Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station

Henryk Arctowski Polish Antarctic Station (Polish: Polska Stacja Antarktyczna im. Henryka Arctowskiego) is a Polish research station on King George Island, off the coast of Antarctica.

The area contains some plant vegetation like mosses, liverworts, lichens and fungi, one of the only areas in Antarctica to do so, forming one of the few Antarctic oasis. It is believed up to half of lichens in Antarctica vegetate the surroundings of the station, therefore, being one of the only areas in Antarctica that can technically be grazed by small livestock, forming the only known place in Antarctica capable of supporting agriculture.

History
The station is named for Henryk Arctowski (1871–1958), who as meteorologist had accompanied the Belgian explorer Baron Adrien de Gerlache on the Belgian Antarctic Expedition "Belgica", 1897–1899. This was the first expedition to overwinter in Antarctica. He proposed the original notion of a wind chill factor, arguing that wind could be as damaging to human flesh as cold in harsh climates.

Established on 26 February 1977, the station is managed by the Polish Academy of Sciences; its main research areas include marine biology, oceanography, geology, geomorphology, glaciology, meteorology, climatology, seismology, magnetism and ecology.

Because it is readily accessible, and the Polish staffers are friendly, it is one of the most-visited scientific stations in Antarctica. The beaches near the station have numerous whale bones, relics of the time when the site was used to process whales killed nearby.

The station is near colonies of three different types of Pygoscelis penguins (Adelies, chinstraps, and gentoos), and has been designated a site of Special Scientific Interest (SSI) as provided by the Antarctic Treaty.

Historic site
The grave of Polish wildlife photographer Włodzimierz Puchalski, surmounted by an iron cross, stands on a hill to the south of the station. Puchalski died on 19 January 1979 in the course of filming a nature documentary in the vicinity of the station. The location of the grave and cross has been designated a Historic Site or Monument (HSM 51), following a proposal by Poland to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting.

See also
 List of Antarctic research stations
 List of Antarctic field camps
 A.B. Dobrowolski Polar Station

References

Further reading
 Antarctica. Sydney: Reader's Digest, 1985, pp. 130–133, 300.
 Child, Jack. Antarctica and South American Geopolitics: Frozen Lebensraum. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1988, p. 12.
 Lonely Planet, Antarctica: a Lonely Planet Travel Survival Kit, Oakland, CA: Lonely Planet Publications, 1996, p. 273.
 Stewart, Andrew, Antarctica: An Encyclopedia. London: McFarland & Company, 1990 (2 volumes, p. 37.
 U.S. National Science Foundation, Geographic Names of the Antarctic, Fred G. Alberts, ed. Washington: NSF, 1980.

External links
 
 COMNAP Antarctic Facilities
 COMNAP Antarctic Facilities Map
 COMNAP Antarctic Facilities

Arctowski
Poland and the Antarctic
Research institutes established in 1977
Historic Sites and Monuments of Antarctica
Lighthouses in Antarctica
1977 establishments in Antarctica
King George Island (South Shetland Islands)