Air standards for Ukrainian cities are drafted on the South Pole

In January-February of this year, Ukrainian winter researchers changed shifts at the Academician Vernadsky Antarctic Station. Each year, parallel to long-term programs, various institutes of the Ukrainian National Science Academy conduct seasonal research on the sixth continent. One such group of scientists returned to Ukraine in late March and met a few days ago at the Education Ministry (see photo). On the whole, all the members of the expedition were unanimous that despite difficult ice conditions (they said that there had not been weather like that in the Antarctic for seven years), the research they conducted could be called unique. In particular, they carried out geophysical works on collecting rock samples, tectono- magnetic observations, and a geological survey of the western edge of the Antarctic Peninsula. The land surveyors launched research of the movement of lithosphere plates and mapped the surface of the Argentinean Islands. The group of biologists studied the abilities of the human organism under extreme conditions and the effect of low-frequency vibration on its functional condition. Those who worked on this program also tested new types of diving equipment and studied the near-bottom flora and fauna — to be exact, the genetic changes in organisms generated by the specific habitat. The samples obtained by the microbiologists are planned to be used in studying Antarctic microbe groups and in determining their influence on global geo-chemical processes. According to Academician Vitaly Rusov, thanks to a long team-selection work carried out by the Ukrainian Antarctic Research Center, there was such a good atmosphere in the group that it enabled them to produce absolutely unexpected scientific results. For example, they found a way to identify artificial and natural earthquakes; the isotopic composition of the local Antarctic air they established will serve as a basis for Ukrainian urban air standards. Further changes in the isotopic composition will reveal artificial pollution factors. Together with their Czech, Polish, and German colleagues, the Ukrainian researchers installed several measuring complexes, which they claim, have no analogs in the world so far.

As Vice Prime Minister Volodymyr Semynozhenko stressed concluding the meeting at the ministry, the question of whether Ukraine’s participation in Antarctic research is worthwhile is no longer on the agenda. Although the Ukrainian presence at the South Pole costs the national budget five to six million hryvnias (about $1 million) annually, the uniqueness of Ukrainian research is confirmed by the attention of foreign colleagues. In addition, it is expedient economically. According to Semynozhenko, the conclusions drawn by the Antarctic researchers are instrumental for even Ukraine’s domestic agriculture, because the sensitive Antarctic environment is an ideal indicator of global climatic change.