The first part of the scientific expedition from Masaryk University to Antarctica has commenced. A fourteen-member team departed from Brno by minibus to Vienna Airport, as confirmed by the expedition leader Pavel Kapler. The second part is scheduled to leave on January 11, but both groups are unlikely to meet in Antarctica. A total of 37 scientists and support staff will operate in the region this year.
The scientists traveling today will fly with a layover in Amsterdam to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and then proceed to the Czech scientific station named after Johann Gregor Mendel on James Ross Island. The second group will travel through Chile to the CZ*ECO Nelson base on Nelson Island.
The main part of the expedition is led by Peter Váczi from the Faculty of Science, including scientists from Israel and Italy, a physician, and three technicians. They will continue long-term climate monitoring and comprehensive observation of glaciers, permafrost, deglaciated areas, and river and lake systems.
A new focus this year includes researching the spread of avian influenza in Antarctica in collaboration with Spanish colleagues, who will receive samples from the expedition, and studying marine and terrestrial algae led by a colleague from the University of Haifa in Israel, as described by Daniel Nývlt, head of the Czech Antarctic Research Program based at the Faculty of Science at Masaryk University.
The group heading to Nelson Island also plans to continue researching climate change and its effects on local ecosystems, with a new emphasis on examining materials washed ashore from the sea and the diversity of microscopic fungi. The expedition will also involve colleagues from Ukraine and will utilize logistics from several other national programs.