Plateau Station

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Coordinates: 79°15′03″S 40°33′38″E / -79.25082, 40.56042

Plateau Station is an inactive American research and Queen Maud Land traverse support base on the central Antarctic Plateau. Construction on the site started on December 13, 1965, and the first traverse team (named SPQML II) arrived in early 1966. The base was in continuous use until January 29, 1969, when it was closed but mothballed for future use, [1] and was the most remote and coldest of any United States stations on the continent.[2] It is also the site for the world's coldest measured average temperature for a month, recorded in July 1968, at −99.8 °F (−73.2 °C).[3]

The station was operated and staffed by the National Science Foundation and United States Navy. A pre-selected team of four scientists and four navy personnel were on constant duty at the station, which was under the command of a naval medical doctor. Originally designed for two years of service, it was in use for three years.[4]

Until the Fuji Dome Station opened in 1995, it was the outpost at the highest altitude at 3,624 metres (11,890 ft) above sea level. The effective altitude, due to polar circulation vortex was in excess of 4,000 metres (13,123 ft), making the base a useful location for high-altitude research. Although the cold never reached the record set at Vostok Station, the average temperature was consistently lower.

The buildings on the base were assembled from five pre-fabricated units flown in by Hercules C-130 aircraft with ski landing gear. Four units formed the main building, which is 8x25 meters; and a smaller Jamesway unit was constructed 300 meters away. Two 75 kW diesel generators provided the necessary energy for the main unit; and an additional generator was maintained at the standby unit. In addition, a 3,500 metres (11,483 ft) skiway was built for air transport. A 32 metres (105 ft) meteorological tower was erected with instruments at varying heights to monitor the persistent thermal air inversion layer above the Antarctic snow.

One primary purpose of the base was solar observations, given the high altitude, clear air, and relative short distance to the sun during the austral summer. But it was found that the base also provided unique opportunities to observe unusual weather phenomena.

Ice core samples were also made, but with mixed success. On October 29, 1966, the camp inhabitants experienced a severe snowquake that lowered the altitude by 1 centimetre (0.39 in). This was apparently caused by hoar frost crystals below the surface.

The teams were also monitored for medical and psychological effects, though it turned out that selection of staff precluded any notable emotional effects. White cell counts were found to decrease as a result of few immunological stimuli in the sterile environment.

On 22 December 2007, the Norwegian-U.S. Scientific Traverse of East Antarctica visited the base and entered the buildings, finding that it was mostly intact.[5]

[edit] References

  1. ^ [Scambos]. Plateau Station (English). Norwegian-U.S. Scientific Traverse of East Antarctica. Retrieved on 30, 2007. Retrieved on December 2007.
  2. ^ U.S. Stations and Camps in Antarctica (English). NASA. Retrieved on 30, 2007. Retrieved on December 2007.
  3. ^ Burt, Christopher [2007]. Extreme Weather: A Guide & Record Book, Mark Stroud (in English), W. W. Norton & Company, 56. ISBN 039333015X. “The lowest average temperature for any single month was recorded at the Plateau Station ... during July 1968...” 
  4. ^ Cosenza, J. P. ; Weber, A. M. (November 1967). PLATEAU STATION, ANTARCTICA-CONCEPT, DESIGN, CONSTRUCTION, AND INITIAL OCCUPANCY (English). Defense Technical Information Center. Retrieved on 30, 2007. Retrieved on December 2007.
  5. ^ [Albert]. Discovering historic Plateau Station (English). Norwegian-U.S. Scientific Traverse of East Antarctica. Retrieved on 30, 2007. Retrieved on December 2007.