The CONCORDIA station

The CONCORDIA station

Concordia is located at Dome C in the heart of the Antarctic continent. It is jointly owned and operated by the French Institut Paul Emile Victor (IPEV) and the Italian Agenzia nazionale per le nuove tecnologie, l’energia e lo sviluppo economico sostenibile ENEA (previously PNRA).

This station is dedicated to peaceful research in various fields of sciences (meteorology, atmospheric sciences, galociology, astronomy, etc..)

In 1993, France and Italy decided the creation of a new permanent station located inside the continent. While 44 stations split on the perimeter of the continent the Antarctic, it existed only 2 continental station: Amundsen-Scott (US) and Vostok (Russia).

The site of Dome C [Position : 75°06'S - 123°21'E , altitude: 3200 m] was selected according to several scientific criteria:

• presence of a thick ice sheet (3.300 metres in thickness) allowing to achieve the archives of the climate of the planet and to rebuild interglacial cycles over more than 800.000 years. The European plan of ice drilling EPICA (European Project of Ice Coring in Antarctica) was the first step of the scientific installationat Dome C in 1996. Since that time, the summer camp is used every year during the short southern summer (in November in February).

• particularly stable, pure and dry, ideal atmosphere for observations in astronomy and for studies on the chemical composition of the low and high coats of the atmosphere.

• located at large distance from the coast disturbances, it is favourable to observations of the magnetism and seismology, supplementing the worldwide network of data scarcely recorded in the south hemisphere. The vocation of Concordia is to allow the international scientific community to carry out unique programs of research and observation in various fields of scientific research.

After an important step of test on materials and assemblage of metallic architecture, the contruction began in 2002 after the preparation of the site. This building was accomplished in only 3 summer campaigns. It required the delivery of more than 3.000 T. of equipment by ground means (traverse). The winter over of a franco-Italian team took place in 2005. Considered to be a qualification campaign, it allowed to the winter over staff to finalize the internal set up of the station. (from IPEV)

It is from this station that the drilling of an ice carot (EPICA) of more than 3000 meters allowed to describe the variation of the climate over the last 800 000 years. The Concordia station is likely to be the best astronomical site on the Earth, particularly in the infrared and submillimetre-wave range of wavelengths.

At the present time, in 2010, astronomy is increasingly contributing to the activity of the station, especially in winter. A large area of the site is dedicated to astronomical activity (on the right side of the picture). Three main astronomical instruments are presently operating: COCHISE, a millimetre wace antenna, ASTEP a telescope dedicated to the quest of exo-planets and IRAIT an 80 cm aperture infrared telescope.

The Large Polar Telescope is a future bigger instrument foreseen to be installed at Concordia ca. 2020. It will survey the sky in the thermal infrared during the decade 2020-2030.

(click to blow up) (court. IPEV)

Astronomical site testing instruments at the Concordia station.

The two wooden towers support seeing monitors (DIMM) that measure

the degradation of the image by the atmospheric turbulence (court. E. Aristidi)

The Concordia main buildings (courtesy, A. Agabi)

The first astronomical instrument set up at Concordia, ASTEP,

is aimed at characterizing planets orbiting around stars (exoplanets).

This instrument has been operating since 2009 (court. A. Agabi)