Palmer Station - part I:
Palmer station is one of three US research stations in Antarctica. With the capacity to house up to 44 people, it is also the smallest station in Antarctica. Palmer is the only US station above the Antarctic Circle and accessible year-round. The climate at Palmer station is by far the mildest of the three US research stations, with an average temperature of 2o Celsius (C) in the austral summer and around -10o C in winter.
All the people on station are very lucky to have chef Francis (left photo) and sous-chef Derrick (right photo). They prepare breakfast, lunch, dinner, and provide snacks/pastries at 10:00 and at 15:00 (we use military time). They work very hard to ensure we get good and balanced meals (thank you!!!).
Palmer station is a well-equipped research station. Today I will discuss amenities of one of the two main buildings, the BIO building. BIO has several labs and an aquarium room for scientific research.
In BIO there is a science office available for scientists (the left photo shows where I work), as well as two computer rooms. The wing with the science office houses all office spaces for several people, including the Palmer Station manager.
One thing that is absolutely vital for me personally (and many others on station) is the fancy coffee machine. For obvious reasons, it is also nicknamed the “Precious”. There were predecessors of this one, so this one is the Precious Reborn.
