15 apr ’23
Press Coverage Polarquest2018
pAola catapano talks on radio deejay about her new book
Paola Catapano, a leading voice of the Polarquest 2018 expedition, joined Daniele Bossari in Radio Deejay show Il Boss del Weekend. They chat about the saling expedition to the Arctic, climate change and her new book, “Ottantesimo Parallelo: un’avventura tra scienza e ghiacci”, published by Salani.
The book tells the story of the adventurous Polarquest2018 scientific expedition, along the route on a sailboat toward the North Pole, searching for airship Italia.
But the Polarquest2018 journey wasn’t solely about revisiting history. It also carried out significant scientific research.
Paola shared some shocking findings:
The most unsettling moment was reaching 82 degrees and 07 minutes North. When we took a microplastic sample, we found visible plastic—plastic you could see with the naked eye— on the polar iceshelf, where nobody produces or consumes it!
She continued:
Another deeply troubling discovery was at Spiaggia degli Alpini, a beach rarely visited by humans, where we found tons of plastic waste, including barrels labeled ‘Do not discard in the environment’.
These revelations are just a glimpse of what Paola shares in her book and the interview, which you can listen to below (the interview is in Italian).

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