Princess Elisabeth station
110 years after the Belgica expedition, Belgium sets out again for the Antarctic. The Belgian government requested the International Polar Foundation (IPF) to build a new research station, the Princess Elisabeth Research Station. In 2007, the first steps were taken to build this basis on Antarctica. René-Marie Lafontaine, researcher in our Museum, participated to this expedition.
Follow René-Marie day by day on his blog:
In French: http://expeditionantarctica.blogspot.com
In Dutch: http://expeditieantarctica.blogspot.com
(websites will be opened in a new window)
A “zero-emission” objective
This project is a grand premiere: the station will be the only polar base to function entirely on the basis of renewable energy! The Princess Elisabeth station combines materials respectful of the environment, clean and efficient use of energy, optimisation of the station's energetic consumption and the best techniques of waste management to reduce its ecological footprint on the original Antarctic environment according to principles stipulated by the Antarctic Treaty.
At Utsteinen during the 2007-2008 austral summer
Work is going strong at Utsteinen. Twenty-four persons set up the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica site during the last weeks of 2007.
The cargo ship Ivan Papanin, an ice class vessel, carrying the 106 containers of the Princess Elisabeth station landed at Crown Bay (70°S 23°E) on Friday, 14 December at 7:00 in the evening. Located 40 km from Breid Bay, Crown Bay owes its name to the presence of a crown-shaped iceberg. The Ivan Papanin reached its final destination after a 38-day crossing of the sea from Belgium to the Antarctic.
A scientific station
The Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (Belspo) will be responsible for scientific programmes undertaken at the station. Thus, the stakes are great for the Princess Elisabeth station. By providing the latest equipment for a maximum of 16 scientists, the scientific research station will contribute to world understanding of climate change. Once construction of the station has been completed, the associated research programme will be co-ordinated and directed by the Belgian Federal Science Policy Office (Belspo) (this website will be opened in a new window).
Then began the phase of transporting the containers 190 km inland to the implantation site, where the station was to be constructed.
A researcher from our Institute was one of the scientists participating in this first phase of implantation in the Antarctic. René-Marie Lafontaine, biologist, ornithologist and excellent naturalist, member of the Institute's Section of Conservation Biology for over 25 years, thus set off for Cape Town (South Africa) last November and joined the cargo ship Ivan Papanin. His tasks included observing and counting the marine mammals and birds as they were encountered during the crossing to Crown Bay (Antarctic). He was accompanied by Alain Debroyer. Their mission was co-financed by the King Léopold III Fund for Nature Exploration and Conservation.
