Schirmacher Oasis
- 70.7511.666666666667Koordinaten: 70 ° 45 '0 "S, 11 ° 40' 0" E
The Schirmacher Oasis (also Schirmacher Lake Plateau ) is a 25 km long and up to 3 km wide, snow - and ice-free hill plateau with over 100 freshwater lakes on the Princess Astrid Coast in Queen Maud Land in East Antarctica. The area of 34 km ² smallest Antarctic oasis is a typical Ostantarktika coastal frost rubble desert.
Geography
The between the Nowolasarewskaja ( nivl ) - Ice Shelf and the inland location and on average 100 m high plateau of the Schirmacher Oasis forms a barrier to the northward flowing Inlandeisstrom. On the northern edge of the oasis there are so-called epi- Shelf lakes, separated from the ocean bays, which have for their existing under the ice connections with the ocean Meerestideneffekte. The Epi - Shelf lakes can both pure fresh water and sea water, which is overlain by freshwater contain. The inland south of Schirmacher Oasis reaches heights of 1500 m. The Nunatakgruppen Skaly Instituta Geologii Arktiki ( Skaly IGA) and Basisny kit protrude above the ice. Between the coastal ice and the Wegener ice plateau lies the blessing massif.
The highest elevation in the Schirmacher Oasis is the Rebristajaberg with a height of 228 m. With 34.5 m of the lake is the deepest lake in the Glubokoe Schirmacher Oasis. The 0.5 km ² in area largest lake in the oasis is the Lake Sub.
Climate
The Schirmacher Oasis has a mild climate for Antarctic conditions; the mean annual temperature is -10.4 ° C, the mean annual wind speed 9.7 m / s, the mean annual precipitation 264.5 mm, there are 350 sunny hours per month. Taking into account the positive radiation balance the climate of Schirmacher Oasis is regionally classified in the zone of the coastal climate.
Fauna and Flora
The rocky substrate offers some undemanding plants such as mosses and lichen habitat. Animal life in the oasis is rare. Exceptions are the Antarctic Skua, the White-winged Petrel, Snow Petrel and Wilson's Storm Petrel. Occasionally attend Adelie, the Schirmacher Oasis.
History
The German Antarctic Expedition of 1939 under the command of Captain Alfred Ritscher used two Dornier Wal flying boats that were launched from the catapult ship Swabia to aerial flights. The captain of the flying boat " Boreas ", Richard Henry Schirmacher (1909 -? ), Discovered on February 3, 1939 by aircraft named after him oasis and the blessing massif.
Nowolasarewskaja station
On March 10, 1959, the Soviet Union built on the ice shelf in the region of the Schirmacher Oasis, the research station Lazarev. The station was implemented in 1961 in the oasis itself and was named Nowolasarewskaja. The maximum crew of the station in summer reaches up to 70 people. In winter, average of 30 scientists and technicians working in the Nowolasarewskaja station. The scientific research includes the disciplines of geodesy, glaciology, limnology, geomagnetism, geology, biology, meteorology, seismology and other areas of expertise.
About two kilometers from the Russian ian station Novolazarevskaya, was on April 21, 1976, approximately 120 m. ü. M. the first German research base in Antarctica, which opened Georg -Forster- Station. 1987, operated by the East German station was named after the naturalist Georg Forster. In particular, the ozone measurements of the station have received international recognition. During the 17- year anniversary of Georg -Forster- Station worked there over 100 scientists. Scientific operation of the Forster- Station was terminated in February 1993. From 1993 to 1996 the station was completely dismantled and disposed of. Parts of the Schirmacher Oasis were after the dissolution of the Eastern Bloc to the most polluted regions of Antarctica. Polar researchers from the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven and from the Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute in St. Petersburg in 1016 eliminated tons of scrap and waste from the former East German polar station and from the Russian ian station Novolazarevskaya.
Maitri Station
1981 also put India on a Antarktisprogamm. In 1983, the ice shelf station " Dakshin Gangotri " was established in about 10 km distance from the Schirmacher Oasis, which had to be abandoned in 1989 because of constant drifts. In 1988, in the Schirmacher Oasis, about five kilometers from Nowolasarewskaja, built the Maitri station. Maitri has a meteorological station and a geomagnetic and seismological observation center and offers up to 26 scientists and technicians place.