Palmer Station

Palmer Station is a United States research station in Antarctica located on Anvers Island, the only US station located north of the Antarctic Circle. 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 about as distant from the equator as Fairbanks, Alaska. The station is named for Nathaniel B. Palmer, usually recognized as the first American to see Antarctica. The maximum population that Palmer Station can accommodate is 46 people. The normal austral summer contingent varies, but it is generally around 44 people. Palmer is staffed year-round; however, the population drops to around 13 people for winter maintenance after the conclusion of the summer research season. There are science labs located in the Bio-Lab building (pictured), the other main building is GWR (Garage, Warehouse, and Recreation). Webcam images of the station and a penguin colony on nearby Torgersen Island are available at the station's web site. The facility is the second Palmer Station; "Old Palmer" was about a mile to the northwest adjacent to the site of the British Antarctic Survey "Base N", built in the mid-fifties. The site is on what is now known as Amsler Island. Old Palmer was built about 1965, and served as a base for those building "new" Palmer, which opened in 1968. Old Palmer was designated as an emergency refuge for the new station in case of disaster, though this perceived need disappeared over time. It was dismantled and removed from the Antarctic as part of the National Science Foundation's environmental cleanup efforts in the early 1990s. Most of the station's personnel are seasonal employees of the U.S. Antarctic Program's main support contractor, Leidos. The summer support staff is usually 24 people. Previous main support contractors were Raytheon Polar Services, Holmes and Narver of Orange, California, ITT Antarctic Services of Paramus, New Jersey, and Antarctic Support Associates of Englewood, Colorado.