Palmer Station

Palmer Station is a United States research station in Antarctica. It is located on Anvers Island, near the Antarctic Peninsula. Palmer Station is one of three U.S. research stations in Antarctica and is the only one located north of the Antarctic Circle.

Palmer Station is on the coast of Anvers Island, which is part of the Palmer Archipelago. It is near the Southern Ocean, and the station looks out over Arthur Harbor.

Palmer Station opened in 1968. It was built to replace an older U.S. base called "Old Palmer," which was too small and not safe in bad weather. The station is named after Nathaniel B. Palmer, an American sealer who may have been one of the first people to see Antarctica in 1820.

Palmer Station has a cold polar climate, but it is not as cold as stations deeper in Antarctica. The weather includes:

• Snow and ice for much of the year
• Short summers with temperatures sometimes above 0°C (32°F)
• Strong winds and cloudy skies
• The average temperature for the year in Palmer Station is -1.8ºC (28.8ºF). The warmest month, on average, is January. The coldest month is August.^[1]

Palmer Station is used for scientific research, especially in:

• Marine biology – studying animals in the sea, like krill, penguins, and seals
• Glaciology – the study of ice and glaciers
• Climate change – understanding how warming affects the polar environment

Scientists often use small boats and scuba diving to study the ocean and marine life.

The station usually has about 20–45 people living there, depending on the season. In summer, more scientists arrive, while in winter the crew is smaller. Supplies and people are brought in by ship from South America (usually from Chile).

1. ↑ "Palmer Station, Antarctica Köppen Classification". weatherbase.com. Retrieved 4 August 2019.