This project aims to give a long-term picture of the effect of environmental parameters, as water availability, temperature and solar radiation, on rock and soil communities. Four remote-sensing stations have been installed in four ice-free sites of Victoria Land: Trio Nunatak, Richard Nunatak, Mount Bowen and Battleship Promontory. Research activities have been founded by Italian National Program for Antarctic Researches. Data are recorded at 120 min intervals and transmitted by a satellite system.
Monitoring activities will be accompanied by surveys of total biodiversity of the communities in the environments monitored. This will improve the general understanding of adaptation and evolution at the limits for life and will provide a tool for predicting the effect of possible climate change. The study will also supply a starting point for monitoring any possible change in the future.
