site.btaPhysicist Tsvetan Parov Has Fulfilled Objectives in Antarctica

All the objectives that were set before the start of the project were fulfilled. We have a good thermodynamic picture of what is happening in the bowels of the glacier, physicist Tsvetan Parov told BTA about the results of his research activities in Antarctica. He measured the temperature interaction of air within the crevasses of the Perunika Glacier, located on the eastern side of Livingston Island. Temperatures of the deep zone of the glacier, the so-called zone of constant temperature, were measured. More air currents were detected and how the glacier reacted to them, Parov said.

A statistical correlation was made a few days ago, which shows that as solar activity increases, temperatures in the glacier drop slightly.

The information was entirely field-collected from the 15 sensors that were installed in the glacier's crevasses, the physicist said. Data were also collected from four other sensors, two located respectively outside the glacier and in the Bulgarian Antarctic base St. Kliment Ohridski. We have two weather stations at the base that also record what's happening outside, he said.

Bulgarians are among the first to have a chance to work inside the bowels of the Perunika Glacier, Parov said. This year we were also the first to reach the bottom of the glacier. It is a polished rock surface, the physicist explained.

"The fact is that in the last five years, the Perunika Glacier has progressively melted in its periphery. At the same time, satellite observations indicate that the ice in Antarctica is increasing. In the South Shetland Islands, ice is melting and disappearing in the Southern Ocean, but in the central part of the continent new amounts of ice are accumulating," said Parov.

He said that five years ago in the area of the glacier he stood on ice, and today in the same place - on stone. According to him, the melting of ice has a good side because it gives more scientists a chance to explore the newly discovered territories of Antarctica.

“If we repeat this study in a few years, we will be able to give a forecast of the glaciers' condition and whether there is a change in the temperature balances that we have now established,” said Parov.

Parov said he had an invitation from the Turkish Antarctic base, which is located south of the Bulgarian station. It will be interesting to compare their glaciers with ours, he said.

Antarctica is the finest zone on the planet. This zone responds first to global change. As a laboratory, Antarctica is a unique place to work and provides many opportunities for different types of sciences. All knowledge of the Ice continent can give an accurate forecast of the future of both glaciers and continents.

Before the start of the 32nd Bulgarian expedition to Antarctica, Parov presented his project in an interview with BTA.

Tsvetan Parov is a speleologist and a PhD student at the Space Research and Technology Institute at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS). He holds a master's degree in aerospace engineering. He is a physicist by education. Parov is a lecturer at the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy.

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During the 32nd Bulgarian expedition to Antarctica the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) published interviews with Antarctic researchers. The Bulgaria-Antarctica BTA's Log again provided coverage of the voyage of the Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii to Antarctica and back and its stay there, as it did during the 31st expedition between December 27, 2022 and May 2, 2023. Back then, only BTA had a correspondent, Daily News Editor Konstantin Karagyozov, who covered the 127-day expedition with text, video and photos during the entire voyage (including across the Atlantic in both directions) and throughout the stay in Antarctica. In June 2023, BTA published in Bulgarian and in English an issue of its LIK magazine "To Antarctica and Back under the Bulgarian Flag" dedicated to the historic expedition.

BTA has a National Press Club on board the ship and opened a National Press Club at the Bulgarian Antarctic Base on Livingston Island.