in full Antarctic Summer Campaignthe Marambio Base it develops a feverish amount of operational tasks with the dedication of military personnel from the three Armed Forces, scientists, technicians and workers, all dedicated to consolidating Argentina’s presence on the White Continent.
“Whoever comes to Marambio must have a special predisposition to endure a year of cohabitation in confinement and distance from the family. It is very important in this place with a good climate of camaraderie so that things go well and the objectives can be met”, said Air Force Commodore Federico Vassallohead of the base, in a dialogue with Télam.
During one of the visits that the Antarctic unit receives during the Summer Campaign that is currently taking place in the Argentine units stationed in Antarctica, Vassallo explained that in Marambio there is currently a permanent contingent of more than 70 peoplethat part of the stable crew that will spend a year on this basis.
“With the visits we receive at this time of year, we increase the population and we also add more presences with some of the scientific work that is carried out as part of the Summer Campaign,” explained Vassallo.
And on this occasion, envoys from Télam joined a delegation organized by the Ministries of Culture and Defense that came to this base to organize the activities of the Program “Sovereignty is Culture”.
The trip was made in a C-130 Hercules of the Air Force that departed from Río Gallegos, headquarters of the Antarctic accommodation where the contingents that travel to this continent must carry out a prior isolation as a result of the sanitary restrictions imposed by the pandemic. of coronavirus.
The delegation arrived in Marambio after 8 a.m. this Wednesday, and after a three-hour journey, landed on the runway of this base, located on an island of the same name that is close to the Antarctic peninsula.
After being received by the staff, the workers of this agency toured the base and relieved part of the scientific tasks that are carried out at this time in Marambio.
What is done at the base
Geologists, meteorologists, biologists and glaciologists are working these days on different projects and in some cases in camps that are located near the base facilities.
The connection with these points is made by helicopters that reach these camps in a matter of minutes.
“Are some six projects that are carried out in the field at this time of year, before wintering, where most of the activities will take place indoors. We recently had to order the withdrawal of a person who was in a camp and who suffered carbon monoxide poisoning. Luckily we were able to evacuate her and we managed to evacuate her on time,” Vassallo said.
Marambio is one of the seven permanent detachments that Argentina has installed in Antarctica and the performance of scientific tasks has to do with the compliance that the country must make of the so-called “Madrid Protocol”, signed by the nations that have a presence on this continent.
That Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty on the Environment designates Antarctica as “a natural reserve dedicated to peace and science”, and for that reason the personnel of all the countries that are deployed in these southern regions of the world do not carry weapons.
The National Meteorological Service has a prominent group in Marambio and an analysis center on the evolution of the hole in the ozone layer of the atmosphere.
Other scientific initiatives, on the other hand, depend on the National Antarctic Directorate (DNA), which has a strong presence in this area.
“We analyze the evolution and contraction of the hole at different times of the year. At this time we can see the pearly clouds, which are the masses of gases formed by the aerosols that damage the ozone layer. Visually, they are a spectacle interesting, although they cause very harmful effects”, Juan Cruz, a young scientist who works on these measurements together with other colleagues, explained to Télam.
At present, a project related to the production of vegetables in closed places based on artificial light and water is also being developed in Marambio, which is called hydroponicsand which is supervised by the Río Gallegos station of INTA (National Institute of Agricultural Technology).
With this method, lettuce, arugula and parsley are grown in a greenhouse at the base, which are used in different foods that are cooked for the consumption of base personnel.
“The idea is, over time, that we can also reap fruits and take this project to Base Esperanza“, the assistant non-commissioned officer of the Air Force Estela Arce, in charge of supervising the evolution of these crops in Marambio, told this agency.
The 2022/2023 Summer Antarctic Campaign entered its second phase with the departure of the icebreaker “Almirante Irizar” from the Ushuaia naval base
? Pablo Añelihttps://t.co/wLniguZCvG pic.twitter.com/LJ3fWNXqDF
– Telam Agency (@AgenciaTelam) January 31, 2023
In 2019, the Joint Antarctic Command was created, which unified the three Armed Forces (Army, Air Force and Navy) stationed in the Malvinas into a single command.
In this way, Marambio, which was originally a base that depended on the Air Force, began to have personnel from different weapons, something that happens in other Argentine bases.
“The complementarity of the forces works when the objectives are clear and what happens in Marambio is proof of this,” Vassallo said in a chat with Télam in the base dining room, where there are no hierarchies when it comes to sharing breakfasts, lunches and dinners.
This is Vassallo’s second stay in Marambio. In 2004 he was head of communications, and he assures that after completing this year in charge of the base, he would like to return, but doing so with his family.
For now, that privilege is reserved for those who are stationed in Esperanza, the most important and populated unit that Argentina has in Antarctica, which has schools and a National Radio station with its own programming.
Juan Ignacio, a non-commissioned officer from Mendoza in the Army, affirms that when he spends this year in Marambio his desire will be to return to his family and he will ask to be assigned to Esperanza.
“When you arrived you hardly knew me, when you leave you will take me with you forever”, reads an anonymous phrase written on one of the walls of the dining room that seems to summarize the feeling of those who spend time in these remote confines.
“Culture is Sovereignty” arrived tonight at the Marambio base, in Antarctica
The Marambio base located in Argentine Antarctica was the scene this Wednesday night of an activity organized by the Ministry of Culture with the “Culture is Sovereignty” Program that included the presentation of the National Folkloric Ballet, the National Contemporary Dance Company and the performance of the autochthonous music group “Los Colorados”.
This program promoted by the portfolio headed by Tristán Bauer consists of affirming that “The diffusion of culture also involves inhabiting the territories.”
The Ballet presentation consisted of the staging of a choreography alluding to the country and Argentine identity that was danced by couples in the base’s dining room under the watchful eye of the personnel that make up this outstanding crew on the white continent.
Then it was the turn of the group “Los Colorados” who performed a recital of sambas and traditional rhythms from the Argentine folk songbook.
As part of these activities, it is expected that the film 1985, by director Santiago Mitre, will premiere soon in this detachment.
Earlier, the director of the Borges Cultural Center, Ezequiel Grimson, delivered a donation of books for the base’s library.
