National Antarctic Scientific Center is a State Institution of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, which organizes annual expeditions to the Ukrainian Antarctic Akademik Vernadsky station, provides for the work of the station and coordinates the research of Ukraine in Antarctica. The Center was established in 1993.
In its work the Center is guided by the State Special-Purpose Research Program in Antarctica for 2011-2020.
The center brings together experts in all fields of polar research. Among them are both experienced polar explorers with many years of work in Antarctica, and young scientists armed with new methods. At the beginning of 2018, the total number of Ukrainian scientists who had wintered in Antarctica was 256 people.
The Center actively participates in professional meetings and conferences of the international Antarctic community, organizes geological, geophysical, hydrometeorological, oceanological, seismological, geospace, biological, medical and physiological and other research at the station, surrounding islands, marine test sites, and also forms databases for monitoring of environmental parameters. At the same time, the Center is making efforts to minimize anthropogenic impact on the nature of Antarctica and constantly cares about environmental issues. In particular, in 2018 photo identification whale catalogs, updating of Weddell seals catalogs, definitions of living organisms by “ecological DNA”, and microbiological studies of Antarctic soils were added to the traditional tasks.
The Center represents Ukraine at the annual Antarctic Treaty meetings.
Ukraine is among the 29 states with the highest Consultative status with the right to vote and veto power when making decisions (a total of 53 countries have joined the Treaty).
More information about the international activity of the Center you can find in the section “International Cooperation”.
Along with the scientific activities, the Center conducts educational work, familiarizing schoolchildren, students, the general public with the influence of atmospheric processes in the Earth’s polar regions on the general state of the environment, environmental conservation measures to preserve the resources of the planet and unique life forms.