Ellsworth Station Estación científica Ellsworth Base Ellsworth(until 1959) | |
|---|---|
 A U.S. Navy de Havilland Canada UC-1 Otter of Antarctic Development Squadron 6 (VXE-6) in flight over a large open crevasse near the station in 1958 | |
  Ellsworth Station Last location in Antarctica | |
| Coordinates:77°43′00″S41°02′00″W / 77.7167°S 41.0333°W /-77.7167; -41.0333[1] | |
| Region | Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf |
| Location | NearGould Bay |
| Established | 11 February 1957 (1957-02-11) |
| Transferred | 17 January 1959 |
| Removed | 30 December 1962 (1962-12-30) |
| Named after | Lincoln Ellsworth |
| Government | |
| • Type | Administration |
| • Body | Instituto Antártico Argentino |
| Elevation | 42 m (138 ft) |
| Population | |
| • Summer | 40 |
| • Winter | 40 |
| Time zone | UTC-3 (ART) |
| Active times | All year-round |
| Activities | List
|
| Facilities | List
|
Ellsworth Scientific Station (Spanish:Estación Científica Ellsworth, or simplyEstación Ellsworth orBase Ellsworth) was a permanent, all year-round originallyAmerican, thenArgentineAntarctic scientificresearch station named after American polar explorerLincoln Ellsworth. It was located onGould Bay, on theFilchner Ice Shelf.
It was shut down in 1962 over safety concerns due to it being built on increasingly unstable ice, which produced fast deterioration of its superstructures and endangered both personnel and equipment.[2]
Ellsworth Station was built byUnited States NavySeabees under the command ofCaptainFinn Ronne,[3] with the support of theicebreakersUSSStaten Island andUSSWyandot, captained byFrancis Gambacorta.[4][5]The originally planned site for the station wasCape Adams, but when the terrain proved impractical due to huge ice cliffs, an alternate location on Gould Bay was selected,[4] on the western coast of theWeddell Sea over the Filchner Ice Shelf, and close to the ArgentineanBelgrano I Base.[6]
Part of the scheduled agenda for theInternational Geophysical Year, Ellsworth Station was commissioned on 11 February 1957 and less than two years later, on 17 January 1959, was handed over to theArgentinean Antarctic Institute. Along with the handover, the United States government gave all the buildings, facilities, and existing food supplies while Argentina provided the logistical and administrative services necessary for the continued operation of the station.[6] It was agreed that scientists of both countries would work together at the place in technical studies and scientific research.[6]
Ellsworth Station was one of seven bases that the United States built for the IGY, which also includedMcMurdo,Hallett (with New Zealand),Wilkes,Admundsen-Scott (South Pole Station),Byrd, andLittle America.[7]
On 31 December 1959, the Argentinean icebreakerARAGeneral San Martín was heading to Ellsworth Station to exchange personnel deliver and consumables when it received aSOS signal from theNorwegian–South African exploration shipPolarbjorn, which had gotten stuck in ice. The Argentineans managed to set the ship free so it could follow with its planned route along the coastline, However, theGeneral San Martín was later unable to reach its own primary goal—located on the deepest recess of the Weddell Sea—due to unusually thickpack ice on the target area.[8]
On 6 January 1962,Frigate CaptainHermes Quijada of theArgentine Naval Aviation, leading a two-plane flight ofDouglas C-47s, made a stopover at Ellsworth Base before continuing to theSouth Pole. He became the pilot of the first airplane that had taken off from theAmericas, and then landed at theSouth Pole.[6][9]
Feasibility of the station came into question when structural problems caused by the unstable ice had the base half-sunken during most of the spring.[2] To protect personnel and equipment, Ellsworth base was closed and all of its staff and equipment were evacuated on 30 December 1962, during the 1962–63 antarctic summer campaign.[6] It continued to be inspected periodically by Argentinean exploration teams:[10] it was eventually covered by snow and ice. The Filchner Shelf sector where it was located as split off a gianticeberg, and then it drifted through theSouthern Ocean, where the base's remains have been lost at sea.[2]
The original facilities at Ellsworth Station could house over 40 people.
During its operational days a number of experiments and observations were carried out at Ellsworth, involvingionosphericriometry observations;biology; humanphysiology; and surface and high-atmospheremeteorology, includingradiation andcarbon dioxide measurements.[6]
There was also active research involvingglaciology at the Filchner Ice Shelf, which was explored by several expeditions launched from the station. Some of these patrols reached the West Crevice on the huge barrier, completing the Ellsworth–Belgrano triangulation.[6]
The area is a passage ofweather fronts directed towards the north: although they do not precipitate, they do produce strong winds exceeding 200 km/h (120 mph) which radically lower theapparent temperature.[11]
| Climate data for Ellsworth Station | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | −6 (22) | −13 (9) | −19 (−3) | −23 (−10) | −24 (−11) | −28 (−19) | −29 (−21) | −29 (−21) | −27 (−16) | −19 (−2) | −12 (11) | −6 (22) | −19 (−2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −11 (12) | −19 (−2) | −27 (−16) | −32 (−25) | −32 (−26) | −36 (−32) | −37 (−35) | −37 (−35) | −34 (−30) | −26 (−15) | −18 (−1) | −11 (13) | −26 (−15) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 7.6 (0.3) | 5.1 (0.2) | 7.6 (0.3) | 15 (0.6) | 5.1 (0.2) | 5.1 (0.2) | 5.1 (0.2) | 5.1 (0.2) | 7.6 (0.3) | 10 (0.4) | 13 (0.5) | 5.1 (0.2) | 86 (3.4) |
| Source: Weatherbase[12] | |||||||||||||
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