MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Chile launches Antarctic season with 52 scientific research projects

Chile will undertake its most ambitious scientific expedition in almost half a century of Antarctic activities with 52 projects planned for the 2010/2011 season. The activities program was announced by Javier Arata head of the Chilean Antarctic Institute Antarctic Science Program.

“This season we will reach 52 projects which is a historic record, involving the equivalent of almost three million US dollars, which is a five-fold increase over 2005”, said Arata.

The first batch of 34 projects takes off next week in the framework of Antarctica Scientific Expedition and will extend until March first. Most projects in twenty different areas and disciplines will take place in the north of the Antarctica peninsula, the Weddell Sea and the South Shetland islands.

“This means a record number of 232 people will be involved in Antarctic scientific activities, including scientists, students and logistics’ personnel” said Arata.

Marcelo Leppe, head of the Scientific Department said that the projects are grouped in four main research areas: links between South America and Antarctica; adapting to the Antarctic habitat and bio-resources; abundance and diversity of Antarctic organisms and global heating and climate change.

“This expedition besides visiting an area relatively unknown for Chilean researchers, which is the Ross basin in the Weddell Sea will also include a logistics expedition to the Adelaide Island where we will be opening the Lieutenant Carvajal Chilean Air Force station”, said Leppe.

The scientific program is financed from seven different sources, including international cooperation and will provide funds for undergraduate and graduate students doing their thesis on Antarctica subjects.

The Chilean expedition is also adhering to the century celebration of Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, the first human to set foot on the South Pole on 14 December 2011.

Arata said that of the 117 researchers on the field, 81 are Chileans, and a third foreigners mainly from thirteen countries among which Spain, France, Germany and Japan. Several of the projects will be supported by icebreakers R/H Polarsten from Germany and Las Palmas, Spain plus logistics from the Spanish base of Gabriel de Castilla and Poland’s Arctowski base.