A Polar Base Engineer Believes One Can Learn More about Overall Picture of Global Climate Changes by Studying Glaciers

 Having worked as an engineer at the Bulgarian Antarctic Base for five years, Peter Sapundzhiev believes that one can learn more about the overall picture of global climate changes by studying glaciers. He spoke to BTA as he is preparing for the 32nd Bulgarian Antarctic expedition. He will spend in our polar base some two months and hopes that this time will be enough to do the work planned for his scientific projects.

His projects for the upcoming expeditions

“During the upcoming expedition, I will be involved in two projects. One is related to providing a reliable infrastructure for the operation of our scientific equipment at the polar base. That involved ensuring solar power for the equipment we leave running when we are not there,” he said. 

Again, the project includes designing and installing a system that is specifically geared to the task of monitoring the amount of solar energy that hits a given area, at different angles.

"We expect this system to work for years. We will get the first dataset a year from now. Once we get this dataset, we will analyze the amount of solar energy we have every hour. With this information, we can very precisely design our solar power sets. That is, when we know how much energy our solar system receives, we can mathematically determine what its condition will be, and how we need to optimize it so that it works during the dark days, which get longer in winter. In the Antarctic winter there are only two - three hours of light a day. With accurate information about the distribution of this light over time, we can design and optimize our instruments,'' the scientist said.

About the Bulgarian polar base

Petar Sapundzhiev explained that the Bulgarian Antarctic base is seasonal. “It works only in the summer - the Antarctic summer. When it ends, the scientists leave and the Antarctic winter comes. Winter is extremely challenging for any electronics we leave running there and the equipment we use to do our research. Making sure our equipment runs reliably is very important for our base - and for all bases,'' he explained. 

During their stay, which is usually in the order of weeks, to two months at the most, Sapundzhiev and his team can collect the necessary data. Then they leave the island and after a year they have a body of data that serves to confirm the reliable operation of the system.

The second project

The second project that Peter Sapundzhiev and his team will be working on is related to the study of glacier movement. “Glaciers are an extremely delicate ecosystem. The study of glaciers is a major interest and task for polar researchers because, as a delicate ecosystem, all kinds of global and local processes and changes affect their condition,'' the scientist explained. 

This project is supported by the America for Bulgaria Foundation and the Beautiful Science Foundation under the Science with a Future 2023 programme.

"By studying glaciers, we can make assumptions about the much bigger picture of global climate change. The state of glaciers and their movement, their dynamics, are studied by multiple methods. What I will do is set up an automatic photo system that will work for years and take sequences of shots of certain structures in the glacier. These shots will then undergo all sorts of processing. By extracting information from them, we can make conclusions about movement speeds, about different zones - how they move relative to each other; inferences can be made about the topography under glaciers, and a host of other parameters,'' Sapundzhiev said.
 
“Our main task is to develop this system, to have it ready and operable, to go to a chosen location near the base and set it up and start it so it can collect the datasets that we need for our research. It's a big challenge to build a system that will work reliably for years in the harsh conditions of Antarctica,'' the scientist said.

The project teams

For both project, Sapundzhiev works in teams. He is the project leader but for their project implementation he relies on fellow geophysicists and engineers. "In the base itself, we work together: engineers, mechanics. All tasks are performed by a team," he said.

Expected challenges

He expects challenges from two directions. One is landscape. "If you have seen videos and pictures, the landscape there is snowy and rocky. First, we get to where we need to set up our equipment, by snowmobile or walking with skis. Everything is carried by hand, or rather on our backs - in backpacks we carry the equipment, the batteries, the tools we use. For everything we do, we have in mind the terrain. We prepare our structures as much as possible, the connections between the different systems, so that only the necessary field work remains. Then we load them into sleds and backpacks,'' he said.

The second challenge is the weather. "There are often fierce winds. It is almost always raining, snowing or wet. We have learned to always take that into account, but the equipment has to be suited to those conditions as well. For example, if we set about installing some equipment and it starts snowing, and we have to open an air-tight box or a waterproof case to adjust the electronics, that would destroy it, because every time we open it, if it fills up with snow, then there's no way to dry it out. This requires very careful planning,'' Sapundzhiev said.

Necessary equipment

"Before each project, we discuss in detail with all members of the expedition's logistics staff what exactly we need - down to the last screwdriver and bolt. All of us and the rest of the expedition organizers do our best to provide the best conditions at the base to be able to carry out our work in the field,'' Sapundzhiev said.