In the centennial year of the Republic of Turkey, the Seventh National Antarctic Science Expedition (TAE VII) was successfully completed between January 30 and March 4, 2023 under the auspices of the Presidency of the Republic of Turkey, under the auspices of the Ministry of Industry and Technology, under the coordination of the TÜBİTAK MAM Polar Research Institute and under the expedition coordinatorship of Prof. Dr. Burcu Özsoy.
The 19-member research team, which took part in the field work of the expedition, started from Istanbul Airport, first to the South American Continent and then to King George Island in the northernmost part of the Antarctic Continent, traveling approximately 15 thousand kilometers by 4 different planes. After arriving at the island, the team boarded the 80-meter Betanzos ship and sailed on the western shores of the Antarctic Peninsula in the Southern Ocean until March 2. In addition to the studies conducted at the Turkish Scientific Research Camp on Horseshoe Island, the team also conducted scientific studies on Dismal Island and King George Island. The team, which also visited different regions such as Livingston and Greenwich islands, visited a total of 8 different foreign science stations and carried out studies within the scope of bilateral cooperation.
During the expedition, the team had the opportunity to work at an average temperature of 0 degrees during the day and collected different data on many research topics, especially global climate change. At the beginning of the expedition, the Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey in Santiago and the Expedition Coordinator accompanied the team to Antarctica and played an important role in promoting our country's polar studies to the world and increasing bilateral cooperation by making international contacts. In addition, for the first time this year, three students of the winning team of the 2204-C High School Students Polar Research Projects competition also participated in the expedition and had the opportunity to implement their projects in Antarctica.
The 4 automatic data stations consisting of GNSS (Positioning System) and meteorology on the continent were also maintained and prepared for winter conditions. The 3-module Turkish Scientific Research Camp was also maintained and new solar panels were connected to one module. During the expedition, many researches ranging from earth sciences to life sciences, from physical sciences to social-humanities were carried out within the scope of 18 projects. Many scientific samples such as ice, water, snow, rocks, mosses, lichens, etc. taken from the continent were brought to research laboratories in Turkey for examination.
