerraNova Bay, on the Ross Sea. A special chapter, briefly illustrating the activities carried out by the single sectors of research of the P.N.R.A., has been directly written by the relative co-ordinators or compiled on the basis of official documents placed at our disposal by the Antarctic Project.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
