Multiple governments have set up permanent research stations in Antarctica and these bases are widely distributed. Unlike the

drifting ice station A drifting ice station is a temporary or semi-permanent facility built on an ice floe. During the Cold War the Soviet Union and the United States maintained a number of stations in the Arctic Ocean on floes such as Fletcher's Ice Island for res ...

s set up in the Arctic, the current

research station Research stations are facilities where scientific investigation, Data collection, collection, analysis and experimentation occurs. A research station is a facility that is built for the purpose of conducting scientific research. There are also man ...

s of the

Antarctic The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar regions of Earth, polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is antipodes, diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antar ...

are constructed either on rocks or on ice that are (for practical purposes) fixed in place. Many of these stations are staffed throughout the year. Of the 56 signatories to the

Antarctic Treaty The Antarctic (, ; commonly ) is the polar region of Earth that surrounds the South Pole, lying within the Antarctic Circle. It is diametrically opposite of the Arctic region around the North Pole. The Antarctic comprises the continent of A ...

, a total of 55 countries (as of 2023) operate seasonal (summer) and year-round research stations on the continent. The number of people performing and supporting scientific research on the continent and nearby islands varies from approximately 4,800 during the summer to around 1,200 during the winter (June). In addition to these permanent stations, approximately 30 field camps are established each summer to support specific projects.

History

First bases

During the

Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration The Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration was an era in the exploration of the continent of Antarctica which began at the end of the 19th century, and ended after the First World War; the Shackleton–Rowett Expedition of 1921–1922 is often ci ...

in the late 19th century, the first bases on the continent were established. In 1898,

Carsten Borchgrevink Carsten Egeberg Borchgrevink (1 December 186421 April 1934) was a Norwegian polar explorer and a pioneer of Antarctic travel. He inspired Sir Robert Falcon Scott, Sir Ernest Shackleton, Roald Amundsen, and others associated with the Heroic Age ...

, a Norwegian/British explorer, led the British Antarctic Expedition to

Cape Adare Cape Adare is a prominent cape of black basalt forming the northern tip of the Adare Peninsula and the north-easternmost extremity of Victoria Land, East Antarctica. It is the site of the first confirmed landing on the Antarctic mainlan ...

, where he established the first Antarctic base on

Ridley Beach The Adare Peninsula (), is a high ice-covered peninsula, long, in the northeast part of Victoria Land, extending south from Cape Adare to Cape Roget. The peninsula was named by the New Zealand Antarctic Place-Names Committee (NZ-APC) for Cape Ad ...

. This expedition is often referred to now as the ''Southern Cross'' Expedition, after the expedition's ship name. Most of the staff were Norwegian, but the funds for the expedition were British, provided by Sir

George Newnes Sir George Newnes, 1st Baronet (13 March 1851 – 9 June 1910) was a British publisher and editor and a founding figure in popular journalism. Newnes also served as a Liberal Party Member of Parliament for two decades. His company, George Newne ...

. The 10 members of this expedition explored Robertson Bay to the west of Cape Adare by dog teams, and later, after being picked up by the ship at the base, went ashore on the

Ross Ice Shelf The Ross Ice Shelf is the largest ice shelf of Antarctica (, an area of roughly and about across: about the size of France). It is several hundred metres thick. The nearly vertical ice front to the open sea is more than long, and between high ...

for brief journeys. The expedition hut is still in good condition and is visited frequently by tourists. The hut was later occupied by Scott's Northern Party under the command of Victor Campbell for a year in 1911, after its attempt to explore the eastern end of the ice shelf discovered

Roald Amundsen Roald Engelbregt Gravning Amundsen (, ; ; 16 July 1872 – ) was a Norwegians, Norwegian explorer of polar regions. He was a key figure of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Born in Borge, Østfold, Norway, Am ...

already ashore preparing for his assault on the South Pole. In 1903,

William S. Bruce William Speirs Bruce (1 August 1867 – 28 October 1921) was a British naturalist, polar scientist and oceanographer who organised and led the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (SNAE, 1902–04) to the South Orkney Islands and the Wedde ...

Scottish National Antarctic Expedition The Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (SNAE), 1902–1904, was organised and led by William Speirs Bruce, a natural scientist and former medical student from the University of Edinburgh. Although overshadowed in terms of prestige by Robe ...

set off to Antarctica, with one of its aims to establish a meteorological station in the area. After the expedition failed to find land, Bruce decided to head back to

Laurie Island Laurie Island is the second largest of the South Orkney Islands. The island is claimed by both Argentina as part of Argentine Antarctica, and by the United Kingdom as part of the British Antarctic Territory. Under the Antarctic Treaty System a ...

in the

South Orkneys The South Orkney Islands are a group of islands in the Southern Ocean, about north-east of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula The islands were well-situated as a site for a meteorological station, and their relative proximity to the South American mainland allowed a permanent station to be established. Bruce instituted a comprehensive program of work, involving meteorological readings, trawling for marine samples, botanical excursions, and the collection of biological and geological specimens. The major task completed during this time was the construction of a stone building, christened "Omond House". This was to act as living accommodation for the parties that would remain on Laurie Island to operate the proposed meteorological laboratory. The building was constructed from local materials using the

dry stone Dry stone, sometimes called drystack or, in Scotland, drystane, is a building method by which structures are constructed from stones without any mortar to bind them together. A certain amount of binding is obtained through the use of carefully ...

method, with a roof improvised from wood and canvas sheeting. The completed house was 20 feet by 20 feet square (6m × 6m), with two windows, fitted as quarters for six people. Rudmose Brown wrote: "Considering that we had no

mortar Mortar may refer to: * Mortar (weapon), an indirect-fire infantry weapon * Mortar (masonry), a material used to fill the gaps between blocks and bind them together * Mortar and pestle, a tool pair used to crush or grind * Mortar, Bihar, a village i ...

and no masons' tools it is a wonderfully fine house and very lasting. I should think it will be standing a century hence ..." Bruce later offered to transfer the station and instruments to Argentina on the condition that the government committed itself to the continuation of the scientific mission. Bruce informed the British officer William Haggard of his intentions in December 1903, and Haggard ratified the terms of Bruce's proposition. The ''

Scotia Scotia is a Latin placename derived from ''Scoti'', a Latin name for the Gaels, first attested in the late 3rd century.Duffy, Seán. ''Medieval Ireland: An Encyclopedia''. Routledge, 2005. p. 698. The Romans referred to Ireland as "Scotia" aro ...

'' sailed back for Laurie Island on 14 January 1904, transporting Argentinean officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, National Meteorological Office, Ministry of Livestock and National Postal and Telegraphs Office. In 1906, Argentina communicated to the international community the establishment of a permanent base on the

South Orkney Islands The South Orkney Islands are a group of List of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands, islands in the Southern Ocean, about north-east of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula Little happened for the following forty years. The United States starting under the leadership of Admiral

Richard E. Byrd Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer, and pioneering aviator, polar explorer, and organizer of polar logistics. Aircraft flights in which he served as a navigator and expedition leader cr ...

constructed a series of five bases near the

Bay of Whales The Bay of Whales was a natural ice harbour, or iceport, indenting the front of the Ross Ice Shelf just north of Roosevelt Island, Antarctica, at the southernmost point of the world's ocean. While the Ross Sea stretches considerably further s ...

named Little America between 1929 and 1958. All of them have now drifted off to sea on icebergs. Before the start of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, German aircraft had dropped markers with swastikas across

Queen Maud Land Queen Maud Land () is a roughly region of Antarctica Territorial claims in Antarctica, claimed by Norway as a dependent territory. It borders the claimed British Antarctic Territory 20th meridian west, 20° west, specifically the Caird Coast, ...

in an attempt to create a territorial claim (

New Swabia New Swabia ( Norwegian and ) was an area of Antarctica explored, with the intention to claim it, by Nazi Germany between 1938 and 1939, within the Norwegian territorial claim of Queen Maud Land. The region was named after the expedition's ship, ...

). In 1943 the British launched

Operation Tabarin Operation Tabarin was the code name for a secret British expedition to the Antarctic during World War Two, operational 1943–46. Conducted by the Admiralty on behalf of the Colonial Office, its primary objective was to strengthen British claims ...

, to establish a presence on the continent. The chief reason was to establish solid British claims to various uninhabited islands and parts of Antarctica, reinforced by Argentine sympathies toward Germany. Led by Lieutenant James Marr, the 14-strong team left the

Falkland Islands The Falkland Islands (; ), commonly referred to as The Falklands, is an archipelago in the South Atlantic Ocean on the Patagonian Shelf. The principal islands are about east of South America's southern Patagonian coast and from Cape Dub ...

in two ships, HMS ''William Scoresby'' (a minesweeping trawler) and '' HMS Fitzroy'', on Saturday, January 29, 1944. Marr had accompanied the British explorer Sir

Ernest Shackleton Sir Ernest Henry Shackleton (15 February 1874 – 5 January 1922) was an Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer who led three British expeditions to the Antarctic. He was one of the principal figures of the period known as the Heroic Age of Antarcti ...

on his final Antarctic expedition in 1921–22. Bases were established during February near the abandoned Norwegian whaling station on

Deception Island Deception Island is in the South Shetland Islands close to the Antarctic Peninsula with a large and usually "safe" natural harbour, which is occasionally affected by the underlying active volcano. This island is the caldera of an active volc ...

, where the

Union Flag The Union Jack or Union Flag is the ''de facto'' national flag of the United Kingdom. The Union Jack was also used as the official flag of several British colonies and dominions before they adopted their own national flags. It is sometimes a ...

was hoisted in place of Argentine flags, and at

Port Lockroy Port Lockroy is a bay forming a natural harbour on the north-western shore of Wiencke Island in the Palmer Archipelago to the west of the Antarctic Peninsula. The Antarctic base with the same name, situated on Goudier Island in this bay, includ ...

(on February 11) on the coast of

Graham Land Graham Land is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula that lies north of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This description of Graham Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the British Antarctic Place-names Committee ...

. A further base was founded at

Hope Bay Hope Bay may refer to: * Hope Bay, Antarctica Hope Bay (Spanish language, Spanish: ''Bahía Esperanza'') () is a bay long and wide, indenting the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and opening on Antarctic Sound. Location Hope Bay is in Graham ...

on February 13, 1945, after a failed attempt to unload stores on February 7, 1944. These were the first permanent bases to be constructed on the Antarctic mainland. A massive expansion in international activity followed the war. Chile organized its

First Chilean Antarctic Expedition The First Chilean Antarctic Expedition (1947–1948) was an expedition to Antarctica mounted by the Chilean government and military to enforce its territorial claims against British challenges, namely Operation Tabarin. Among other accomplishmen ...

in 1947–48. Among other accomplishments, it brought the Chilean president

Gabriel González Videla Gabriel Enrique González Videla (; 22 November 1898 – 22 August 1980) was a Chilean politician and lawyer who served as the 24th president of Chile from 1946 to 1952. He had previously been a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 1930 ...

to personally inaugurate one of its bases, thereby becoming the first head of state to set foot on the continent.

Signy Research Station Signy Research Station (originally Station H) is an Antarctic research base on Signy Island, run by the British Antarctic Survey. History Signy was first occupied in 1947 when a three-man meteorological station was established in Factory Cove a ...

(UK) was established in 1947, Australia's

Mawson Station Mawson Station, commonly called Mawson, is one of three permanent bases and research outposts in Antarctica managed by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). Mawson lies in Holme Bay in Mac. Robertson Land, East Antarctica in the Australian ...

in 1954,

Dumont d'Urville Station The Dumont d'Urville Station () is a French scientific station in Antarctica on Île des Pétrels, Géologie Archipelago, archipelago of Pointe-Géologie in Adélie Land. It is named after exploration, explorer Jules Dumont d'Urville, whose expe ...

was the first French station in 1956. In that same year, the United States built

McMurdo Station McMurdo Station is an American Antarctic research station on the southern tip of Ross Island. It is operated by the United States through the United States Antarctic Program (USAP), a branch of the National Science Foundation. The station is ...

and

Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station The Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station is a science and technology in the United States, United States scientific research station at the South Pole of the Earth. It is the List of extreme points of the United States, southernmost point under ...

, and the Soviet Union built

Mirny Station The Mirny Station (, ) is a Russian Antarctic science station. It is located in Queen Mary Land, Antarctica, on the Antarctic coast of the Davis Sea. The station is managed by the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute and was named after ...

The Antarctic Treaty

The Antarctic Treaty, first signed on 1 December 1959 by 12 countries, stated that scientific investigations in research stations in Antarctica can continue, but all observations must be shared. The Antarctic Treaty also stated that Antarctica can only be used for peaceful purposes and any exploitation of the continent such as mining is forbidden, thus scientific research is the only activity that may be performed on Antarctica. As more countries established research stations on Antarctica, the number of signatories of the treaty increased, with 56 signatories as of 2023, 55 of whom utilize their rights and operate research stations in Antarctica. 7 of the signatories also laid claims on Antarctica (and 4 reserved their rights to do so), with the intention of expanding research in those territories in the future. However, research facilities have also been established by countries in the claimed area of other countries.

Permanent active stations

The United States maintains the southernmost base,

, and the largest base and research station in Antarctica,

. The second-southernmost base is the Chinese

Kunlun Station Kunlun Station () is the southernmost of five Chinese research stations in Antarctica. When it is occupied during the summer, it is the second-southernmost research base in Antarctica, behind only the American Amundsen–Scott South Pole Statio ...

at 80°25′2″S during the summer season, and the Russian

Vostok Station Vostok Station (, , ) is a Russian research station in inland Princess Elizabeth Land, Antarctica. Founded by the Soviet Union in 1957, the station lies at the southern Pole of Cold, with the lowest reliably measured natural temperature on ...

at 78°27′50″S during the winter season.

Subantarctic stations

The

sub-Antarctic The sub-Antarctic zone is a physiographic region in the Southern Hemisphere, located immediately north of the Antarctic region. This translates roughly to a latitude of between 46° and 60° south of the Equator. The subantarctic region inc ...

zone is a

physiographic region Physiographic regions are a means of defining Earth's landforms into independently distinct, mutually exclusive areas, independent of political boundaries. It is based upon the classic three-tiered approach by Nevin M. Fenneman in 1916, that separ ...

in the Southern Hemisphere, located immediately north of the

region.

Summer-only active stations

Maps of active stations

Inactive stations

Impact and pollution

In 2023 a research report from an Australian teamAntarctic pollution by researchers surfaces in new report
''Green Prophet'', 10 September 2023. Retrieved 8 February 2024 found that the pollution left by international research stations was comparable to that seen in some of the busiest ports in the world.

Notes

References

External links

*
Research stations

COMNAP Antarctic Facilities, 2014, Excel file

COMNAP Antarctic Facilities Map, 2009
()
Antarctic Exploration Timeline
animated map of Antarctic exploration and settlement, showing where and when Antarctic research stations were established
Antarctic Digital Database Map Viewer
SCAR {{Polar exploration Antarctica-related lists Government research Science and technology in Antarctica stations in Antarctica stations in Antarctica