Cámara Base

Cámara Base (Spanish: Base Cámara or sometimes Estación Cámara or Teniente Camara) is an Argentine Antarctic base and scientific research station named after Frigate Lieutenant Naval Aviator Juan Ramón Cámara. It is located in the northern foothills of La Morenita Hill, at Menguante Cove in Half Moon Island off the east coast of Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica.

Cámara Base Base Cámara Estación Cámara
Antarctic base
Cámara Base overview
Cámara Base Location within Antarctica
Coordinates: 62°35′41″S 59°55′07″W
Country	Argentina
Province	Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica, and South Atlantic Islands Province
Department	Antártida Argentina
Region	South Shetland Islands
Location	Menguante Cove Half Moon Island
Founded	April 1, 1953 (1953-04-01) (1952–53 austral summer season)
Named for	Juan Ramón Cámara
Government
• Type	Directorate
• Body	Dirección Nacional del Antártico
• Operator	Instituto Antártico Argentino
Elevation [1]	22 m (72 ft)
Population  (2017)[1]
• Summer	20
• Winter	0
Time zone	UTC-3 (ART)
Type	Seasonal
Period	Summer
Status	Operational
Facilities	List Main house Emergency house Infirmary Laboratory Freezing chamber Warehouse and deposit
Cámara Lighthouse
Construction	fiber glass tower[2]
Height	9 m (30 ft), 12 m (39 ft)
Shape	cylindrical tower with balcony and light[2]
Markings	black tower with yellow horizontal bands[3]
Power source	solar power
Focal height	18 m (59 ft)
Range	6 nmi (11 km; 6.9 mi)
Characteristic	Fl W 10s

Topographic map of Livingston Island with the bases and base camps on the island.

As of 2014^[update] Cámara is one of 13 research bases in Antarctica operated by Argentina.^[4] It was officially opened on April 1, 1953, and was in service until the summer of 1959–60, when it was closed. It was not reopened until 1988, to serve during the summer season only.^[5]

History

During the austral summer campaign of 1952–1953 one of the main missions of the Argentine Antarctic Task Force, then commanded by then Ship-of-the-Line Captain Rodolfo N. Panzarini, was to establish a new naval detachment in the South Shetland Islands.^[5]

The selected place was the small Half Moon Island next to Livingston Island, where it was inaugurated as Destacamento Naval Luna ("Luna Naval Detachment") on 1 April 1953 by the governor of Tierra del Fuego National Territory, Rear Admiral Carlos Suárez Dóriga.^[5]

Later it was renamed as Destacamento Naval Teniente de Fragata Cámara ("Frigate Lieutenant Cámara Naval Detachment"), in memory of the naval aviator Juan Ramón Cámara, who on 16 January 1955 perished in an on-duty accident on Potter Cove, King George Island.^[5]

Cámara Base was closed after the austral summer season of 1959–60 and was reopened in December 1988, thereafter limited to summer-only campaigns.^[5]

Description

Cámara is located 1,173 km (729 mi) from Ushuaia, the nearest port city.

As of 2014^[update] it is composed of 4 buildings. Facilities at the base include the main and emergency houses, a freezing chamber, a warehouse and a deposit.^[5] It also has a 16 m² (170 sq ft) infirmary attended by a paramedic.

Scientific activities

Besides the permanent surface meteorological observations carried out at Cámara by the Argentine National Meteorological Service personnel, other research divisions also do extensive work at the base: in 1987–94 experts brought in by the Argentine Antarctic Institute studied physical oceanography and geochronology; between 1992 and 1996 Biology worked on birds, while Environmental Management analyzed the impact of local tourism.^[5]

Climate

The average annual temperature is −2.9 °C (26.8 °F). On 12 August 1954 it was recorded an absolute minimum of −30 °C (−22 °F).^[5]

See also

• List of lighthouses in Antarctica
• List of Antarctic research stations
• List of Antarctic field camps
• Argentine Antarctica

References

Citations

1. Antarctic Station Catalogue (PDF) (catalogue). Council of Managers of National Antarctic Programs. August 2017. p. 7. ISBN 978-0-473-40409-3. Archived (PDF) from the original on 22 October 2022. Retrieved 16 January 2023.
2. Rowlett, Russ. "Lighthouses of Antarctica". The Lighthouse Directory. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
3. List of Lights, Pub. 111: The West Coasts of North and South America (Excluding Continental U.S.A. and Hawaii), Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, and the Islands of the North and South Pacific Oceans (PDF). List of Lights. United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency. 2017.
4. "Argentine Antarctic Stations". Dirección Nacional del Antártico. Archived from the original on 20 June 2013.
5. "Base Cámara" (in Spanish). Fundación Marambio. Archived from the original on 22 March 2014.

Maps

• L.L. Ivanov; et al. (2005), Antarctica: Livingston Island and Greenwich Island, South Shetland Islands. Scale 1:100000 topographic map., Sofia: Antarctic Place-names Commission of Bulgaria
• L.L. Ivanov (2009), Antarctica: Livingston Island and Greenwich, Robert, Snow and Smith Islands. Scale 1:120000 topographic map, Troyan: Manfred Wörner Foundation, ISBN 978-954-92032-6-4
• Antarctic Digital Database (ADD). Scale 1:250000 topographic map, Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (SCAR), 1993–2016

External links

• Fundaciòn Marambio – Base Cámara (in Spanish)
• Dirección Nacional del Antártico