Turkish scientists start 8th Antarctic expedition

ISTANBUL

A group of Turkish scientists has embarked on the eighth Antarctic expedition from Istanbul.

The team, consisting of a 20-member scientific delegation and three high school students, will first set off for Sao Paulo, Brazil, and reach Antarctica's King George Island after a long journey.

Professor Dr. Burcu Özsoy, the director of the Polar Research Institute of the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TÜBİTAK) and the coordinator of the eighth National Antarctic Scientific Expedition, said that they are ready for the expedition as a team, in her statement at the airport before departure.

Explaining that the team includes people who work in different institutions to conduct scientific research, Özsoy said, "Three high school students who won the Polar Research Projects Competition opened by Teknofest last year have joined our Antarctic team this year, in addition to our team of 20 people. A long journey awaits our team, we plan to arrive in Antarctica in three days."

"We have 22 different scientific projects planned. The weather conditions in Antarctica are very important for the realization of these projects. We plan to complete our studies of geological structures, from glacial retreat on Horseshoe Island, where our temporary campus in Antarctica is located, to ocean tides, from atmospheric conditions to microplastic measurements," she said.

She emphasized that they were able to make measurements at the temporary station with the equipment they developed for Antarctica, which was developed with domestic resources, not brought from abroad, and was much cheaper, and that they also had equipment developed for this topic to test there.

Noting that the three high school students in the team will try on an outfit they developed themselves, Özsoy said, "They won first place in the Teknofest competition with this outfit they designed. They will try this outfit in Antarctic conditions. They have placed sensors that can measure body temperature and all human details on this outfit."

Özsoy emphasized that the team will include a total of four international researchers — two from Spain, and one each from the U.S. and Bulgaria — and that Turkish Ambassador to Chile Gülcan Akoğuz will pay a diplomatic visit to the team at the beginning of the expedition.

Noting that the team also includes a participant from TÜBİTAK Science and Society Directorate (BİTO), Özsoy said, "The social gatherings of society where extreme activities such as those in Antarctica are carried out are very important for us. Our participating researchers from BİTO will convey our work to society.”