NASB: Belarus is full-fledged participant of Antarctic exploration

Belarus is a full-fledged participant of Antarctic exploration, Vladimir Gusakov, Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB), told reporters on 5 November. He took part in a farewell ceremony for participants of the 7th Belarusian Antarctic expedition, BelTA has learned.

“Thanks to the work done by Belarusian researchers over the past several years, Belarus has become a full-fledged participant of the exploration of Antarctica, this severe continent that holds a great number of mineral resources,” Vladimir Gusakov said.

Speaking about the areas of research, he noted that the research is done across multiple disciplines. “These are technical experiments, experiments in biology and biotechnologies, plant growing and plant survival. Besides large-scale projects, the participants of the expedition will work on the tasks and assignments of the National Academy of Sciences, Vladimir Gusakov said. In his words, Antarctica is a relatively clean continent; therefore researchers will have an opportunity to find out about the environment of the Earth in the past, the changes that have taken place over this time and to make projections.

Vladimir Gusakov emphasized that Belarus came up with an optimal Antarctic exploration plan. The research is adequately funded. “The expedition received the financial assistance it asked for,” the Chairman of the Presidium of the National Academy of Sciences said.

The Belarusian Antarctic expedition will take place from December 2014 to April 2015. The expedition consists of five people: team leader Alexei Gaidashov (National Polar Research Center), engineer-environmentalist Vladislav Myamin (Belarusian State University, microbiology sub-department), geophysical engineer Pavel Shablyko (Institute for Nature Management, NASB), radar operator Mikhail Korol (Stepanov Institute of Physics, NASB), mechanical engineer Vladimir Alfimov (MAZ).