Antarctic Day is celebrated every year on December 1, the day when the 12 founding countries signed the Antarctic Treaty in 1959.
At last year’s Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM XLII), the Consultative Parties reaffirmed their commitment to the principles and aims of the Treaty by adopting the Prague Declaration on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of its signing. The Prague Declaration recognizes the achievements of the Treaty in the conservation and promotion of peace and international cooperation in Antarctica and reaffirms its commitment to maintaining Antarctica as a nature reserve dedicated to peace and science.
Antarctic Day is an occasion for analysis, assessment and exchange of information between scientists from the signatory countries of the treaty (54 parts).
This day gives us the opportunity to take stock of the fourth Romanian Scientific Research Expedition in Antarctica (ROICE 2020) which took place between January 2 and February 4, 2020, at the King Sejong station of the Korea Polar Research Institute (KOPRI).
The researchers of the ROICE project, based on samples processed primarily in Antarctica, continue their research in the laboratories of the National Institute of Research and Development for Biological Sciences (INCDSB), closely following the achievement of the objectives of the expeditions.
The Romanian Antarctic scientific expeditions that took place within the ROICE project were based on the research plan created in 2015 and the research plan of each expedition was adapted according to the results obtained in the previous year following the main objectives.
On the occasion of the celebration of the International Day of Antarctica this year, the ROICE team held on December 2 and 3 two educational and informative presentations about scientific expeditions to the South Pole. The presentations were held online with students from Moisil and Elena Cuza high schools.