The Ukrainian icebreaker "Noosphere" for the first time delivered an expedition and cargo to the British Antarctic station "Rothera"
Kyiv • UNN
The vessel delivered 7 winterers and picked up 35 specialists from the British base. Scientists also conducted joint oceanographic research as part of the POLOMINTS project.
Ukraine is developing cooperation with the British Antarctic Survey (BAS). In particular, this season, the Ukrainian icebreaker "Noosfera" for the first time delivered an expedition and cargo to the largest British Antarctic station "Rothera". This was reported by the press service of the National Antarctic Scientific Center (NASC) on Facebook, writes UNN.
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It is noted that "Rothera" is located south of the Ukrainian station "Akademik Vernadsky", and the duration of the ship's passage between them is one day.
The British base operates year-round, with two types of expeditions working there - winter and seasonal. "Noosfera" delivered 7 future winterers to "Rothera" and took 35 specialists from the season and the previous year's team from there
Ukrainian polar explorers also informed that BAS has its own modern vessel "Sir David Attenborough", which serves all British polar stations: both Arctic and Antarctic. In addition, the ship provides various research in the ocean.
Given the significant distances between stations, BAS involves the ships of polar neighbors in servicing some of them... For Ukraine, logistical cooperation between BAS and NASC is important, as it strengthens the relations between our state and Great Britain, shows the value of shared use of polar infrastructure and mutual support in Antarctica
Ukrainian and British scientists also conducted new joint research from board the "Noosfera". In cooperation with the team of the international POLOMINTS project, they conducted oceanographic measurements and collected seawater samples. The results of these studies will be of great importance for understanding the impact of climate change on coastal Antarctica.
NASC added that the fifth Antarctic season of "Noosfera" is currently underway, in which cooperation with a number of countries is taking place. In addition to Great Britain, these are also Mexico, Colombia, Poland, the Czech Republic, and the USA.