("Antarctica's Entrance Door") , motto = , anthem = , pushpin_map = Antarctica , pushpin_map_alt = Location within Antarctica , pushpin_map_caption = Location within Antarctica , pushpin_mapsize = 300 , pushpin_relief = yes , coordinates = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = , subdivision_type1 =

Province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman '' provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

, subdivision_name1 =

Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica, and South Atlantic Islands Province Tierra del Fuego (Spanish for "''Land of Fire''"; ), officially the Province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and South Atlantic Islands (Spanish: ''Provincia de Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur''), is the southernmost, sm ...

, subdivision_type2 = Department , subdivision_name2 =

Antártida Argentina Argentine Antarctica ( es, Antártida Argentina or Sector Antártico Argentino) is an area of Antarctica claimed by Argentina as part of its national territory. It consists of the Antarctic Peninsula and a triangular section extending to the ...

, subdivision_type3 = Region , subdivision_name3 =

Graham Land Graham Land is the portion of the Antarctic Peninsula that lies north of a line joining Cape Jeremy and Cape Agassiz. This description of Graham Land is consistent with the 1964 agreement between the British Antarctic Place-names Committee an ...

Antarctic Peninsula

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 ...

, subdivision_type4 = Location , subdivision_name4 = Marambio Island , established_title = Settled , established_date = , established_title1 = Established , established_date1 = , established_title2 = Founded , established_date2 =
(1969–70 austral summer season) , extinct_title = Closed , extinct_date = , named_for = Gustavo Argentino Marambio , area_magnitude = 1 E+4 , area_total_ha = , area_footnotes = , area_urban_ha = , area_urban_footnotes = , area_rural_ha = , area_rural_footnotes = , area_blank1_title = Indoors , area_blank1_ha = 2 , area_note = , elevation_m = 196 , elevation_footnotes = , government_type = Directorate , governing_body = Dirección Nacional del Antártico , leader_title = Operator , leader_name =

Instituto Antártico Argentino The Instituto Antártico Argentino (IAA; en, Argentine Antarctic Institute) is the Argentine federal agency in charge of orientating, controlling, addressing and performing scientific and technical research and studies in the Antarctic. Known as ...

, leader_title1 = , leader_name1 = , leader_title2 = , leader_name2 = , government_footnotes = , total_type = , unit_pref = metric , population_total = , population_as_of = , population_footnotes = , population_note = , blank_name_sec1 = Type , blank_info_sec1 = All year-round , blank1_name_sec1 = Period , blank1_info_sec1 = Annual , blank2_name_sec1 = Status , blank2_info_sec1 = Active and operational , blank_name_sec2 = Facilities , blank_info_sec2 = , timezone1 =

ART Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas. There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...

, utc_offset1 = -3 , postal_code_type = , postal_code = , area_code_type = , area_code = , iso_code = , website = , footnotes = Marambio Station ( es, Estación Marambio) is a permanent, all year-round

Argentine Antarctica Argentine Antarctica ( es, Antártida Argentina or Sector Antártico Argentino) is an area of Antarctica claimed by Argentina as part of its national territory. It consists of the Antarctic Peninsula and a triangular section extending to the ...

station named after Vice-Commodore Gustavo Argentino Marambio, an Antarctic aviation pioneer. It is located in Marambio Island,

, Antarctic Peninsula, some from the coastal civilian village of

Esperanza Esperanza is the Spanish word for hope, and may refer to: Places Philippines * Esperanza, Agusan del Sur, a municipality * Esperanza, Masbate, a municipality * Esperanza, Sultan Kudarat, a municipality United States * Esperanza, Mississippi, ...

. At the time of its construction it was the first airfield in

and is still one of the most frequently used ones due to its suitability for wheeled landing, for which it is called "Antarctica's Entrance Door" ( es, Puerta de Entrada a la Antártida). It is also Argentina's most important station in the continent. Marambio is one of 13 research stations in Antarctica operated by Argentina.

History

The increased Antarctic activity that Argentina developed since 1940 created the need for an aviation runway operable throughout the year for wheeled units. The flight of Vice-Commodore to the

South Pole The South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole, Terrestrial South Pole or 90th Parallel South, is one of the two points where Earth's axis of rotation intersects its surface. It is the southernmost point on Earth and lies antipod ...

, the newly built United States McMurdo Station and the frequent operations launched from the Matienzo Station showed the need to secure better transport and communications in the sector. The

Argentine Air Force "Argentine Wings" , mascot = , anniversaries = 10 August (anniversary) 1 May (Baptism of fire during the Falklands War) , equipment = 139 aircraft , equipment_label = , battles = * Operation Independence * Operation Soberanía * Falkl ...

set about to find a suitable spot to construct an airport. On 25 November 1968, two helicopters operating from 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 ...

ARA ''General San Martín'' descended on the Marambio Island as part of such survey. Their report favoring the place was decisive: it lacked large obstacles that could trouble aircraft maneuvering, and its long plateau was virtually free of ice. DHC-2 Beaver matrícula P-03

On 30 August 1969, an Air Force team led by Vice-Commodore Olezza occupied the island, carrying with them the elements needed for the construction of the projected landing track. When initially opened, the ''05/23''-oriented runway had a length of . It was the first one in the continent. The task took three months of work and culminated when a

de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver The de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver is a single-engined high-wing propeller-driven short takeoff and landing (STOL) aircraft developed and manufactured by de Havilland Canada. It has been primarily operated as a bush plane and has been use ...

, set with conventional wheels, took off from Matienzo Station and landed on the new airport. Before the end of October the runway had already reached . Base Marambio y el Hercules

The station was founded on 29 October 1969. That day a Fokker F-27 Friendship of the Argentine Air Force manned by Vice-Commodore Erwin Roberto Kern, left Rio Gallegos and landed directly in Marambio Airport, carrying on board civil and military authorities. It was the first aircraft taking off in another continent and landing in Antarctica using conventional landing gear: Antarctica was no longer an isolated place; from that day onwards all domestic and foreign Antarctic stations got interconnected with the rest of the world throughout the year. It was the most important Antarctic event in the decade. By April 1970 the runway had reached . On 11 April 1970 the Argentine Air Force began landing their C-130 Hercules on Antarctica when the TC-61 commanded by

Commodore Commodore may refer to: Ranks * Commodore (rank), a naval rank ** Commodore (Royal Navy), in the United Kingdom ** Commodore (United States) ** Commodore (Canada) ** Commodore (Finland) ** Commodore (Germany) or ''Kommodore'' * Air commodore ...

Arturo Athos Gandolfi landed in Marambio, starting a long-standing and uninterrupted tradition of air-supplying the Antarctic Argentine stations from the mainland. The

Fokker F28 Fellowship The Fokker F28 Fellowship is a twin-engined, short-range jet airliner designed and built by Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker. Following the Fokker F27 Friendship, an early and commercially successful turboprop-powered regional airliner, Fokk ...

presidential aircraft T-01 ''Patagonia'' was the first jet to land in Antarctica when it touched down at Marambio on 28 July 1973, 13:28 h. Commercial passenger traffic from

Ushuaia Ushuaia ( , ) is the capital of Tierra del Fuego, Antártida e Islas del Atlántico Sur Province, Argentina. With a population of nearly 75,000 and a location below the 54th parallel south latitude, Ushuaia claims the title of world's souther ...

has been announced for 2018.

Description

Marambio has 27 buildings with a total covered area exceeding . It can host a permanent crew of 45 men and a large complement of scientific personnel, totaling about 200 people, although on average it is populated with 55 members in winter and 150 in summer. Some of the facilities are: main, dining and recreation halls; emergency house with 28-bed capacity; personnel accommodation buildings; aircraft parking platform; flight deck; airline passenger terminal; flight ground support equipment; library; mail office; gym; a Catholic chapel; laundry; kitchen; two freezing chambers; snow melter; satellite dish for television and internet; radio communications station; towing and personnel carrier vehicles (including

tractor A tractor is an engineering vehicle specifically designed to deliver a high tractive effort (or torque) at slow speeds, for the purposes of hauling a trailer or machinery such as that used in agriculture, mining or construction. Most commo ...

truck A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo, carry specialized payloads, or perform other utilitarian work. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, but the vast majority feature body-on-frame constructi ...

s and forklifts); road maintenance tools and vehicles (several snow dozers, tracked loaders and graders); mechanical, carpentry, blacksmithing, turning, plumbing and electricity workshops; laboratory with substations for APT (Automatic Picture Transmission) satellite imagery receiver,

ozone Ozone (), or trioxygen, is an inorganic molecule with the chemical formula . It is a pale blue gas with a distinctively pungent smell. It is an allotrope of oxygen that is much less stable than the diatomic allotrope , breaking down in the lo ...

and uv light measurement, sounding balloon and

radiosonde A radiosonde is a battery-powered telemetry instrument carried into the atmosphere usually by a weather balloon that measures various atmospheric parameters and transmits them by radio to a ground receiver. Modern radiosondes measure or calcula ...

setup and launching, a MBI International Meteorological Center, and others; several warehouses and deposits; fuel storage array; potable water and sewerage network; incinerator and waste disposal module, and firefighting system. MuseoPatrullaSoberania

The station also has

CATV Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with broadc ...

and public and internal mobile phone service. The medical suite is attended by one doctor and three paramedics, and has three beds and

x-ray An X-ray, or, much less commonly, X-radiation, is a penetrating form of high-energy electromagnetic radiation. Most X-rays have a wavelength ranging from 10 picometers to 10 nanometers, corresponding to frequencies in the range 30&nb ...

, dentistry,

coronary care Coronary () may, as shorthand in English, be used to mean: * Coronary circulation, the system of arteries and veins in mammals ** Coronary artery disease ** Coronary occlusion ** A myocardial infarction, a heart attack As adjective * Referring t ...

and telemedicine facilities. Over of Antarctic gasoil are used every year for transportation, and to feed the 1,000 kW main power plant with its three Caterpillar generators. The station also has a sewage treatment plant. Most buildings are connected together by risen metal footpaths to isolate them from snow and ice. On 2010 the Argentine company CITEDEF designed and installed a

wind generator A wind turbine is a device that wind power, converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of list of most powerful wind turbines, large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gi ...

on the station.

Airport

The station is supported by Marambio Airport.

Communications

The station is connected to the Argentine mainland and the world through a satellite downlink station with telephone, fax, TV and internet. They also have a

DirecTV DirecTV (trademarked as DIRECTV) is an American multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital satellite service serving the United States. I ...

dish which provides their service to the whole station. Argentine mobile telephone company Claro and Spanish

Movistar Movistar () is a major telecommunications provider owned by Telefónica, operating in Spain and Hispanic American countries. It is the largest provider of landline, broadband, mobile services, and pay television ( Movistar+) in Spain. Movistar ...

have an antenna for local coverage. Within the station and between stations, radio is the most used mean of communication, mainly through HF, Vox/Data, aeronautic VHF- AM and UHF- FM. Internet access is provided by Speedy Argentina, allowing the personnel in the station to be permanently connected to net services. Wireless LAN and

Wi-Fi Wi-Fi () is a family of wireless network protocols, based on the IEEE 802.11 family of standards, which are commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio wav ...

cover the entire complex, becoming one of the southernmost spots in the world with a wireless network. Telephone service is provided by Telefónica de Argentina at low national rates. In September 2006, a

GSM The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a standard developed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) to describe the protocols for second-generation ( 2G) digital cellular networks used by mobile devices such ...

mobile phone network was also added to the station, provided by the Argentine mobile operator CTI Móvil (now Claro).

Scientific activities

Scientific research at Marambio is planned and executed by specialized departments, usually during the summer campaigns: * Earth Sciences carries out

paleontology Paleontology (), also spelled palaeontology or palæontology, is the scientific study of life that existed prior to, and sometimes including, the start of the Holocene epoch (roughly 11,700 years before present). It includes the study of fossi ...

, stratigraphy, sedimentology,

petrography Petrography is a branch of petrology that focuses on detailed descriptions of rocks. Someone who studies petrography is called a petrographer. The mineral content and the textural relationships within the rock are described in detail. The class ...

, cryology,

glaciology Glaciology (; ) is the scientific study of glaciers, or more generally ice and natural phenomena that involve ice. Glaciology is an interdisciplinary Earth science that integrates geophysics, geology, physical geography, geomorphology, c ...

and geodesy. * Atmospheric Sciences research include

cosmic ray Cosmic rays are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the Solar System in our own ...

and

ionospheric The ionosphere () is the ionized part of the upper atmosphere of Earth, from about to above sea level, a region that includes the thermosphere and parts of the mesosphere and exosphere. The ionosphere is ionized by solar radiation. It plays a ...

observations, and stratospheric ozone monitoring. The LAMBI Ozone Laboratory, managed by the Atmospheric Sciences station, started in 1994 to obtain ozone records by absorption. It is a joint program with the INTA ( Spanish National Institute for Aerospace Technology) * Geophysics analyzes the composition, structure and mobility of the Antarctic lithosphere by seismic, magnetic, magnetotelluric and gravimetric surveys. It researches on tectonic dynamics in order to define its configuration from the

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 145 to 66 million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era, as well as the longest. At around 79 million years, it is the longest geological period of ...

to the present. It also conducts paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental studies to determine relevant trends during the late Cenozoic. * Dynamics and Chemistry of Ice investigates changes during the last decade in selected

glacier A glacier (; ) is a persistent body of dense ice that is constantly moving under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires distinguishing features, such as ...

s on the Ross and Vega islands. It also examines significant changes in the Larsen Ice Shelf and provides essential information on the distribution of Antarctic icebergs along the tracks of vessels operating in the Antarctic. * Human Impact researches environmental processes in relation to possible disturbances caused by human activities over the terrestrial ecosystem dynamics in the area of Marambio. The program develops guidelines for environmental management and monitoring. In addition Marambio is home to various ongoing scientific projects: * The Museoantar historical

archaeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

program undergoes recovery, preservation and restoration of the refuges built by the 1901–04

Swedish Antarctic Expedition The Swedish Antarctic Expedition of 1901–1903 was a scientific expedition led by Otto Nordenskjöld and Carl Anton Larsen. It was the first Swedish endeavour to Antarctica in the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration. Background Otto Nordensk ...

Snow Hill Island Snow Hill Island is an almost completely snowcapped island, long and wide, lying off the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. It is separated from James Ross Island to the north-east by Admiralty Sound and from Seymour Island to the north ...

. * In 2011, during the "Mars in Marambio" mission,

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

scientists arrived at the station to test a new

space suit A space suit or spacesuit is a garment worn to keep a human alive in the harsh environment of outer space, vacuum and temperature extremes. Space suits are often worn inside spacecraft as a safety precaution in case of loss of cabin pressure, ...

designed for future

exploration of Mars The planet Mars has been explored remotely by spacecraft. Probes sent from Earth, beginning in the late 20th century, have yielded a large increase in knowledge about the Martian system, focused primarily on understanding its geology and habi ...

. * In 2013 the

Finnish Meteorological Institute The Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI; fi, Ilmatieteen laitos; sv, Meteorologiska institutet) is the government agency responsible for gathering and reporting weather data and forecasts in Finland. It is a part of the Ministry of Transport ...

in co-operation with the Servicio Meteorológico Nacional and with the

started a new continuous atmospheric measurement program in Marambio. Observations cover greenhouse gases (mostly CH₄ and CO₂) while investigating the physical, chemical and optical properties of aerosol particles and incoming and outgoing UV radiation. This scientific project made Marambio the most comprehensive atmospheric measurement station in the Antarctic continent. * The station has been chosen for the location of balloon launches of the French project ''Estrateole'' to study the ozone layer. MAR8019.JPG, Campamento cientifico.jpg, Panoramica base marambio.jpg,

Climate

In spite of its relatively low latitude, Marambio Station is situated in an

ice cap climate An ice cap climate is a polar climate where no mean monthly temperature exceeds . The climate covers areas in or near the high latitudes (65° latitude) to polar regions (70–90° north and south latitude), such as Antarctica, some of the northe ...

, albeit much less severe than in Antarctica's interior. Nonetheless, the climate is severe with mean temperatures that rarely rise above and the presence of strong winds. The strong winds produce a wind chill that makes the temperatures feel colder. In particular, gusts up to can occur during the winter months. Due to the partial melting of snow in summer due to above freezing daytime temperatures, animals as well as limited plant life (moss, lichens, and worts) are able to thrive during the warmer months of December, January, and February. Mean monthly temperatures range from in June to in December. During summer, the average high is above freezing while the average low is . However, temperatures can reach up to or fall below during summer. In winter, the average high is while the average low is . Occasionally, temperatures can reach above freezing during winter. This occurs when warm air from the northeast (characterized by high cloud cover and fog) or from the northwest moves towards the peninsula. As the warm air crosses the mountains in the peninsula, it warms as it descends, leading to warm and dry conditions in a manner similar to a

Zonda wind Zonda wind ( es, viento zonda) is a regional term for the foehn wind that often occurs on the eastern slope of the Andes, in Argentina. Formation The Zonda is a dry wind (often carrying dust) which comes from the polar maritime air, warmed by des ...

. Its highest recorded temperature was on 23 March 2015. This was surpassed on February 9, 2020 when a temperature of was recorded at the station. Fog frequently occurs in the station. December and January are the foggiest months, averaging 16 to 19 days with fog while June to September are the least, averaging 9 to 11 days. The station is characterized by high cloud cover throughout the year in the form of stratus clouds. Summer is the cloudiest season, averaging 24 cloudy days while winters are the least cloudiest, averaging 10 to 11 cloudy days.

References

External links

Fuerza Aerea Argentina – Base Marambio

Dirección Nacional del Antártico

{{Antarctica Argentine Air Force bases Argentine Antarctica Populated places established in 1969 Outposts of Graham Land James Ross Island group British Antarctic Territory Chilean Antarctic Territory 1969 establishments in Antarctica