ANTARTIC STATIONS
- December 24, 2020
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN Topics
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Subject: Science & tech
Context: Indian contingent in Antarctica is not worried about the virus spreading. The two Indian permanent stations, Maitri and Bharati, are at least 5,000 km away from the Chilean base in which 36 people have been found infected with the novel coronavirus.
Concept:
- India presently has two research stations at Antarctica namely ‘Maitri’ and ‘Bharati’. New station ‘Bharati’ has just been constructed and established in March, 2013.
- Maitri station has been in operation since 1989.
- At both the stations, research and investigations are undertaken to understand the Polar processes and phenomenon. Observations and studies are carried out in atmospheric, biological, geological, ecological sciences etc.
Maitri
- In the year 1988an ice-free, rocky area on the Schirmacher Oasis was selected to build the second research station named Maitri
- The building was erected on steel stilts, and has stood the test of time — conducting experiments in geology, geography and medicine
- India built this station close to a freshwater lake around Maitri known as Lake Priyadarshini.
- Maitri accomplished the mission of geomorphologic mapping of Schirmacher Oasis.
Bharati
- About 3000 km east of Maitri, the new Indian research base ‘Bharati’ is located between Thala Fjord &Quilty bay, east of Stornes Peninsula in Antarctica
- The station with a very small footprint was commissioned on 18 March 2012 to facilitate year-round scientific research activity by the Indian Antarctic program.
- Bharati made India an elite member of the club of 9 nations that have multiple stations in the region.