Base General Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme, also Base Libertador General Bernardo O'Higgins Riquelme, or shortly Bernardo O'Higgins, named after Bernardo O'Higgins is a permanently staffed Chilean base in Antarctica. It is located at , at an elevation of 13 m, about 30 km southwest of Prime Head, the northernmost point of the Antarctic Peninsula. It was established on February 18, 1948 and is one of the Antarctic bases with the longest times of continuous operation. The winter population is 16, and the peak population in the Antarctic summer is usually 44, although up to 60 persons can be accommodated. The base is operated by the Chilean Army. It is also known as Puerto Covadonga after the port on which it is located [1].
The German Antarctic Receiving Station (GARS) was established at O'Higgins in 1991 by the DLR. It is a satellite ground station sited in Antarctica to enable reception of data from satellite-based sensors within the south polar region that might otherwise be lost. High bandwidth sensors such as SAR generate too much data to be stored on board the satellite for transmission to ground stations elsewhere. GARS was sited at O'Higgins because of the geology, infrastructure and accessibility of the base.
Bernardo O'Higgins Base experiences a cold-polar climate (Koppen E). Average annual precipitation amounts to 772 mm (30.39 in), and is distributed fairly evenly throughout the year, typically peaking marginally during the austral spring. Temperatures are chillingly frigid all year-round; the warmest month is January with an average monthly temperature of 1 °C (34 °F), while the coldest month is July with an average monthly temperature of −8 °C (18 °F).
| Climate data for Bernardo O'Higgins Base (Chile), Antartica | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 1 (34) |
0 (32) |
0 (32) |
−3 (27) |
−5 (23) |
−7 (19) |
−8 (18) |
−7 (19) |
−5 (23) |
−3 (27) |
−1 (30) |
0 (32) |
−3.2 (26.3) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 29 (1.14) |
64 (2.52) |
74 (2.91) |
78 (3.07) |
67 (2.64) |
51 (2.01) |
66 (2.6) |
67 (2.64) |
88 (3.46) |
87 (3.43) |
62 (2.44) |
39 (1.54) |
772 (30.39) |
| Source: The Weather Network [2] | |||||||||||||
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