Week One at Princess Elisabeth Antarctica - Up and Running Again!

Running at full power

Thanks to ideal weather, strong wind and abundant sunlight, the station is now generating enough energy to run at full power. This is just what the team needs to run all the vital systems for communication, electricity production, water production, water treatment and scientific equipment, with some extra power to spare!

Settling in

Since their arrival, the team has been hard at work preparing the station for the arrival of the first team of scientists in December. Their first task has been clearing out the mountain of snow in front of the station’s annexes, which usually takes about two and a half days. Once finished, the mechanics started to bring vehicles to the station from the Winter Park where they're stored during the austral winter. These containers will be converted into labs for scientists and living spaces for the expedition team.

The station’s electrical system was switched from winter to summer mode. This allowed the plumbers and engineers to start producing essential fresh water for drinking and cooking. It was a great team effort! They're also busy preparing bacteria for the bioreactors in the water treatment unit to recycle and purify all the wastewater the station inhabitants will produce.

The team has started to work again on installing the station’s brand new water treatment system, an upgrade compared to the station’s current water treatment unit. This is one of the main objectives for the station's engineers this season.

Preparing for the scientists’ arrival

This week, the team has also started working with scientists remotely to set up equipment that collect data only during the austral summer. They are also performing maintenance on instruments that have been collecting data throughout the winter.

In addition to projects that require the presence of scientists on-site, IPF engineers will continue monitoring and maintaining scientific equipment collecting data year-round, including new automatic weather stations for the PEACE project. 

More to come from the team soon. Stay tuned!