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National Institute of Research and Development for Biological Sciences

Comunicat de Presă – ROICE 2015 s-a întors acasă!

We are pleased to announce the successful conclusion of the Romanian Governmental Scientific Expedition to Antarctica - ROICE 2015, which took place at the King Sejong Antarctic Station of the Korean Institute for Polar Research in the King George Islands in West Antarctica from 3 to 23 February 2015.

This unique and spectacular expedition, which also involved highly professional scientific training, was organised by the National Research and Development Institute for Biological Sciences (INCDSB) in Bucharest under the coordination of the National Authority for Scientific Research and Innovation, in partnership with the Korean Institute for Polar Research.

The two institutes have signed a 5 (five) year Framework Agreement for collaboration in the field of polar sciences - life sciences.

Within the INCDSB, the Department of Arctic and Antarctic Research was created in 2014 by ministerial decision. The Department's mission is to strengthen the research area of the Environment and Biodiversity pillar, but also to contribute through its area of specialisation to the development of research in polar sciences.
In order to have notable achievements that also involve international recognition through publication in peer-reviewed journals, researchers' access to Antarctica has been a priority for conducting field studies.

The aim of the expedition was to investigate Antarctic ecosystems by studying the microbial communities in various habitats in order to identify and characterize the microcosms specific to these habitats. The effects and adaptations of organisms in extreme environments were also investigated.

The research team consists of Cristina PURCĂREA - Expedition leader, Cristian COMAN - Expedition coordinator, Corina IȚCUȘ - Expedition member.

The ROICE 2015 project was carried out under the scientific leadership and coordination of Dr. Manuela Elisabeta SIDOROFF - Director General of INCDSB and Vice-President of the National Commission for Antarctic Research (CNCA) of the Romanian Academy, as well as Acad. Octavian POPESCU - Director of the Institute of Biology Bucharest of the Romanian Academy and Scientific Coordinator for Life Sciences of the CNCA of the Romanian Academy.

This action was made possible with the support of the Ministry of Education and Scientific Research / National Authority for Scientific Research and Innovation, the Ministry of Environment, Water and Forests and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

INCDSB Press Office
27.02.2015