When in 1993 Great Britain spread information that it is willing to transfer its research station to one of non-Antarctic states, after lengthy bilateral negotiations they chose Ukraine. Although, the first expedition of Ukrainian winterers arrived to the station in November 1995, the official transfer of the station took place on February 6, 1996 that’s when it was renamed. Since that time the Ukrainian flag is waving at the station “Akademik Vernadsky.”
“The Faraday/Vernadsky Station is a golden jewel for tracking climate change in Antarctica,” commented for The Day Mike Pinnock, Board Member for Science Delivery at British Antarctic Survey. “The characteristic feature of this station is that it has been long used to obtain data that is needed to make conclusions about climate change.”
The Vernadsky Station is a system with its own infrastructure that ensures its operation throughout the whole year, it includes: main building, power plant, several research pavilions, the storehouse for building materials, and emergency basis.
The most significant achievement of the Station in the opinion of foreign scientists is the obtained data that indicates that the fastest temperature rise in the world (along with some regions in Alaska and Siberia) is on the west coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. Pinnock adds that, based on this information, scientists can make a conclusion about the impact of greenhouse effect on climate change in the world.
The main areas of research at the station today are hydrometeorology, oceanography, the study of atmosphere, and geophysics.
Besides, Ukrainian scientists continued the relay of ozone hole research which was started by British scientist on this station before.
“When an ozone hole appears over Argentina, children do not go to school. But our members of polar expedition have to face it all: no matter whether there is the ozone hole or there is no hole they have to work in any conditions,” said Stanislav Nedohybchenko, member of the polar expedition who returned from Vernadsky Station only in April 2011.
“Our Station is a part of international system, we effectively cooperate with other stations and failure or uncoordinated actions can cause faults in the global system,” said Nedohybchenko.
Each year there are 11 to 14 people working at the Station. They are selected through a complicated competition. Nedohybchenko says that there are European conditions of life and work: it is true about both technical equipment and general hygiene. When it is summer season in Antarctic, special vessels come to replenish stocks of food at the station.
There are plans now for expansion of the research conducted around the Station, as well as deeper into the mainland and aquatic area. The necessary digital equipment has been already purchased for that. It will enable the members of polar expeditions to obtain more accurate data.
