Icebreaker “Noosfera” begins fourth Antarctic season
13.12.2024 - 13:41
On the evening of December 12, the icebreaker “Noosfera” set off from Cape Town (South Africa) for Antarctica.
This is the fourth Antarctic season for the icebreaker under the Ukrainian flag, the National Antarctic Research Center reported.
The vessel is led by experienced captain Pavlo Panasyuk. Currently, the “Noosfera” is on a long journey through the Atlantic and Southern Oceans. The vessel is expected to reach the Ukrainian station before the New Year.
“This season, “Noosfera” will cooperate even more actively with Antarctic programs of other countries. For the fourth time in a row, the icebreaker will provide rotation of Polish polar explorers and deliver cargo to the Polish Antarctic station Artstowski, which is located on King George Island,” the research center said.
The Ukrainian vessel was also selected by the US National Science Foundation to conduct marine research in the waters of the Southern Ocean around the American Palmer Station.
In cooperation with Spain, “Noosfera” will provide research and cargo delivery for the Gabriel de Castilla station, located on Deception Island. On the same voyage, Ukrainian scientists will perform a number of joint works with the Czech Antarctic Expedition.
Research is also planned under two projects within the Horizon Europe program:
— OCEAN:ICE – oceanographic studies of currents in the Bransfield Strait;
— EXPLORA – selection of samples of marine bacteria for their further cultivation and search for useful properties.
It should be noted that at the end of the fourth season, the icebreaker will traditionally provide a change of annual Ukrainian Antarctic expeditions.
Read also: The “Noosfera” icebreaker has traveled over 72 thousand kilometers in three years.
