Rotation of annual expeditions took place at Akademik Vernadsky Station. The 29th Ukrainian Antarctic Expedition headed home after a year of work on the icy continent, and the 30th UAE team became the hosts at the station.
The rotation days were very busy.
Due to strong winds and difficult ice conditions, unloading the year’s supplies of food, materials, and fuel was slow. In order to deliver everything to the station and remove from the station scientific samples and the garbage accumulated over the year, the polar explorers worked from dawn until late at night.
We remind you that due to the difficult terrain of the seabed, our RV Noosfera cannot approach the Vernadsky berths, so everything between the ship and the station is transported by motor boats.
At the same time, the participants of the 29th UAE promptly shared their knowledge and experience to their colleagues in conducting research, servicing instruments, and ensuring the operation of the station.
Yesterday, March 22, the final touching moment of the rotation took place. The head of the 29th UAE, Yurii Otruba, handed over the symbolic key to Vernadsky to the head of the 30th expedition, Oleksandr Poluden. The station’s acceptance certificate was also signed.
Then, during the joint singing of the Ukrainian anthem, the base commanders changed the blue and yellow flags on the flagpole.
Today, March 23, the RV Noosfera with wintering and seasonal team of the 29th UAE on board departed from Antarctica to the Chilean port of Punta Arenas. And again, ahead is the Drake Passage, which in this period of time (and it is autumn in the Southern Hemisphere) can be especially stormy.
The arrival of polar explorers in Punta Arenas is expected at the end of March, and from there it is not far to Ukraine.
So, we wish the wintering and the seasonal team of the 29th UAE a peaceful return home, and the 30th UAE to successfully continue its research and make an important contribution of Ukraine to world science.
Photo: Yuriy Shepeta, Yevhen Shatalov, Serhii Yakushchenko.
