Suzanne
11-03-06, 11:33 AM
Global heating will make the ice continent inhabited, says Prof Hristo Pimpirev
- Prof. Pimpirev, the fourteenth Bulgarian expedition to Antarctica has just finished. How has the Bulgarian 'invasion' of the seventh continent started?
- The direct reason for the start of the first Bulgarian expedition on Antarctica was the success of Bulgarian alpinists who reached Everest in 1986. Besides the 100th anniversary of the University of Sofia was approaching. Then we - a group of young assistant professors in Geology - were fascinated by the idea that after Everest, the only land "unconquered" by Bulgarians was Antarctica.
- What is Bulgaria's place in Antarctic community, today 20 years after the first expedition?
- The Antarctic treaty was signed in 1961, the original signatories being 12 countries. The Treaty began the continent's government. Now the members of the Treaty are 52 countries but only 28 of them are consultative (decision-making), Bulgaria included. All decisions are made by consensus.
- So, Bulgaria's opinion weighs as much as the USA's, Russia's and China's?
- In Antarctica, we are really a great power.
- What are Bulgaria's potential benefits from our presence and this status in Antarctica?
- In more distant future they are really huge. The world will more and more need all kinds of resources. Antarctica is a continent, bigger than Europe and rich in different raw materials. The Livingston Island in particular is a part of the Andes mountainous range, which is the world's richest depot of non-ferrous metals. This explains our discovery of copper and silver ore. Of course the samples we have taken are to be analysed. But the fact is there are ore lodes on the island.
- For the time being, however, the whole continent is covered by ice.
- Global heating will change things. For good or bad, its influence is best felt in Antarctica namely. In 1993 when we settled permanently on the Livingston island, the glacier pressed one of the houses. Now, it stands at about 200 metres away.
http://www.standartnews.com/archive/2006/03/11/pics/473111a.jpg
The fourteenth Bulgarian Antarctic expedition returned from the ice continent on Thursday. About the climate changes in the seventh continent, about its future, the Bulgarian presence, the Standart asked the expedition leader Prof Hristo Pimpirev.
Konstantin Sabchev
www.standartnews.com
- Prof. Pimpirev, the fourteenth Bulgarian expedition to Antarctica has just finished. How has the Bulgarian 'invasion' of the seventh continent started?
- The direct reason for the start of the first Bulgarian expedition on Antarctica was the success of Bulgarian alpinists who reached Everest in 1986. Besides the 100th anniversary of the University of Sofia was approaching. Then we - a group of young assistant professors in Geology - were fascinated by the idea that after Everest, the only land "unconquered" by Bulgarians was Antarctica.
- What is Bulgaria's place in Antarctic community, today 20 years after the first expedition?
- The Antarctic treaty was signed in 1961, the original signatories being 12 countries. The Treaty began the continent's government. Now the members of the Treaty are 52 countries but only 28 of them are consultative (decision-making), Bulgaria included. All decisions are made by consensus.
- So, Bulgaria's opinion weighs as much as the USA's, Russia's and China's?
- In Antarctica, we are really a great power.
- What are Bulgaria's potential benefits from our presence and this status in Antarctica?
- In more distant future they are really huge. The world will more and more need all kinds of resources. Antarctica is a continent, bigger than Europe and rich in different raw materials. The Livingston Island in particular is a part of the Andes mountainous range, which is the world's richest depot of non-ferrous metals. This explains our discovery of copper and silver ore. Of course the samples we have taken are to be analysed. But the fact is there are ore lodes on the island.
- For the time being, however, the whole continent is covered by ice.
- Global heating will change things. For good or bad, its influence is best felt in Antarctica namely. In 1993 when we settled permanently on the Livingston island, the glacier pressed one of the houses. Now, it stands at about 200 metres away.
http://www.standartnews.com/archive/2006/03/11/pics/473111a.jpg
The fourteenth Bulgarian Antarctic expedition returned from the ice continent on Thursday. About the climate changes in the seventh continent, about its future, the Bulgarian presence, the Standart asked the expedition leader Prof Hristo Pimpirev.
Konstantin Sabchev
www.standartnews.com