site.btaFlag of Technical University of Sofia Flies at Bulgarian Antarctic Base on Livingston Island

Telecommunication engineer Ivaylo Nachev from the Technical University of Sofia raised the flag of his university at the Bulgarian Antarctic Base St. Kliment Ohridski on Livingston Island. Nachev is part of the 33rd Bulgarian Antarctic expedition, which aims to complete more than 25 research projects, the university reported on Tuesday.

Nachev installed scientific and measurement equipment on Livingston that was designed and manufactured in the Department of Radio Communications and Video Technologies at the Technical University. The equipment will be used to carry out radio observations of the sun as part of a joint project entitled "Impact of Solar Activity on Ionospheric Dynamics and High-Energy Particle Fluxes over Antarctica" that involves the Technical University, the Institute of Astronomy and National Astronomical Observatory with the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, and the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy.

In 2025, the sun is expected to be at its maximum relative to the current solar cycle. The associated phenomena could trigger geomagnetic storms that could impact satellite and radio communications, as well as the Earth's electrical grid. Observing solar processes during this period can help to form inferences about changes in the future solar cycle, as well as to establish links between events on Earth related to solar activity.

The monitoring system has high sensitivity equipment, including a sensor operating in the Hertzian range (20-25 kHz) and a log-periodic antenna for high frequencies (50-1000 MHz). The advantage of deploying this type of equipment in the polar region is related to the possibility of continuous observation of the sun - for more than 20 hours at a time during the polar day.

CR-39 sheets have been placed on the premises of the base to detect cosmic particles, including alpha particles, neutrons, as well as gamma- and X-rays. Analyzing the sheets under microscope afterwards helps to draw conclusions about the radiation background around the base.

Radio-frequency observations of the sun provide information on coronal mass ejections, solar flares and magnetic waves that affect space weather. The analysis of these data will allow a better understanding of the processes of solar-terrestrial dynamics, the relationship between the Earth's magnetic field, seismological processes and changes in the ionosphere caused by or associated with solar activity.

The RSV 421 departed from Varna on its third Antarctic expedition on November 7, 2024, and arrived at Livingston Island on December 28. The St Kliment Ohridski Bulgarian Antarctic Base on Livingston Island opened for the new polar season on November 23, 2024.

BTA has a national press club on the vessel and at the Bulgarian Antarctic base. This is the third year in a row that BTA has sent a correspondent to Antarctica. This year's correspondent is Milena Ostrovska, who arrived at the base on January 17. Her reports can be accessed free in English at Bulgaria-Antarctica BTA's Log on BTA's website and can be used for free by all media with attribution to BTA.