(Jan. 9) It’s time for new discoveries brought to us by researchers from the University of Siena, who are on an expedition to the South Pole. They are sending the first pictures, news and results related to the geological mission starring Gianluca Cornamusini, Matteo Perotti, Sonia Sandroni and Franco Talarico. The Geologists left Italy on December 27 for the 30th Shipping of the Italian National Antarctic Research Program. All news are reported on a blog (http://geoantarctica.wordpress.com), including the first studies on the expedition, which will come to an end on February 5. On the Allan Hills, a mountainous relief at the limits of the endless eastern Antarctic plateau, the researchers stumbled upon the first interesting discovery: numerous fragments of silicified fossil trunks immersed in fluvial sandstones. “Many were charred on the side exposed to the surface and they were all lined up – writes Franco Talarico – other trunks were, however, completely charred.” According to Talarico, “the large amount of charred fossil trunks testifies, with great probability, the spread of huge fires that totally devastated the Triassic forest.” What triggered these fires? “The answers – explains the researcher – can be manifold. One possible explanation is that they were caused by volcanic eruptions; while a more intersting hypothesis that still needs to be verified is that the fires may have begun after the impact of an asteroid, which first knocked down trees in the forest orienting them on the same direction, and then burned the whole or exposed parts of the surface.” The blog dedicated to the geological expedition is updated from the Italian base Mario Zucchelli and the American McMurdo base at the foot of the Transantarctic Mountains, from which the group reaches the research areas using helicopters equipped with high resolution cameras. (Red)
