Museological and petrographic characterization of the rocks collection sampled during the “Polar Star” scientific expedition

Abstract

The “Stella Polare” collection includes the rock samples collected during the expedition organized to reach the North Pole in the winter of 1899-1900 by the Italian explorer Luigi Amedeo di Savoia, better known as the “Duca degli Abruzzi”. The collection is currently stored at the Museo Regionale di Scienze Naturali di Torino and belongs to the series of mineralogical-lithological collections owned by the University of Turin. It mainly consists of samples of effusive magmatic rocks, such as tholeiitic basalts, basaltic andesites and sub-intrusive rocks, such as dolerites. In the collection also occur sedimentary rocks (sandstones, siltstones, jasper), high grade metamorphic rocks (granulites) and a good number of mineral samples (quartz, opal, chalcedony, calcite and zeolites). The rediscovery and study of petrographic finds from such remote areas made it possible to enhance this collection from a historical, scientific and ostensive point of view.

Keywords

• Duca degli Abruzzi
• Franz Josef Land archipelago
• historic rock collection
• Stella Polare Expedition

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Data Availability Statement

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