Brazil Opens Criosfera 1 in Antarctica

Brazil News

| ANTARCTIC STATION COMANDANTE FERRAZ – Brazilian scientists on Thursday officially opened a new weather monitoring station located in the interior of the continent. The Criosfera 1 will gather information on the impact of climate change in Antarctica.

Brazilian scientists at Criosfera 1 station in Antarctica near the South Pole

Brazil's Criosfera 1 South Pole (Photo: Marcelo Arévalo/jornalwebminas.com.br)

The location of Criosfera 1

The equipment has been operating since the first week of January and is transmitting data on wind speed and humidity. The coordinates of Criosfera 1 are 84º S, 79º 29'39” W, 670 km (416 miles) from the Geographic South Pole and 2,500 km (1,550 miles) from Antarctic Station Comandante Ferraz, maintained by the Brazilian Navy on King George Island.

The scientists of Crisosfera 1

Ten researchers from the Brazilian National Institute for Space Research (INPE) and of the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) and the State University of Rio de Janeiro (UERJ) arrived at the site in December and remain camped out installing equipment and taking measurements.

G1 Nature spoke on Friday, by satellite phone with glaciologist Jefferson Simoes, UFRGS, one of the coordinators of the expedition to the South Pole. At the time of the conversation, the temperature at the camp was -17º C.

The weather at Criosfera 1

“There is a chill here,” joked the researcher. During the summer in the Southern Hemisphere, below the Antarctic Circle, the sun never sets for at least one 24-hour period (a phenomenon called the “midnight sun”) and the average temperature is -20º C, with a windchill of -41º C.

Simoes said that the equipment will operate in a sustainable manner, with wind and solar panel power. “But the panels are disabled from March, when the region is totally dark.”

The science at Brazil's Criosfera 1

According to the researcher, the module, which also measures the amount of carbon dioxide in the region, found a concentration of 385 parts per million (ppm) of CO2, an amount which is 40% higher than the pre-industrial levels.

“We have also verified the presence of black carbon present in the soot that is a byproduct of burning fossil fuels. This number is increasing in Antarctica and we want to investigate the matter,” said Simoes. Another important part of the research is connected to the heating of the peripheral region of the continent.

“We know that the melting of glaciers and migration of animals is already occurring. These are signs of climate change. But research shows that the center of Antarctica is cooling, while the edges are heating up. This may have influenced the hole in the Ozone Layer. The Cryosphere 1 will contribute to international research on the topic and reinforces Brazil's participation in the Antarctic Treaty, which decides the future of 10% of the surface area of planet Earth,” Simoes added.

Life near the South Pole at Brazil's Criosfera 1 Station

The ten researchers will remain in Antarctica until the 20th. After that, they will return to Punta Arenas, Chile, on the 22nd and then back to Brazil. Meanwhile, they face a difficult routine.

“We do not have to follow a specific time, since we are near the South Pole and it is almost always daytime. Therefore, we follow the time zone of Chile (-1 GMT). The ten are divided into five tents, which are about -7 C inside. The are at work about ten hours each day,” he says.

According to professor Simoes, the scientists have special clothing and goggles to protect them from the cold and the suns reflection in the snow, which can damage the human eye. “It's hardest to get out of the sleeping bag,” he says.

After the group's return, the module will send data automatically to INPE, in Sao Jose dos Campos, Sao Paulo. At the end of 2012, a new expedition will go to the site to check the instruments and collect data that was not transmitted.

Jan 14, 2012