A number of governments maintain permanent research stations in the

Arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

. Also known as Arctic bases, polar stations or ice stations, these bases are widely distributed across the northern polar region of Earth. Historically few

research station Research stations are facilities where scientific investigation, collection, analysis and experimentation occurs. A research station is a facility that is built for the purpose of conducting scientific research. There are also many types of resear ...

s have been permanent. Most of them were temporary, being abandoned after the completion of the project or owing to lack of funding to continue the research. Some of these were military or intelligence stations (listening posts) created as a result of the proximity of the U.S. and Soviet Union to each other's landmass across the polar region. Ice stations are constructed on land or on ice that rests on land, while others are

drifting ice station A drifting ice station is a temporary or semi-permanent facility built on an ice floe. During the Cold War the Soviet Union and the United States maintained a number of stations in the Arctic Ocean on floes such as Fletcher's Ice Island for res ...

s built on the sea ice of the high latitudes of the

Arctic Ocean The Arctic Ocean is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceans. It spans an area of approximately and is known as the coldest of all the oceans. The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) recognizes it as an ocean, a ...

Research stations

Drifting ice stations

Fletcher's Ice Island Fletcher's Ice Island or T-3 was an iceberg discovered by U.S. Air Force Colonel Joseph O. Fletcher. Between 1952 and 1978 it was used as a staffed scientific drift station that included huts, a power plant, and a runway for wheeled aircraft.< ...

, US (1952 - 1978)

In fiction

Ice Station Zebra (novel) ''Ice Station Zebra'' is a 1963 thriller novel written by Scottish author Alistair MacLean. It marked a return to MacLean's classic Arctic setting. After completing this novel, whose plot line parallels real-life events during the Cold War, Ma ...

, by

Alistair MacLean Alistair Stuart MacLean ( gd, Alasdair MacGill-Eain; 21 April 1922 – 2 February 1987) was a 20th-century Scottish novelist who wrote popular thrillers and adventure stories. Many of his novels have been adapted to film, most notably '' The ...

Ice Station Zebra ''Ice Station Zebra'' is a 1968 American espionage thriller film directed by John Sturges and starring Rock Hudson, Patrick McGoohan, Ernest Borgnine, and Jim Brown. The screenplay is by Alistair MacLean, Douglas Heyes, Harry Julian Fink, ...

(1968 film) **Ice Station Zebra a song by

Jack White John Anthony White (; born July 9, 1975), commonly known as Jack White, is an American musician, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the duo the White Stripes. White has enjoyed consistent critical and popular success and is widely c ...

on Boarding House Reach * Ice Station, by Matthew Reilly * Ice Station -- Impossible!, an episode of

The Venture Bros. ''The Venture Bros.'' is an American adult animated action comedy TV series created by Chris McCulloch (also known as "Jackson Publick") for Cartoon Network's late night programming block Adult Swim. Following a pilot episode on February 16, 200 ...

* Ice Station Santa, an episode of

Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space ''Sam & Max Beyond Time and Space'', originally released as ''Sam & Max: Season Two'', is an episodic graphic adventure video game by Telltale Games based on the '' Sam & Max'' comic book series created by Steve Purcell. It is a sequel to Tell ...

Gallery

File:Gaw lab 20160601.jpg, View of the

Dr. Neil Trivett Global Atmosphere Watch Observatory The Dr. Neil Trivett Global Atmosphere Watch Observatory is an atmospheric baseline station operated by Environment and Climate Change Canada located about south south-west of Alert, Nunavut, on the north-eastern tip of Ellesmere Island, about ...

, Alert, Nunavut, Canada File:Polska Stacja Polarna Hornsund AdamNawrot.jpg, View of the

Polish Polar Station, Hornsund Polish Polar Station, Hornsund ( pl, Polska Stacja Polarna, Hornsund) is at ''Isbjørnhamna'' in Hornsund, on Spitsbergen in the Norway, Norwegian Svalbard archipelago, operated since 1957. Station The station was erected in July 1957 by the Polis ...

. File:Wiese-Insel 1 2014-09-02.jpg, View of the Arctic research station on

Wiese Island Wiese Island, or Vize Island ( rus, Остров Визе ''Ostrov Vize''), also known as ''Zemlya Vize'' ( rus, Земля Визе) is an isolated Russian island located in the Arctic Ocean, named after Soviet oceanographer of German-descent Vlad ...

. File:Igloolik-researchcentre.jpg, View of the

Igloolik Research Centre Igloolik ( Inuktitut syllabics: , ''Iglulik'', ) is an Inuit hamlet in Foxe Basin, Qikiqtaaluk Region in Nunavut, northern Canada. Because its location on Igloolik Island is close to Melville Peninsula, it is often mistakenly thought to be on t ...

, Igloolik, Nunavut, Canada.

References

External links