Zucchelli Station

Zucchelli Station
Antarctic base
Mario Zucchelli Station
Zucchelli Station at Terra Nova Bay
Zucchelli Station Location of Zucchelli Station in Antarctica
Coordinates: 74°41′39″S 164°06′50″E / 74.694206°S 164.113869°E / -74.694206; 164.113869
Country	Italy
Location in Antarctica	Terra Nova Bay Ross Sea
Administered by	National Antarctic Research Program
Established	1985 (1985)
Named for	Mario Zuccini
Elevation [1]	15 m (49 ft)
Population  (2017)[1]
• Summer	120
• Winter	0
Time zone	UTC+12:00 (NZST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+13:00 (NZDT)
UN/LOCODE	AQ MZU
Type	Seasonal
Period	Summer
Status	Operational
Activities	List Astrophysics Climatology Fishery Geodesy Geology Geomorphology Glaciology Limnology Marine biology Microbiology Oceanography Soil science
Website	www.pnra.aq/it

Zucchelli Station is an Italian seasonal research station in Antarctica, located at Terra Nova Bay on a granitic headland along the coast of the Northern Foothills to the north-east of Gerlache Inlet. It has been named after Mario Zucchelli, director of the activities, which conducted for sixteen years, for the ENEA-Unità Tecnica Antartide as part of the National Antarctic Research Program (PNRA).^[2]

The main functions carried out by the Station are:

• logistic support to scientific personnel operating in remote fields
• logistical and operational support to the oceanographic ship
• support to research activities with laboratories and instrumentation
• support to personnel and material in transit for Concordia Station
• support to air operations

The Zucchelli Station is a seasonal (from mid-October until mid-March)^[3] research Antarctic Station on the Terra Nova Bay located at an altitude of 15 metres (49 ft) and covers an area of approximately 7,500 square meters. In 2010, the Station was enlarged and in the austral summer the traverse leave for Concordia Station operated jointly with France.^[4]

The main building was built in 1985, in the first seasonal expedition, on a steel structure 1.5 metres (4 ft 11 in) from the ground and consist of 82 containers, 42 of which used for the personnel accommodation and services while the remaining 40 to the support activities as:

• operations room situated on the top of the building, like a control tower, looking over the base
• communications room, adjacent to the operation room to facilitate the HF radio and the satellite radio transmissions
• calculation room which give informatics support and data transmission,
• offices,
• laboratories (chemistry, biology, geology, electronics),
• cafeteria,
• kitchen,
• emergency,
• infirmary,
• laundry.

Icaro Camp (74°42′43″S 164°07′00″E / 74.711866°S 164.116650°E / -74.711866; 164.116650) is a facility, fitted as a meteorological station, located 2 kilometres (1.2 mi) south of the Zucchelli Station. The camp consists of two blue containers, held by guy-wires, meteorological equipment, solar panels and a wind generator. Although the structures are not suited to accommodate people, they could shelter a dozen in case of emergency.^[5]

Boulder Clay Runway (Under construction)
IATA: none ICAO: AQBC
Summary
Airport type	Private
Location	Zucchelli Station Terra Nova Bay
Elevation AMSL	672 ft / 205 m
Coordinates	74°44′22″S 164°02′07″E / 74.739373°S 164.03539°E / -74.739373; 164.03539
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 02/20 7,218 2,200 Gravel
[6]

Enigma Lake Skiway
IATA: none ICAO: AT09
Summary
Airport type	Private
Location	Zucchelli Station Terra Nova Bay
Elevation AMSL	443 ft / 135 m
Coordinates	74°43′08″S 164°01′46″E / 74.718921°S 164.029558°E / -74.718921; 164.029558
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 18/36 2,376 724 Ice
[7]

Zucchelli Ice Runway
IATA: none ICAO: AT13
Summary
Airport type	Private
Location	Gerlache Inlet Terra Nova Bay
Coordinates	74°41′39″S 164°06′50″E / 74.694206°S 164.113869°E / -74.694206; 164.113869
Runways
Direction Length Surface ft m 03/21 10,137 3,090 Ice 06/24 5,385 1,641 Ice
[8]

Boulder Clay Runway (74°44′22″S 164°02′07″E / 74.739373°S 164.03539°E / -74.739373; 164.03539) is located about 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) south of Zucchelli Station on the Northern Foothills; the construction started in the 2016–17 season and will be completed in the 2021–22. The Italian team usually use an Ice Runway in the Gerlache Inlet to start the summer campaign but in recent years the ice runway was closed earlier then before because of the ice thickness had diminished due to partial melting of the ice. The airstrip is situated on the Boulder Clay Moraine and is built with the least environmental impact as possible. It is a gravel runway 2,200 metres (7,200 ft) long and 60 metres (200 ft) wide in order to be suitable to the Safair or Aeronautica Militare C-130J^[9] or other larger types, such as the C-17 Globemaster, Airbus A319-115LR and Boeing 757. The airfield will be completed with a taxiway which connect the apron with the runway, an apron for aircraft parking and operational tasks, capable of stationing two C-130 Hercules, fire service as ICAO standards, fuel deposit, terminal and shed for the personnel, operation room and a power unit.^[10] The reduced thickness of the ice in the Ross Sea did not allowed to the heavier C-130J Hercules of the Italian Air Force to land on the sea ice runway. On 22 November 2022 at 4.30 CET a C-130J landed for the first time on the prepared gravel runway. Boulder Clay Runway will become an international hub as it can be utilised by the other nearby research stations.^[11]

Enigma Lake Skiway is situated at an elevation of 135 metres (443 ft), on the Northern Foothills, 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) south of Zucchelli Station on an iced lake. Being 725 metres (2,379 ft) long it is operated by the Twin Otters and Basler BT-67. The skyway is prepared by removing the snow accumulated in the winter by the Station staff; in the same place stands an AWS (Rita) which makes part of the network managed by the Antarctic Meteo-Climatological Weather Observatory.^[12]

Zucchelli Ice Runway is located in the Gerlache Inlet and is prepared, at the beginning of each season, by the station's logistic personnel in mid-October. The sea ice runway is suitable for operating the Aeronautica Militare or Safair wheeled C-130, but in the latest years it was closed earlier than before because the sea ice break up.^[13] Two runways are prepared, one is the 03/21 which is 3,090 metres (10,140 ft) long and 76 metres (249 ft) wide used by the C-130, the other is the 06/24 which is shorter measuring 1,640 metres (5,380 ft) in length and 50 metres (160 ft) in width utilised by the Twin Otters and the Basler BT-67.^[8]

The Antarctic Meteo-Climatological Weather Observatory, established in 1985, attempt to a give a contribution to understand the climate change through the study of the atmospheric dynamics. The programme is defined by two projects supported by the National Antarctic Research Program (PNRA), one regarding the Victoria Land and the other the Concordia Station, carried out by the ENEA personnel. The centre run an Automatic weather station network, distributed through the territory, having the responsibility of the instrumentation assembly, the maintenance and the data collection. The network include 16 AW stations operating all year around:

• List of Antarctic research stations
• List of Antarctic field camps
• Airports in Antarctica
• Concordia Station operated by France and Italy
• Jang Bogo Station a South Korean station in Terra Nova Bay

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• COMNAP Antarctic Facilities
• COMNAP Antarctic Facilities Map
• Mario Zucchelli Station - pdf
• Mario Zucchelli Station (English Text)
• Official website