Regarded as the “international continent”, Antarctica is a place of worldwide cooperation, peace, and scientific discovery. There are currently 70 permanent research stations scattered across the continent of Antarctica, which represent 29 countries from every continent on Earth. Together, these countries, or ‘signatories’ of the Antarctic Treaty, must ensure the preservation and wellbeing of the natural land, and to cooperate with their fellow explorers. Each signatory of the treaty maintains either year round or seasonal stations throughout Antarctica. Some countries even maintain both, in order to maximize the amount of seasonal research that can be conducted.
The history behind the establishment of these stations hasn’t always been glamorous. Not only is it difficult to travel to Antarctica in the first place, but there’s an immense amount of work that goes into building and maintaining these stations, some of which hold up to 1,200 people at peak summer hours. Still, the human spirit persists, and has resulted in the construction of some of the most amazing and interesting places on Earth. Continue reading from Oceanwide Expeditions
McMurdo Station (77°51'S, 166°40'E), the main U.S. station in Antarctica, is a coastal station at the southern tip of Ross Island, about 3,864 km (2,415 miles) south of Christchurch, New Zealand, and 1,360 km (850 miles) north of the South Pole. The original station was built in 1955 to 1956 for the International Geophysical Year. Today's station is the primary logistics facility for supply of inland stations and remote field camps, and is also the waste management center for much of the U.S. Antarctic Program. Year-round and summer science projects are supported at McMurdo. Continue reading from United States Antarctic Program