The Czech Antarctic Research Program presents its research in the Gallery on the dean's office staircase
Come and see 15 posters representing the unique and varied research activities of the Czech Antarctic Research Program.
The only university in the world with its own polar station
Before we focus on the posters themselves, let's mention a fact that we can be proud of at Masaryk University. As stated by Daniel Nývlt, the head of the Czech Antarctic Research Program and the head of the Polar-Geo-Lab scientific group at the Faculty of Science: "Masaryk University is the only university in the world (and the only public institution in the Czech Republic), that owns and operates a scientific station in Antarctica. The long-term Antarctic research program ensures that the Czech Republic maintains consultative membership in the Antarctic Treaty and thus enables it to co-decide on the current and future use of the icy continent. Research into the current natural changes in Antarctica is a fundamental contribution of the Czech Antarctic Research Program based at Masaryk University to the global understanding of ongoing changes and, at the same time, the responsibility of the Czech Republic for future generations living on this planet," concludes Nývlt, who has been intensively researching the Antarctic and Arctic regions for the past twenty years.
The exhibition shows the multidisciplinary nature of research in Antarctica
The exhibition was prepared by Jakub Holuša, a postgraduate student from the Institute of Geography of the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the MU (GÚ PřF MU), with the contribution of texts and photographs by his colleagues. Jakub is just getting ready for his first trip to the South. And what is the theme of the exhibition? The author states: "The Czech Republic has its own scientific program in Antarctica. Masaryk University covers it. This institution has operated the Johann Gregor Mendel Czech Antarctic Station on James Ross Island since 2007 and from 2018 also an outdoor tent camp with a field kitchen on Nelson Island. With this exhibition, we want to bring people closer to at least 12 main research areas of our unique scientific program because we have already counted over forty sub-disciplines involved," concludes Holuša.
The individual posters show how multidisciplinary research on James Ross Island is: You will read exciting information from plant physiology research, as well as geology, geomorphology, ichthyology and parasitology, climatology, microbiology, ornithology and paleontology. You can enjoy also one historical poster. It commemorates G.J. Mendel, whose name the polar station holden; and professor emeritus Pavel Prošek from our faculty, the founder of the station. You will also find a poster about the CARP program, and a poster about so-called diatoms (microscopic unicellular algae with a two-part siliceous shell) or an exciting poster about life in the sea around the island.
One poster is about a project aimed at studying the effect of global warming on the growth and development of Antarctic vegetation in the coastal areas of the island. From the poster entitled "plant physiology," you will find out that the inhospitable regions of Antarctica are often dominated by lichen communities and that, despite their apparent fragility, they are able to survive in these conditions thanks to a whole range of protective mechanisms. How? For example, by reducing the water content during drying, they concentrate the antifreeze substances produced in the cells, thereby increasing the resistance to freezing in the inactive state. And did you know that lichens produce pigments that protect them from the harmful effects of UV radiation? It will certainly not be the only exciting thing that you will read about the Czech Antarctic Research Program from the exhibition, so do not hesitate to visit. The exhibition will last here until December 2022, and then it will move to the corridor of the Bohunice University Campus.
