Zucchelli Station is an Italian seasonal research station 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. ...

, located at

Terra Nova Bay Terra Nova Bay () is a bay which is often ice free, about long, lying between Cape Washington and the Drygalski Ice Tongue along the coast of Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was discovered by the British National Antarctic Expedition (known as the ...

on a granitic headland along the coast of the

Northern Foothills Northern Foothills () is a line of coastal hills on the west side of Terra Nova Bay, Victoria Land, Antarctica, lying southward of Browning Pass (Antarctica), Browning Pass and forming a peninsular continuation of the Deep Freeze Range. It was na ...

to the north-east of

Gerlache Inlet Terra Nova Bay () is a bay which is often ice free, about long, lying between Cape Washington and the Drygalski Ice Tongue along the coast of Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was discovered by the British National Antarctic Expedition (known as the ...

. It has been named after Mario Zucchelli, director of the activities, which conducted for sixteen years, for the ENEA-Unità Tecnica Antartide as part of the

National Antarctic Research Program (PNRA) National Antarctic Research Program (''Programma Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide'' or PNRA) is the Italian Antarctic research program. The PNRA is directed by the Ministry of Education, University and Research (MIUR) through two national bodies: ...

. The main functions carried out by the Station are: * logistic support to scientific personnel operating in remote fields * logistical and operational support to the oceanographic ship * support to research activities with laboratories and instrumentation * support to personnel and material in transit for

Concordia Station Concordia Research Station, which opened in 2005, is a French–Italian research facility managed by l' Institut polaire français Paul-Émile Victor and Programma Nazionale di Ricerche in Antartide, that was built above sea level on a geogra ...

* support to air operations

Description

The Zucchelli Station is a seasonal (from mid-October until mid-March) research Antarctic Station on the Terra Nova Bay located at an altitude of and covers an area of approximately 7,500 square meters. In 2010, the Station was enlarged and in the

austral summer Summer or summertime is the hottest and brightest of the four temperate seasons, occurring after spring and before autumn. At or centred on the summer solstice, daylight hours are the longest and darkness hours are the shortest, with day ...

the traverse leave for

operated jointly with France.

Main building

The main building was built in 1985, in the first seasonal expedition, on a steel structure from the ground and consist of 82

containers A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...

, 42 of which used for the personnel accommodation and services while the remaining 40 to the support activities as: * operations room situated on the top of the building, like a control tower, looking over the base * communications room, adjacent to the operation room to facilitate the

HF radio High frequency (HF) is the ITU designation for the band of radio waves with frequency between 3 and 30 megahertz (MHz). It is also known as the decameter band or decameter wave as its wavelengths range from one to ten decameters (ten to one ...

and the

satellite radio Satellite radio is defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)'s ITU Radio Regulations (RR) as a '' broadcasting-satellite service''. The satellite's signals are broadcast nationwide, across a much wider geographical area than te ...

transmissions * calculation room which give informatics support and data transmission, *offices, * laboratories (chemistry, biology, geology, electronics), * cafeteria, * kitchen, * emergency, * infirmary, * laundry.

Technical plants

* aquarium * boat storage * carpentry * co-generation system for the exploitation of the thermal energy produced by the power plant * deposit for vehicles *

desalination Desalination is a process that removes mineral components from saline water. More generally, desalination is the removal of salts and minerals from a substance. One example is Soil salinity control, soil desalination. This is important for agric ...

plant * diving chamber * electrical and mechanical workshop * fuel storage * helipads *

incinerator Incineration is a list of solid waste treatment technologies, waste treatment process that involves the combustion of substances contained in waste materials. Industrial plants for waste incineration are commonly referred to as waste-to-ene ...

plant * materials warehouse * nitrogen and helium liquefiers * power and thermal energy plant (four diesel generators) * shredder and compactor plant *

wastewater treatment Wastewater treatment is a process which removes and eliminates contaminants from wastewater. It thus converts it into an effluent that can be returned to the water cycle. Once back in the water cycle, the effluent creates an acceptable impact on ...

plant

Research activity

* cosmic ray observations * geodesy * geomagnetic observations * glaciology * ionospheric/auroral observations * meteorological observations * oceanography * offshore marine biology * onshore geology * seismology and

environmental monitoring Environmental monitoring is the processes and activities that are done to characterize and describe the state of the environment. It is used in the preparation of environmental impact assessments, and in many circumstances in which human activit ...

* terrestrial biology

Icaro Camp

Icaro Camp () is a facility, fitted as a meteorological station, located south of the Zucchelli Station. The camp consists of two blue

, held by

guy-wire A guy-wire, guy-line, guy-rope, down guy, or stay, also called simply a guy, is a tensioned cable designed to add stability to a freestanding structure. They are used commonly for ship masts, radio masts, wind turbines, utility poles, and ten ...

s, meteorological equipment, solar panels and a wind generator. Although the structures are not suited to accommodate people, they could shelter a dozen in case of emergency.

Transportation

Boulder Clay Runway

Boulder Clay Runway () is located about south of Zucchelli Station on the

; the construction started in the 2016–17 season and will be completed in the 2021–22. The Italian team usually use an

Ice Runway The Annual Sea-Ice Runway is a type of seasonal ice runway made on frozen McMurdo Sound for the United States Antarctic Program, U.S. Antarctic Program during the summer Antarctic field season in proximity to Hut Point Peninsula, which has Mc ...

in the

to start the summer campaign but in recent years the ice runway was closed earlier then before because of the ice thickness had diminished due to partial melting of the ice. The airstrip is situated on the Boulder Clay Moraine and is built with the least

environmental impact Environmental issues are disruptions in the usual function of ecosystems. Further, these issues can be caused by humans ( human impact on the environment) or they can be natural. These issues are considered serious when the ecosystem cannot reco ...

as possible. It is a gravel runway long and wide in order to be suitable to the

Safair Safair is an airline based at the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, South Africa. It operates one of the world's largest fleets of civil Lockheed L-100 Hercules cargo aircraft.

Aeronautica Militare The Italian Air Force (; AM, ) is the air force of the Italian Republic. The Italian Air Force was founded as an independent service arm on 28 March 1923 by King Victor Emmanuel III as the ("Royal Air Force"). After World War II, when Italy b ...

C-130J The Lockheed Martin C-130J Super Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft. The C-130J is a comprehensive update of the Lockheed C-130 Hercules, with new engines, flight deck, and other systems. The C-130J is th ...

or other larger types, such as the

C-17 Globemaster The McDonnell Douglas/Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large military transport aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF) between the 1980s to the early 1990s by McDonnell Douglas. The C-17 carries forward the name of two previ ...

, Airbus A319-115LR and

Boeing 757 The Boeing 757 is an American Narrow-body aircraft, narrow-body airliner designed and built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The then-named 7N7, a twinjet successor for the trijet Boeing 727, 727, received its first orders in August 1978. The ...

. The airfield will be completed with a

taxiway A taxiway is a path for aircraft at an airport connecting runways with Airport apron, aprons, hangars, Airport terminal, terminals and other facilities. They mostly have a hard surface such as Asphalt concrete, asphalt or concrete, although sma ...

which connect the apron with the runway, an

apron An apron is a garment worn over other clothing to cover the front of the body to protect from liquids. They have several purposes, most commonly as a functional accessory that protects clothes and skin from stains and marks. However, other typ ...

for aircraft parking and operational tasks, capable of stationing two C-130 Hercules, fire service as

ICAO The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international sch ...

standards, fuel deposit, terminal and shed for the personnel, operation room and a power unit. The reduced thickness of the ice in the Ross Sea did not allowed to the heavier C-130J Hercules of the Italian Air Force to land on the

sea ice Sea ice arises as seawater freezes. Because ice is less density, dense than water, it floats on the ocean's surface (as does fresh water ice). Sea ice covers about 7% of the Earth's surface and about 12% of the world's oceans. Much of the world' ...

runway. On 22 November 2022 at 4.30

CET CET or cet may refer to: Places * Cet, Albania * Cet, standard astronomical abbreviation for the constellation Cetus * Colchester Town railway station (National Rail code CET), in Colchester, England Arts, entertainment, and media * Comcast En ...

a C-130J landed for the first time on the prepared gravel runway. Boulder Clay Runway will become an international hub as it can be utilised by the other nearby research stations.

Enigma Lake Skiway

Enigma Lake Skiway is situated at an elevation of , on the

, south of Zucchelli Station on an iced lake. Being long it is operated by the

Twin Otter The de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter is a Canadian STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) utility aircraft developed by de Havilland Canada in the mid-1960s and still in production today. Built by De Havilland Canada from 1965 to 1988, Viking A ...

s and

Basler BT-67 The Basler BT-67 is a utility aircraft produced by Basler Turbo Conversions of Oshkosh, Wisconsin. It is a remanufactured and modified Douglas C-47 Skytrain / Douglas DC-3; the modifications are designed to significantly extend the DC-3's servic ...

. The skyway is prepared by removing the snow accumulated in the winter by the Station staff; in the same place stands an AWS (Rita) which makes part of the network managed by the Antarctic Meteo-Climatological Weather Observatory.

Zucchelli Ice Runway

Zucchelli Ice Runway is located in the

and is prepared, at the beginning of each season, by the station's logistic personnel in mid-October. The sea ice runway is suitable for operating the

Safair Safair is an airline based at the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Kempton Park, South Africa. It operates one of the world's largest fleets of civil Lockheed L-100 Hercules cargo aircraft.

wheeled

C-130 The Lockheed C-130 Hercules is an American four-engine turboprop military transport aircraft designed and built by Lockheed Corporation, Lockheed (now Lockheed Martin). Capable of using unprepared runways for takeoffs and landings, the C-130 w ...

, but in the latest years it was closed earlier than before because the sea ice break up. Two runways are prepared, one is the 03/21 which is long and wide used by the C-130, the other is the 06/24 which is shorter measuring in length and in width utilised by the Twin Otters and the Basler BT-67.

Climate

AWS Network

The Antarctic Meteo-Climatological Weather Observatory, established in 1985, attempt to a give a contribution to understand the

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

through the study of the

atmospheric dynamics Meteorology is the scientific study of the Earth's atmosphere and short-term atmospheric phenomena (i.e. weather), with a focus on weather forecasting. It has applications in the military, aviation, energy production, transport, agriculture, ...

. The programme is defined by two projects supported by the

, one regarding the

Victoria Land Victoria Land is a region in eastern Antarctica which fronts the western side of the Ross Sea and the Ross Ice Shelf, extending southward from about 70°30'S to 78th parallel south, 78°00'S, and westward from the Ross Sea to the edge of the Ant ...

and the other the

, carried out by the ENEA personnel. The centre run an

Automatic weather station An automatic weather station (AWS) is an automated version of the traditional weather station, either to save human labor or to enable measurements from remote areas. An AWS will typically consist of a weather-proof enclosure containing the data ...

network, distributed through the territory, having the responsibility of the instrumentation assembly, the maintenance and the data collection. The network include 16 AW stations operating all year around: * Alessandra ( Cape King), * Arelis (

Cape Ross Evans Piedmont Glacier () is a broad ice sheet occupying the low-lying coastal platform between Tripp Island and Cape Archer in Victoria Land, Antarctica. Exploration and naming Evans Piedmont Glacier was circumnavigated in 1957 by the New Zeal ...

), *

, * Eneide (

) * Giulia ( Mid Point), * Irene (

Sitry Sitry Airstrip, the name is derived from the abbreviation of C-3, was an Antarctic skiway operated by the Italian ENEA-Unità Tecnica Antartitide as part of the National Antarctic Research Program (PNRA). The airstrip is located at above the s ...

), * Jennica (

), * Lola ( Tourmaline Plateau), * Maria ( Browning Pass), * Modesta (

Priestley Glacier The Priestley Glacier () is a major valley glacier, about long, originating at the edge of the polar plateau, Polar Plateau of Victoria Land, Antarctica. The glacier drains southeast between the Deep Freeze Range and Eisenhower Range to enter the ...

), * Paola ( Talos Dome), * Rita ( Enigma Lake), * Silvia ( Cape Phillips), * Sofia (

Nansen Ice Sheet Nansen Ice Sheet () is a long by wide ice shelf. It is nourished by the Priestley and Reeves Glaciers and abuts the north side of the Drygalski Ice Tongue, along the coast of Victoria Land, Antarctica. This feature was explored by the South M ...

), * Sofiab (

David Glacier The David Glacier () is a glacier over long, flowing east from the polar plateau through the Prince Albert Mountains to the coast of Victoria Land, Antarctica. It enters Ross Sea between Cape Philippi and Cape Reynolds to form the floating Drygal ...

), * Zoraida (

Gallery

File:Mario Zucchelli Station, Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica.JPG File:Mario Zucchelli Station 05.jpg File:Mario Zucchelli Station 06.jpg Image:Terra Nova Bay 097 Mario Zuchelli Station.jpg File:Mario Zucchelli Station 08.jpg Walking Through Zucchelli Station.png

References

External links

COMNAP Antarctic Facilities

COMNAP Antarctic Facilities Map

Mario Zucchelli Station - pdf

Mario Zucchelli Station (English Text)
* {{Antarctica Outposts of Antarctica Outposts of the Ross Dependency Italy and the Antarctic Victoria Land Scott Coast 1985 establishments in Antarctica