Two new international research projects are set to begin at the Vernadsky base and at the ice class research vessel “Noosfera.” This was made possible by Ukraine’s participation in the POLARIN project under the Horizon Europe program, which funds access to polar infrastructure for scientists.
Research on the aerosol-mediated dispersal of microbial communities in polar regions will be conducted at Vernadsky base. This is the first MICROAIRPOLAR project.
It involves installing special MicroAirCollector equipment at three stations in the Arctic and three in Antarctica to collect samples of microorganisms from the air. Scientists will then conduct genetic analysis to determine exactly what the wind is carrying into the polar regions. Using computational models, they will also track the trajectories of air masses and the movement of bacteria within the Arctic and Antarctic and between them.
This is important because microorganisms are among the first to colonize surfaces newly freed from ice. Therefore, in polar regions experiencing rapid melting, they will influence the development of biodiversity there.
The research is being conducted by scientists from the Autonomous University of Madrid (Spain) and Northumbria University (United Kingdom).
The second project—TRICUSO-FLOATS—is dedicated to monitoring carbon in the Southern Ocean.
Near South Georgia Island, six argo buoys equipped with a range of sensors will be deployed from aboard the r/v“Noosfera.” They will measure total salinity and dissolved inorganic carbon content. The buoys will also be equipped with high-precision pH and O₂ sensors, as well as acoustic wind sensors. This will help quantify how much carbon the Southern Ocean absorbs.
According to preliminary data, this ocean absorbs about 40% of the total CO₂ held by all the oceans together, even though it covers only one-fifth of their total area. Currently, there are significant discrepancies between observational data and models of this absorption. Therefore, expanding the spatial and temporal coverage of autonomous measurements in the Southern Ocean will help reduce this uncertainty.
The project is being carried out by scientists from the National Oceanography Center (United Kingdom), the Norwegian Research Center, and Sorbonne University (France).
Both studies will begin during the next Antarctic season, which starts in late 2026.
We remind you that POLARIN brings together 64 polar research infrastructures belonging to organizations from around the world. Consortium members have free access to the facilities, which is granted based on the results of competitive calls for proposals. MICROAIRPOLAR and TRICUSO-FLOATS are the first winning projects to receive access to the “Vernadsky” and “Noosfera” infrastructure within the framework of POLARIN.
For Ukraine, such initiatives represent an opportunity to participate in cutting-edge scientific research and to be an active member of the global polar community.