The expeditions are taking place from the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica Station (PEA), which has played a crucial role in Belgian polar research since its establishment in 2009 as the world’s first zero-emission polar station. The team from IPF has been on site in Antarctica since early November, preparing the base for the expeditions. This includes snow clearing, starting up systems such as water purification, and testing equipment like snowmobiles and tractors. Expert guides from IPF have also been busy testing safe routes for each scientific expedition.

This year, extra efforts are required due to the simultaneous start of two expeditions. A field camp is being set up in the remote Belgica Mountains, an area 300 km east of the Sør Rondane Mountains. Another team will be working closer to the station, 50 km to the south, in a challenging blue-ice area. Both missions require intensive logistical support, including the transport of materials and ensuring safety on-site.

This season, two major projects are the focus:

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Map with Location of Planned Expeditions © IPF

Led by Steven Goderis (VUB) and Vinciane Debaille (ULB), the ULTIMO project focuses on searching for rare meteorites and mapping the geological features of the Belgica Mountains. Meteorites contain crucial information about the origins of our solar system and may provide insights into the transport of water and organic molecules to Earth.

“The expedition to the Belgica Mountains is unique: no recent Belgian expedition has visited this remote area. The logistics are challenging, involving snowmobile transport and extensive field camps. We anticipate that poor weather conditions will affect up to 50% of the working time, which highlights the importance of a well-equipped base.”
Researcher
Steven Goderis.

The expedition builds on years of collaboration with Japanese scientists, who have been collecting meteorites in East Antarctica since the 1960s. Belgian teams have already catalogued more than 1,300 meteorites, which are stored in Brussels and are available for research worldwide.

Under the leadership of François Fripiat (ULB) and Harry Zekollari (VUB), the FROID research team will attempt to find ice layers that may be over 1 million years old.

"By analysing the oldest ice layers, we hope to reconstruct the COâ‚‚ concentrations and atmospheric conditions of the distant past. This could help us better understand the transition between ice ages and warm periods, which is of great value for climate research."
Glaciologist
Harry Zekkolari

By combining meteorite research with ice core drilling, this mission aims to achieve new breakthroughs in both climatology and space science.

 

Contact:

Harry Zekollari: harry.zekollari@vub.be (telephone available at the editorial office)

Steven Goderis: steven.goderis@vub.be (telephone available at the editorial office)

Joseph Cheek (IPF): jcheek@polarfoundation.org +32 (0) 2 520 34 40