Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station
| Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station Estação Antártica Comandante Ferraz |
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| — Research Station — | |
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| Country |  Brazil |
| Territory | Brazilian Antarctica |
| Established | February 6, 1984 |
| Population | |
| • Total | 100 |
| Time zone | BRT (UTC-3) |
| Postal code | 20001-971 |
| Website | PROANTAR |
The Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station (Portuguese: Estação Antártica Comandante Ferraz) is a permanent Antarctic research station named after the Brazilian Navy Commander Luís Antônio de Carvalho Ferraz, who visited Antarctica many times with the British exploration team and managed to convince his government to create a self-guided Brazilian Antarctic Program.
Located in Admiralty Bay, King George Island, near the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula, 130 km from the South American continent, the station began operating on 6 February 1984, brought to Antarctica in modules by the oceanographic ship Barão de Teffé (H-42) and several other Brazilian naval ships. It now houses about 60 people, including researchers, technicians and staff, military and civilians.
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History [edit]
It was named after Navy Commander Luís Antônio de Carvalho Ferraz, a hydrographer and oceanographer who visited Antarctica twice on board of British vessels. He was instrumental in persuading his country's government to develop an Antarctic program, and died suddenly in 1982 while representing Brazil at an oceanographic conference in Halifax.
The station was built on the same site of the old British "Base G",[1] and the weathered wooden structures of the old base made a sharp contrast with the bright green and orange metal structures of the Brazilian station, which was first set up on 6 February 1984. Above the site of the base there is a small cemetery with five crosses: three of them are the graves of British Antarctic Survey (BAS) personnel; the fourth commemorates a BAS base leader lost at sea, and the fifth cross is the grave of a Brazilian radio operator sergeant who died of a heart attack in 1990.[citation needed]
2012 fire [edit]
On 25 February 2012, a blast in the machine room housing the generators at the station caused a fire that, according to the Brazilian navy, destroyed approximately 70% of the compound.[2] Two soldiers, originally reported as missing by the Brazilian navy, were found dead in the debris of the station after the fire, while a third one sustained non-life threatening injuries.[3] The Brazilian government estimates that it will take about two years to rebuild the research station.[4]
Activity [edit]
The main objective of the Brazilian Antarctic program lies on climate change such as global warming, the greenhouse effect, ozone depletion and the raising level of the oceans. The personnel working at the station collect samples of pollutants which often come from overseas. They also carry out research in meteorology, continental and marine geology, oceanography, astrophysics, geomagnetism, and nuclear geophysics.
Outposts [edit]
Near the station are located several smaller structures which administratively and logistically depend on the main base:
- Refuge Astronomer Cruls.
- Refuge Emílio Goeldi.
- Refuge Engineer Wiltgen (dismantled).
- Refuge Pe. Balduino Rambo (dismantled).
Climate [edit]
With all 12 months having an average temperature below 10 °C (50 °F), Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station features a tundra climate (Köppen ET). The average temperature at the station is of about -2.8°C, however in the region of the Thiel Mountains, where the new station Criosfera 1 was built, the temperature may drop to -35 °C.[n 1] The temperature at the Russian station Vostok, for example, has reached -89.2°C.[5]
| Climate data for Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 4.3 (39.7) |
4.2 (39.6) |
3.3 (37.9) |
1.0 (33.8) |
−0.5 (31.1) |
−2.5 (27.5) |
−3.3 (26.1) |
−2.5 (27.5) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
0.2 (32.4) |
2.1 (35.8) |
3.4 (38.1) |
0.73 (33.31) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 2.2 (36) |
2.2 (36) |
1.1 (34) |
−1.5 (29.3) |
−3.1 (26.4) |
−5.4 (22.3) |
−6.4 (20.5) |
−5.3 (22.5) |
−3.7 (25.3) |
−2.0 (28.4) |
−0.2 (31.6) |
1.2 (34.2) |
−1.74 (28.88) |
| Average low °C (°F) | 0.4 (32.7) |
0.4 (32.7) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
−3.7 (25.3) |
−5.6 (21.9) |
−8.1 (17.4) |
−9.7 (14.5) |
−8.2 (17.2) |
−6.5 (20.3) |
−4.1 (24.6) |
−2.1 (28.2) |
−0.6 (30.9) |
−4.07 (24.66) |
| Source: CPTEC/INPE[6] | |||||||||||||
See also [edit]
Notes [edit]
- ^ (Portuguese) Caldas, Mariana. "Brasil terá pela primeira vez uma estação científica no interior da Antártida". UOL. Retrieved 29 February 2012. The module Criosfera 1 is located at 84 degrees south latitude, about 500 miles from the geographic South Pole, while the Comandante Ferraz station is now located at 62 degrees south latitude.
References [edit]
- ^ BAS Admiralty Bay Station G British Antarctic Survey. Retrieved 27 February 2012.
- ^ Two die in fire at Brazil's Antarctic research station BBC. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ^ (Portuguese) Base da Marinha na Antártida será reconstruída em 2 anos, diz Amorim ("Navy base in Antarctica will be rebuilt in 2 years, says Amorim") G1. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
- ^ National Climatic Data Center. "Global Measured Extremes of Temperature and Precipitation". NCDC. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
- ^ "Ferraz Climatology". Summary of meteorological data from the Antarctic Station Comandante Ferraz. Retrieved 29 February 2012
Further reading [edit]
- Child, Jack. Antarctica and South American Geopolitics: Frozen Lebensraum. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1988.
- (Portuguese) Menezes, Eurípides, A Antártica e os Desafios do Futuro. Rio de Janeiro: Capemi Editora, 1982.
- (Portuguese) Castro, Therezinha, Atlas-Texto de Geopolítica do Brasil. Rio de Janeiro: Capemi Editora, 1982.
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station |
- Official website Projeto de Meteorologia Antàrtica
- (Portuguese) Official website Programa Antàrtico Brasilero
- Comandante Ferraz Brazilian Station webcam
- COMNAP Antarctic Facilities Map
Templates [edit]
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Coordinates: Maps 62°05′11″S 58°23′36″W / 62.0865°S 58.3932°W
