13th Portuguese Antarctic Flight with the participation of five researchers from the Portuguese Antarctic Campaign 2024-25

The 13th Portuguese Antarctic Flight, which took place on January 16, 2025, transported 99 scientists and technicians of different nationalities between Punta Arenas, Chile, and the Teniente Rodolfo Marsh Martin airfield, located on King George Island in Antarctica. This flight, chartered by Portugal, included five researchers from projects supported by the Portuguese Polar Program (PROPOLAR) and 94 researchers from the polar programs of Bulgaria, Chile, Colombia, South Korea, Spain, Poland, the Czech Republic and Switzerland, and was another milestone in the Portuguese Antarctic Campaign 2024-25, which runs until mid-March this year.

PROPOLAR flights are the main form of access for scientists from Portuguese institutions to Antarctica, where they stay on bases and research vessels from partner countries such as Bulgaria, Chile, Spain or the Republic of Korea. In addition to the researchers who benefit from PROPOLAR flights, other Portuguese teams travel with logistics from international partners, in a cooperative effort to increase the impact of the science carried out.

A second chartered flight in collaboration with the Spanish Polar Program has already been scheduled for February 8, 2025, which reinforces Portugal's contribution to scientific activities on the "white continent" during the austral summer - the period of the year with the greatest scientific activity.

The PROPOLAR 2024-2025 Portuguese Antarctic Campaign includes six research projects involving 15 scientists who will be working in various areas of Antarctica. These projects, coordinated by scientists from five national public research centers, are developed in the areas of atmospheric, biological, cryosphere, environment and earth sciences, focusing on the study of the impacts of climate change in Antarctica. Find out more about the projects here.

The Portuguese Polar Program - PROPOLAR is funded by the Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) and coordinated by the Center for Geographical Studies/Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning of the University of Lisbon.