Esperanza Base is a permanent, all-year-round Argentineresearch station in Hope Bay, Trinity Peninsula. It is one of only two civilian settlements in Antarctica. The base's motto is Permanencia, un acto de sacrificio.
Description
Built in 1953, the base houses 55 inhabitants in winter, including 10 families and 2 school teachers. Provincial school #38 Presidente Raúl Ricardo Alfonsín was founded in 1978 and acquired independent status in 1997. It maintains the furthest South Scout troop. The base has an Argentine civil register office where births and weddings are recorded. The base has tourist facilities that are visited by about 1,100 tourists each year. The LRA 36 Radio Nacional Arcángel San Gabrielradio station started transmitting in 1979 and currently broadcasts on shortwave and FM. A wind generator was installed in 2008, mounted by INVAP. The 43 buildings of the station have a combined space of covered; of fuel are used annually by the four generators to produce electricity for the station. Research projects include: glaciology, seismology, oceanography, coastal ecology, biology, geology, and limnology. This place was also the scene of the first ever shots fired in anger in Antarctica in 1952 when an Argentine shore party fired a machine gun over the heads of a British Antarctic Survey team unloading supplies from the John Biscoe. The Argentines later extended a diplomatic apology, saying that there had been a misunderstanding and that the Argentine military commander on the ground had exceeded his authority. A series of incidents in the area had begun during World War II. The Antarctic Treaty of 1959, treats the continent as a laboratory open to all, and provides that "no acts or activities... shall constitute a basis for asserting, supporting or denying a claim to territorial sovereignty."
People
The base was the birthplace of Emilio Palma, the first person to be born in Antarctica. There have been at least ten other children born at the base.
Climate
Like the rest of the Antarctic Peninsula, the base has a polar climate characterized by strong winds that descend downwards from the Antarctic ice sheet. These winds can exceed, leading to blowing snow and reduced visibility. The climate is classified as a polar tundra climate in the Köppen system. Mean monthly temperatures range from in July, the coldest month, to in January, the warmest month. During summer, the average high is between while the average low is between. In winter, mean temperatures are around. A temperature of was recorded on 24 March 2015. This reading was the highest temperature ever recorded on mainland Antarctica and its surrounding islands, until on 6 February 2020, a new high of was recorded at the base, being the current record. The lowest temperature ever recorded is on 18 July 1994. The temperature trend since 1948 is +0.0315 °C/yr , +0.0413 °C/yr and +0.0300 °C/yr .
Refuge General Martín Güemes is the name given to two shelters in Antarctica. The first one is covered by ice, the second one is active. The refuge is Administered by the Argentine Army and depend on the Esperanza Base, which is responsible for the maintenance and the care. The two refuges are located on the Tabarin Peninsula on the eastern tip of the Trinity Peninsula on the Antarctic Peninsula south of Esperanza.The refuges pay homage to Martín Miguel de Güemes, a military man who served an outstanding role in the Argentine war of independence.
General Martín Güemes I Refuge
The first refuge was located on the north east coast of the Duse Bay of the Trinity Peninsula and opened on October 23, 1953., at that time head of the newly created Esperanza Base, participated in its construction, being one of the first refuges installed by the Army and the second in the continental Antarctica. The refuge was destroyed by the ice in 1960.
General Martín Güemes II Refuge
The second refuge is active and is located in the Tabarin Peninsula and was inaugurated on September 15, 1959. It has capacity for six people, food for a month, fuel, gas and a first aid kit.
