international
polar
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Containers waiting to be evacuated from Antarctica to South Africa.

Storm conditions at the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica in December 2023.

Windy weather arrives at the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica.

Drone footage of the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica as the BELARE team arrives to open the station on November 6th, 2023

The International Polar Foundation had a very strong presence at the 10th edition of the annual Arctic Circle Assembly in Reykjavik, Iceland last week. Representatives from IPF managed a booth and participated in a number of panel discussions during the three days of the popular annual conference.

During the austral summer, the sun never sets at the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica. Here you can see the sun turn around the sky over five days, never setting.

A strong storm comes to the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica in December 2022.

On Monday, May 30th 2022, the International Polar Foundation (IPF), Schneider Electric, and Venturi hosted an official EU Green Week 2022 partner hybrid event, Striving to Reduce the Environmental Footprint of Polar Research. The event took place from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm at Atelier 29, Rue Jacques de Lalaing 29, 1000 Brussels. From 2007-09, the International Polar Foundation, with the support of its many private sector partners and the Belgian State, designed and constructed the world’s first zero-emission polar research station - the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica (PEA). Fully operational since 2009, the primary goal of constructing the groundbreaking station was to serve as a zero-emission platform for scientists working in the Dronning Maud Land region of East Antarctica. Now that the revolutionary Princess Elisabeth Antarctica research station has been in operation for more than a decade, IPF and its partners showcased the latest innovations at the revolutionary research platform that reduce even further the environmental footprint of doing scientific research in Antarctica. Programme: 10:00 am - 11:00 am - PRESS CONFERENCE featuring: - Alain Hubert (Founder and Chairman, International Polar Foundation) - David Orgaz D'Hollander (President, Benelux Region, Schneider Electric) - Franck Baldet (CTO, Venturi) - Sarah Wauthy (Glaciology Laboratory, Université Libre de Bruxelles) - Preben Van Overmeiren (Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Department of Green Chemistry and Technology, Ghent University) - Kate Winter (Senior Lecturer in Extreme Environments, Northumbria University)

Meet the International Polar Foundation - an organization unlike any other you've encountered in your life! Our mission: to support scientific research in the most spectacular place on Earth: Antarctica! How do we do it? We operate the world's first zero-emission polar research station! Visit www.antarcticstation.org or get in touch with us at comms@polarfoundation.org to learn more! ----------------------------------------- More about the International Polar Foundation: Founded by Belgian polar explorer Alain Hubert, Prof. Hugo Decleir and Prof. André Berger in 2002, the Brussels-based International Polar Foundation (IPF) provides a novel interface between science and society, and was recognized by Belgian Royal Statute as a foundation for the public good in 2002. HM King Philippe is the International Polar Foundation's honorary president. The IPF seeks to bring about a keener appreciation of the role of science, particularly research in the Polar Regions, through a re-examination of the planet’s interconnections, its fragility, the impact of human actions on the environment, and the evolution of millennial climate cycles. To achieve its aims, the IPF has initiated several high-profile projects, including supporting polar science through the creation and operation of the world's first (and to date only) zero-emission polar research station, the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica. This groundbreaking station runs entirely on renewable wind and solar energy and treats, recycles and reuses all the water it uses. The International Polar Foundation is mandated by the Belgian Polar Secretariat as Antarctic Operator of the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica. This means the Foundation is responsible for the management and the operation of the zero-emission station and its facilities. This responsibility covers the following tasks: - The upkeep and maintenance of the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica polar research station and its facilities; - Operational logistics, including the management of the station and its outbuildings, as well as the stocks, with a view to optimal workings of the operations and its use by the scientists in accordance with the scientific programmes approved by the Polar Secretariat; - Measures to be taken to ensure the safety and the assumption of responsibility for all of the people and the goods that arrive at the station; - Updating the technical aspects of the station, as required by and with consent from the Belgian Polar Secretariat.&²