Machu Picchu base

The Machu Picchu Base is a polar scientific research station established in Antarctica by the Peruvian State, a consultative member of the Antarctic Treaty. The purpose is to carry out geographical, geological, climatological and biological studies in this area. The base is located in Admiralty Bay, McKellar Inlet on King George Island (or 25 de Mayo Island) which is part of South Shetland.

History

Location of the Machu Picchu base on King George Island.

Peru declares in its political constitution that it is a country of the southern hemisphere, linked to Antarctica by coasts that project towards it, as well as by ecological factors and historical background. This link with Antarctica is of such magnitude that it is considered that any variation in the fragile balance of the southern continent could manifest itself in changes in the biomass of the Peruvian sea. For these reasons, the Antarctic issue is an essential part of Peruvian foreign policy and by virtue of this Peru adhered to the Antarctic Treaty in 1981 and sent its first expedition (ANTAR I) to that continent in 1988.

The Macchu Picchu base was built in 1989, during the second Peruvian Antarctic expedition. It has two modules for housing, one for a laboratory, a kitchen-dining room module, a garage-workshop, an administration module and an emergency module. It also has a heliport. In November 2005, complying with the Protocol to the Antarctic Treaty on Environmental Protection, an environmental, modernization and operational improvement study of the Machu Picchu base was carried out, where the installation of an incinerator and a compacting machine for the solid waste generated was projected. This, in addition to the installation of the laboratory and the extension of the housing module, was carried out in the summer of 2005-2006.

The construction of the base and the ANTAR expeditions allowed Peru to become a consultative member of the Antarctic Treaty.

Scientific activities and expeditions

BAP Carrasco, Peru's access platform to Antarctica

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through the Peruvian Antarctic Institute and the Armed Forces, are the entities in charge of formulating, coordinating, conducting, and comprehensively supervising the national Antarctic policy, within the framework of which all the activities that the entities of the public and private sectors carry out in Antarctica. Peru has carried out scientific expeditions to that continent every year since 1988.

The maintenance and operation of the Machu Picchu Base is the responsibility of the Peruvian Army and is carried out with the multisectoral collaboration of the armed forces and government entities of Peru that participate annually in the ANTAR expeditions. The transport of personnel in charge of the base has been carried out since 1988 by the scientific research vessel BIC Humboldt of the Peruvian Sea Institute and the Peruvian Air Force. As of the ANTAR XXV expedition that took place in 2017, the Humboldt was replaced by the BAP Carrasco, an oceanographic vessel with polar capabilities acquired by Peru specifically for this purpose.

Scientific Mission to Antarctica

The last scientific mission sent was ANTAR XXVII, which departed in December 2019 and returned on March 25, 2020. The group was made up of 97 researchers, including Peruvians and foreigners, who will develop up to 33 scientific projects of various disciplines such as marine biology, meteorology, aeronautics and navigation, as well as personnel from the Peruvian Sea Institute and personnel from the Armed Forces.

In Antarctica, several countries carry out research for peaceful purposes, such as the study of its geological past, the potential of its marine wealth, the force of its blizzards, pollution and the adaptation of its fauna to the harshness of the icy environment.

On this basis, Peru develops various scientific projects such as research on krill and its possibilities as an alternative for human consumption, geological, biological, hydrographic and geophysical projects, within the framework of the Antarctic Treaty. In 1993, a radar was installed in an area adjacent to the base to measure the winds in the highest layers of the atmosphere. This provides information on the deterioration of the ozone layer.

Because it is a continent of invaluable strategic, ecological and economic importance, Peru has an interest in remaining a zone of peace, demilitarized and denuclearized and in preserving its environment due to its relationship with the Peruvian climate. Its cold waters are essential for Peru, since the Humboldt current originates there.

Peruvian Expeditions in Antarctica in January 2015, at Machu Picchu Base