Prat Station Base Naval Antártica "Arturo Prat" | |
|---|---|
| Arturo Prat Station | |
.jpg) Base Naval Antártica "Arturo Prat" | |
 Flag | |
  Prat Station Location of Prat Station inAntarctica | |
| Coordinates:62°28′44″S59°39′52″W / 62.478889°S 59.664444°W /-62.478889; -59.664444 | |
| Country |  Chile |
| Location in Antarctica | Iquique Cove Greenwich Island South Shetland Islands |
| Administered by |  Chilean Navy |
| Established | 6 February 1947 (1947-02-06) |
| Named after | Arturo Prat |
| Elevation | 0 m (0 ft) |
| Population (2017)[1] | |
| • Summer | 30 |
| • Winter | 8 |
| UN/LOCODE | AQ APT |
| Type | All-year round |
| Period | Annual |
| Status | Operational |
| Activities | Ionospheric and meteorologic research |
| Website | Base Arturo Prat INACH |
Captain Arturo Prat Base (Spanish: Base Naval Antártica "Arturo Prat") is a ChileanAntarcticresearch station located atIquique Cove,Greenwich Island in theSouth Shetland Islands,Antarctica.
Opened February 6, 1947 by theFirst Chilean Antarctic Expedition, it is the oldest Chilean Antarctic station. Until March 1, 2006, it was a base of theChilean Navy, on which date it was handed over to the regional government ofMagallanes and Antártica Chilena Region. Until February 2004, it had been a permanent base. Afterwards, it had served as a summer base for ionospheric and meteorologic research. There have been plans to reopen the station for permanent occupation starting March 2008. The base is named for CaptainArturo Prat, a Chilean naval officer.
The climate ismaritime polar (Köppen:ET), being on the coast of the peninsula with less severe averages than expected inAntarctica.[3][4] Extreme temperatures can reach −29 °C or −20.2 °F in July, which is still quite bearable to humans protected due to considerable moderation of the sea, and a rare heat wave caused the temperature to reach 19 °C or 66.2 °F, a relatively high value. The climate is quite humid for its location and precipitation is fairly well distributed, so that even in the driest months it receives more precipitation than almost all of theMediterranean zone.[5]
| Climate data for Captain Arturo Prat Base, elevation: 5 m or 16 ft, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1958-present[a] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 8.4 (47.1) | 13.0 (55.4) | 9.1 (48.4) | 5.0 (41.0) | 5.8 (42.4) | 4.2 (39.6) | 3.9 (39.0) | 3.5 (38.3) | 4.9 (40.8) | 5.4 (41.7) | 6.3 (43.3) | 9.7 (49.5) | 13.0 (55.4) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 3.4 (38.1) | 3.4 (38.1) | 2.2 (36.0) | 0.5 (32.9) | −1.0 (30.2) | −2.9 (26.8) | −3.4 (25.9) | −3.3 (26.1) | −2.1 (28.2) | −0.6 (30.9) | 0.8 (33.4) | 2.3 (36.1) | −0.1 (31.8) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | 1.9 (35.4) | 1.8 (35.2) | 0.7 (33.3) | −1.1 (30.0) | −2.9 (26.8) | −5.2 (22.6) | −6.0 (21.2) | −5.8 (21.6) | −4.6 (23.7) | −2.5 (27.5) | −0.6 (30.9) | 0.8 (33.4) | −2.0 (28.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 0.4 (32.7) | 0.3 (32.5) | −0.9 (30.4) | −2.7 (27.1) | −4.7 (23.5) | −7.4 (18.7) | −8.5 (16.7) | −8.3 (17.1) | −7.0 (19.4) | −4.4 (24.1) | −2.2 (28.0) | −0.7 (30.7) | −3.8 (25.2) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −6.2 (20.8) | −7.2 (19.0) | −15.2 (4.6) | −18.0 (−0.4) | −24.8 (−12.6) | −21.8 (−7.2) | −30.0 (−22.0) | −26.2 (−15.2) | −26.0 (−14.8) | −19.0 (−2.2) | −12.2 (10.0) | −7.0 (19.4) | −30.0 (−22.0) |
| Averageprecipitation mm (inches) | 75.0 (2.95) | 72.7 (2.86) | 80.1 (3.15) | 72.2 (2.84) | 60.8 (2.39) | 49.1 (1.93) | 43.5 (1.71) | 40.8 (1.61) | 49.9 (1.96) | 61.5 (2.42) | 52.6 (2.07) | 55.6 (2.19) | 708.9 (27.91) |
| Average precipitation days(≥ 1.0 mm) | 10 | 12 | 15 | 10 | 8 | 10 | 7 | 10 | 12 | 12 | 15 | 11 | 132 |
| Averagerelative humidity (%) | 86.8 | 87.0 | 88.2 | 88.2 | 88.4 | 88.7 | 89.1 | 88.7 | 88.4 | 88.0 | 87.0 | 85.7 | 87.7 |
| Source 1: Dirección Meteorológica de Chile[6][7][8] | |||||||||||||
| Source 2:DWD (precipitation days 1961–1990)[9] | |||||||||||||
