international
polar
foundation

Irina Gorodetskaya is a Post-doctoral Research Scientist at the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven (Belgium). In previous years, she was responsible for installing the instruments to be used at the Princess Elisabeth Station in the framework of the HYDRANT project, a project aimed at measuring various parts of the hydrologic cycle of Antarctica.

From its labs over its offices to its scientific shelters on the ridge, the Princess Elisabeth Station offers scientists a wide array of well-equipped facilities to conduct their research. This support also head into the field with them with the entirely outfitted lodging containers and mobile laboratories.

This movie details the Princess Elisabeth Station project from the plans to the end of the building phase. It is a short version of a movie created to present the station at the 2009 Baltimore ATCM. The International Polar Foundation would like to thank T.A.G.E.O. for the video soundtrack.

Everyone at Utsteinen has just woken up, yet the village is already full of activity. First on the agenda is the station, where we find the ingredients to fix lunch and dinner. Meanwhile, Koen and Benoît are mounting the solar panels on the station.

Jean- Louis Tison is a Glaciologist, and the Co-director of the Glaciological Laboratory of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (Université Libre de Bruxelles). This season will be his fifteenth time in Antarctica. Joining the BELARE 2010-2011 expedition, he will be heading the BELISSIMA (BELgian Ice Sheet-Shelf Ice Measurements in Antarctica) to study the interaction between the ocean and the ice sheet.

Thanks to the joint efforts of all members of the 2009-2010 BELARE team, the construction of the fuel platform next to the Princess Elisabeth Station on Utsteinen Ridge was completed in just under four days.Despite strong winds, the team kept on digging, drilling and bolting to install some sixty meters of steel on the ridge, making sure there will be a safe storage platform for fuel barrels for the vehicles.

After his first research trip at the Princess Elisabeth Station, two years ago, Alexander Mangold, of the Royal Meteorological Institute of Belgium, is returning to Antarctica this year to install new instruments for the BELATMOS project. Watch as he shares his plans and expectations for this season.

Having departed from Cape Town, in South Africa, the Russian cargo ship Ivan Papanin reached the coast of Crown Bay on December 21st, 2008. On board were several Belgian scientists from the CAML (Census for Antarctic Marine Life - a project of the International Polar Year), engineers and technicians, two cameramen, one photographer and several new members for the building team. Alain Hubert and a traverse team were on site to help unload the containers carrying the technical installations of the Princess Elisabeth Station.

The ridge upon which the Princess Elisabeth Station is rooted is looking more and more like an ant hill. Construction has been going on for 2 months already, with over 50 people having already set foot on the site. This film shows you Utsteinen village and was shot from the plane that flies new team members in.