page_title: Queen Maud Land
section_title: Research stations
hierarchical_section_title: Queen Maud Land / Research stations
caption_attribution_description: The South African National Antarctic Expedition research base, SANAE IV, at Vesleskarvet, Queen Maud Land, Antarctica. Aerial photography taken with Canon DSLR and 10-22mm wide-angle lens.
context_page_description: Queen Maud Land is a c. 2.7 million square kilometre region of Antarctica claimed as a dependent territory by Norway. The territory lies between 20° west and 45° east, between the claimed British Antarctic Territory to the west and the similarly claimed Australian Antarctic Territory to the east. On most maps there had been an unclaimed area between Queen Maud Land's borders of 1939 and the South Pole until 12 June 2015 when Norway formally annexed that area. Positioned in East Antarctica, the territory comprises about one-fifth of the total area of Antarctica. The claim is named after the Norwegian queen Maud of Wales.
  Norwegian Hjalmar Riiser-Larsen was the first person known to have set foot in the territory, in 1930. On 14 January 1939, the territory was claimed by Norway. On 23 June 1961, Queen Maud Land became part of the Antarctic Treaty System, making it a demilitarised zone. It is one of two Antarctic claims made by Norway, the other being Peter I Island. They are administrated by the Polar Affairs Department of the Norwegian Ministry of Justice and Public Security in Oslo.
context_section_description: Queen Maud Land is currently home to 12 research stations: the Norwegian Troll and Tor stations; Russia's Novolazarevskaya Station; South Africa's SANAE IV; the Swedish Wasa; the Finnish Aboa; the German Neumayer-Station III and Kohnen; India's Maitri station; the Japanese Showa Station and Dome Fuji Station; and Belgium's Princess Elisabeth Base.  These stations' total summer population is approximately 494, but with considerably fewer in winter.
  These stations are connected by the Dronning Maud Land Air Network Project (DROMLAN), which is a cooperative agreement for transportation between eleven nations with research stations in East Antarctica. Long-range aircraft fly between Cape Town, South Africa and either the Troll Airfield, located at the Troll research station, or the runway at the Novolazarevskaya Station. From these two main airfields, smaller aircraft may fly further to other Antarctic destinations.
  Norway's Troll station serves as a major hub of the DROMLAN network through the Troll Airfield. Research at Troll include air and atmospheric measurements, monitoring of greenhouse gases and bird colonies, as well as meteorological and climate research. The other Norwegian station, Tor, was established for researching birds at the breeding colony in Svarthamaren Mountain.
  Activities conducted by Russia's Novolazarevskaya Station include environmental monitoring, geodesy/mapping, geomagnetic and meteorological observations, glaciology, biology, ionospheric / auroral observations, limnology, geology, geophysics and seismology.
  South Africa's SANAE IV station, the successor to three former stations, was completed in 1997. Research at SANAE IV include invasion biology/ecology, geology, geomorphology and atmospheric sciences. Its facilities include a small hospital and a two-helicopter hangar.
  The Swedish Wasa station and the Finnish Aboa station together make up the Nordenskiöld Base, and cooperate in research and logistics. Research carried out includes geodesy/mapping, glaciology, human biology, meteorological observations, geology and geophysics.
  The German Neumayer-Station III, finished in 2009, succeeded two former stations that were buried by snow and ice. It conducts geophysical, meteorological and seismological research, as well as air chemistry measurements and atmospheric ozone monitoring. Germany's other station, Kohnen, was opened as part of a major ice-drilling project.
  The Maitri station succeeded the Dakshin Gangotri station in 1989, India's first Antarctic base. Maitri's research focus on geology, and the study of the supercontinent Gondwana, when India and Antarctica belonged to the same landmass. It also includes low-temperature engineering research that is relevant to conditions in the Himalayas.
  The Showa Station is Japan's main research station in Antarctica. A vast array of research is conducted there, including upper atmosphere physics, meteorology, seismology, gravimetry, geodesy/mapping, oceanography, glaciology, geology, marine and terrestrial biology, and medical research. Japan's other station, Dome Fuji Station was opened as part of a major ice-coring project. It mainly studies climate change and conducts deep drilling and atmospheric observations.
  Belgium's Princess Elisabeth Base was established as a project to promote polar sciences, as well as to demonstrate the possibility of building a zero emission station. Research is conducted by an international team of scientists, studying climatology, glaciology and microbiology.
caption: SANAE IV station
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