BACKGROUND: Studying snow, ice, and climate change since 1988
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By Heli Saavalainen
The members of the FINNARP team will be studying such phenomena as the Antarctic snow-cover, particles in the atmosphere, the physics of ice-lakes, and changes in global climate.
At the same time, the team will be servicing the automatic weather station and installing three new wind-turbines to provide energy for taking measurements.
Finland first embarked on Antarctic research in 1988. The Aboa Research Station went up in 1989. It is located around 130 kilometres from the coast of the Weddell Sea in the region known as Queen Maud Land. The areas is named after Queen Maud, the consort of King Haakon VII of Norway, and Cape Norvegia is not so very far away. The station and the surrounding container units are placed on the Basen nunatak, which rears out of the Antarctic ice surface.
Antarctica is like a perfectly sterile natural laboratory for researchers. There have been no wars there, nobody has exploited the region for minerals, and there is no pollution. On top of all this, the entire region is protected by international treaties and dedicated to scientific research.
The protection is intended to safeguard the area from human activity, which could leave an indelible mark on the fragile natural environment.
The vast continent that spreads out from the South Pole is entirely covered in ice, with an average depth of around 2,000 metres.
The climate here would put a Finnish winter to shame: the average temperature is between 20° and 50° Celsius below, and white-out conditions and blizzards are commonplace.
During the Antarctic summer, while we suffer the midwinter darkness, the temperature can be between 0°C and -15°C, and conditions for research are at their best.
Helsingin Sanomat / First published in print 23.10.2004
More on this subject:
 Nuuksio cliffs teach survival skills on the polar glaciers
Links:
Finnish Institute of Marine Research: Aboa
A larger image showing the layout of the station
Finnish Antarctic Research Program (FINNARP) expeditions from 1988-2003
HELI SAAVALAINEN / Helsingin Sanomat
heli.saavalainen@hs.fi
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