Palmer Station, Antarctica

Palmer Station is one of the three permanent research stations in Antarctica operated by the United States. Palmer Station is located on Anvers Island, part of the Antarctic Peninsula. It can be found on a map at 64° 46’S (Latitude), 64° 03’W (Longitude). A small biology lab was first built there in 1965. The larger station was built in 1970. The station was named after Nathaniel B. Palmer, an American seal hunter who explored the area in 1820.

Palmer Station has two main buildings and several small ones. There are two large fuel tanks, a helicopter pad, and a dock. In the summertime, there are about 44 people living at Palmer Station. They sleep in small dormitory rooms, each shared by two people. Bathrooms are shared, also.

There is an exercise room, a self-service bar, a lounge, and a cafeteria-type dining room. There is no live television or radio, but there are videos available in the lounge. Meals are prepared by a cook and an assistant. Everyone at Palmer shares in the kitchen clean-up. Everyone also shares the work of cleaning the rooms inside the buildings

Most of the scientists at Palmer Station work on research about the marine ecosystem. Scientists travel the waters around Palmer Station in Zodiac boats. There is a boating limit beyond a 2-mile radius from Palmer. Training is required before anyone can go out on the water in the Zodiacs.

The image above shows the southern area Anvers Island, which is where Palmer Station is located. This map also shows the boating limit. For a full-size image, click here.

People also must take training courses in survival skills, signaling, and radio operations. In rare cases, bad weather arrives suddenly while scientists are away from Palmer Station. Several of the smaller islands have emergency supplies and food caches, so that the scientists can survive these emergency situations.