Juan Carlos I Antarctic Base, named after the former king of

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

Juan Carlos I Juan Carlos I (; Juan Carlos Alfonso Víctor María de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias, born 5 January 1938) is a member of the Spanish royal family who reigned as King of Spain from 22 November 1975 until Abdication of Juan Carlos I, his abdic ...

(), is a seasonal (November to March) scientific station operated by

, opened in January 1988. Situated on Hurd Peninsula,

Livingston Island Livingston Island (Russian name ''Smolensk'', ) is an Antarctic island in the Southern Ocean, part of the South Shetland Islands, South Shetlands Archipelago, a group of List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands, Antarctic islands north of the ...

in the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands, Antarctic islands located in the Drake Passage with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the n ...

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. ...

. The base is controlled by the Marine Technology Unit of the

Spanish National Research Council The Spanish National Research Council (, CSIC) is the largest public institution dedicated to research in Spain and the third largest in Europe. Its main objective is to develop and promote research that will help bring about scientific and techn ...

and is 20 miles away from the Spanish Antarctic base Gabriel de Castilla. The base has undergone several renovations, the closest remodeling was completed in 2018 and it was inaugurated by the Science Minister,

Pedro Duque Pedro Francisco Duque Duque, Order of Friendship, OF, Medal "For Merit in Space Exploration", OMSE (born Madrid, 14 March 1963) is a Spanish astronaut and aeronautics engineer who served as Ministry of Science (Spain), minister of Science from ...

, on February 2, 2019. This latest renovation involved the construction of "new facilities

hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...

have allowed it to double its capacity, up to 51 people, and increase the space available for scientific and technical personnel in laboratories."

Location

The base is on the coast of Española Cove, South Bay, in the northern foothills of Mount Reina Sofía, and 2.7 km south-southwest of the

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n base St. Kliment Ohridski. The two bases are linked by a 5.5 km overland route via Johnsons Glacier,

Charrúa Gap Charrúa Gap (Sedlovina Charrúa \se-dlo-vi-'na cha-'ru-a\) is a flat ice-covered saddle extending in east-west direction between Castillo Nunatak and Charrúa Ridge on Hurd Peninsula, eastern Livingston Island at an elevation of . The gap se ...

, Contell Glacier and Krum Rock.

Gallery

Hurd-Peninsula-location-map.png, Location of Hurd Peninsula on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands. Juan Carlos I Antarctic Base, Hurd Peninsula, Livingston Island, Antarctica.jpg, The old Juan Carlos I Base, with South Bay and Ereby Point in the background Livingston-Island-Map-2010-15.png, Topographic map of Livingston Island with the bases and base camps on the island image

Maps

Isla Livingston: Península Hurd.
Mapa topográfico de escala 1:25000. Madrid: Servicio Geográfico del Ejército, 1991. (Map reproduced on p. 16 of the linked work) * L .L. Ivanov et al. Antarctica: Livingston Island and Greenwich Island, South Shetland Islands. Scale 1:100000 topographic map. Sofia: Antarctic Place-names Commission of Bulgaria, 2005. * L. L. Ivanov
Antarctica: Livingston Island and Greenwich, Robert, Snow and Smith Islands
Scale 1:120000 topographic map. Troyan: Manfred Wörner Foundation.
Antarctic Digital Database (ADD).
Scale 1:250000 topographic map of Antarctica. Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR). Since 1993, regularly upgraded and updated. * L.L. Ivanov. Antarctica: Livingston Island and Smith Island. Scale 1:100000 topographic map. Manfred Wörner Foundation, 2017.

Bibliography

* Ivanov, L
General Geography and History of Livingston Island.
In: ''Bulgarian Antarctic Research: A Synthesis''. Eds. C. Pimpirev and N. Chipev. Sofia: St. Kliment Ohridski University Press, 2015. pp. 17–28.

References

External links

Marine Technology Unit: Juan Carlos I

COMNAP Antarctic Facilities
()
COMNAP Antarctic Facilities Map
() Geography of Livingston Island Outposts of the South Shetland Islands Science and technology in Antarctica Science and technology in Spain 1989 establishments in Antarctica Spain and the Antarctic 1989 establishments in Spain Antarctic Base {{LivingstonIsland-geo-stub