Three Romanian biologists have recently returned from an Antarctica expedition and brought hundreds of ice, water, and soil samples which they will study in Bucharest. The trio researches the effects of global warming and pollution. The results of their studies could be used in biomedicine and industry.

Cristina Purcărea – expedition leader, Cristian Coman - coordinator and Corina Iţcuş are the three researchers who want to contribute to the worldwide studies on global warming. Their expedition, called ROICE 2015, and held between February 3 and 23, had a price tag of EUR 60,000, which they raised through sponsorships. They stationed at the South Korea research center, on the King George Islands, in Western Antarctica, through a five-year partnership between the two countries.

“The conditions were harsh, but it was spectacular. We had eight hours of field work, we walked for hours on end. We carried snow, ice, and soil samples. We worked evenings in the lab, until midnight,” said the expedition leader Cristina Purcărea, quoted by Agerpres.

The Arctic and Antarctic Research Center opened at the National Research Institute in Romania in 2014.

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(photo source: ROICE on Facebook)