The return to Barbagia after a year of intense mission in one of the most remote places on the planet, in a continuous challenge with oneself, to support research and thus, the future of humanity.
For the CNR meteorologist Mario Lecca (40 years old) and the INAF electronic engineer Marco Buttu (46), the return to their homes in Austis and Gavoi, just before Christmas, after months spent at the Concordia base in Antarctica.
A program beyond all limits, that of the two researchers together with 11 other Italian-French companions, in the mission promoted by the National Research Program in Antarctica (Pnra) and financed by the Ministry of University and Research, with the logistical management of the Ministerial Agency for Energy (Enea).
Last November 14th, for Lecca and Buttu the departure from Concordia to the Zucchelli base, from where an Air Force C130, took the team to New Zealand. Here a few days to recharge the batteries, until the departure for Sardinia.
"It was a unique experience," comments Mario Lecca, as he reels off months of study and climate experiments: "Returning to civilization after a long isolation and four months of darkness was the most difficult part. I feel privileged, not only are scientific and academic requirements necessary but also psycho-physical ones, assessed through tough tests before departure."
Lecca proudly reiterates this, claiming that in Antarctica he found not only "a place for reflection", but also "an open-air laboratory to learn more about the planet". For the meteorologist, who has been working for the CNR in Genoa for years, it is a daily routine analyzing ice crystals, solar radiation and the atmosphere: "Since our arrival", says Lecca, "we have collected several ice samples that we have sent to Italy. They will help us reconstruct our climate history up to a million and a half years ago, allowing us to also address climate change. The atmospheric particles, on the other hand, have highlighted a great deal of pollution from South Africa and South America, which we hope can be addressed".
Hence the look at the future that Lecca imagines in Sardinia: «I left the island as a boy», says the researcher, « I would like to return and work in some important research institution, training the new generations with the wealth of experience acquired. For now, I exclude a return to Antarctica».
And Marco Buttu, on his third expedition to Concordia, also draws a positive balance: «Antarctica is now like home», comments the researcher from Gavoi: « The return to Gavoi did not test me, on the contrary I immediately got moving to conclude the projects started some time ago, including a book with Mondadori and other works, including a novel».
Even for Buttu, a routine outside the normal canons, working between the seismological observatory and the geomagnetic monitoring systems: "It was not easy to be able to operate with prohibitive temperatures, but also this time I tried to be ready. The studies carried out, including those on the most intense solar activity, recorded in recent months, will be very useful for our future".
And Buttu certainly doesn't want to stop: "After a few days in Gavoi I'm traveling again to discover new cultures. In the spring I'll be back at work at Inaf, ready to give my support to science." Returning to Antarctica?: "Now I'll have to stop for two years," he laughs, "then I'll make some assessments: nothing is excluded."