Antarctica hides Earth’s history, says Turkish scientist

ISTANBUL

A scientist specializing in Arctic studies said research on Antarctica has shed light on global climate change as well as the Earth’s history.

Burcu Özsoy, a member of Istanbul Technical University’s Faculty of Maritime Studies and chairperson of the TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center’s Institute of Arctic Research, has been conducting studies on sea ice on the white continent.

Having been to Antarctica six times and taken charge in the four scientific expeditions Turkey has organized on the continent, she was awarded by the Turkish Academy of Sciences for her arctic studies.

With regard to the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Özsoy told about her studies on the pole.

Underlining that the poles are the regions where climate change can be monitored, Özsoy said more elements that trigger the climate are present on the poles, which makes the studies on these regions important.

She said information related to millions of years ago is hidden in the 4,000-meter-thick ice in Antarctica.

“You take a sample from 3,000 meters below, and it takes you 800,000 years back in time. The memory of the Earth’s past is hidden in it; formations, geological and atmospheric structures.”

“The biggest hole in the ozone layer is in Antarctica. On land with an area of 14 million square kilometers, only 1,000 scientists live. The polar regions are precious in climatic, economic and scientific terms,” she added.

Özsoy also noted that the number of women in the field of science is fewer than men.

“This is why we should be motivated more. I call on our young girls to stop telling themselves ‘I can’t do it, I can’t be a scientist,’ but rather do research, improve themselves, ask questions and contact scientists,” she said.

“We need to shed light on the world. I want our youth to be motivated and our young girls to question and contact us, the scientists. If they have role models, I have no doubt that they will be in better positions than we are.”