Macquarie Island Station
Macquarie Island Station | |
---|---|
Subantarctic base | |
Macquarie Island Isthmus, looking south from the summit of Wireless Hill, overlooking the research station. | |
Nickname: Macca | |
Location of Macquarie Island Station, relative to Australia and New Zealand | |
Coordinates: 54°29′56″S 158°56′20″E / 54.498889°S 158.938889°E | |
Country | ![]() |
State | Tasmania |
LGA | Huon Valley Council |
Administered by | Australian Antarctic Division |
Established | 1911 |
Named for | Lachlan Macquarie |
Population | |
• Summer | 40 |
• Winter | 16 |
Time zone | UTC+10:00 (AEST) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+11:00 (AEDT) |
UN/LOCODE | AU MQI |
Active times | All year-round |
Status | Operational |
Activities | List
|
Facilities[1] | List
|
Website | antarctica.gov.au |
The Macquarie Island Station, commonly called Macca,[2] is a permanent Australian subantarctic research base on Macquarie Island, situated in the Southern Ocean and located approximately halfway between mainland Australia and Antarctica, managed by the Australian Antarctic Division (AAD). The station lies at the base of Wireless Hill, between two bays on the isthmus at the northern end of the island.
The island and its surrounding waters are administered as a
Purpose
The research station is operated by the Australian Antarctic Division. Scientific research on the island is focused around biology, geosciences, meteorology, and
Facilities
Various buildings exist, some dating back to the early 1950s: Sleeping quarters are in Southern Aurora Dongas (SAD), Garden Cove (Dorm), Hasselborough House and Cumpston's Cottage. A combined mess and kitchen adjoin the doctor's surgery. Storage exists in the main store shed and a large field store shed. The various trades there have their own workshops. A main and standby powerhouse provide electricity and reticulated heating water via a heat exchanger on the diesel generators. Water is sourced from a dam at the top of Gadget's Gully and piped to storage tanks at the station. Sewage is treated before discharge and garbage is sorted for recycling (back in Hobart) or incineration on site. Scientific facilities exist in the Biology Building, Physics Building and Bureau of Meteorology buildings. Various outbuildings support instrumentation such as ionosondes, seismometers and upper atmospheric experiments. A tide gauge is installed in Garden Cove.[1]
Communications
The radiocommunications station has callsign "VJM" and conducts a nightly
History
The station was opened in 1911 by Douglas Mawson as his party established a base to relay radio messages from Antarctica to Hobart, Tasmania.[5] From 1948 the Australian National Antarctic Research Expeditions used the base for scientific purposes.[5]
See also
- Amateur radio call signs of Antarctica
- List of Antarctic research stations
- List of Antarctic field camps
References
- ^ a b "Living on Macquarie Island". Australian Antarctic Division. Department of the Environment, Australian Government. 18 December 2006. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
- ^ a b "Macquarie Island station". Australian Antarctic Division. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
- ^ "Macquarie Island". World Heritage List. UNESCO. 1997. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
- ^ "Macquarie Island science". Australian Antarctic Division. Department of the Environment, Australian Government. 23 August 2006. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
- ^ ISBN 1-86276-010-1.
External links
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