Research stations in Antarctica

**Antarctica** is a very cold and dry continent. Many countries have built **research stations** there. These stations help scientists study the weather, animals, ice, and space. Research stations are places where scientists live and work. They have special buildings to keep warm and safe from the cold. The stations have laboratories, living areas, and communication tools. As of 2023, 55 of the 56 countries that signed the Antarctic Treaty have research stations in Antarctica. Some stations are open only in summer, and some are open all year.

## History

The first people to explore Antarctica were explorers in the early 1900s. They wanted to learn about the cold continent and its secrets. The first research stations were built in the 1940s and 1950s. At first, only a few countries had stations. These stations were small and used for short trips during the summer.

In 1959, many countries signed the Antarctic Treaty. This treaty made Antarctica a place for peace and science. It stopped countries from fighting over land there. After the treaty, more countries built research stations. The stations became bigger and better. Some now work all year round, even during the cold winter. Today, there are more than 70 research stations in Antarctica. Scientists from many countries live and work there to study the environment and help protect the Earth.

## Geography

Antarctica is the southernmost continent on Earth. It is almost completely covered by ice. The continent is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. Many research stations are built along the coast because the weather is less extreme there. Some stations are also built inland, in high areas like the Antarctic Plateau, where it is much colder.

The land is made of mountains, ice sheets, and glaciers. The South Pole is near the middle of the continent, and it is one of the coldest places on Earth.

## Climate

Antarctica has the coldest climate in the world. It is a polar desert, with very little rain or snow. Most of the continent is always below freezing.

In summer (October to February), temperatures near the coast can reach around 0°C, but in winter (March to September), temperatures can drop below −60°C inland. The coldest temperature ever recorded on Earth was −89.2°C at Vostok Station.

Winds can be very strong, especially near the coast. Almost all of Antarctica get days of 24-hour darkness (polar night) in winter and 24-hour sunlight (midnight sun) in summer.

## Demographics

Antarctica has no permanent population. No one lives there all the time. People who live and work in Antarctica are mostly scientists and support staff. They come from many different countries and stay for weeks, months, or up to a year.

In summer, about 4,000 to 5,000 people live in research stations, but in winter, this number drops to around 1,000 people, because of the harsh weather. Most stations have fewer people in winter. Only the strongest and best-equipped stations stay open all year.

## Research

Scientists study Antarctica to learn about:
- Climate change and how the Earth's weather is changing
- Ice sheets and glaciers
- Animals like penguins, seals, and whales
- Space and astronomy because the sky is very clear
- Geology and history of the Earth

## Types of research stations

There are two main types of research stations:
- Year-round stations: Scientists live and work here all year, even during the cold winter. These stations have more equipment and supplies.
- Summer stations: These are open only during the Antarctic summer (about October to February). Scientists stay for a few months and then leave when it gets very cold.

## Countries with research stations

Many countries have research stations in Antarctica. Some of the main ones are:
- United States (e.g., McMurdo Station, Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station)
- Russia (e.g., Vostok Station)
- Australia (e.g., Davis Station)
- United Kingdom (e.g., Rothera Research Station)
- Argentina (e.g., Esperanza Base)
- Norway (e.g., Troll Station)
- China (e.g., Great Wall Station)

## List of research stations in Antarctica

The United States has the southernmost base, called Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, and the biggest base, called McMurdo Station. The second-southernmost base in summer is China’s Kunlun Station, and in winter it is Russia’s Vostok Station. This is a list of research stations in Antarctica:

### Permanent stations

|width=200 px|Name|width=200 px|Location|width=120 px|Country|width=250 px|Administration|scope="col" data-sort-type="number"|Year|scope="col" data-sort-type="number"|Max.|scope="col" data-sort-type="number"|Summer|scope="col" data-sort-type="number"|Winter pop.|scope="col" data-sort-type="number"|UTC offset|scope="col" data-sort-type="number"|Mean annual (°C)|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Amundsen–Scott South Pole|Geographic South Pole||United States Antarctic Program|1957|153|150|49|+12|−49.5|||||||||||
|Arctowski|King George Island||Polish Academy of Sciences|1977|40|40|16|−3|−1.6|||||||||||
|Arrival Heights Laboratory|Ross Island||Antarctica New Zealand|1959||||+12|−19.7|||||||||||
|Artigas|King George Island||Uruguayan Antarctic Institute|1984|60|9|8|−3|−0.9|||||||||||
|Arturo Prat|Greenwich Island||Chilean Navy|1947|30|30|8|−3|−2.0|||||||||||
|Belgrano II|Coats Land||Instituto Antartico Argentino|1979|20|24|19|−3|−13.3|||||||||||
|Bellingshausen|King George Island||Russian Antarctic Expedition|1968|40|40|20|−3|−2.3|||||||||||
|Bharati|Larsemann Hills||National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research|2012|47|46|23|+5:30|−10.2|||||||||||
|Carlini|King George Island||Instituto Antartico Argentino|1953|80|80|29|−3|−1.6|||||||||||
|Casey|Vincennes Bay||Australian Antarctic Division|1957|99|99|21|+8|−5.9|||||||||||
|Comandante Ferraz|King George Island||Brazilian Antarctic Program|1984|64|35|15|−3|−1.8|||||||||||
|Concordia|Dome C, Antarctic Plateau||National Antarctic Research Program, IPEV|2005|80|70|13|+8|−51.7|||||||||||
|Davis|Princess Elizabeth Land||Australian Antarctic Division|1957|91|91|17|+7|−7.3|||||||||||
|Dumont d'Urville|Adélie Land||IPEV|1956|90|90|24|+10|−11.1|||||||||||
|Eco-Nelson|Nelson Island||Czech Antarctic Foundation|1988|8|5|5|−3|−2.3|||||||||||
|Eduardo Frei and Villa Las Estrellas|King George Island||Chilean Air Force|1969|150|150|80|−3|−2.3|||||||||||
|Escudero|King George Island||Instituto Antártico Chileno|1995|90|60|2|−3|−2.3|||||||||||
|Esperanza|Hope Bay||Instituto Antartico Argentino|1953|90|116|56|−3|−4.6|||||||||||
|GARS|Cape Legoupil||German Aerospace Center|1991|10||||−3.9|||||||||||
|General Bernardo O'Higgins|Cape Legoupil||Chilean Army|1948|60|52|24|−3|−3.9|||||||||||
|Great Wall|King George Island||Polar Research Institute of China|1985|60|60|13|−3|−2.5|||||||||||
|Halley|Brunt Ice Shelf||British Antarctic Survey|2013|52|70|17|−3|−18.5|||||||||||
|Jang Bogo|Terra Nova Bay||Korea Polar Research Institute|2014|62|62|23|+11|−15.1|||||||||||
|King Sejong|King George Island||Korea Polar Research Institute|1988|68|68|22|−3|−1.8|||||||||||
|Maitri|Schirmacher Oasis||National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research|1989|65|45|25|+5:30|−9.7|||||||||||
|Marambio|Marambio Island||Instituto Antartico Argentino|1969|165|165|70|−3|−8.1|||||||||||
|Mawson|Mac. Robertson Land||Australian Antarctic Division|1954|53|53|15|+6|−8.3|||||||||||
|McMurdo|Ross Island||United States Antarctic Program|1956|1200|1000|153|+12|−17.3|||||||||||
|Mirny|Davis Sea||Russian Antarctic Expedition|1956|50|50|25|+6|−11.3|||||||||||
|Neumayer III|Atka Bay||Alfred Wegener Institute|2009|60|60|9|0|−16.0|||||||||||
|Novolazarevskaya|Queen Maud Land||Russian Antarctic Expedition|1961|70|70|40|0|−10.3|||||||||||
|Orcadas|Laurie Island, South Orkney Islands||Instituto Antartico Argentino, Argentine Navy|1903|65|35|17|−3|−3.0|||||||||||
|Palmer|Anvers Island||United States Antarctic Program|1968|46|44|13|−3|−1.8|||||||||||
|Progress|Prydz Bay||Russian Antarctic Expedition|1988|50|50|25|−5|−9.4|||||||||||
|Qinling|Inexpressible Island, Terra Nova Bay||Polar Research Institute of China|2024|80|80|30|+12||||||||||||
|Rothera|Adelaide Island||British Antarctic Survey|1975|136|160|27|−3|−5.3|||||||||||
|San Martín|Barry Island||Instituto Antartico Argentino|1951|21|19|21|−3|−4.6|||||||||||
|SANAE IV|Vesleskarvet, Queen Maud Land||South African National Antarctic Programme|1997|80|110|15|+2|−16.5|||||||||||
|Scott Base|Ross Island||Antarctica New Zealand|1957|86|78|11|+12|−19.6|||||||||||
|Showa|East Ongul Island||National Institute of Polar Research|1957|130|170|40|+3|−10.5|||||||||||
|Troll|Queen Maud Land||Norwegian Polar Institute|1990|70|45|7|0|−18.0|||||||||||
|Vernadsky|Galindez Island||National Antarctic Scientific Center of Ukraine|1994|24|30|12|−3|−3.3|||||||||||
|Vostok|Antarctic Ice Sheet||Russian Antarctic Expedition|1957|30|30|15|+6|−55.2|||||||||||
|Zhongshan|Larsemann Hills, Prydz Bay||Polar Research Institute of China|1989|60|60|17|+7|−11.2|||||||||||

### Summer-only stations

|width=200 px|Name|width=200 px|Location|width=230 px|Country|width=200 px||scope="col" data-sort-type="number"|Year|scope="col" data-sort-type="number"|Max.|scope="col" data-sort-type="number"|Summer|scope="col" data-sort-type="number"|UTC offset|scope="col" data-sort-type="number"|Mean annual  (°C)|
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
|Aboa|Queen Maud Land||Finnish Antarctic Research Program|1988|17|13||−15.3||||||||||
|Brown|Paradise Harbor||Instituto Antártico Argentino|1951|12|12|−3|−2.4||||||||||
|Cámara|Half Moon Island||Instituto Antartico Argentino|1953|22|20|−3|−2.4||||||||||
|Carvajal|Adelaide Island||Instituto Antártico Chileno|1984|46|46||−9.8||||||||||
|Collins|Fildes Peninsula||Instituto Antártico Chileno|2006||6||||||||||||
|Dallmann|Carlini Station||Alfred Wegener Institute|1994|16|16||−2.4||||||||||
|Deception|Deception Island||Instituto Antartico Argentino|1948|36|18|−3|−3.0||||||||||
|Dirck Gerritsz Laboratory|Rothera Station||British Antarctic Survey, Netherlands Polar Programme|2013|10|10||−5.0||||||||||
|Dobrowolski|Bunger Hills, Wilkes Land||Polish Academy of Sciences|1956|10|10||−9.1||||||||||
|Elichiribehety|Hope Bay||Uruguayan Antarctic Institute|1945|8|7||−4.8||||||||||
|Gabriel de Castilla|Deception Island||Spanish National Research Council|1989|36|33||−0.7||||||||||
|Gondwana|Transantarctic Mountains||Alfred Wegener Institute|1983||||||||||||||
|González Videla|Waterboat Point, Graham Land||Chilean Air Force|1951|15|15||−6.7||||||||||
|Guillermo Mann|Cape Shirreff||Instituto Antártico Chileno|1991|8|8||0.4||||||||||
|Jinnah|Sør Rondane Mountains, Queen Maud Land||Pakistan Antarctic Programme|1991||||||||||||||
|Juan Carlos I|South Bay, Livingston Island||Spanish National Research Council|1988|50|27|−3|−1.2||||||||||
|Julio Ripamonti|Ardley Island||Instituto Antártico Chileno|1982||4|-3|||||||||||
|Kohnen|Queen Maud Land||Alfred Wegener Institute|2001|28|6||−42.2||||||||||
|Kunlun|Dome A||Polar Research Institute of China|2009|26|26||−51.4||||||||||
|Law-Racoviță-Negoiță|Larsemann Hills, Princess Elizabeth Land||Romanian Polar Research Institute|1986||13||||||||||||
|Lenie|Admiralty Bay||United States Antarctic Program|1985||2||||||||||||
|Machu Picchu|Admiralty Bay, King George Island||Instituto Antártico Peruano|1989|30|30||−2.1||||||||||
|Maldonado|Greenwich Island||Instituto Antártico Ecuatoriano|1990|34|32||||||||||||
|Matienzo|Graham Land||Instituto Antartico Argentino|1961|12|12|−3|−5.0||||||||||
|Melchior|Melchior Islands||Instituto Antartico Argentino|1947|15|12|−3|−2.9||||||||||
|Mendel|James Ross Island||Masaryk University|2007|20|20||−6.8||||||||||
|Molodyozhnaya|Thala Hills, East Antarctica||Russian Antarctic Expedition|1962|15|15||−11.0||||||||||
|Petrel|Dundee Island||Instituto Antartico Argentino|1967|45|25|−3|−7.1||||||||||
|Port Lockroy|Goudier Island||United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust|1944||4||||||||||||
|Primavera|Graham Land||Instituto Antartico Argentino|1977|18|18|−3|−3.0||||||||||
|Princess Elisabeth|Queen Maud Land||International Polar Foundation|2007|40|22||−18.0||||||||||
|Risopatrón|Robert Island||Instituto Antártico Chileno|1949||6||−2.3||||||||||
|Shirreff|Cape Shirreff||National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration|1996||6||||||||||||
|Signy|Signy Island, South Orkney Islands||British Antarctic Survey|1947|8|14||−2.1||||||||||
|Sobral|Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf||Instituto Antártico Argentino|1965|7|6|−3|||||||||||
|St. Kliment Ohridski|Emona Anchorage, Livingston Island||Bulgarian Antarctic Institute|1988|22|22|−3|−1.0||||||||||
|Svea|Queen Maud Land||Swedish Polar Research Secretariat|1988||5||||||||||||
|Taishan|Princess Elizabeth Land||Polar Research Institute of China|2014|20|20||−30.3||||||||||
|TARS|Horseshoe Island||Turkish Polar Research Program|2019|50|26||||||||||||
|Tor|Queen Maud Land||Norwegian Polar Institute|1993||7||||||||||||
|Union Glacier|Union Glacier||Chilean Army, Chilean Navy, Chilean Air Force, Instituto Antártico Chileno|2014||70|−3|||||||||||
|Vechernyaya|Mount Vechernyaya, Thala Hills||National Academy of Sciences of Belarus|2007|12|11||||||||||||
|Wasa|Queen Maud Land||Swedish Polar Research Secretariat|1989|20|13||−15.3||||||||||
|Yelcho|South Bay, Doumer Island||Instituto Antártico Chileno|1962|28|28||2.0||||||||||
|Zucchelli|Terra Nova Bay||National Antarctic Research Program, ENEA, CNR|1986|120|120|+12|−14.0||||||||||

## Life

Life in Antarctica is hard because it is very cold and isolated. Scientists wear warm clothes and work inside heated buildings. They communicate with their home countries using radios and internet. They do important work to help people understand the Earth better.