IT17-Antarctica Research Station - Antarctica

The Ross Sea is one of the two main epicontinental seas of the Antarctic continent. It is characterized by an high medium depth (ca. 500m) and by inverse slope, in fact the maximum depths are located close to the continent while the lower near the continental slope. The waters primary productivity is controlled by seasonally ice that during austral winter cover all the area, inhibiting the passage of the light and therefore precluding productivity processes. The site is a multi-site observatory constituted by four mooring sites and and the Terra Nova Bay Macro Area.