site.btaJoint Polar Science Symposium of Romanian and Bulgarian Scientists Will Take Place in Constanta

A joint polar science symposium of Romanian and Bulgarian scientists will be held on Wednesday in the city of Constanta, Romania.

During the event, participants will discuss the two recent joint expeditions during which Romanian scientists worked at the Bulgarian Antarctic base, as well as future opportunities for cooperation, Prof. Christo Pimpirev, Chairman of the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute (BAI), told the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA).

Prof. Pimpirev will open the forum together with Tudor Prisecaru and Manuela Elisabeta Sidoroff, Vice-Chairs of the Antarctic Research Commission of the Romanian Academy.

The first panel will feature presentations by Rositsa Yaneva, Head of the Science Division at the National Center for Polar Studies; Captain Nikolay Danailov of the Nikola Vaptsarov Naval Academy in Varna and commanding officer of the Bulgarian naval research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii; Dragomir Mateev, Deputy Director of the National Center for Polar Studies at Sofia University; Rayna Hristova of the Institute of Oceanography at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences; and Daniela Pascal of the Horia Hulubei National Institute for Research and Development in Physics and Nuclear Engineering.

The second part of the forum will feature Corina Itcus, Ioana Paun, and Cristina Purcarea from the Institute of Biology of the Romanian Academy; Agnes Kerestzesi and Robert Szep from the National Research and Development Institute for Management of Wildlife and Mountain Resources; Viorel Dumitru Gavril from the Institute of Biology of the Romanian Academy; Alice-Georgiana Stoica from National Institute of Research and Development for Biological Sciences; and Roxana Utoiu from National Institute of Research and Development for Biological Sciences.

The symposium will conclude with presentations by Iris Maria Tusa, Ovidiu Vrancianu, Roxana Vrancuanu, and Georgiana Grigore, four researchers from National Institute of Research and Development for Biological Sciences, who will share their experiences from ROICE 2026, the fifth Romanian scientific expedition to Antarctica. The expedition took place at the South Korean King Sejong Station from 24 January to 14 February this year.

The Bulgarian Antarctic scientific base on Livingston Island, the research conducted aboard the Bulgarian naval research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii, the impact of climate change on Antarctic microorganisms, the role of birds as biotic vectors in the spread of pollutants, and human adaptation to the Antarctic environment are just some of the topics that will be addressed during the symposium.