Mawson Station | |
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 Mawson Station looking toward theDavid Range | |
  Mawson Station Location of Mawson Station inAntarctica | |
| Coordinates:67°36′10″S62°52′25″E / 67.602746°S 62.873726°E /-67.602746; 62.873726 | |
| Country |  Australia |
| Location in Antarctica | Australian Antarctic Territory |
| Subdivision | Holme Bay Mac Robertson Land East Antarctica |
| Administered by | Australian Antarctic Division |
| Established | 13 February 1954 (1954-02-13) |
| Named after | SirDouglas Mawson |
| Elevation | 15 m (49 ft) |
| Population (2017)[1] | |
| • Summer | 53 |
| • Winter | 15 |
| Time zone | UTC+5 (MAWT) |
| UN/LOCODE | AQ MAW |
| Type | All-year round |
| Period | Annual |
| Status | Operational |
| Activities | List
|
| Facilities[2] | List
|
| Website | aad.gov.au |
Mawson Station, commonly calledMawson, is one of three permanent bases and research outposts inAntarctica managed by theAustralian Antarctic Division (AAD). Mawson lies inHolme Bay inMac. Robertson Land,East Antarctica in theAustralian Antarctic Territory, aterritoryclaimed byAustralia. Established in 1954, Mawson is Australia's oldest Antarctic station and the oldest continuously inhabited Antarctic station south of theAntarctic Circle.[3] It houses approximately 20 personnel over winter and up to 53 in summer.[1]
Mawson was named in honour of the AustralianAntarctic explorer SirDouglas Mawson.[3][4]
Mawson was listed on theRegister of the National Estate in 2001 and listed on theCommonwealth Heritage List on 22 June 2004, reflecting the post-World War Two revival of Australia's scientific research and territorial interests in Antarctica.[5]
Mawson Station is an active base for scientific research programs including an undergroundcosmic ray detector, various long-termmeteorologicalaeronomy andgeomagnetic studies, as well as ongoingconservation biology studies, in particular of nearbyAuster rookery, abreeding ground foremperor penguins andAdélie penguins.[6]
In 1946, theMinister for External Affairs,H.V. Evatt indicated his support for a proposal by Douglas Mawson for the establishment of a permanent Australian base in Antarctica.[7] It was another seven years before a suitable ship, theKista Dan could be chartered to set up facilities on the southern continent.
The station site was chosen in 1953 byPhillip Law, the first director of the AAD, who drew aerial photographs taken during the U.S.Operation Highjump (OpHjp) of 1946-1947 to select the site for its large natural harbour (Horseshoe Harbour) and permanently exposed rock for building.[7] The station was built during 1954. Some of the small pre-fabricated huts used in the first years remain on the station, but these are overshadowed by large steel-framed modular buildings dating from a major rebuilding program that started in the late 1970s.
By 1959, the facilities at Mawson Station had expanded significantly. Personnel at that time included 6 scientists, 4 technicians, 2 pilots, 2 weather observers, and 10 others. Scientific disciplines represented includedcartography,geology andgeomagnetism,glaciology,seismology,ionospheric andauroral physics,meteorology, andphysiology. Vehicles included 2de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver aircraft, 3Caterpillar D4 tractors, 1TEA-20 Ferguson, and 1Sno-Cat.[8]
Mawson Station is located at Holme Bay in Mac Robertson Land, East Antarctica, named in January 1930 by Sir Douglas Mawson during the firstBritish Australian and New Zealand Antarctic Research Expedition (BANZARE) voyage, aboardDiscovery. It is in a region which Mawson proclaimed as British territory on several occasions in 1930 and 1931 (including atProclamation Island, Scullin Monolith and Cape Bruce), and later became Australian Antarctic Territory.
Some notable geographic features in the region include theFramnes Mountains, which form the dramatic backdrop to Mawson Station. The Framnes Mountains were named in the 1930s by Norwegian explorers financed by the shipowner and whaling magnateLars Christensen.
Mawson Station experiences aPolar climate:
| Climate data for Mawson Station | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Record high °C (°F) | 10.6 (51.1) | 8.0 (46.4) | 4.0 (39.2) | 0.0 (32.0) | 0.4 (32.7) | 0.7 (33.3) | 5.0 (41.0) | 6.7 (44.1) | 0.7 (33.3) | 1.5 (34.7) | 8.2 (46.8) | 9.3 (48.7) | 10.6 (51.1) |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 2.5 (36.5) | −1.4 (29.5) | −7.2 (19.0) | −11.8 (10.8) | −13.5 (7.7) | −13.5 (7.7) | −15.0 (5.0) | −15.5 (4.1) | −14.2 (6.4) | −9.9 (14.2) | −2.6 (27.3) | 2.0 (35.6) | −8.3 (17.1) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | −2.7 (27.1) | −7.3 (18.9) | −13.3 (8.1) | −17.4 (0.7) | −19.3 (−2.7) | −19.6 (−3.3) | −21.0 (−5.8) | −21.7 (−7.1) | −20.5 (−4.9) | −16.4 (2.5) | −8.8 (16.2) | −3.3 (26.1) | −14.3 (6.3) |
| Record low °C (°F) | −10.0 (14.0) | −17.3 (0.9) | −26.3 (−15.3) | −33.3 (−27.9) | −34.5 (−30.1) | −34.0 (−29.2) | −36.0 (−32.8) | −35.9 (−32.6) | −35.8 (−32.4) | −29.0 (−20.2) | −20.0 (−4.0) | −11.7 (10.9) | −36.0 (−32.8) |
| Mean monthlysunshine hours | 257.3 | 220.4 | 167.4 | 114.0 | 49.6 | 0.0 | 18.6 | 93.0 | 150.0 | 235.6 | 258.0 | 272.8 | 1,836.7 |
| Source: Bureau of Meteorology[9] | |||||||||||||
During March and April 1960, anANARE survey party from Mawson Station carried out a barometricmapping control traverse along the route of a 242 kilometres (150 mi)dog sledge journey fromCape Batterbee through theNapier Mountains toMartin Island inEdward VIII Bay.[10] The members of this survey party — led bySyd Kirkby — were the first people to set foot in the Napier Mountains. The highest peak of this small range —Mount Elkins — was identified and named at this time forTerence James Elkins.[11][12] Many other terrain features were mapped, visited or named as a result of this expedition, includingArmstrong Peak,[13]Bird Ridge,[14]Mount Griffiths,[15]Newman Nunataks,[16]Wilkinson Peaks,[17] and theYoung Nunataks.[18]
In 2018, astronaut and academicJay C. Buckey conducted research usingvirtual reality, at theAustralian Antarctic Division’s Mawson Station, wherein the expeditioners used VR headsets to view Australian beach scenes, European nature scenes, and North American nature scenes of forests and urban environments, which were different from the isolation of the whiteness and silence of Antarctica. The research will inform psychological techniques to support long-duration spaceflight such as for astronauts going to Mars.[19]
Mawson is 5,475 km (3,402 mi) fromHobart, the AAD's main supply hub for Antarctic operations, and 5,201 km (3,232 mi) fromFremantle.[20]
Mawson's infrastructure includes anANARESAT satellite antennaEarth station for communication.[21]
In early summer when sea ice conditions are most favourable, a ski landing area (SLA) is constructed adjacent to Mawson. As sea ice conditions progressively worsen over summer, operations are moved toRumdoodle SLA, afield camp on the inland ice plateau 10 km from Mawson.[22]
Rumdoodle SLA has been in use since the 1950s, and the glacier surface requires annual inspection and preparation prior to use.[23] It is accessible from Mawson byHägglunds ground vehicles.[22]
Mawson Station is accessible by sea for only a short period each austral summer, between February and March.It has a deep, sheltered natural harbour and is ice-free in February.[24] A direct voyage from Hobart to Mawson takes about 10—12 days, due to variable weather and sea-ice conditions.[24] The approach to Horseshoe Harbour is through theMawson Corridor and theEntrance Shoal.
Between 1953 and 1987, Mawson was supplied by theice-strengthened polarresearch vessels, includingKista Dan,Magga Dan,Thala Dan, andNella Dan. This period came to an end whenNella Dan ran aground and sank atMacquarie Island on 3 December 1987.[25]
Mawson is the only Antarctic station to usewind generators designed to take advantage of the fiercekatabatic winds. Two 300 kW wind turbines were installed in 2003, but one failed in 2017.[26]
The first satellite earth-station, which includes a 7.3 m dish antenna, was installed and commissioned at Davis in March 1987. Mawson was commissioned in January 1988, Casey in March 1988, and Macquarie Island in December 1988.
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