Brazil lays foundation stone of new Antarctic base
A bird's-eye view of the Antactic Peninsula
Four years after a fire completely destroyed the Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Station, Brazil has laid the cornerstone of a new facility to be built on the frozen continent.
The launch ceremony—which had originally been planned to take place on Antarctica, but the plans changed due to adverse weather conditions—took place Monday (Feb. 29) at the Chilean Antarctic Institute (INACH) in Punta Arenas, Chile. It was attended by Brazilian Ministers Aldo Rebelo (Defense) and Celso Pansera (Science, Technology and Innovation).
The new Brazilian base will be erected at the same location as the old one on Keller Peninsula, within Admiralty Bay on King George Island, and should be complete in 2018. The project began last December and is being executed by China Electronics Imports and Exports Corporation (CEIEC), who won the international tender with a $99.6 million bid.
With an area of approximately 4,500 square meters, the new Comandante Ferraz Antarctic Base will feature 17 laboratories, medical facilities, a library, and a living room. The design is based on input from the scientific community and can accommodate 64 people.
Created in 1982 and run by the Brazilian Navy, the Brazilian Antarctic Program (PROANTAR) has the purpose of developing a scientific program that includes Brazil among the countries that are parties to the Antarctic Treaty. The Comandante Ferraz station was set up in February 1984 and became the base for Brazilian research on the continent. The unit was destroyed by a fire in February 2012. Since then, Brazilian research on the site has continued thanks to emergency modules.
Over its three decades of operation, PROANTAR has conducted an average 20 research projects every year covering such subjects as oceanography, biology, marine biology, glaciology, geology, meteorology, and architecture. Scientific work runs throughout the year, but researchers and support staff are busiest between October and March, during the Antarctic summer.
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: Brazil lays foundation stone of new Antarctic base
