Casey Station
Encyclopedia
Australian Antarctic Division
The Australian Antarctic Division is an agency of the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities . The division undertakes science programs and research projects to contribute to an understanding of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean...
(AAD) located on Vincennes Bay
Vincennes Bay
Vincennes Bay is a large V-shaped bay, 105 km wide at its entrance between Cape Nutt and Cape Folger in Antarctica, marked by several large, steep glaciers near its head, lying along Knox and Budd Coasts. Photographed from the air by USN OpHjp, 1946-47...
in the Australian Antarctic Territory.
History
Casey is close to the now-abandoned Wilkes StationWilkes Station
Wilkes Station was an Antarctic research station established 29 January 1957 by the United States as one of seven U.S. stations established for the International Geophysical Year program in Antarctica...
established by the United States of America to support science and exploration of Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year
International Geophysical Year
The International Geophysical Year was an international scientific project that lasted from July 1, 1957, to December 31, 1958. It marked the end of a long period during the Cold War when scientific interchange between East and West was seriously interrupted...
(IGY) in 1957/8. The base was named after Richard Casey, Baron Casey
Richard Casey, Baron Casey
Richard Gardiner Casey, Baron Casey KG GCMG CH DSO MC KStJ PC was an Australian politician, diplomat and the 16th Governor-General of Australia.-Early life:...
.
Australia took over Wilkes after the IGY, but the American buildings were already unusable due to the build-up of ice around them. Australia built the first Casey Base on the opposite south side of the Newcomb Bay
Newcomb Bay
Newcomb Bay is a sheltered bay about 1 mile in extent, between Clark Peninsula and Bailey Peninsula in the Windmill Islands. First mapped from U.S. Navy Operation Highjump aerial photographs taken in February 1947. In February 1957, Willis L. Tressler, oceanographer, led a party from the USS...
in the late 1960s. This set of buildings was a unique attempt to prevent the problem of ice build-up by elevating the buildings on stilts, to encourage the wind to blow beneath as well as above, and connecting the entire line of buildings with a corrugated iron tunnel. This would, it was hoped, clear the build up of snow each year, while allowing personnel to move between buildings without having to brave the elements. It worked for some time.
The current Casey Station headquarters (the "Red Shed") was built in the late 1980s as part of the Australian Government's Antarctic Re-building Program. It was prefabricated in Hobart, Tasmania by Hobart construction firm, Contas Pty Ltd, trial-erected on the wharf at Hobart, then dismantled, packaged and shipped to Antarctica. It was erected at Casey by tradesmen employed as workers on the normal summer expedition crews. It incorporates innovative design features to prevent the transfer of heat through the structure. The "Shed" is conspicuously located near the top of the hill on which the old radio masts stood. It is probably the largest single structure on Antarctica and was first occupied in 1988.
One of the reasons for having a base at Casey is to study the Law Dome
Law Dome
Law Dome is a large ice dome which rises to 1,395 m directly south of Cape Poinsett, Antarctica. The feature was roughly mapped by the United States Geological Survey from aerial photographs taken by USN Operation Highjump, 1946-47...
, a miniature version of the entire Antarctic Ice Cap.
Airstrips
Casey is significant as a transport hub for the Australian Antarctic program, with the introduction of intercontinental jet flights for scientists and operational staff from Hobart to the Wilkins ice runwayWilkins Runway
Wilkins Runway is a single runway aerodrome operated by Australia, located on upper Peterson Glacier, Budd Coast, Wilkes Land on the continent of Antarctica, but 40 km southeast of the actual coast...
, 65 km inland from Casey station. The inaugural landing of the AAD's Airbus A319 aircraft was on the evening of 9 December 2007.
The smaller Casey Station Skiway is located 8 km east of the station, and opened on 30 December 2004.
In March 2009, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation's (ABC-TV) international affairs program "Foreign Correspondent" featured air operations at Casey Station as part of a report titled: "Antarctica - What Lies Beneath".
Climate
Casey Station experiences a polar climatePolar climate
Regions with a polar climate are characterized by a lack of warm summers . Regions with polar climate cover over 20% of the Earth. The sun shines 24 hours in the summer, and barely ever shines at all in the winter...
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See also
- Wilkes StationWilkes StationWilkes Station was an Antarctic research station established 29 January 1957 by the United States as one of seven U.S. stations established for the International Geophysical Year program in Antarctica...
- Mawson StationMawson StationMawson Station is one of three permanent Australian bases in the Australian Antarctic Territory of East Antarctica. Named after Antarctic explorer Sir Douglas Mawson, the base is managed by the Australian Antarctic Division...
- Davis StationDavis StationDavis Station is a permanent base in Antarctica managed by the Australian Antarctic Division . It is the busiest Australian scientific research station...
- Australian Antarctic TerritoryAustralian Antarctic TerritoryThe Australian Antarctic Territory is a part of Antarctica. It was claimed by the United Kingdom and placed under the authority of the Commonwealth of Australia in 1933. It is the largest territory of Antarctica claimed by any nation...
- Australian Antarctic DivisionAustralian Antarctic DivisionThe Australian Antarctic Division is an agency of the Department of Sustainability, Environment, Water, Population and Communities . The division undertakes science programs and research projects to contribute to an understanding of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean...