The team participating in the 8th National Antarctic Science Expedition, organized under the auspices of the Presidency, under the auspices of the Ministry of Industry and Technology and under the coordination of TÜBİTAK MAM Polar Research Institute, reached Istanbul after a long journey.
The Eighth National Antarctic Science Expedition, which started on January 27 in Istanbul, was completed on March 2. The expedition team of 24 people, including 20 Turkish scientists, 2 researchers from Spain, one each from Bulgaria and the United States of America, carried out their projects.
In the expedition where 7 institutions and 14 universities from Turkey were represented, Süleyman Ömür Budak, Ambassador of Turkey to Buenos Aires (Argentina), also participated in the expedition in order to make international cooperation sustainable and to emphasize the importance of our country to the poles by using science diplomacy effectively. Budak paid official visits to the scientific research stations of other countries on King George Island.
In addition, 3 Turkish researchers participated in the Antarctic science expeditions of Bulgaria, Ecuador and Colombia.
In addition, within the scope of the Polar Research Projects Competition call opened by TEKNOFEST TÜBİTAK BİDEB last year, 3 high school students, the winners of the competition, were included in our Antarctic team. For the second time, TÜBİTAK included high school students in the Antarctic expedition.
During the expedition, 22 different science projects were carried out in different fields ranging from glacier retreats to tides in the sea, from atmospheric conditions to microplastic measurements and geological structures on Horseshoe Island at 68 south latitude, where our temporary settlement is located in Antarctica.
In addition to scientific projects, the expedition also carried out maintenance and upkeep of the Turkish Scientific Research Camp on Horseshoe Island, and conducted various observations and measurements as part of long-term monitoring activities. Our GNSS and meteorological stations were maintained and work continued to develop bathymetry maps of Horseshoe Island and its surroundings.
