Research Activity in Ny-Ålesund 2011-2012

he National Research Council of Italy (CNR), since 1998, is continuing supporting and coordinating research projects and activities in the Arctic region, as part of the international community operating in Ny-Ålesund, one of the four permanent settlements in the island of Spitzbergen, in the Svalbard archipelago. In more recent years, the building and the implementation of the "Amundsen-Nobile Climate Change Tower" (CCT) has been a major benefit for the Italian scientific community. The CCT is located at Kolhaugen, just outside the Ny-Ålesund research village, at about 30 meters of altitude and it is 34 meters high. The tower is set up with several instruments to measure atmospheric physical parameters, greenhouse gases and micrometeorological parameters, and data are acquired and transmitted in real-time to CNR, Institute of Atmospheric Science and Climate (ISAC), Bologna. The CCT is part of the atmospheric monitoring system that involves instruments of different countries and is an important part of the ESFRI infrastructure Svalbard Integrated Observing System (SIOS), that is completing its preparatory phase. CNR is actually increasing research activities at Ny-Ålesund and recently started using the Gruvebadet building as a laboratory carrying out measurements of atmospheric chemistry, focusing on aerosol size and distribution; moreover, the research "Station Dirigibile Italia" (SDI) is being implemented to increase laboratory facilities and to improve internet connection capabilities, both local and remote. This report describes the activities performed at SDI during the years 2011-2012, with the coordination and support of CNR- Department of Earth System Science and Environmental Technologies (DTA), formerly Department Earth and Environment.