Dakshin Gangotri was the first scientific base station of

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situated in

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. ...

, part of the Indian Antarctic Programme. It is located at a distance of from the

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. It is currently being used as a supply base and transit camp. The base is named after Dakshin Gangotri Glacier. It was established during the third Indian expedition to Antarctica in 1983–84. This was the first time an Indian team spent a winter in

to carry out scientific works. The station was built in eight weeks by an 81-member team that included geologist Sudipta Sengupta. Construction was completed late into January 1984 with help from the Indian army and

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was celebrated at the station along with the Soviets and East Germans.

Description

It was an unmanned station, set up using indigenous Indian equipment, powered by

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. The station was entirely computerised to record all data that was researched. It was built using pre-fabricated timber, and was intended as a permanent station. It had an

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communication terminal, as well as an amateur radio station. The station was divided into two sections, Blocks A and B. Block A contained generators, fuel supply and workshops while Block B was home to laboratories, radio rooms and other facilities. An automatic weather recording station, powered by solar energy was set up at the Dakshin Gangotri. Apart from this, the station was used to conduct tests on radio waves in Antarctica. Other functions of the Dakshin Gangotri included observations of

physical oceanography Physical oceanography is the study of physical conditions and physical processes within the ocean, especially the motions and physical properties of ocean waters. Physical oceanography is one of several sub-domains into which oceanography is div ...

, the chemistry of the freshwater lakes around, biological traits of the land, biological traits of the water,

geology Geology (). is a branch of natural science concerned with the Earth and other astronomical objects, the rocks of which they are composed, and the processes by which they change over time. Modern geology significantly overlaps all other Earth ...

glaciology Glaciology (; ) is the scientific study of glaciers, or, more generally, ice and natural phenomena that involve ice. Glaciology is an interdisciplinary Earth science that integrates geophysics, geology, physical geography, geomorphology, clim ...

and geomagnetism of the area. In 1984, site for a new runway was identified at a distance of 2 km from the station. Along with this, 2000

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s were marked with ''Dakshin Gangotri''. Later, in the same year, a small field station was set up in the hills, to allow direct communication over a high frequency satellite link between Indian mainland and the station. In 1985, instruments such as the Automatic Picture Transmission Receiver, and the Radio Metre Sonde were set up to calculate wind velocities and solar intensities to determine the feasibility of generation of

wind energy Wind power is the use of wind energy to generate useful work. Historically, wind power was used by sails, windmills and windpumps, but today it is mostly used to generate electricity. This article deals only with wind power for electricity ...

and solar energy. 2000

s were cancelled, while videos were taken on the station. An electrified garage to store snow vehicles and skidoos was constructed as well as a repair workshop for them was constructed along with three cottages made with pre-fabricated material, built by the

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.The

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helped set up the communications system for wireless transmission to India. In 1984, The first Indian post office in Antarctica was established at Dakshin Gangotri and Meteorologist G. Sudhakar Rao was named as the first Indian postmaster in Antarctica in 1988.

Conversion to supply base and replacement

It was abandoned in 1988–1989 after it was submerged in ice. It was succeeded by the Maitri research station, which was set up in a moderate climatic zone at a distance of 90 km and made operational in 1990. Dakshin Gangotri was finally decommissioned on 25 February 1990 and subsequently turned into a supply base. In 1991, the eleventh Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica conducted geomagnetic observations simultaneously at Dakshin Gangotri and Maitri. In 2008, India set up its first permanent research base on the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five oceanic divisions. It spans an area of approximately and is the coldest of the world's oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, ...

, Himadri. In 2012, a third research station, the Bharati was made operational, although only for testing. In 2014, the second Arctic research station, a moored observatory named IndARC was commissioned.

References

External links

Antarctica
NATIONAL CENTRE FOR ANTARCTIC AND OCEAN RESEARCH (NCAOR)

REVIEW OF THE HISTORIC SITE AND MONUMENT HSM-44 (A PLAQUE ERECTED AT “DAKSHIN GANGOTRI” STATION
{{Authority control Outposts of Queen Maud Land Indian Antarctic Programme Research in India Princess Astrid Coast Historic Sites and Monuments of Antarctica 1984 establishments in Antarctica 1990 disestablishments in Antarctica

Description

Conversion to supply base and replacement

See also

References

External links