Wasa Research Station

Wasa Station
Antarctic base
Wasa Station Location of Wasa Research Station in Antarctica
Coordinates: 73°02′24″S 13°23′55″W
Country	Sweden
Location in Antarctica	Princess Martha Coast Queen Maud Land Antarctica
Administered by	Swedish Polar Research Secretariat
Established	1988 (1988)
Elevation	440 m (1,440 ft)
Population
• Total	Up to 20
Type	Seasonal
Period	Summer
Status	Operational
Website	Swedish Polar Research Secretariat

The Wasa Research Station is a Swedish research facility in Antarctica, established in 1988/1989. It is situated next to the Finnish Aboa Research Station on the Basen nunatak in the Kraul Mountains in Queen Maud Land. The two stations cooperate, and are jointly referred to as the Nordenskiöld Base Camp.

Purpose and facilities

The Wasa Station is operated by the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat during the summer season, and accommodates 12-16 people. Its main building is 17.5 by 7.6 metres (57 ft × 25 ft), and constructed on top of 1.5-metre (4 ft 11 in) long supporting cylinders to avoid accumulation of snow. It features four bedrooms, a big kitchen and a living room. There is also a shower, a sauna and a laundry room. The station was designed to be extremely energy efficient, with energy supplied mainly by solar and wind power.

The Swedish Polar Research Secretariat has developed a system of tracked vehicles, sledges and housing modules for transportation to the scientists’ workplaces. Snowmobiles are used for shorter, less laborious fieldwork. Wasa and the other research stations in Dronning Maud Land are reached through the aviation partnership within DROMLaN, the Dronning Maud Land Air Network.

This article is based on information from the Swedish Wikipedia-article about the same subject, and on information obtained from the official site of the Swedish Polar Research Secretariat.

See also

• Research stations in Antarctica