Esperanza Base

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
(Redirected from Esperanza Station)
Jump to: navigation, search

Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Esperanza Base
Base Esperanza
All-civilian Antarctic base
View of Esperanza Base, January 2012
View of Esperanza Base, January 2012
Official Esperanza Base emblem
Emblem
Motto: Spanish: Permanencia, un acto de sacrificio
("Permanence, an act of sacrifice")
Location within Antarctica
Location within Antarctica
Esperanza Base
Location within Antarctica
Coordinates: Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
Country  Argentina
Region Graham Land, Antarctic Peninsula
Location Hope Bay, Trinity Peninsula
Established 1953 (1953)
Named for Spanish: Base Esperanza, ("Hope Base")
Government[lower-alpha 1]
 • Type Directorate
 • Body Argentine National Antarctic Directorate
Area
 • Urban[lower-alpha 2] 0.3744 ha (0.9252 acres)
Elevation 25 m (82 ft)
Population (2014) 55
Status Active and operational all year-round

Esperanza base (Spanish: Base Esperanza, "Hope Base") is a permanent, all year-round Argentine research station in Hope Bay, Trinity Peninsula (Graham Land, Antarctic Peninsula). It is one of only two civilian settlements on Antarctica (the other being the Chilean Villa Las Estrellas). The Base's motto is "Permanencia, un acto de sacrificio" ("Permanence, an act of sacrifice").

Description

Children, adolescents and teachers of the school of Esperanza Base receiving computers.

Built in 1953,[1][2][3] the base houses 55 inhabitants in winter, including 10 families and 2 school teachers. Provincial school #38 Presidente Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín (formerly named Julio Argentino Roca) was founded in 1978 and acquired independent status in 1997. It maintains the furthest South Scout troop. The base has some measure of fame because it is the birthplace of Emilio Marcos Palma, the first person to be born in Antarctica. The base has tourist facilities that are visited by about 1,100 tourists each year. The LRA 36 Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabriel radio station started transmitting in 1979. A wind generator was installed in 2008, mounted by INVAP. video

The 43 buildings of the station have a combined space of 3,744 square metres (40,300 sq ft) covered;[4] 18,000 litres (4,800 US gal) of fuel are used annually by the four generators to produce electricity for the station. Research projects include: glaciology, seismology, oceanography, coastal ecology, biology, geology, and limnology.

Historic site

A group of items or structures of historic significance at, or close to, the base have been designated a Historic Site or Monument (HSM 40), following a proposal by Argentina to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting. These comprise a bust of General San Martin, a grotto with a statue of the Virgin of Lujan, a flagpole erected in 1955, and a cemetery with a stele commemorating Argentine expedition members who died in the area.[5]

Climate

The mean temperatures are −5.5 °C (22.1 °F) and range throughout the year from −10.8 °C (12.6 °F) in winter to 0.2 °C (32.4 °F) in summer. The presence of two months with temperature means just barely above freezing means the climate is classified as an polar tundra (ET) climate in the Köppen system. The temperature trend since 1948 is +0.0315 °C/yr (+0.0567 °F/yr) (annual), +0.0413 °C/yr (+0.0743 °F/yr) (winter) and +0.0300 °C/yr (+0.0540 °F/yr) (summer). The highest temperature recorded was 17.5 °C (63.5 °F) on 24 March 2015.[6]

Climate data for Esperanza (extremes 1945–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 14.9
(58.8)		 15.5
(59.9)		 17.5
(63.5)		 15.9
(60.6)		 14.0
(57.2)		 17.1
(62.8)		 14.0
(57.2)		 13.0
(55.4)		 11.4
(52.5)		 17.0
(62.6)		 14.3
(57.7)		 14.6
(58.3)		 17.5
(63.5)
Average high °C (°F) 3.1
(37.6)		 2.6
(36.7)		 −0.4
(31.3)		 −3.4
(25.9)		 −5.6
(21.9)		 −6.6
(20.1)		 −6.4
(20.5)		 −6.2
(20.8)		 −2.7
(27.1)		 0.3
(32.5)		 1.3
(34.3)		 3.2
(37.8)		 −1.7
(28.9)
Daily mean °C (°F) 0.5
(32.9)		 −0.5
(31.1)		 −3.1
(26.4)		 −7.3
(18.9)		 −9.6
(14.7)		 −10.9
(12.4)		 −10.8
(12.6)		 −10.5
(13.1)		 −7.0
(19.4)		 −3.6
(25.5)		 −1.7
(28.9)		 0.4
(32.7)		 −5.3
(22.5)
Average low °C (°F) −1.8
(28.8)		 −2.9
(26.8)		 −6.4
(20.5)		 −11.1
(12)		 −13.4
(7.9)		 −15.1
(4.8)		 −15.0
(5)		 −14.7
(5.5)		 −11.1
(12)		 −7.4
(18.7)		 −4.6
(23.7)		 −2.1
(28.2)		 −8.8
(16.2)
Record low °C (°F) −8.5
(16.7)		 −13.2
(8.2)		 −20.9
(−5.6)		 −26.0
(−14.8)		 −29.6
(−21.3)		 −30.0
(−22)		 −38.4
(−37.1)		 −32.0
(−25.6)		 −32.6
(−26.7)		 −23.2
(−9.8)		 −18.0
(−0.4)		 −9.7
(14.5)		 −38.4
(−37.1)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 56.2
(2.213)		 65.0
(2.559)		 75.5
(2.972)		 59.1
(2.327)		 54.4
(2.142)		 47.4
(1.866)		 54.1
(2.13)		 72.1
(2.839)		 62.2
(2.449)		 56.4
(2.22)		 65.0
(2.559)		 59.0
(2.323)		 726.4
(28.598)
Average snowy days 16 15 16 16 14 13 14 14 16 15 16 16 181
Source #1: Servicio Meteorologico Nacional,[7] Meteo Climat (record highs and lows excluding March record high)[8]
Source #2: Weatherbase[9]

Notes

  1. ↑ Operated by Argentine Antarctic Institute
  2. ↑ Indoors area

References

  1. ↑ Interview with General Leal by the Meeting channel
  2. ↑ official site
  3. ↑ ESPERANZA at marambio.aq
  4. ↑ Google Earth satellite images
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Further reading

  • Antarctica. Sydney: Reader's Digest, 1985, p. 156-157.
  • Child, Jack. Antarctica and South American Geopolitics: Frozen Lebensraum. New York: Praeger Publishers, 1988, p. 73.
  • Lonely Planet, Antarctica: a Lonely Planet Travel Survival Kit, Oakland, CA: Lonely Planet Publications, 1996, 302-304.
  • Stewart, Andrew, Antarctica: An Encyclopedia. London: McFarland and Co., 1990 (2 volumes), p. 469.
  • U.S. National Science Foundation, Geographic Names of the Antarctic, Fred G. Alberts, ed. Washington: NSF, 1980.

External links

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Esperanza_Base&oldid=2977422"