FINNARP expedition departing for Antarctica
The five-person expedition crew will perform maintenance tasks on the Aboa research station as well as provide research support and monitor the environmental status. During the season, the weather and observation station power systems will be improved, the station power plant will be serviced, a waste incinerator will be installed and the Aboa weather station will be upgraded.
Research work includes the year-round collection of data from the Finnish Geodetic Institute GPS, University of Helsinki Institute of Seismology seismometer and the University of Helsinki vertical thermal profile measurement system. The expedition will also launch controlled meteorological balloons from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute and Smith College, install two seismometers and take GPS measurements during the expedition.
The expedition will stay at the Finnish research station, which is located on Queen Maud Land, for approximately two months and return in March 2014. The Aboa research station is manned for around two months each year.
Finland began active research operations in Antarctica with the establishment of the Aboa research station in 1988. Finland's consultative membership in the international Antarctica Treaty requires that it conduct major scientific research in Antarctica. Finland's aim is to conduct Antarctic research primarily in areas where it possesses a high level of expertise and which are scientifically significant.
Further information:
Expedition leader Petri Heinonen, tel. +358 (0)44 282 2077, petri.heinonen@fmi.fi
http://www.antarctica.fi/in-english (in english)