Works at the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica Station
Ever since their arrival in late November, the BELARE team has been hard at work on a number of maintenance projects around the Princess Elisabeth Antarctica Station. This gallery gives a glimpse into the various projects they've been working on.
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The eastern side of the new garage is now protected by a layer of stainless steel plates and equipped with extra solar panels, which produce about 10% more renewable energy for the station. This will help fill energy production gaps late in the afternoon on sunny days.
© International Polar Foundation
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Stainless steel panels are placed on the north annex. The entire station is covered in stainless steel panels for protection.
© International Polar Foundation
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Guus Luppens and Johan Demuylder install solar panels on the front side of the new garage.
© International Polar Foundation
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The new set of solar panels is ready to be wired to the station's micro grid, which manages the distribution and use of the electricity produced.
© International Polar Foundation
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Johan installs cable trays and electric cables that will be connected to the solar panels.
© International Polar Foundation
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Guus connects the electric cables from the solar panels to the inverters, which convert the direct current the solar panels produce into an alternate current that can be used in the station.
© International Polar Foundation
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Under the station Expedition Leader Alain Hubert is doing heavy maintenance in the crevasse where the clean, treated water from the water treatment system is discharged. He uses a drill to direct the flow of discharged water through the ice.
© International Polar Foundation
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A large amount of ice blocking the crevasse had to be removed from its depths. Ropes and buckets made removal of the ice blocks possible.
© International Polar Foundation
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In the garage, Mathieu builds new walls to separate different work spaces.
© International Polar Foundation
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Thomas finalises the insulation in the walls with a triple layer of stone wool for maximum heat retention on the inside of the heated garage.
© International Polar Foundation
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Tom installs all the doors and prepares the workshop for maximum efficiency.
© International Polar Foundation
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The team installs a wooden frame in the new building to support a sliding door that will insulate the heated garage from the freezing temperatures outside.
© International Polar Foundation
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The new garage will be large enough to work on a Prinoth tractor in a separate, heated section.
© International Polar Foundation
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The team installs the heavy mechanism for the rolling door at the entrance to the heated garage.
© International Polar Foundation
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In bad weather conditions, snow can infiltrate the station, even through the tiniest gap. In order to avoid this, the team made adjustments on the main door of the garage, making it possible to use even during snow storms.
© International Polar Foundation
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Sometimes small adjustments make a big difference when weather conditions deteriorate. Thanks to these precise adjustments, the garage door can now be used, even in poor weather conditions.
© International Polar Foundation
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In the meantime, our mechanic, Yann, performs general maintenance on ski-doos and other machines in a container, which has temporarily been converted into a workshop.
© International Polar Foundation
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Until the new heated garage becomes operational, mechanics do maintenance on the Prinoth tractors outside when the weather is nice.
© International Polar Foundation
