The icebreaker "Noosfera" has arrived at the Ukrainian Antarctic station "Akademik Vernadsky", delivering a seasonal Ukrainian expedition and, for the first time in history, a team of Mexican polar explorers for joint scientific research. This was reported by the National Antarctic Scientific Center, writes UNN.
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The vessel "Noosfera" made a five-day crossing from Punta Arenas in Chile, successfully traversing the Drake Passage. As geophysicist Yuriy Otruba noted, the journey went "like an ideal highway: no obstacles – only speed and space."
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The Ukrainian seasonal detachment included biologists, geologists, oceanographers, and technical specialists to carry out urgent repair work and set up new equipment.
A special feature of the voyage was the delivery of the First Mexican Antarctic Expedition. Four Mexican geologists, together with Ukrainian scientists, will collect rock samples both on land and from the bottom of the Southern Ocean. This work is necessary for the reconstruction of paleoclimatic and paleobiogeographical conditions. The cooperation became possible thanks to a Memorandum signed between NANC and the Mexican Agency for Antarctic Research (AMEA) this summer.
During the journey, "Noosfera" also provided important research. Ukrainian oceanographers for the first time launched multibeam echosounder systems to read the bottom surface at depths of up to 12 km with high resolution, which, according to scientists, are "eyes for our geological marine work."
The fifth Antarctic season of "Noosfera" began in mid-October, and the vessel has already delivered cargo to the Polish station "Arctowski". In the coming days, unloading of the vessel and the start of new scientific directions are planned at "Vernadsky".
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