On ice floe across the Weddell Sea (thirty years since the opening of the first Antarctic drifting station)

Abstract

The year 2022 marks the 30th anniversary from operation of the Russian-American drifting station in the Antarctic. It was first experience of organizing a research station on sea ice in the South Polar exploration. Russia and the U.S. had the greatest experience in organizing such studies in the Arctic, so the combined efforts of our countries guaranteed the success of this unique scientific mission. The drift of the station named «Weddell-1» was along the continental slope of the east coast of the Antarctic Peninsula from February 12 to June 9, 1992. The joint scientific program was aimed at studying the structure and dynamics of natural processes in the atmospheric boundary layer, in the ocean, ice cover and the biodiversity of surface waters. As a result, unique scientific materials were obtained in an almost unexplored area of the Antarctic. The realization of the Russian-American drifting noticeably strengthened cooperation between our countries, which even in these days of aggravation of interstate relations can become an example of successful cooperation between the world's leading polar nations.

Keywords

• antarctica
• glaciology
• hydrobiology
• ice camp
• oceanography
• russian-american cooperation
• surface meteorology
• weddell sea