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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.

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.

As project director and chief engineer of the Princess Elisabeth station construction, Alain Hubert, founding president of the International Polar Foundation (IPF), presents the genesis of the IPF and of the Princess Elisabeth project (Copyright credits: IPF and CAPA TV). The construction of the first "zero emission" research station would not have been possible without the contribution of project manager, Johan Berte, program administrator Nighat Amin, and the station's dedicated and supportive volunteers, engineering team, contractors, advisors, cooperating institutes and organisations, suppliers and collaborating sponsors.

The last stage of the construction involves laying the insulation layer against the building, including down on the floor. This work requires a lot of precision and an insulated layer of high quality. The material measures 40 cm thick and covers over 400 m2.