site.btaBulgarian Antarctic Institute Head Prof. Pimpirev: Oceans Cover Two-thirds of Earth's Surface, Play Key Role in Climate Change

Oceans cover two-thirds of the Earth's surface and play a key role in climate change because sea currents, cold or warm, determine the Earth's climate. Any change in their direction will lead to drastic climate change on the land they pass over, the head of the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute (BAI), Prof. Christo Pimpirev, told BTA's Dimitrina Vetova. He participates in the UN Oceans Conference in Nice, France, from June 9 to 13.

Also on Bulgaria's official delegation are Dragomir Mateev and Dr. Rositsa Yaneva of the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute, Deputy Minister of Environment and Water Atanas Kostadinov, and Varna Basin Directorate head Yavor Dimitrov.

Ocean conservation is of utmost importance for all mankind, and Bulgaria should support these initiatives to preserve them, Prof. Pimpirev told BTA. "We have a semi-enclosed Black Sea, but our country has a responsibility for the oceans, especially with the Bulgarian Antarctic expeditions and the scientific research we are doing with our research vessel Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii in the Southern Ocean, which is an integral part of the World Ocean," he underscored.

The Bulgarian delegation will have a meeting with the head of the Mercator Ocean International project, which is about building a digital twin of the ocean, in which all known data of scientists exploring the World Ocean is plotted, Prof. Pimpirev said. "This project is fully supported by the European Commission, and we will also propose that our Southern Ocean research data be included in this project, because we are a nation that explores the oceans and we are not just explorers of the Black Sea. In this way, the research of Bulgarian scientists will become known to the whole world," said the BAI head.

The pollution of the oceans with microplastics is now particularly drastic, and the Nice forum is the first large-scale conference on the oceans. It brings together delegations from 150 countries, as well as 50 heads of state and government concerned about the fate of the oceans, which are our common heritage, said Prof. Pimpirev. The presence and active participation of Bulgarian representatives at this prestigious world forum and three successful voyages of the Sv. Sv. Kiril i Metodii to Antarctica underline Bulgaria's commitment to research not only in the Black Sea, but also in the world's oceans, he told BTA.