Argentina was one of the twelve original signatories of the Antarctic Treaty which was signed on December 1, 1959, and came in force on 21 June 1961.
Argentina's scientific activities started at the beginning of the twentieth century when an Argentine named José María Sobral joined the Swedish South Polar Expedition (1901–1904) commanded by Otto Nordenskjold, which wintered two years in Antarctica. In 1904, W. S. Bruce, leader of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition, turned over to Argentina the meteorological and geomagnetic observatory on Laurie Island, South Orkney Island which had been established in the previous year. Since then the observatory has been run by Argentina and is the location of the Orcadas Station. It claims to be the first permanent facility south of 60° Southern latitude.
The Argentine Antarctic Program is composed of several organizations forming the highest levels of the National Government. Logistics are provided by the Argentine Army, under the Defense Ministry, whereas all other activities are ruled by the Direccion Nacional del Antartico– ‘Instituto Anta´rtico Argentino’ of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Instituto Antartico Argentino (IAA) was created under the Decree Nº 7338 on April 17, 1951, and is the first organization in the world to be exclusively devoted to Antarctic research.[1]
The purpose of the Argentine Antarctic Program is to support, strengthen, and increase the Argentine sovereign claims over the portion of the Antarctic continent and surrounding seas from 25W to 74 W and from 60S to the Pole.
The science program is run by the Instituto Antartico Argentino (IAA). The scientific priorities were set according to the National Antarctic Policy to investigate, understand, and preserve natural resources, to protect the environment, and to maintain the historical monuments. IAA is divided into scientific departments grouped into three major areas: Life sciences, Earth sciences, and Ocean and Atmospheric sciences.
The Argentine Navy operates a large icebreaker named Almirante Irizar, an oceanographic vessel (Puerto Deseado) and several smaller patrol vessels. Air operations from South America and within Antarctica is provided by the Argentine Air Force through several C-130 Hercules planes, a small DHC-6 Twin Otter plane year round based on Marambio Station, and Bell 212 helicopters deployed in Marambio Station during the summer.[2]
Argentina is the closest country to Antarctica and runs six permanent scientific stations, the most of any country. They are:
Orcadas Station is the oldest Argentine station in the Antarctic, and Marambio the newest.
Additionally, Argentina maintains seven seasonal (nonpermanent) stations: