site.bta32nd Bulgarian Antarctic Expedition Continues Work on Research Projects

Scientists on board the Bulgarian naval research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii (RSV 421) continue to work on their scientific projects on Wednesday. Geologist Kalin Naydenov and mountaineers Doichin Boyanov and Kiril Doskov were able to take geological samples from rock outcrops in the Sopot Ice Piedmont, located near Half Moon Island.

Ichthyologist and hydrobiologist Prof. Eliza Uzunova collected a specialized microplastic trapping net that she had placed in the area around Half Moon Island. She explained the process of preserving the collected material. “We'll wash everything out of the net, strain it through a very fine sieve, and use a steel funnel to cast it into jars of alcohol to preserve it,” the ichthyologist said. He added that the collected ice and snow is stored in a special refrigerator at -20C. Uzunova also pointed out the method of water testing by filtration. “We cut the filter, put it in a medium for the bacteria to develop, and the bacteria themselves are seeded on Petri dishes,” she explained.

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During the 32nd Bulgarian expedition to Antarctica, which started on November 8, 2023, the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) is publishing video interviews with Antarctic researchers. Video journalist Emil Granicharov, Senior Editor at BTA, will document the work of the researchers in video diaries. BTA presents all scientific projects with videos, photos and texts prepared before the scientists' departure.

The Bulgaria-Antarctica BTA's Log again provides 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. 

All of BTA's information on the Bulgarian scientific research in Antarctica and the support provided by the Bulgarian naval research vessel, as well as on the other activities at the Bulgarian Antarctic Base, will be available to all media outlets in Bulgarian and in English on BTA's website in the Bulgaria - Antarctica: BTA's Log section.

BTA has a National Press Club on board the ship and is planning to open a National Press Club at the Bulgarian Antarctic Base on Livingston Island.