Zucchelli Station

Zucchelli Station is an Italian seasonal research station, located at Terra Nova Bay in Antarctica on a granitic headland along the coast of the Northern Foothills to north-east of Gerlache Inlet. 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).
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
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 the traverse leave for Concordia Station 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, 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 and the satellite radio 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 plant
diving chamber
electrical and mechanical workshop
fuel storage
helipads
incinerator plant
materials warehouse
nitrogen and helium liquefiers
power and thermal energy plant (four diesel generators)
shredder and compactor plant
wastewater treatment 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
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 containers, held by guy-wires, 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 Northern Foothills; the construction started in the 2016–17 season and will be completed in the 2021–22. The Italian team usually use an Ice Runway in the Gerlache Inlet 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 as possible. It is a gravel runway long and wide in order to be suitable to the Safair or Aeronautica Militare C-130J or other larger types, such as the C-17 Globemaster, Airbus A319-115LR and Boeing 757. The airfield will be completed with a taxiway which connect the apron with the runway, an apron for aircraft parking and operational tasks, capable of stationing two C-130 Hercules, fire service as ICAO 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 runway. On 22 November 2022 at 4.30 CET 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 Northern Foothills, south of Zucchelli Station on an iced lake. Being long it is operated by the Twin Otters and Basler BT-67. 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 Gerlache Inlet 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 Aeronautica Militare or Safair wheeled C-130, 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 through the study of the atmospheric dynamics. The programme is defined by two projects supported by the National Antarctic Research Program (PNRA), one regarding the Victoria Land and the other the Concordia Station, carried out by the ENEA personnel. The centre run an Automatic weather station 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),
Concordia Station,
Eneide (Terra Nova Bay)
Giulia (Mid Point),
Irene (Sitry),
Jennica (Terra Nova Bay),
Lola (Tourmaline Plateau),
Maria (Browning Pass),
Modesta (Priestley Glacier),
Paola (Talos Dome),
Rita (Enigma Lake),
Silvia (Cape Phillips),
Sofia (Nansen Ice Sheet),
Sofiab (David Glacier),
Zoraida (Priestley Glacier).
See also
List of Antarctic research stations
List of Antarctic field camps
Airports in Antarctica
Concordia Station operated by France and Italy
Jang Bogo Station a South Korean station in Terra Nova Bay
Gallery
References
External links
COMNAP Antarctic Facilities
COMNAP Antarctic Facilities Map
Mario Zucchelli Station - pdf
Mario Zucchelli Station (English Text)
Outposts of Antarctica
Outposts of the Ross Dependency
Italy and the Antarctic
Victoria Land
Scott Coast
1985 establishments in Antarctica