Palmer Station

Palmer Station is a United States research station in Antarctica located on Anvers island (aka Antwerp Island), the only U.S. station on the continent located north of the Antarctic Circle. The first Palmer was built in 1965, but the current site, near to the older one, had its initial construction of the station finished in 1968. The station, like the other U.S. Antarctic stations, is operated by the United States Antarctic Program (USAP) of the National Science Foundation. The base is much smaller than McMurdo, with about 40 staff, and is focused on marine and biology research such as seabirds and plankton. It also supports the RN73 site for atmospheric monitoring for radionuclides.

The base is about as distant from the equator as Fairbanks, Alaska in the northern hemisphere, whereas Palmer is in the southern hemisphere. Under the Antarctica Treaty System established in 1958, the base is neither a claim nor a forfeiture of the right to do so. There are several old claims in this region; however, they are all under abeyance under said treaty. Scientific research developed at the station is shared with treaty members, and the agreement is to use Antarctica for peaceful and scientific purposes.

In 1990 the base was designated a Long-Term Ecological Research (LTER) and there are many areas of study, such as biology, glaciers, climate, and astrophysics. Palmer consists of several buildings and fuel tanks built on a rocky outcrop of Anvers island; there is also a dock and boathouse. The main building is BioLab, which houses the main dorm, office, and labs; GWR with more dorms and a lounge, as well as storage and the powerplant; Terra Lab, the Boathouse, Earth Station, and a workshop building.