Rosgeology Conducts Scientific Activities in Antarctica in Strict Accordance With International Agreements
The state holding Rosgeology conducts research activities in Antarctica in strict accordance with the provisions of the Protocol on Environmental Protection of the Antarctic to the Antarctic Treaty (Madrid Protocol of 1991). In particular, with Article 7 of the Protocol, which provides that “Any activity related to mineral resources, with the exception of scientific research, is prohibited.”
Rosgeology is also guided by the “Strategy for the development of activities of the Russian Federation in Antarctica until 2030”, approved by Order of the Government of the Russian Federation dated August 21, 2020 No. 2143-r, according to which only scientific study of the geological structure of Antarctica is possible, and geological exploration of Antarctic mineral resources is not provided for for commercial purposes.
All activities of Rosgeology on the continent of Antarctica and in the adjacent seas, including with the use of the research vessel “Akademik Alexander Karpinskiy,” are exclusively scientific in nature. The objective of scientific research is the geological and geophysical study of the origin and geological structure of the Antarctic, the structure and thickness of the sedimentary cover, determination of the nature of the foundation, reconstruction of the stages of formation of the earth’s crust in the Antarctic seas.
In strict accordance with the requirements of international agreements on Antarctica, in the 2023-24 field season, the research vessel “Akademik Alexander Karpinsky” carried out regional geophysical research in the waters of the marginal Amundsen and Bellingshausen seas, and specialists from the Antarctic Geophysical Party conducted comprehensive airborne geophysical research in East Antarctica and geological work in the southwestern part of the Banger Oasis.
