Turkey to set up scientific base in Antarctica in 2019

By Mehtap Yilmaz

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey will establish its scientific base in Antarctica in 2019, Science, Industry and Technology Minister Faruk Ozlu told Anadolu Agency.

Ozlu said: "Next year, we will go there [in Antarctica] to establish our scientific base and the foundations of Turk Scientific Base will be laid.

"First, we will build our base, then apply for the status of 'advisory state'. The advisory states are those who have a say in Antarctica's today and tomorrow."

Ozlu said Turkey currently has the status of being an "observatory state" in Antarctica.

He added that a Turkish team, led by scientist Burcu Ozsoy, went to Antarctica for the second time for polar research in February.

"Now, 28 scientists are devotedly working in Antarctica. They will return home this month after finishing their works."

Antarctica has served as a scientific research zone since a 1959 treaty; Turkey is a signatory of the treaty.

Antarctica is the coldest continent on earth. The lowest temperature there was recorded in 1983 at -89 degrees Celsius (-128 Fahrenheit).

Turkey's first polar research center, Istanbul Technical University’s Polar Research Center, was founded in Antarctica in 2015.

The mission of the center is to carry out research on Antarctica and raise Turkey's profile in the international scientific community.