Turkey striving to become polar power: Analysts

Over the years, Turkish scientists have undertaken numerous studies and expeditions to both Antarctica and the Arctic in a bid to make the country a polar power.

"Turkey carries out more effective projects to undertake polar researches every year with its increasing power both in the region and around the globe," Burcu Özsoy, head of the first Turkish Polar Research Center (PolRec) at Istanbul Technical University, said.

Citing Turkey's various expeditions, she said it is now "inevitable" that Turkey will be a polar power.

"In 2019, the Turkish Arctic Scientific Expedition established its first polar base in Antarctica. In its Antarctic expeditions, Turkey hosts several countries as a guest researcher and provides logistics and scientific support to foreign countries in both polar regions if necessary," said Özsoy.

Before Turkey established its temporary research base on Horseshoe Island in Antarctica in 2019, its scientific team was supported by Ukraine's Vernadsky station.

"The feasibility studies regarding establishing a permanent base in Antarctica are in the final stages. If everything goes as planned, our goal is to operate the science base in the 100th year of our republic," Özsoy added. Turkey was declared a republic in October 1923.

"Annual scientific expeditions and increasing projects on poles have strengthened Turkey's polar policy," said Ersan Başar, a marine scientist from Trabzon's Karadeniz Technical University.

Since 2016, Turkey has accelerated its scientific investigations in the pole. It is believed that expeditions and researches will help the country's scientific achievements.

In April 2016, the first-ever Turkish team of researchers that included-- 14 medics, botanists, geologists, and...