General Belgrano II
Encyclopedia
Belgrano II is an Argentine
research station in Antarctica located at 77°52′S 34°37′W
Although maintained by the Argentine Armed Forces, as all Argentine bases on Antarctica, it is operated by the civilian agency Instituto Antartico Argentino
( Argentine Antarctic Institute ). As of 2010, the base has a 19 men crew which two are Air Force meteorologists, three are DNA civilian researchers and the rest is Argentine Army
personnel in charge of operating the base.
During the repairs of the Argentine Navy icebreaker ARA Almirante Irízar
which is normally used to supply the base, the Argentine Air Force
take over the task with airdrop
s by KC-130 Hercules aircraft in a non-stop flight from Ushuaia
in Tierra del Fuego
. The temperature is between 5 and 48 C below zero.
Argentine Antarctica
Argentine Antarctica is a sector of Antarctica claimed by Argentina as part of its national territory. The Argentine Antarctic region, consisting of the Antarctic Peninsula and a triangular section extending to the South Pole, is delimited by the 25° West and 74° West meridians and the 60° South...
research station in Antarctica located at 77°52′S 34°37′W
History
In 1955, General Hernan Pujato founded the first Belgrano station, remaining for years as the southernmost base. On February 5, 1979 the Belgrano II was opened as replacement of the previous base. A third base, Belgrano III worked from 1980 to 1984, but the second one is the only one running, and its the southernmost permanent Argentine base on the continent.Although maintained by the Argentine Armed Forces, as all Argentine bases on Antarctica, it is operated by the civilian agency Instituto Antartico Argentino
Instituto Antartico Argentino
The Instituto Antártico Argentino is the Argentine federal agency in charge of orientating, controlling, addressing and performing scientific and technical research and studies in the Antarctic....
( Argentine Antarctic Institute ). As of 2010, the base has a 19 men crew which two are Air Force meteorologists, three are DNA civilian researchers and the rest is Argentine Army
Argentine Army
The Argentine Army is the land armed force branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic and the senior military service of the country.- History :...
personnel in charge of operating the base.
During the repairs of the Argentine Navy icebreaker ARA Almirante Irízar
ARA Almirante Irízar (Q-5)
The ARA Almirante Irízar is a large icebreaker of the Argentine Navy. The ship is currently out of service since 2007, when a fire broke out in the auxiliary generator compartment...
which is normally used to supply the base, the Argentine Air Force
Argentine Air Force
The Argentine Air Force is the national aviation branch of the Armed Forces of the Argentine Republic. , it had 14,606 military and 6,854 civilian staff.-History:...
take over the task with airdrop
Airdrop
An airdrop is a type of airlift, developed during World War II to resupply otherwise inaccessible troops, who themselves may have been airborne forces. In some cases, it is used to refer to the airborne assault itself. Early airdrops were conducted by dropping or pushing padded bundles from...
s by KC-130 Hercules aircraft in a non-stop flight from Ushuaia
Ushuaia
Ushuaia may refer to the following:*Ushuaia, a city in Argentina.**Ushuaia Department, an administrative division**Ushuaia River**Ushuaia International Airport**Colegio Nacional de Ushuaia, National School of Ushuaia....
in Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego
Tierra del Fuego is an archipelago off the southernmost tip of the South American mainland, across the Strait of Magellan. The archipelago consists of a main island Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego divided between Chile and Argentina with an area of , and a group of smaller islands including Cape...
Background
One of the main features of the base is that as a result of its latitude, both day and night are four months long and the night sky has the usual aurora australisAurora (astronomy)
An aurora is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere...
. The temperature is between 5 and 48 C below zero.
Activities
- MeteorologyMeteorologyMeteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere. Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the 18th century. The 19th century saw breakthroughs occur after observing networks developed across several countries...
station. - Ozone layerOzone layerThe ozone layer is a layer in Earth's atmosphere which contains relatively high concentrations of ozone . This layer absorbs 97–99% of the Sun's high frequency ultraviolet light, which is potentially damaging to the life forms on Earth...
studies with high altitude probes and a Brewer spectrophotometer from the World Meteorological OrganizationWorld Meteorological OrganizationThe World Meteorological Organization is an intergovernmental organization with a membership of 189 Member States and Territories. It originated from the International Meteorological Organization , which was founded in 1873...
operated jointly with SpainSpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula... - Southern auroraeAurora (astronomy)An aurora is a natural light display in the sky particularly in the high latitude regions, caused by the collision of energetic charged particles with atoms in the high altitude atmosphere...
studies in cooperation with ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... - Magnetic fieldMagnetic fieldA magnetic field is a mathematical description of the magnetic influence of electric currents and magnetic materials. The magnetic field at any given point is specified by both a direction and a magnitude ; as such it is a vector field.Technically, a magnetic field is a pseudo vector;...
investigations - Operates the southernmost seismograph over firm rock
- GeodesyGeodesyGeodesy , also named geodetics, a branch of earth sciences, is the scientific discipline that deals with the measurement and representation of the Earth, including its gravitational field, in a three-dimensional time-varying space. Geodesists also study geodynamical phenomena such as crustal...
(GPS and a Doris beacon)
External links
- Belgrano II official page at Argentine Army website video news report about KC-130 airdrops resupply Official website Direccion National del Antartico Belgrano II Base (Fundaciòn Marambio)
- COMNAP Antarctic Facilities
- COMNAP Antarctic Facilities Map