Zucchelli Station | |
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Mario Zucchelli Station | |
Location of Zucchelli Station in Antarctica | |
Coordinates: 74°41′39″S164°06′50″E / 74.694206°S 164.113869°E | |
Country | Italy |
Location in Antarctica | Terra Nova Bay Ross Sea |
Administered by | National Antarctic Research Program |
Established | 1985 |
Named for | Mario Zuccini |
Elevation | 15 m (49 ft) |
Population (2017) [1] | |
• Summer | 120 |
• Winter | 0 |
Time zone | UTC+12:00 (NZST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+13:00 (NZDT) |
UN/LOCODE | AQ MZU |
Type | Seasonal |
Period | Summer |
Status | Operational |
Activities | List
|
Website | www |
Zucchelli Station is an Italian seasonal research station in Antarctica, located at Terra Nova Bay on a granitic headland along the coast of the Northern Foothills to the north-east of Gerlache Inlet. It has been named after Mario Zucchelli, director of the activities, which conducted for sixteen years, for the ENEA-Unità Tecnica Antartide as part of the National Antarctic Research Program (PNRA). [2]
The main functions carried out by the Station are:
The Zucchelli Station is a seasonal (from mid-October until mid-March) [3] research Antarctic Station on the Terra Nova Bay located at an altitude of 15 metres (49 ft) and covers an area of approximately 7,500 square meters. In 2010, the Station was enlarged and in the austral summer the traverse leave for Concordia Station operated jointly with France. [4]
The main building was built in 1985, in the first seasonal expedition, on a steel structure 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) from the ground and consist of 82 containers, 42 of which used for the personnel accommodation and services while the remaining 40 to the support activities as:
Icaro Camp ( 74°42′43″S164°07′00″E / 74.711866°S 164.116650°E ) is a facility, fitted as a meteorological station, located 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of the Zucchelli Station. The camp consists of two blue containers, held by guy-wires, meteorological equipment, solar panels and a wind generator. Although the structures are not suited to accommodate people, they could shelter a dozen in case of emergency. [5]
Boulder Clay Runway (Under construction) | |||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Private | ||||||||||
Location | Zucchelli Station Terra Nova Bay | ||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 672 ft / 205 m | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 74°44′22″S164°02′07″E / 74.739373°S 164.03539°E | ||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Enigma Lake Skiway | |||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||
Airport type | Private | ||||||||||
Location | Zucchelli Station Terra Nova Bay | ||||||||||
Elevation AMSL | 443 ft / 135 m | ||||||||||
Coordinates | 74°43′08″S164°01′46″E / 74.718921°S 164.029558°E | ||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||
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Zucchelli Ice Runway | |||||||||||||||
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Summary | |||||||||||||||
Airport type | Private | ||||||||||||||
Location | Gerlache Inlet Terra Nova Bay | ||||||||||||||
Coordinates | 74°41′39″S164°06′50″E / 74.694206°S 164.113869°E | ||||||||||||||
Runways | |||||||||||||||
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Boulder Clay Runway ( 74°44′22″S164°02′07″E / 74.739373°S 164.03539°E ) is located about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) south of Zucchelli Station on the Northern Foothills; the construction started in the 2016–17 season and will be completed in the 2021–22. The Italian team usually use an Ice Runway in the Gerlache Inlet to start the summer campaign but in recent years the ice runway was closed earlier then before because of the ice thickness had diminished due to partial melting of the ice. The airstrip is situated on the Boulder Clay Moraine and is built with the least environmental impact as possible. It is a gravel runway 2,200 metres (7,200 ft) long and 60 metres (200 ft) wide in order to be suitable to the Safair or Aeronautica Militare C-130J [9] or other larger types, such as the C-17 Globemaster, Airbus A319-115LR and Boeing 757. The airfield will be completed with a taxiway which connect the apron with the runway, an apron for aircraft parking and operational tasks, capable of stationing two C-130 Hercules, fire service as ICAO standards, fuel deposit, terminal and shed for the personnel, operation room and a power unit. [10] The reduced thickness of the ice in the Ross Sea did not allowed to the heavier C-130J Hercules of the Italian Air Force to land on the sea ice runway. On 22 November 2022 at 4.30 CET a C-130J landed for the first time on the prepared gravel runway. Boulder Clay Runway will become an international hub as it can be utilised by the other nearby research stations. [11]
Enigma Lake Skiway is situated at an elevation of 135 metres (443 ft), on the Northern Foothills, 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Zucchelli Station on an iced lake. Being 725 metres (2,379 ft) long it is operated by the Twin Otters and Basler BT-67. The skyway is prepared by removing the snow accumulated in the winter by the Station staff; in the same place stands an AWS (Rita) which makes part of the network managed by the Antarctic Meteo-Climatological Weather Observatory. [12]
Zucchelli Ice Runway is located in the Gerlache Inlet and is prepared, at the beginning of each season, by the station's logistic personnel in mid-October. The sea ice runway is suitable for operating the Aeronautica Militare or Safair wheeled C-130, but in the latest years it was closed earlier than before because the sea ice break up. [13] Two runways are prepared, one is the 03/21 which is 3,090 metres (10,140 ft) long and 76 metres (249 ft) wide used by the C-130, the other is the 06/24 which is shorter measuring 1,640 metres (5,380 ft) in length and 50 metres (160 ft) in width utilised by the Twin Otters and the Basler BT-67. [8]
The Antarctic Meteo-Climatological Weather Observatory, established in 1985, attempt to a give a contribution to understand the climate change through the study of the atmospheric dynamics. The programme is defined by two projects supported by the National Antarctic Research Program (PNRA), one regarding the Victoria Land and the other the Concordia Station, carried out by the ENEA personnel. The centre run an Automatic weather station network, distributed through the territory, having the responsibility of the instrumentation assembly, the maintenance and the data collection. The network include 16 AW stations operating all year around:
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
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Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 1 (34) | −5 (23) | −12 (10) | −16 (3) | −17 (1) | −17 (1) | −20 (−4) | −17 (1) | −16 (3) | −13 (9) | −5 (23) | 1 (34) | −11 (12) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −2 (28) | −8 (18) | −16 (3) | −21 (−6) | −22 (−8) | −23 (−9) | −25 (−13) | −23 (−9) | −22 (−8) | −18 (0) | −9 (16) | −3 (27) | −16 (3) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 42.1 (1.66) | 23.5 (0.93) | 0.7 (0.03) | 0.8 (0.03) | 3.8 (0.15) | 8.4 (0.33) | 13 (0.5) | 4.7 (0.19) | 1.6 (0.06) | 3 (0.1) | 17.4 (0.69) | 25.7 (1.01) | 144.7 (5.70) |
Source: [15] |
The Ross Dependency is a region of Antarctica defined by a sector originating at the South Pole, passing along longitudes 160° east to 150° west, and terminating at latitude 60° south. It is claimed by New Zealand, a claim mutually accepted only by Australia, the UK, France and Norway, countries that also have territorial claims in Antarctica. Under the 1961 Antarctic Treaty, of which all territorial claimants are signatories, including New Zealand, all claims are held in abeyance. Article IV states: "No acts or activities taking place while the present Treaty is in force shall constitute a basis for asserting, supporting or denying a claim to territorial sovereignty in Antarctica or create any rights of sovereignty in Antarctica".
Ross Island is an island in Antarctica lying on the east side of McMurdo Sound and extending 43 nautical miles from Cape Bird in the north to Cape Armitage in the south, and a similar distance from Cape Royds in the west to Cape Crozier in the east. The island is entirely volcanic. Mount Erebus, 3,795 metres (12,451 ft), near the center, is an active volcano. Mount Terror, 3,230 metres (10,600 ft) about 20 nautical miles eastward, is an extinct volcano. Mount Bird rises to 1,765 metres (5,791 ft) just south of Cape Bird. Ross Island lies within the boundary of Ross Dependency, an area of Antarctica claimed by New Zealand.
Adélie Land or Adélie Coast is a claimed territory of France located on the continent of Antarctica. It stretches from a portion of the Southern Ocean coastline all the way inland to the South Pole. France has administered it as one of five districts of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands since 1955 and applied the Antarctic Treaty System rules since 1961. Article 4 of the Antarctic Treaty deals with territorial claims, and although it does not renounce or diminish any preexisting claims to sovereignty, it also does not prejudice the position of contracting parties in their recognition or non-recognition of territorial sovereignty. France has had a permanent station in Adélie Land since 9 April 1950.
The South Orkney Islands are a group of islands in the Southern Ocean, about 604 km (375 mi) north-east of the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula and 844 km (524 mi) south-west of South Georgia Island. They have a total area of about 620 km2 (240 sq mi). The islands are claimed both by Britain, and by Argentina as part of Argentine Antarctica. Under the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, sovereignty claims are held in abeyance.
Dome C, also known as Dome Circe, Dome Charlie or Dome Concordia, located at Antarctica at an elevation of 3,233 metres (10,607 ft) above sea level, is one of several summits or "domes" of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Dome C is located on the Antarctic Plateau, 1,100 kilometres (680 mi) inland from the French research station at Dumont D'Urville, 1,100 kilometres (680 mi) inland from the Australian Casey Station and 1,200 kilometres (750 mi) inland from the Italian Zucchelli station at Terra Nova Bay. Russia's Vostok Station is 560 kilometres (350 mi) away. Dome C is the site of the Concordia Research Station, jointly operated by France and Italy.
Concordia Research Station, which opened in 2005, is a French–Italian research facility that was built 3,233 m (10,607 ft) above sea level at a location called Dome C on the Antarctic Plateau, Antarctica. It is located 1,100 km (680 mi) inland from the French research station at Dumont D'Urville, 1,100 km (680 mi) inland from Australia's Casey Station and 1,200 km (750 mi) inland from the Italian Zucchelli Station at Terra Nova Bay. Russia's Vostok Station is 560 km (350 mi) away. The Geographic South Pole is 1,670 km (1,040 mi) away. The facility is also located within Australia's claim on Antarctica, the Australian Antarctic Territory.
Terra Nova Bay is a bay which is often ice free, about 40 nautical miles long, lying between Cape Washington and the Drygalski Ice Tongue along the coast of Victoria Land, Antarctica. It was discovered by the British National Antarctic Expedition under Robert Falcon Scott, 1901–1904, and named by him after Terra Nova, one of the relief ships for the expedition.
Mount Melbourne is a 2,733-metre-high (8,967 ft) ice-covered stratovolcano in Victoria Land, Antarctica, between Wood Bay and Terra Nova Bay. It is an elongated mountain with a summit caldera filled with ice with numerous parasitic vents; a volcanic field surrounds the edifice. Mount Melbourne has a volume of about 180 cubic kilometres (43 cu mi) and consists of tephra deposits and lava flows; tephra deposits are also found encased within ice and have been used to date the last eruption of Mount Melbourne to 1892 ± 30 years. The volcano is fumarolically active.
Inexpressible Island is a small, rocky island in Terra Nova Bay, Victoria Land, Antarctica. Previously uninhabited, the Chinese Qinling research station on the southern edge of the island became operational in 2024.
Buell Peninsula is an ice-covered peninsula terminating in Cape Williams, located between the lower ends of Lillie Glacier, George Glacier and Zykov Glacier, at the northwest end of the Anare Mountains in Antarctica. The peninsula is 15 nautical miles long and 8 nautical miles at its greatest width.
Campbell Glacier is a glacier, about 60 nautical miles long, originating near the south end of Mesa Range and draining southeast between the Deep Freeze Range and Mount Melbourne to discharge into north Terra Nova Bay in Victoria Land, Antarctica.
Northern Foothills is a line of coastal hills on the west side of Terra Nova Bay, Victoria Land, Antarctica, lying southward of Browning Pass and forming a peninsular continuation of the Deep Freeze Range. It was named by the Northern Party of the British Antarctic Expedition, 1910–13 (BrAE), because during field operations Inexpressible Island, close southward, was originally referred to as the "Southern Foothills."
The Downshire Cliffs are a line of precipitous basalt cliffs rising to 2,000 m above the Ross Sea and forming much of the eastern side of the Adare Peninsula, along the Borchgrevink Coast of northern Victoria Land, Antarctica. The nearest permanent research stations are the Italian Mario Zucchelli and South Korean Jang Bogo Stations some 400 km to the south in Terra Nova Bay.
Mount Elizabeth is a massive ice-free mountain, 4,480 metres (14,700 ft) high, standing 6 nautical miles south of Mount Anne in the Queen Alexandra Range, Antarctica.
The Larsen Glacier is a glacier flowing southeast from Reeves Névé, through the Prince Albert Mountains and entering the Ross Sea just south of Mount Crummer in Victoria Land, Antarctica.
The Jang Bogo Station in Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica is a permanent South Korean research station. It is the second base of South Korean Antarctic research mission, and the first that is located in mainland Antarctica. Completed in February 2014, the station houses 23 people in winter and 62 in summer in a 4000 square-metre building with three wings, and is one of the larger permanent bases in Antarctica.
National Antarctic Research Program is the Italian Antarctic research program.
Sitry Airstrip, the name is derived from the abbreviation of C-3, was an Antarctic skiway operated by the Italian ENEA-Unità Tecnica Antartitide as part of the National Antarctic Research Program (PNRA).
Adélie Cove is a 186 ha tract of ice-free land on the coast of Terra Nova Bay in Victoria Land, Antarctica. It has been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because it supports populations of seabirds, notably a breeding colony of about 11,000 pairs of Adélie penguins. Some 30 pairs of south polar skuas breed near the penguin colony. The nearest permanent research stations are Italy's Mario Zucchelli 9 km to the north, and South Korea's Jang Bogo 17 km to the north.