Researchers Pier Paolo Giacomoni, Irene Rocchi and Alice Tomassini from the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Pisa have recently returned from Antarctica. They spent almost a month on the Antarctic continent as part of the 41st Italian Antarctic Expedition, together with Samuele Agostini from the Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources of the CNR.
The expedition was carried out within the framework of the VolCA project, coordinated by Sergio Rocchi. Alongside the Department of Earth Sciences at the University of Pisa and the CNR Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources, the project also involves the Department of Physics and Geology of the University of Perugia and the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV) in Pisa.
The main objective of the mission was to sample Cenozoic volcanic rocks, a crucial step in understanding how variations in ice-sheet thickness have influenced the timing, dynamics and mechanisms of volcanic eruptions in the volcanic centres of Northern Victoria Land.
In this region, cycles of ice thickening and thinning alter the pressure exerted on the Earth’s crust, with direct effects on the ascent of magma from depth and on the frequency of volcanic eruptions.
Analysing the collected samples will allow us to investigate potential changes in mantle magmatic productivity and in the pathways through which magma rises through the crust to the surface. This will help us to understand the relationship between glacial cycles and volcanic processes.
