The team participating in the 9th National Antarctic Science Expedition, which was organized under the auspices of the Presidency of the Republic, under the auspices of the Ministry of Industry and Technology and under the coordination of the TÜBİTAK MAM Polar Research Institute, returned home after a 34-day journey. After leaving Istanbul Airport on February 6, the team reached Antarctica after a 60-hour long journey via Brazil and Chile, and arrived in Turkey using the same route.
After completing their work on Horseshoe Island, the scientific delegation finished the maintenance and upkeep of the fixed Global Positioning Satellite System (GNSS) station on Dismal Island, one of Turkey's first stations established outside its borders. The participants then sailed on a stormy, wavy and snowy voyage from Adelaide Island through the Grandidier Channel, Penola Strait and Le marie channels to Deception Island and then to King George Island. The scientific team had to wait for the weather conditions to turn favorable on the Chilean flagged Betanzos, which was their habitat for a month as flights could not be made due to weather conditions. During the waiting period, the team spent time chatting and helping each other with the final preparations for their projects and the preservation of their samples. The 20-member team, which was sent off to the White Continent with a ceremony attended by Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır, first flew from King George Island to Punta Arenas, Chile. The delegation arrived in Istanbul after a 14,700-kilometer journey. The science team participating in the expedition was welcomed by officials and relatives at Istanbul Airport. The team returned from Antarctica and longed for their relatives. It was also seen that some families brought their pets for the welcome.
Work was carried out under 5 main headings and 19 projects
This year, the science team continued its work under the "National Polar Science Strategy" within the framework of 5 main topics that are of national and international importance and prioritized as priority scientific themes. Within the scope of the strategy, 19 different projects were carried out under the themes of "global climate change", "threatened ecosystems", "anthropogenic impacts and social systems", "looking from the past to the future" and "looking into space", aiming to "maximize the public benefit and all stakeholders in the polar ecosystem by identifying research priorities at the general thematic and intermediate subject level in 2023-2035". On Horseshoe Island, where Turkey's scientific research camp is located, the team, including 4 foreign researchers, carried out studies on the production of new bathymetry maps, collection of data from newly established near space observation stations and geodesic stations, space observations, environment, pollution and research of living life, meteorological measurements and aquatic ecosystems.
