Showa Station (Antarctica)

Showa Station (Japanese: 昭和基地, Hepburn: Shōwa Kichi), sometimes alternately spelled Syowa Station,[1] is a Japanese permanent research station on East Ongul Island in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica. Built in 1957, Showa Station is named for the era in the Japanese calendar during which it was established, the Shōwa period.

Showa

昭和基地
Antarctic base
Shōwa Kichi
Aerial photograph of Showa Station, December 2018.
Showa
Location of Showa Station in Antarctica
Coordinates: 69°00′16″S 39°34′54″E
Country Japan
Location in AntarcticaEast Ongul Island
Queen Maud Land
Antarctica
Administered byJapanese Antarctic Program
Established1957 (1957)
Elevation
29 m (95 ft)
Population
 • Total
  • Up to 110
Time zoneUTC+3 (SYOT)
TypeAll-year round
PeriodAnnual
StatusOperational
Facilities60 separate buildings
WebsiteNational Institute of Polar Research

Overview

Showa Station serves as a research outpost for astronomy, meteorology, biology and earth sciences. It comprises over 60 separate buildings, large and small, including a 3-storey administration building, living quarters, power plant, sewage treatment facility, environmental science building, observatory, data processing facility, satellite building, ionospheric station, incinerator, earth science building, and radiosonde station. Also present are fuel tanks, water storage, solar panels, a heliport, water retention dam, and radio transmitter.

Historic monument

A cairn and plaque at the station commemorate Shin Fukushima, a member of the 4th Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition, who died in October 1960 while carrying out his duties. The cairn, which contains some of his ashes, was erected on 11 January 1961 by his colleagues. It has been designated a Historic Site or Monument (HSM 2) following a proposal by Japan to the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting.[2]

Climate

The climate is classified as an Ice cap climate (Köppen: EF), since there are no months where the average temperature exceeds 0.0 °C (32.0 °F).

Climate data for Showa Station, elevation: 18 m or 59 ft, 1981–2010 normals, extremes 1957-2011
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 12.0
(53.6)		 8.0
(46.4)		 22.0
(71.6)		 6.6
(43.9)		 9.0
(48.2)		 −0.7
(30.7)		 0.0
(32.0)		 0.9
(33.6)		 1.0
(33.8)		 8.0
(46.4)		 7.3
(45.1)		 20.0
(68.0)		 22.0
(71.6)
Average high °C (°F) 2.0
(35.6)		 −0.5
(31.1)		 −4.3
(24.3)		 −7.6
(18.3)		 −10.7
(12.7)		 −12.1
(10.2)		 −14.1
(6.6)		 −15.8
(3.6)		 −14.9
(5.2)		 −10.8
(12.6)		 −4.0
(24.8)		 1.1
(34.0)		 −7.6
(18.3)
Daily mean °C (°F) −0.7
(30.7)		 −2.9
(26.8)		 −6.5
(20.3)		 −10.1
(13.8)		 −13.5
(7.7)		 −15.2
(4.6)		 −17.3
(0.9)		 −19.4
(−2.9)		 −18.1
(−0.6)		 −13.5
(7.7)		 −6.8
(19.8)		 −1.6
(29.1)		 −10.5
(13.1)
Average low °C (°F) −3.7
(25.3)		 −5.5
(22.1)		 −9.2
(15.4)		 −13.0
(8.6)		 −16.6
(2.1)		 −18.7
(−1.7)		 −20.8
(−5.4)		 −23.3
(−9.9)		 −22.0
(−7.6)		 −17.2
(1.0)		 −10.4
(13.3)		 −4.6
(23.7)		 −13.8
(7.2)
Record low °C (°F) −20.0
(−4.0)		 −23.0
(−9.4)		 −25.0
(−13.0)		 −35.9
(−32.6)		 −38.5
(−37.3)		 −44.1
(−47.4)		 −42.7
(−44.9)		 −41.4
(−42.5)		 −45.3
(−49.5)		 −38.0
(−36.4)		 −26.0
(−14.8)		 −23.0
(−9.4)		 −45.3
(−49.5)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.6
(0.02)		 0.0
(0.0)		 0.0
(0.0)		 2.1
(0.08)		 0.0
(0.0)		 2.7
(0.1)
Average snowy days 11.0 14.2 19.3 20.1 18.5 17.2 18.9 19.3 18.2 20.2 13.9 10.7 200.6
Average relative humidity (%) 67 68 71 72 67 65 66 64 64 69 68 68 67
Mean monthly sunshine hours 375.7 203.2 120.1 58.0 17.7 0.0 4.8 64.1 136.5 191.0 316.0 434.6 1,925.9
Source 1: JPA[3]
Source 2: Climatebase.ru (extremes 1973-2011 and rainfall)[4] and DWD (extremes 1957-1973)[5]
Syowa Station sign in front of the main administration building, December 2018.
  • Showa Station is the Antarctic destination of the protagonists of A Place Further Than The Universe, a 2018 Japanese Anime series.
  • The monster Ghidorah is located on the base - called "Outpost 32" - in the 2019 film Godzilla: King of the Monsters

See also
Showa
Summary
Airport typePrivate
ServesSyowa
LocationEast Ongul Island
Time zone(+3)
Elevation AMSL95 ft / 29 m
Coordinates69°00′22″S 39°35′24″E
Map
Showa
Location of airfield in Antarctica
Runways
Direction Length Surface
ft m
17/35 3,274 998 Snow

References
  1. "Showa Station (Syowa Station), East Ongul Island, Lützow-Holm Bay, Queen Maud Land (Dronning Maud Land), Eastern Antarctica, Antarctica". mindat.org. Retrieved June 29, 2007.
  2. "List of Historic Sites and Monuments approved by the ATCM (2012)" (PDF). Antarctic Treaty Secretariat. 2012. Retrieved October 24, 2013.
  3. "Climate Data for Showa Station" (in Japanese). Japan Meteorological Agency. Retrieved June 27, 2013.
  4. "Syowa, Antarctica #89532". climatebase.ru. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  5. "Klimatafel von Syowa (Japan) / Antarktis" (PDF). Baseline climate means (1961–1990) from stations all over the world (in German). Deutscher Wetterdienst. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  6. "Showa Skiway". Airport Nav Finder. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
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