Port Martin, or Port-Martin, is an abandoned French research base at
Cape Margerie on the coast of
Adélie Land
Adélie Land ( ) or Adélie Coast is a Territorial claims in Antarctica, claimed territory of France located on the continent of Antarctica. It stretches from a portion of the Southern Ocean coastline all the way inland to the South Pole. Franc ...
,
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...
, as well as the name of the adjacent
anchor
An anchor is a device, normally made of metal, used to secure a vessel to the bed of a body of water to prevent the craft from drifting due to wind or current. The word derives from Latin ', which itself comes from the Greek ().
Anch ...
age.
History
The site was discovered in 1950 by the
Fifth French Antarctic Expedition under and a landing made on 18 January 1950. The base was established by Liotard and a team of 11 men who raised the main building with several annexes to house scientific activities. It was named for expeditioner (aka J.A. Martin), originally second-in-command of the group, who had died of a stroke off South Africa as the expedition was en route to the Antarctic.
[
On 6 January 1951 the base team was relieved by 17-member team under the leadership of . Over the following year they enlarged the main building while continuing the research program. They, in turn, were relieved on 4 January 1952 while a smaller team of seven, led by , built a secondary base on Petrel Island, some to the west in the ]Géologie Archipelago
The Géologie Archipelago, also known as the Pointe Géologie Archipelago, Geology Archipelago or Cape Geology Archipelago, is a small archipelago of rocky islands and rocks close to the north of Cape Géodésie and Astrolabe Glacier Tongue, ext ...
.[
On the night of 23–24 January 1952 the Port Martin base was largely destroyed by a fire which burnt down its main building. There were no deaths nor injuries incurred but the base personnel were evacuated to Petrel Island, where they overwintered, and Port Martin abandoned.][
]
Historic site
Since 1952 the site has remained largely undisturbed. What remains in Port-Martin are the base's ancillary buildings, including a weather shelter and its coal and supply sheds, beneath a covering of snow. It represents an optimal site to design archeological methods and techniques in extreme climatic conditions. It is considered a valuable archaeological as well as a historic site and is protected under the Antarctic Treaty System
The Antarctic Treaty and related agreements, collectively known as the Antarctic Treaty System (ATS), regulate international relations with respect to Antarctica, Earth's only continent without a native human population. It was the first arms ...
as Antarctic Specially Protected Area (ASPA) No.166.
See also
* List of Antarctic research stations
* List of Antarctic field camps
Many research stations in Antarctica support satellite field camps which are, in general, seasonal camps. The type of field camp can vary – some are permanent structures used during the annual Antarctic summer, whereas others are little more tha ...
References
Martin, Port
Outposts of Adélie Land
1950 establishments in Antarctica
1952 disestablishments in Antarctica
Antarctic Specially Protected Areas
Historic buildings and structures in Antarctica
Outposts of Antarctica
{{AdélieLand-geo-stub