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).
More News & Events
Un nouveau bateau dans la Fleet4Science
Polarquest rencontre à La Rochelle Vladimir Charles à bord du 33 Export, le mythique voilier de la course au large française.
From the Higgs Boson to UN Plastic Pollution Negotiations
Read Paola Catapano’s article published on Societa’ Italiana di Fisica (SIF) Prima Pagina on how artificial intelligence techniques, originally developed for Higgs boson data analysis at CERN, are now being employed to accelerate global plastic pollution negotiations spearheaded by the United Nations.
CERN technology showcased in context of UN Plastic Treaty discussions
AI data analysis techniques developed at CERN were showcased during a side event of INC-5.2.
UN Plastic Treaty INC-5.2 – Side Event
The Polarquest Association, in partnership with CERN’s project Edge spAIce, organises a side event of the UN Plastic Treaty INC-5.2 at CERN’s Ideasquare and online to show how citizen science, supported by novel AI techniques, can help combat global plastic pollution.
The fight against plastic bags in Africa
Andrea Micozzi, a master’s student in theoretical physics at Sapienza University and contributor to Treccani, writes from Tanzania about the continent’s leading role in the fight against plastic waste—and what it reveals about our own habits.
BioBlitz activity report
On May 23, 2025, three vessels of the newly formed Fleet4Science teamed up with the Department of Environmental and Earth Sciences of the University of Milano-Bicocca to take part in the Spot-The-Monk campaign—an effort to monitor the elusive Mediterranean monk seal through environmental DNA (eDNA) sampling. This collaborative operation brought together marine biologists, sailboat owners, young students, and passionate science communicators in a unique blend of research, adventure, and public engagement.