| Marambio Station | |
| Native Name: | Estación Marambio |
| Native Name Lang: | es |
| Settlement Type: | Antarctic Station |
| Image Alt: | Airfield control tower at Marambio |
| Blank Emblem Alt: | Official Marambio emblem |
| Flag Border: | no |
| Nickname: | Spanish; Castilian: Puerta de Entrada a la Antártida ("Antarctica's Entrance Door") |
| Pushpin Map: | Antarctica |
| Pushpin Map Alt: | Location within Antarctica |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Location within Antarctica |
| Pushpin Mapsize: | 300 |
| Pushpin Relief: | yes |
| Coordinates: | -64.241°N -56.6268°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  |
| Subdivision Type1: | Province |
| Subdivision Name1: | Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica, and South Atlantic Islands Province |
| Subdivision Type2: | Department |
| Subdivision Name2: | Antártida Argentina |
| Subdivision Type3: | Region |
| Subdivision Name3: | Graham Land Antarctic Peninsula Antarctica |
| Subdivision Type4: | Location |
| Subdivision Name4: | Marambio Island |
| Established Title: | Settled |
| Established Title1: | Established |
| Established Title2: | Founded |
| Established Date2: | 29 October 1969 (1969–70 austral summer season) |
| Extinct Title: | Closed |
| Named For: | Gustavo Argentino Marambio |
| Area Footnotes: | [1] |
| Area Blank1 Title: | Indoors |
| Area Blank1 Ha: | 2 |
| Elevation M: | 210 |
| Government Type: | Directorate |
| Governing Body: | Dirección Nacional del Antártico |
| Leader Title: | Operator |
| Leader Name: | Instituto Antártico Argentino |
| Unit Pref: | metric |
| Population As Of: | 2017 |
| Population Footnotes: | [2] |
| Population Blank1 Title: | Summer |
| Population Blank1: | 165 |
| Population Blank2 Title: | Winter |
| Population Blank2: | 70 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Type |
| Blank Info Sec1: | All year-round |
| Blank1 Name Sec1: | Period |
| Blank1 Info Sec1: | Annual |
| Blank2 Name Sec1: | Status |
| Blank2 Info Sec1: | Active and operational |
| Blank Name Sec2: | Activities |
| Blank1 Name Sec2: | Facilities |
| Timezone1: | ART |
| Utc Offset1: | -3 |
| Code1 Name: | UN/LOCODE |
| Code1 Info: | AQ MRB |
Marambio Station (Spanish; Castilian: Estación Marambio) is a permanent, all year-round Argentine Antarctica station named after Vice-Commodore, an Antarctic aviation pioneer. It is located in Marambio Island, Graham Land, Antarctic Peninsula, some 100km (100miles) from the coastal civilian village of Esperanza.
At the time of its construction it was the first airfield in Antarctica and is still one of the most frequently used ones due to its suitability for wheeled landing, for which it is called "Antarctica's Entrance Door" (Spanish; Castilian: Puerta de Entrada a la Antártida).[3] It is also Argentina's most important station in the continent.[3]
As of 2014, Marambio is one of 13 research stations in Antarctica operated by Argentina.[4]
The increased Antarctic activity that Argentina developed since 1940 created the need for an aviation runway operable throughout the year for wheeled units. The flight of Vice-Commodore to the South Pole, the newly built United States McMurdo Station and the frequent operations launched from the Matienzo Station showed the need to secure better transport and communications in the sector.[1]
The Argentine Air Force set about to find a suitable spot to construct an airport. On 25 November 1968, two helicopters operating from the icebreaker ARA General San Martín descended on the Marambio Island as part of such survey. Their report favoring the place was decisive: it lacked large obstacles that could trouble aircraft maneuvering, and its long plateau was virtually free of ice.[1]
On 30 August 1969, an Air Force team led by Vice-Commodore Olezza occupied the island, carrying with them the elements needed for the construction of the projected landing track. When initially opened, the 05/23-oriented runway had a length of 300m (1,000feet). It was the first one in the continent.[5] The task took three months of work and culminated when a de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver, set with conventional wheels, took off from Matienzo Station and landed on the new airport. Before the end of October the runway had already reached 800m (2,600feet).[6]
The station was founded on 29 October 1969. That day, a Fokker F-27 Friendship of the Argentine Air Force manned by Vice-Commodore Erwin Roberto Kern, left Rio Gallegos and landed directly in Marambio Airport, carrying on board civil and military authorities.[3] It was the first aircraft taking off in another continent and landing in Antarctica using conventional landing gear:[1] Antarctica was no longer an isolated place; from that day onwards, all domestic and foreign Antarctic stations got interconnected with the rest of the world throughout the year. It was the most important Antarctic event in the decade.[1]
By April 1970, the runway had reached 1200mby40mm (3,900feetby130feetm).[5] On 11 April 1970, the Argentine Air Force began landing their C-130 Hercules on Antarctica when the TC-61 commanded by Commodore Arturo Athos Gandolfi landed in Marambio, starting a long-standing and uninterrupted tradition of air-supplying the Antarctic Argentine stations from the mainland.[6] The Fokker F28 Fellowship presidential aircraft T-01 Patagonia was the first jet to land in Antarctica when it touched down at Marambio on 28 July 1973, 13:28 h.[5]
Commercial passenger traffic from Ushuaia has been announced for 2018.[7]
As of 2014, Marambio has 27 buildings with a total covered area exceeding 20000m2.[1] [3] It can host a permanent staff of 60 people and a large complement of scientific personnel, reaching 165 people.[2] [1]
Some of the facilities are: main, dining and recreation halls; emergency house with 28-bed capacity; personnel accommodation buildings; aircraft parking platform; flight deck; airline passenger terminal; flight ground support equipment; library; mail office; gym; a Catholic chapel; laundry; kitchen; two freezing chambers; snow melter; satellite dish for television and internet; radio communications station; towing and personnel carrier vehicles (including tractors, trucks and forklifts); road maintenance tools and vehicles (several snow dozers, tracked loaders and graders); mechanical, carpentry, blacksmithing, turning, plumbing and electricity workshops; laboratory with substations for APT (Automatic Picture Transmission) satellite imagery receiver, ozone and uv light measurement, sounding balloon and radiosonde setup and launching, a MBI International Meteorological Center, and others; several warehouses and deposits; fuel storage array; potable water and sewerage network; incinerator and waste disposal module, and firefighting system.[1] [8]
The station also has CATV and public and internal mobile phone service.[1] The 45m2 medical suite is attended by one doctor and three paramedics, and has three beds and x-ray, dentistry, coronary care and telemedicine facilities. Over 492000L of Antarctic gasoil are used every year for transportation, and to feed the 1,000 kW main power plant with its three Caterpillar generators. The station also has a sewage treatment plant.[1] Most buildings are connected together by risen metal footpaths to isolate them from snow and ice.[1]
In 2010, the Argentine company CITEDEF designed and installed a wind generator on the station.
The station is supported by Marambio Airport.
The station is connected to the Argentine mainland and the world through a satellite downlink station with telephone, fax, TV and internet. They also have a DirecTV dish which provides their service to the whole station. Argentine mobile telephone company Claro and Spanish Movistar have an antenna for local coverage. Within the station and between stations, radio is the most used mean of communication, mainly through HF, Vox/Data, aeronautic VHF-AM and UHF-FM.
Internet access is provided by Speedy Argentina, allowing the personnel in the station to be permanently connected to net services. Wireless LAN and Wi-Fi cover the entire complex, becoming one of the southernmost spots in the world with a wireless network. Telephone service is provided by at low national rates.
In September 2006, a GSM mobile phone network was also added to the station, provided by the Argentine mobile operator CTI Móvil (now Claro).[9]
Scientific research at Marambio is planned and executed by specialized departments, usually during the summer campaigns:
In addition Marambio is home to various ongoing scientific projects:
In spite of its relatively low latitude, Marambio Station is situated in an ice cap climate, albeit much less severe than in Antarctica's interior.
Nonetheless, the climate is severe with mean temperatures that rarely rise above 0C and the presence of strong winds.[18] The strong winds produce a wind chill that makes the temperatures feel colder.[18] In particular, gusts up to 220km/h can occur during the winter months.[18] Due to the partial melting of snow in summer due to above freezing daytime temperatures, animals as well as limited plant life (moss, lichens, and worts) are able to thrive during the warmer months of December, January, and February.
Mean monthly temperatures range from -15.1C in June to -1.7C in December.[18] During summer, the average high is above freezing while the average low is -4.2C.[18] However, temperatures can reach up to 15C or fall below -15C during summer.[18] In winter, the average high is -11C while the average low is -19C.[18] Occasionally, temperatures can reach above freezing during winter.[18] This occurs when warm air from the northeast (characterized by high cloud cover and fog) or from the northwest moves towards the peninsula.[18] As the warm air crosses the mountains in the peninsula, it warms as it descends, leading to warm and dry conditions in a manner similar to a Zonda wind.[18] Its highest recorded temperature was 17.4C on 23 March 2015. This was surpassed on 9 February 2020 when a temperature of 20.75C was recorded at the station.[19]
Fog frequently occurs in the station.[18] December and January are the foggiest months, averaging 16 to 19 days with fog while June to September are the least, averaging 9 to 11 days.[18] The station is characterized by high cloud cover throughout the year in the form of stratus clouds.[18] Summer is the cloudiest season, averaging 24 cloudy days while winters are the least cloudiest, averaging 10 to 11 cloudy days.[18]