Neumayer-Station III

Neumayer Station III in December 2009

Neumayer-Station III, also known as Neumayer III after geophysicist Georg von Neumayer, is a German Antarctic research station of the Alfred-Wegener-Institut. It is located on the approximately 200 metres (660 ft) thick Ekstrom Ice Shelf several kilometres south of Neumayer-Station II.[1] The station's assembly kit was transported to its current position early in November 2007. It is moving with the shelf ice at about 200 meters per year towards the open sea.[2]

After almost ten years of work on the project, beginning in October 1999, including conception, environmental impact assessment, planning and construction phases, regular operation of the station began on 20 February 2009. The station replaces the Neumayer-Station II and the Georg-von-Neumayer-Station that preceded it. The expected lifespan of the station is 25 to 30 years and the entire project is estimated to cost €39 million.[3]

Construction phase

An image of a part of the station's steel structure as well as two ship containers in Bremerhaven during an open-house day
Hydraulics attached to a concrete foot
Structure section

The station was constructed 6 m (20 ft) above ground on a temporary two-level platform, and it now rests on 16 hydraulic columns set on a solid snow surface. A garage and further technical equipment are located within a subsurface snow cavern at the front of the station. The moving concrete supporting feet are powered by hydraulic machinery. Through an annual lifting procedure of 80 to 100 cm (31 to 39 in) it is expected to prevent new snow from causing the platform to sink.

The station runs all year round and includes 210 m2 (2,300 sq ft) of laboratory surface, divided into 12 compartments. It has twice the floor area of previous stations. Within the 15 living compartments there is room for 40 occupants to sleep. All inner rooms of the platform are built as self-contained units, some of which have aligned connecting passages, depending on their size. The compartmentalized interior of the station is enclosed in sheet metal with an interior polyurethane rigid foam insulation.[1] The green metal girders in the “structure section” image indicate snow level; they are not part of the final structure. All items below the girders will later be embedded in the Antarctic snow.

The above-surface construction method of Neumayer III is predominant in the Antarctic, seen at other new stations such as the American Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and the Belgian Princess Elisabeth Base.[4]

Assembly

A majority of the construction materials and the heavy steel frame were delivered by the end of January 2008. The plan specified that the last of the construction equipment had to leave Ekstrom Ice Shelf by March 2009. For, A crew of about 90 worked on construction.[5] By mid-January 2009, the exterior work on the station was completed, so that further improvement to the 99 interior containers[5] could continue unaffected by the weather.[6]

Interior

In addition to the previously mentioned laboratories and accommodation areas, there is a south-facing lounge with many windows, a laundry room containing two washing machines and two dryers, a sauna, an information technology room, shower and washrooms, a dining room with a serving window connected to the kitchen, a conference room, medical treatment rooms, operating rooms, storage rooms, a refrigerated area, a dressing room, a room for the heating system, a planning and training room, and a water-treatment room.

Data

  • Main building height: about 29.2 m (96 ft)
  • Platform surface area: about 68 m × 24 m (223 ft × 79 ft)
  • Total mass: about 2,300 tonnes [7]
  • Interior floor area: 4,473 m2 (48,150 sq ft), on four floors
  • Heated area: 1,850 m2 (19,900 sq ft), on three floors
  • Depth under station: about 8.20 m (26.9 ft)

Remote stations

In order to minimize any effect that the main station's regular operations might have on the accuracy of scientific projects, small remote platforms are set up at a distance of 900 to 1,500 m (3,000 to 4,900 ft) from the main station. Magnetic, seismic, trace element, and acoustic research are the chief research missions of these remote stations.

Research

Previous Neumayer stations have been the center of continuous research since 1981, especially with respect to their observatories. In addition to the main research areas of meteorology, geophysics and atmospheric chemistry, which have been studied on the stations since the 1980s, infrasound has been studied for five years and marine acoustics since 2005.

Climate

Neumayer has a very cold and windy ice cap climate. In the winter, it's not shielded from the cold air masses of the interior, as a consequence, on average it drops to or below -40 °C (-40 °F) 10.3 times per year. The coldest temperature ever recorded was -50 °C (-58 °F) on July 8, 2010. It also experiences strong katabatic winds. On average, the wind speed reaches or surpasses 100 km/h (62 mph) 9 times per year. The highest wind speed ever recorded was 187 km/h (116 mph) on July 16, 2013. In that moment, the temperature was -22 °C (-8 °F), decreasing substantially the felt temperature. Sunshine hours are 1430 per year.

Climate data for Neumayer, Antarctica (2005-2014)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 2
(36)		 1
(34)		 −1
(30)		 −2
(28)		 −2
(28)		 −1
(30)		 −7
(19)		 −5
(23)		 −6
(21)		 −2
(28)		 0
(32)		 2
(36)		 2
(36)
Average high °C (°F) −2.0
(28.4)		 −5.8
(21.6)		 −10.7
(12.7)		 −15.0
(5)		 −17.0
(1.4)		 −19.7
(−3.5)		 −22.0
(−7.6)		 −21.0
(−5.8)		 −21.0
(−5.8)		 −14.7
(5.5)		 −7.0
(19.4)		 −2.9
(26.8)		 −13.23
(8.18)
Average low °C (°F) −6.8
(19.8)		 −12.1
(10.2)		 −16.6
(2.1)		 −21.8
(−7.2)		 −23.5
(−10.3)		 −27.1
(−16.8)		 −29.4
(−20.9)		 −28.0
(−18.4)		 −27.6
(−17.7)		 −20.9
(−5.6)		 −12.7
(9.1)		 −7.8
(18)		 −19.53
(−3.14)
Record low °C (°F) −17
(1)		 −26
(−15)		 −31
(−24)		 −40
(−40)		 −42
(−44)		 −48
(−54)		 −50
(−58)		 −45
(−49)		 −44
(−47)		 −37
(−35)		 −27
(−17)		 −19
(−2)		 −50
(−58)

References

  1. 1 2 DB mobil, Ausgabe 11, 2008
  2. ↑ Heilemann, Michael (February 14, 2009), "Auf Stelzen im Eis", Badische Zeitung
  3. ↑ "Deutschlands neuer High-Tech-Bau in der Antarktis", Die Welt, February 19, 2009
  4. ↑ Heimpel, Barbara (September 6, 2009), "Grün in der Antarktis", Deutschlandfunk
  5. 1 2 "Neue deutsche Forschungsstation am Südpol ist fertig", Berliner Morgenpost, February 15, 2009
  6. ↑ "Fassade der Neumayer-Station III vollständig montiert", Website of the AWI, retrieved January 15, 2009
  7. ↑ Neumayer-Station III: Die neue deutsche Forschungsstation in der Antarktis, AWI Helmholtz Gemeinschaft. (PDF, (German))

Coordinates: 70°40′28″S 8°16′27″W / 70.67444°S 8.27417°W / -70.67444; -8.27417

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