India to commission its third research station in Antarctica

Nearly 28 years after it set up the first permanent research station in the South Polar region, India is all set to commission and occupy a third such station in Antarctica by March 2012.

After the station, named “Bharti”, becomes operational, India will join the league of select nations that have multiple operation stations in the region.

The new station is located almost 3,000 km away from the existing “Maitri” station, which is serving the nation since its inception in 1988-89.

“Bharati” station is a self-contained double-storey structure on stilts and is designed to have a life span of 25 years. It will accommodate 25 people during summer and 15 people during winter.

The location of the new station is of interest on account of scientific and logistic reasons, ice-free terrain and easy access from the sea. This area, including the islands and promontories, offer an excellent scope for extensive studies on geological structures and tectonics, with special reference to Gondwanaland, palaeoclimatology, solid earth geophysics, space-weather and meteorology, oceanography, marine biology, microbiology, environmental science.

In 1983, India had established its first station in Antarctica, “Dakshin Gangotri”. It has since been decommissioned after it got buried under ice and has been marked as a historic site.