The new German research base Neumayer Station III can be seen in its final form for the very first time. A new milestone in the construction of the station is reached after the successful completion of the outer shell. The Shell protects the upper two floors - which are comprised of container modules - from exterior weather conditions. Further assembly work at the station operated by the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research in the Helmholtz Association can now be carried out almost regardless of Antarctic weather conditions.
This message from the Antarctic causes relief among those in charge in Bremerhaven. “We are delighted that work on the outer shell could be completed in time”, explains Dr. Hartwig Gernarndt of the Alfred Wegener Institute, head of logistics and responsible for the building under construction. “This means that an important step in the construction project is reached and that further work at the station can now be carried out almost regardless of Antarctic weather conditions”, continues Gernandt.
Scientific and logistic preconditions for long-term research in the Antarctic are fulfilled with the construction of the Neumayer Station III. With a state-of -the-art station, long-term measurements of the scientific observatories can be continued and new research projects are possible. Neumayer Station III is erected 6,5 kilometres south of the current Neumayer Station. It is meant to guarantee research projects for coming 25 to 30 years.
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The Alfred Wegener Institute carries out research in the Arctic and Antarctic as well as in the high and mid latitude oceans. The institute coordinates German polar research and makes available to international science important infrastructure, e.g. the research ice breaker “Polarstern” and research stations in the Arctic and Antarctic. AWI is one of 15 research centres within the Helmholtz-Gesellschaft, Germany’s largest scientific organization.