Stations

Antarctic
Arctic

Station

Camp

Shelter

Laboratory

Station

Camp

Shelter

Laboratory

Background

Facility Name	Fossil Bluff
Website	https://www.bas.ac.uk/polar-operations/life-in-the-polar-regions/virtual-tours/virtual-trip-to-antarctica/sky-blu/
Location	Antarctic
Current status of facility	Open
Type	Camp
Operating country	United Kingdom
INTERACT Status	None
First opened/Opening year	1961
Operational period	January; February; March; October; November; December

Introduction

Facility name and Operator	Fossil Bluff, British Antarctic Survey (BAS)
Location	Fossil Bluff lies on the eastern side of Alexander Island about 135 Kms south of the ice front of the King George VI Sound. The hut is on a morraine ridge immediately adjacent the sound and is periodically surrounded by meltwater pools during the summer months. These pools sometimes drain.
Biodiversity and natural environment	Fossil Bluff is well inland and sees infrequent visit from some birds apart from Skua. There is a range of lichens in the vicinity, but no mosses or vascular plants.
History and Facilities	The huts was first built following access to the site by air in 1961. A later overland traverse delivered materials to build a more substantial hut structure in 1963. An overwintering team stayed at Fossil Bluff in 1977 and undertook glaciological field work. The facility has been a primary aircraft refuelling site for decades providing access to areas south of Rothera, the BAS primary air hub.
General research and databases	Logistics infrastructure, however, an AWS is run on site and data transmitted to WMO Global Climate Observing System.
Human dimension	All human activity is in support of scientific research activities and assocaitiated operations work.
Access	Access is by air from Rothera research station and associated logistics air links.

Operator

Facility operator/manager	British Antarctic Survey (BAS)
Type of entity	Government
Institution managing/operating the facility	British Antarctic Survey (BAS)
Website (operator/manager)	http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/

Data Source

Partner Institution

Partnership

Location

Station code	CO2802
Geographical coordinates - Latitude	71° 19' 24'' S
Geographical coordinates - Longitude	68° 17' 21'' W
Region	Antarctic Peninsula
Type of surface facility built on	Ice-free ground

Climate

Permafrost	Continuous
Climate zone	Inland Antarctica
Precipitation type	Snow
Dominant wind direction	N

Features

Features in the facility area

Bluff; Crevasse; High elevation; Ice shelf; Melt streams; Moraine; Mountain; Nunatak; Permanent snowpatches; Rock; Snow

Disciplines

Human Activities

Human activity	Yes
History of human presence in the area	Occasional visits to the area before the establishment of the field hut, as a forward air base.
Long term monitoring	Yes
Waste management	Yes
Hazard[ous] management	Yes
Fuel spill response capability	Yes

Infrastructure

Station code	CO2802
Area under roof (m2)	90
Type of scientific laboratories	None
Logistics (m2)	90
Number of beds	4
Showers	No
Laundry facilities	No
Power supply (type)	Fossil fuel
Power supply (V)	230
Power supply (hours per day)	6
Hydroponics facilities	No

Staff Capacity

Number of staff on station (peak/summer season)	2
Number of scientists on station (peak/summer season)	0
Number of staff on station (off peak/winter season)	0
Number of scientists on station (off peak/winter season)	0
Max number of personnel at a time (staff, scientists and other)	6

Scientific Equipment

Scientific services

This is a logistics hub supporting access to scientific field work areas. Scientific activities are rarely supported on site.

Medical Facilities

Medical facilities	No
Staff with relevant training	None
Beds	0
Capability	None
Other equipment	None
Distance to hospital (km)	2100
Staff with basic medical training or doctor (summer)	0
Staff with basic medical training or doctor (winter)	0
Closest emergency facility in Antarctica (km)	370
Closest emergency facility external (km)	2100
Medical research capabilities	No
Medical screening requirements	Yes

Vehicles

Land transportation

Skidoos

Workshop facilities

Other

Communications

Computer; E-mail; Satellite phone; VHF

Access

Air

Aircraft landing facilities

Number of airstrips	1
Length (m) of longest runway	1200
Description of airstrips	Ski.
Helipad	No

Transport and freight

Transport to facility	Airplane; Skidoo
No. of ship visits per year	0
No. of flight visits per year	149
Period of flight visits per year	January; February; October; November; December

Access To The Facility

Pictures

Fossil Bluff field station