site.btaNew Scientific Projects to Be Launched during Next Bulgarian Antarctic Expedition

New scientific projects will be launched during the next, 33rd Bulgarian Antarctic Expedition, which will hopefully start by the end of 2024, said Prof. Christo Pimpirev, head of the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute. He was here on Wednesday to take part in the official welcome ceremony for the Bulgarian naval research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421), which returned to Varna from the 32nd expedition to Antarctica.

A competition will be announced for the forthcoming research projects, and any Bulgarian scientist will be able to apply for the opportunity to do research in Antarctica, Prof Pimpirev specified.

During the 32nd Bulgarian Antarctic Expedition, work was done on 12 projects, many of which with international participation. Within one of the projects, Bulgarian scientists together with a British colleague researched the presence of microplastics in the organisms in Antarctica. The data indicate that there are microplastics even there, Prof Pimpirev said.

Also during the latest expedition, a laboratory was set up on Livingston Island, where the Bulgarian Antarctic base is located. "We built it in such a way that one will be able to work there in the next century as well," Prof Pimpirev said. The laboratory will be connected to the water and electricity supply during the next expedition. Many scientists from across the globe are interested in working there, he added.