Rebuilding the Entrance Hall at Princess Elisabeth Antarctica
While the main part of the station is perched on rock, Princess Elisabeth Antarctica's entrance hall is built directly on the icecap. Because the movement of the ice was causing pressure on the entrance hall, pulling it away from the ridge, action had to be taken to counter it. So, we decided to disassemble and rebuild the entrance hall: this time on flexible foundations, allowing it to self-adjust as the ice moves for at least the next 20 years.
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These long beams form the core of the new foundations of the entrance hall at Princess Elisabeth Antarctica
© International Polar Foundation
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Dismantling the old entrance hall structure. The advantage of wooden structures is that we can repurpose the construction material for other uses at the station.
© International Polar Foundation
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The wooden beams outside the station, ready for deployment.
© International Polar Foundation
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Preparing the beams for positioning. This is a very meticulous work - everything has to be well adjusted so that the beams can slide neatly into place.
© International Polar Foundation
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Meanwhile, drilling of the granite ridge has begun. This means creating solid anchoring points to attach the end of each of the four beams, while the other ends will rest on adjustable platforms anchored in the ice.
© International Polar Foundation
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Kristof is creating the metallic anchoring points on the granite ridge.
© International Polar Foundation
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Illir and Pierre using the crane to bring the beams into place.
© International Polar Foundation
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Jacques at the granite ensuring everything fits into place on that end.
© International Polar Foundation
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One end of the beam, secured into the anchoring point.
© International Polar Foundation
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The other end of the beams is resting on adjustable platforms anchored into the ice. You can see one of them here.
© International Polar Foundation
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Two beams nearly in place (and a lot of cables waiting to be connected again).
© International Polar Foundation
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Jacques celebrates, by dancing on the beams
© International Polar Foundation
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In this picture taken from underneath the new floor of the entrance hall, you can see the whole system in place. The beams can now slide and the movements of the ice can be compensated, allowing the new entrance hall to remain fixed.
© International Polar Foundation
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Jacob and Jens presenting the system for compacting and extracting all the water from the bio-reactor sludge produced by the water treatment unit. Heroes!
© International Polar Foundation
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Thanks to this new addition, instead of four tons of semi-liquid waste, we now only have 50 Kg of solid waste to bring back to Cape Town at the end of the season.
© International Polar Foundation
