Showa Station (Antarctica)

Showa
昭和基地
Antarctic base
Shōwa Kichi
Location of Showa Station in Antarctica
Showa

Location of Showa Station in Antarctica

Coordinates: 69°00′S 39°35′E / 69.000°S 39.583°E / -69.000; 39.583Coordinates: 69°00′S 39°35′E / 69.000°S 39.583°E / -69.000; 39.583
Country  Japan
Location in Antarctica East Ongul Island, Queen Maud Land
Administered by Japanese Antarctic Program
Established 1957 (1957)
Time zone SYOT (UTC+3)
Type Permanent
Status Operational
Facilities 60 separate buildings

Showa Station (Japanese: 昭和基地 Shōwa Kichi), also sometimes spelled Syowa,[1] is a Japanese permanent research station on East Ongul Island in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica. Built in 1957, Showa Station is named for the era in the Japanese calendar during which it was established, the Shōwa period.

Overview

Showa Station serves as a research outpost for astronomy, meteorology, biology and earth sciences. It comprises over 60 separate buildings, large and small, including a 3-storey administration building, living quarters, power plant, sewage treatment facility, environmental science building, observatory, data processing facility, satellite building, ionospheric station, incinerator, earth science building, and radiosonde station. Also present are fuel tanks, water storage, solar panels, a heliport, water retention dam, and radio transmitter.

Historic monument

A cairn and plaque at the station commemorate Shin Fukushima, a member of the 4th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition, who died in October 1960 while carrying out his duties. The cairn, which contains some of his ashes, was erected on 11 January 1961 by his colleagues. It has been designated a Historic Site or Monument (HSM 2) following a proposal by Japan to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting.[2]

Climate

The climate is classified as an Ice cap climate (Köppen: EF) since there are no months where the average temperature exceeds 0.0 °C (32.0 °F).

Climate data for Showa Station (1981–2010)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 2.0
(35.6)		 −0.5
(31.1)		 −4.3
(24.3)		 −7.6
(18.3)		 −10.7
(12.7)		 −12.1
(10.2)		 −14.1
(6.6)		 −15.8
(3.6)		 −14.9
(5.2)		 −10.8
(12.6)		 −4.0
(24.8)		 1.1
(34)		 −7.6
(18.3)
Daily mean °C (°F) −0.7
(30.7)		 −2.9
(26.8)		 −6.5
(20.3)		 −10.1
(13.8)		 −13.5
(7.7)		 −15.2
(4.6)		 −17.3
(0.9)		 −19.4
(−2.9)		 −18.1
(−0.6)		 −13.5
(7.7)		 −6.8
(19.8)		 −1.6
(29.1)		 −10.4
(13.3)
Average low °C (°F) −3.7
(25.3)		 −5.5
(22.1)		 −9.2
(15.4)		 −13.0
(8.6)		 −16.6
(2.1)		 −18.7
(−1.7)		 −20.8
(−5.4)		 −23.3
(−9.9)		 −22.0
(−7.6)		 −17.2
(1)		 −10.4
(13.3)		 −4.6
(23.7)		 −13.7
(7.3)
Average snowy days 11.0 14.2 19.3 20.1 18.5 17.2 18.9 19.3 18.2 20.2 13.9 10.7 200.6
Average relative humidity (%) 67 68 71 72 67 65 66 64 64 69 68 68 67
Mean monthly sunshine hours 375.7 203.2 120.1 58.0 17.7 0.0 4.8 64.1 136.5 191.0 316.0 434.6 1,925.9
Source: Japan Meteorological Agency [3]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Showa Station (Syowa Station), East Ongul Island, Lützow-Holm Bay, Queen Maud Land (Dronning Maud Land), Eastern Antarctica, Antarctica". mindat.org. Retrieved 2007-06-29.
  2. ↑ "List of Historic Sites and Monuments approved by the ATCM (2012)" (PDF). Antarctic Treaty Secretariat. 2012. Retrieved 2013-10-24.
  3. ↑ "Climate Data for Showa Station" (in Japanese). Japan Meteorological Agency. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
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