The Dumont d'Urville Station (french: Base antarctique Dumont-d'Urville) is a French scientific station in
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest cont ...
on Île des Pétrels,
archipelago of Pointe-Géologie in
Adélie Land. It is named after
explorer
Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians.
Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...
Jules Dumont d'Urville, whose expedition landed on
Débarquement Rock in the
Dumoulin Islands at the northeast end of the archipelago on January 21, 1840. It is operated by the "
French Polar Institute Paul-Émile Victor", a joint operation of French public and para-public agencies. It is the administrative centre of Adélie Land.
History
A pioneering French Antarctic research station,
Port Martin
Port Martin, or Port-Martin, is an abandoned French research base at Cape Margerie on the coast of Adélie Land, Antarctica, as well as the name of the adjacent anchorage.
History
The site was discovered in 1950 by the French Antarctic Expeditio ...
, located east of D'Urville, was destroyed by fire on the night of January 23, 1952, without death or injury. In 1952, a small base was built on Île des Pétrels to study a
rookery of
emperor penguins. This base was called Base Marret. As the main base Port Martin was a total loss, Base Marret was chosen as overwintering site for 1952/1953. The new main base, Dumont D'Urville station, was built on the same island and opened on January 12, 1956, to serve as the centre for French scientific research during the Antarctic
International Geophysical Year 1957/1958. The station has remained in active use ever since.
The station allows 30-40 people to come ashore at one time. Ice and strong
katabatic wind
A katabatic wind (named from the Greek word κατάβασις ''katabasis'', meaning "descending") is a drainage wind, a wind that carries high-density air from a higher elevation down a slope under the force of gravity. Such winds are sometim ...
s often prevent landings, either by
boat
A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats.
Small boats are typically found on inl ...
or by
helicopter
A helicopter is a type of rotorcraft in which lift and thrust are supplied by horizontally spinning rotors. This allows the helicopter to take off and land vertically, to hover, and to fly forward, backward and laterally. These attributes ...
. The station can accommodate about 30 winter-overs and 120 during the summer. The
icebreaker
An icebreaker is a special-purpose ship or boat designed to move and navigate through ice-covered waters, and provide safe waterways for other boats and ships. Although the term usually refers to ice-breaking ships, it may also refer to smaller ...
ship
''L'Astrolabe'' carries supplies and personnel to the station from the port of
Hobart,
Tasmania
)
, nickname =
, image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg
, map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates:
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdi ...
. It does 5 round-trips between November and March.
The Academy Award-winning documentary film ''La Marche de l'empereur'', released in English as ''
March of the Penguins
''March of the Penguins'' (French ''La Marche de l'empereur'' ; ) is a 2005 French feature-length nature documentary directed and co-written by Luc Jacquet, and co-produced by Bonne Pioche and the National Geographic Society. The documentary dep ...
'', was filmed in the region around this base.
Wildlife
One of the main interests of the base is the study of wildlife, notably the
emperor penguins. In the summer, the rocks near the base serve as a refuge for the
Adélie penguin, which comes here to reproduce.
Skua,
snow petrel,
giant petrel
Giant petrels form a genus, ''Macronectes'', from the family Procellariidae, which consists of two species. They are the largest birds of this family. Both species are restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, and though their distributions overla ...
,
Cape petrel also spend the summer near the base. In the winter, only
emperor penguins stay to reproduce. However, around August,
giant petrel
Giant petrels form a genus, ''Macronectes'', from the family Procellariidae, which consists of two species. They are the largest birds of this family. Both species are restricted to the Southern Hemisphere, and though their distributions overla ...
s return to feed on emperor penguin chicks.
Some marine animals are equally present despite the negative temperature of the water. Among rare visitors to the archipelago, there are other species of penguins, orcas, and rorquals.
Activity
The base Dumont d'Urville is first and foremost a scientific base, even if nowadays the transportation of supplies to the
Concordia Station (operated together with Italian researchers) represents an important part of the activity of the base.
Chemistry of the atmosphere
The laboratory in atmospheric chemistry of the base is used to analyse, among other things, sulfur compounds present in the atmosphere.
Geophysics
Nowadays, the study of geophysics is less present in the base. Nonetheless, several tools are still in use, notably a tide gauge, a cosmic rays detector, a GPS to measure the dip of the Antarctica into the
upper mantle
The upper mantle of Earth is a very thick layer of rock inside the planet, which begins just beneath the crust (at about under the oceans and about under the continents) and ends at the top of the lower mantle at . Temperatures range from appr ...
, and a
lidar, which allows the analysis of the ozone depletion and the ozone holes.
Logistics
The proper functioning of the base and supplying
Concordia requires significant logistics, especially in the summer. Technicians, including electricians, plumbers, mechanics for the electric plant and auto mechanics are essential for the proper functioning of the base all year round.
Climate
Dumont d'Urville Station has a
tundra
In physical geography, tundra () is a type of biome where tree growth is hindered by frigid temperatures and short growing seasons. The term ''tundra'' comes through Russian (') from the Kildin Sámi word (') meaning "uplands", "treeless mou ...
(
ET) with conditions milder than inland. This station experienced record warm temperatures and precipitation due to an unprecedented atmospheric river event in March 2022.
Gallery
NASA Tº D'Urvi 1950-2012.gif, Climate graph of 1950-2012 air average temperatures at D'Urville Station
Colonie de manchots Adélies.jpg, A colony of Adélie penguins
Dumont d Urville panoramque toit geophy.ogv, Panorama of the Dumont d'Urville Station in 2005
See also
*
List of Antarctic research stations
*
List of Antarctic field camps
Many Antarctic research stations support satellite field camps which are, in general, seasonal camps. The type of field camp can vary – some are permanent structures used during the annual Antarctic summer, whereas others are little more than te ...
*
List of airports in Antarctica
__TOC__
List
, 18/36Ice
, - valign=top
, Palmer SkiwayHeliport
,
, NZ12
,
, Anvers Island
,
, 01/19Snow
, - valign=top
, Patriot Hills Blue-Ice Runway
,
, SCPZ
,
, Ellsworth Mountains
,
, 24MIce
, - valign=top
, Pegasu ...
*
Concordia Station
References
External links
*
Official website IPEV Institut Polaire Français Paul Emilie Victor*
Terre Adélie - Dumont d'Urville Station, site of Samuel Blanc*
site from
Ifremer
*
''l'Astrolabe''COMNAP Antarctic FacilitiesCOMNAP Antarctic Facilities Map
{{Antarctica
Outposts of Adélie Land
Outposts of Antarctica
1956 establishments in Antarctica
Articles containing video clips