Neumayer-Station II
Neumayer Station was a German polar research station in Antarctica. She was named after the geophysicist Georg von Neumayer and was built in 1992. She served as a successor to the Georg von Neumayer Station, which was built in 1981 in about ten kilometers away, and was replaced on 20 February 2009 by the Neumayer Station III.
The station was on the Ekström Ice Shelf in Atka Bay on the northeastern Weddell Sea in Neuschwabenland and had been built for the study of geophysics, meteorology and atmospheric chemistry, and as a supply base for special summer expeditions. The remodeling or new construction of the station until March 1992 had become necessary primarily because of the ice and snow load. Since then the range of tasks had greatly expanded, especially the ozone measurements of the atmosphere, the study of sea ice and the acoustic monitoring of marine mammals were added.
The ice under the station was about 200 feet thick and almost flat. The pier for the German supply vessel Polarstern was eight kilometers away from the station. An approximately 1000 meters long runway, which was served, among others, the Dornier Do 228-101 of the Alfred Wegener Institute, was located 300 meters away. Built was the station of two approximately 90 meters long and round steel tubes in which the container for the sleeping cabins, various laboratories, a kitchen, an infirmary and other special rooms were set up (including workshop, radio room, utility, snow melt). A third, transverse tube of the same length containing the supply and waste container and served as a parking space for the vehicles. A tunnel linking this complex with a large hall, which also served as a parking area for vehicles. The closest station was the South African SANAE IV station about 225 kilometers southeast.
The station was powered by diesel generators with catalyst and oil reception facilities, which are also equal ensured the heating and snow melt with the heat, with electric current. There was also a wind power plant, which is the only Antarctica was once and up to 20 kilowatts delivered. From the winter 2003/ 04 included the library in the ice, a project by artist Lutz Fritsch, the Neumayer Station.
Neumayer Station II was occupied throughout the year. In the Antarctic winter, there were a maximum of ten people who were standing during this time via radio, telephone and Internet line with the outside world in touch. Among these people, a doctor, a meteorologist, two geophysicists, an air chemist, a radio operator and electronics technician, an electrician, an engineer and a cook were. In the summer half of the year were up to 50 people working in the station.
On the " 28 International Antarctic Conference " end of July 2004 in Bremen told the federal government that they would III decided to build a new station named Neumayer for 26 million euros. You should replace the current station as these became increasingly deformed over after 2007 by the Schneeauflast and ice movements and thus uninhabitable. The new station was built a few kilometers south of Neumayer II above ground and has hydraulic lifting devices with which the entire station can be raised against sinking into the snow.