A Bulgarian polar expedition will explore the Ice Continent for the 33rd time

The 33rd Bulgarian polar expedition is heading to Antarctica to continue its scientific research in cooperation with scientists from different countries. For the first time, travelers from two Balkan countries - Greece and Montenegro, as well as from the United Arab Emirates - are on board the Bulgarian research ship "St. St. Cyril and Methodius".

Greek scientists will be part of the Bulgarian Antarctic expedition for the first time

"We are in great demand for scientific research, which comes to show that we, the Bulgarians, are well ahead in the study of the Ice Continent. In addition to the Antarctic map, we are already on the map with the seas and oceans," says Prof. Hristo Pimpirev, head of the national scientific expeditions and director of the National Center for Polar Research.

Bulgaria, together with 28 countries, governs one tenth of our planet occupied by the southernmost continent - Antarctica. Each of these countries annually invests hundreds of millions of dollars to study this vast land, protected by the consumerist and often conquering spirit of modern society. Based on the so-called Antarctic Treaty that has no analogue in the world, they govern in agreement and cooperation an entire continent rich in natural resources and minerals.

The Bulgarian research ship Sts. Cyril and Methodius

The first group of the 33rd Bulgarian Antarctic Expedition will leave Sofia on November 8, and a day earlier the ship "St. St. Cyril and Methodius" left Varna with two scientists on board who will stay until its return on April 14, Prof. Hristo Pimpirev told Radio Bulgaria:

Prof. Hristo Pimpirev, head of the Bulgarian Antarctic expedition

"The arrival in the Argentine city of Ushuaia will take place before Christmas, when the main group of Bulgarian Antarctic explorers will board the ship. We have a very ambitious program and part of it is the completion of the scientific laboratory, which was built entirely as a facility by the members of the previous expedition. It is to be connected to the water supply, sewage and purification installations, its internal walls need to be completed, the laboratories need to be installed. Of course, the Antarctic base must also be put into operation, since in the dark and cold winter we have no polar explorers on site."

For the first time, the Bulgarian researchers will study the solar activity on the Ice Continent, which is very strong, because there is an ozone hole over Antarctica.

"This is the first such scientific project related to the high atmosphere and outer space", adds the head of the expedition. "We also have a biology project that will study the fish. It turns out that many parasites are observed in them, although they live in this cleanest water on Earth. We will also explore the mineral resources around the Bulgarian polar base in West Antarctica, as it is very rich in minerals."

As part of the artistic projects, Marina Velikova, music editor at the Bulgarian National Radio, will once again record the sounds of Antarctica. She will also photograph the scientists in the expedition to show their faces in a photo exhibition. A film crew will make a full-length documentary for National Geographic.

Of course, climate change is invariably the focus of scientific research. An example of its consequences was recently given by the devastating flood in Valencia, which claimed more than 200 human lives. And Antarctica is by no means that remote oasis that we pay attention to mainly because of the expeditions of our scientists - the poles of the continent turn out to be the engine of this phenomenon that threatens the whole world.

"The connection is inextricable, since the climate system is common to the whole planet Earth", says Hristo Pimpirev. "What happens in Antarctica affects the rest of our planet and vice versa. Populated territories mainly pollute the atmosphere, and it is dynamic and continuously circulates the globe. So the floods in Spain are precisely the result of climate change - it is not normal for so many people to die in a highly developed European country from such a natural disaster."

Antarctica is the engine of climate change

However, do we learn our lessons so that it is not too late?

"We have to look at how we pollute the environment and especially the atmosphere through fossil fuels", answers the polar researcher. "The big polluters are China and India, South Africa, Indonesia, Asian countries, but the other countries are not far behind. We say: "People they will lose their jobs with the closing of the Maritsa east coal-mining and coal-fired power plants but the fact that we may be hit by a downpour, in which hundreds will die, because the atmosphere takes revenge on us, no one pays attention to."

Life on Antarctica is the life of the future, believes Prof. Hristo Pimpirev. And he gives examples - on the Ice Continent, people live simply, soulfully, with love and they help each other. Perhaps the awe-inspiring natural environment unlocks those feelings of understanding and empathy so unattainable in the rest of the world.

"On Antarctica, there is no money, no banks, no envy, no dirty tricks, no viruses", continues the scientist. "People live as friends - it's just that there is a life of its own because you are very separated from the rest of the world with an inhospitable Southern Ocean, whose temperature is zero degrees throughout the year. Antarctica is like an entirely different planet - it is the White Mars in contrast to the red planet Mars. On both the lowest temperatures reach minus 89 degrees Celsius. Both of them represent a sheer wasteland, and the animal world is concentrated only in the coastal areas and is connected to the ocean. So there's no need to go to another planet when here on Earth we have Antarctica."

Cooperation in the harsh conditions of the Ice Continent is extremely important, all the more so since this scientific research affects the future of all humanity. An example of such empathy is the hospitality that the Bulgarian base will provide to scientists from over seven countries.

"Antarctica is extremely rich in natural resources", explains Hristo Pimpirev. "And these resources, thanks to which we have mobile phones, cars, airplanes, ships, are extracted from the bowels of the earth. But on the other continents, they run out - if there is no tin, niobium, lithium, we will have to part with all that and get back on horses. So Antarctica will inevitably be affected by the minerals being extracted if we want to make progress. And if we want to go back to the caves, we won't use them."

The nature, the scientific research, the contribution not only to Bulgaria, but also to the rest of the world - all this brings back the scientist to the Ice Continent year after year. He recalls the story of the French polar explorer Jean-Baptiste Charcot, who at the beginning of the 20th century christened his ship Pourquoi pas ("Why not"), responding to people's curiosity about what drove him to this wild continent.

"It is precisely the human desire for the new, for the unknown that has pushed us to reach this point - to set foot on the moon and explore other planets. Otherwise, we would be still sitting comfortably in the cave, where the fire would burn and we would not go outside to be eaten by the beasts. It's so clear - we study it because it's there, because it exists," says Hristo Pimpirev.

The spirit of Antarctica is free, says the researcher. "This is the most important thing we have - freedom and love between people."

English publication: Rositsa Petkova