Filchner Station
Filchner-Station | |
|---|---|
  Filchner Station Location in Antarctica | |
| Coordinates: 77°03′00″S 50°03′00″W / 77.0500°S 50.0500°W[1] | |
| Region | Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf |
| Established | February 1982 |
| Removed | February 1999 |
| Named for | Wilhelm Filchner |
| Government | |
| • Type | Administration |
| • Body | AWI, Germany |
| Active times | Every summer |
| Website | awi.de |
Filchner Station was a German research station in the Antarctic. Administered by the Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research, it was established in February 1982 on the Filchner–Ronne Ice Shelf. The first station in Antarctica to be mounted on jacks, the structure was raised each year to allow for the increase in height of the shelf by snowfall. It was also relocated around 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) southwards each year to account for drift of the ice shelf. In October 1998, Filchner Station was stranded on iceberg A-38 when it broke away from the ice shelf. Research operations were cancelled and an emergency salvage operation was carried out that removed the majority of the station by February 1999.