Transect for aerobiological studies from Antarctica to Poland

While returning from the 13th Polish Scientific Expedition to Antarctica, one of the authors (M.O.) collected airborne biological samples along the transect from the South Shetland Islands to Gdynia on the Baltic Seacoast of Poland. The journey aboard the Polish ship ORP “Heweliusz”, lasted from 4 March until 13 April 1990. During this period, two samples a day, exposed 12 h each, were collected in Petri dishes. The authors made preliminary identifications of plant and animal fragments in the samples. The most important finding was the presence of propagules of lichens (fragments of thallus, isidia soredia) in all samples. The relatively small number of pollen grains in samples could be accounted for by the season of collection when few pollen grains are airborne.