Neumayer Station III

摘要

Neumayer Station III has been designed to obtain long-term data relating to global ecology and climate research. It is also the base station for expeditions to the continental ice sheet. In the Antarctic Summer, up to sixty scientists from various nations can be working at the station simultaneously. Neumayer III replaced the Neumayer II station which had been operating since 1991. This was slowly disappearing, sinking deeper into the ice due to the constant snowfall, and movement of the ice had led to damage to the structure. Neumayer III was built in Bremerhaven, where all the important components were tested. The station was then dismantled into individual sections and transported to Antarctica on a cargo ship. Neumayer III has a total weight of approximately 2,300 tonnes, about half of this being galvanized steel. The major problem with protecting steel in Antarctica is not so much the prevailing weather conditions - average temperatures of -50 degrees centigrade, snow or high winds - but the very high levels of UV radiation, to which galvanizing is resistant.