Today, February 11, on the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Ukraine is marking an important step in its polar history for the first time: meteorologist Anzhelika Hanchuk will lead the 31st annual expedition to the Akademik Vernadsky Station — it became known the other day. Previously, women did not have access to leadership positions in Antarctic research, and today Anzhelika combines scientific work with team management.
Anzhelika Hanchuk first went to Antarctica in 2022 as a participant in the expedition. Now she is returning not only for scientific work, but also as a team leader. Her tasks include organizing the station's work, ensuring the safety of participants, and coordinating scientific research in various areas: meteorology, glaciology, ozonometry, and radio sounding of the atmosphere.
Previously, Ukrainian women had no access to polar expeditions: 20 years after the second expedition in 1997, no woman could participate in wintering at the station. Only in 2018 did the National Antarctic Research Center lift the informal taboo on women's participation in polar expeditions. Since then, 15 women have participated in annual expeditions, and another 11 in seasonal ones.
Hanchuk notes that Antarctic conditions do not discriminate by gender.
"Ice and ice do not ask whether you are a woman or a man, they only know what you are doing," she says.
Her expedition's research includes measuring glacier characteristics, atmospheric parameters, working with a solar robot and other scientific instruments, and the data collected is used for international programs and global navigation systems.
As the expedition leader, Anzhelika is also a symbol of change in science: her appointment shows that Ukrainian women can take leading roles even in traditionally male-dominated fields. She emphasizes that young scientists should not doubt their own abilities and encourages them to participate in scientific research and extreme projects.
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