The ceiling fell onto our beds: Antarctica revealed its true nature to the residents of Moscow.
FIRST DISCOVERIES
- We woke up to find that the ceiling of our tent had literally collapsed onto our beds. A strong wind had picked up, shaking our tent like a sail. Right now, the guys are tightening new ropes to prevent our base camp from being swept away. Yes, Antarctica has finally shown its true character, - shares our special correspondent in Antarctica, Evgeny Sazonov, in his diaries for the listeners of Radio "Komsomolskaya Pravda".
7Photo provided by "Laboratory of Travels"
8Photo provided by "Laboratory of Travels"
Let us remind you that on November 26, the first-ever Moscow Youth Antarctic Expedition was launched (organized by the Moscow Department of Education and Science and the Center for Additional Education "Laboratory of Travels", with partners including the airline "Volga-Dnepr" and the Movement of the First). Depending on the weather, the expedition is expected to last until approximately December 14. The participants flew to the South via Africa, spending an additional nine days preparing there, thus they landed in Antarctica on December 5. They set up camp near the Russian Antarctic station "Novolazarevskaya" and began their work on December 6. The goal of the expedition is to collect data for Russian scientists regarding the state of the air, snow, and wildlife in Antarctica.
9Photo provided by "Laboratory of Travels"
MARS ON EARTH
The first hike the participants of the expedition, consisting of schoolchildren and students from Moscow, undertook was to the Shirmakher oasis.
- It’s a large concentration of rocks and hills. There is almost no snow, just rocky ground. Additionally, the "Novolazarevskaya" station is located there. The houses are scattered across the hills, and everything looks as if we are on Mars, - describes the astonishing scene Evgeny Sazonov. – We have a meeting with the polar explorers from the station planned in a few days, but for now, we have been studying mosses and lichens and observing very rare birds in this area.
0Photo provided by "Laboratory of Travels"
1Photo provided by "Laboratory of Travels"
2Photo provided by "Laboratory of Travels"
From this location, they were able to closely examine the ice dome where the team set up their Antarctic base named "Moscow" (this name was chosen unanimously). In some areas of the dome, layers of ice are visible (it resembles a layered cake) along with the famous blue ice, which is very rare (about 1% of Antarctica's total area), but it is ancient, as the blue hue develops when new layers build up over the frozen ice filled with air bubbles.
3Photo provided by "Laboratory of Travels"
4Photo provided by "Laboratory of Travels"
- This ice is not only very beautiful, but it is also fascinating to study because it contains microorganisms and "messages" from a distant past, - explains Evgeny Sazonov. – We also had some adventures getting to the oasis. The thing is, the airfield we arrived at and our Antarctic base "Moscow" are located on an ice dome where the ice depth is about 200-300 meters. There is a specially compacted road leading from there to the oasis. We tried to descend on foot, but the ice was completely bare, and there was nothing to hold onto. So, we covered part of the distance like we did in childhood - sitting down and sliding down for about 20-30 meters. Well, it was actually fun. If we hadn’t been so busy with science, we could have taken some sleds and enjoyed sliding down.
5Photo provided by "Laboratory of Travels"
6Photo provided by "Laboratory of Travels"
In the evening, the expedition participants held a telebridge from their "Moscow" to "real" Moscow, allowing them to send greetings to their worried parents and friends.
7Photo provided by "Laboratory of Travels"
8Photo provided by "Laboratory of Travels"
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