The National Research Council (CNR), Italy

The National Research Council (CNR) is the largest public research institution in Italy. CNR’s mission is to perform research in its own Institutes, to promote innovation and competitiveness of the national industrial system, to promote the internationalization of the national research system, to provide technologies and solutions to emerging public and private needs, to advice Government and other public bodies, and to contribute to the qualification of human resources. 

In 1997 the CNR established the Dirigibile Italia in Ny-Ålesund to contribute to the comprehension of the environment and of the climate system in the arctic region and complement research carried out by other international research groups.

The CNR has a key function in Ny-Ålesund in that it assesses, accepts and hosts projects proposed by researchers from Italy and provides assistance to projects supported by Transnational Access Programs. CNR, through Dirigibile Italia offers opportunity to develop the potential of Italian research and increase the know-how of the complex processes and interactions between the different components of the climate system such as atmosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere. 

In 2019 CNR has created the Institute of Polar Science (CNR-ISP) to increase the quality of scientific and technological research carried out by Italy in the polar regions. CNR-ISP aims to implement national research programs in polar regions, in the framework of international cooperation and coordination, with particular reference to the strategies of the European Community. Finally ISP wants to reinforce the research platform built through Dirigibile Italia.

Key elements of such platform are the 32 m high Amundsen-Nobile Climate Change Tower (CCT), that hosts instruments to investigate energy budget in the surface layer, characterize the dynamics and fluxes (heat, momentum, chemicals) at the air-land interface, and the Gruvebadet Aerosol Laboratory (GAL) where aerosol and atmospheric constituents are continuously monitored. The third element of the Italian scientific platform is the Mooring Dirigibile Italia (MDI) deployed in the Kongsfjorden to monitor all year long the characteristics of sea water as well as study the marine sediments. 

The Dirigibile Italia is managed by the Institute of Polar Sciences and has been permanently manned since 2018. 

Websites
CNR: https://www.cnr.it/en
ISP (Institute of Polar Sciences):
https://www.isp.cnr.it/index.php/en/

NySMAC representative
Mauro Mazzola
mauro.mazzola@cnr.it 

Contact
Mauro Mazzola
mauro.mazzola@cnr.it

Location in Ny-Ålesund

• Dirigibile Italia
• Climate Change Tower (CCT)
• Gruvebadet Aerosol Laboratory

Ny-Ålesund on-site staff
stationleader.arctic@cnr.it
(+47) 7902 6850

Looking for additional information?
Please visit the web sites of the Dirigibile Italia Arctic Station and The Italian Arctic Data Centre