Russia's Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) reports that the research vessel Akademik Tryoshnikov recently departed Saint Petersburg and is en route to Brazil on the first leg of an international research expedition to Antarctica.
Upon arriving in Rio Grande, Brazil, at the end of November, the vessel will embark scientists from Brazil, Argentina, Chile, and Peru before sailing for India and China to visit the coastal research stations there and to take on additional personnel.
The scientific team will consist of 60 personnel from the seven countries including Russia. The team will spend two months in Antarctica, where they will closely study the various ecosystems found on the continent.
Akademik Tryoshnikov is scheduled to return to Rio Grande in January 2025 upon the completion of the international expedition. After the scientists from the other countries have disembarked in Brazil, the vessel will return to Antarctica to continue scientific activities on behalf of AARI before finally returning to Saint Petersburg in June 2025.
The Antarctic expedition is a Russian-Brazilian project organised by the AARI and the Polar and Climate Centre of the Institute of Geosciences of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul.