GB 14 02 2025 AROUND THE WORLD
AROUND THE WORLD
THE DUMONT D'URVILLE BASE IN TERRE ADELIE
Our planet has such geographical , ecological and scientific diversity that it inspires many vocations, such as the French scientific base Dumont D'Urville located in Terre Adélie on the Antarctic continent in unique places expressing the beauty of the earth.
Discovered in 1840 by the French explorer Jules Dumont D'Urville, Terre Adélie
is a region of Antarctica validated by
France as one of the five districts of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands located in the only large cold region on
the globe that has remained in its original state.Also called "The Southern Continent" with particular weather conditions since it is the coldest where there is no permanent human habitat and only plants and animals adapted to the cold survive there, such as penguins and seals, the climate of Terre Adélie is characterized by very low temperatures accompanied by violent winds often impregnated with ice particles that are blizzards which make the average temperatures -1 to 7 degrees during the summer season in the months of January and February and -15 to -20 degrees during the southern winter for the months of July and August. Space dedicated and protected by international treaties
and protocols including that of Madrid defined in 1991 and implemented in 1998 which specifies data relating to
to environmental protection in parallel with areas specially protected areas located in Antarctica,
Adélie Land has also
had a scientific base since 1956 called
Dumont D'Urville Antarctic Base which carries out specific work, in particular thanks to its dedicated and qualified teams, concerning the movements and particularities of the atmosphere with its impact on the climate in addition to specific studies on blocks of ice taken from very great depths to then be tested in the laboratory, supplemented by studies on the conservation and preservation of local fauna and flora, giving it a geographical, technical and ecological particularity integrating priority to scientific research activities in good balance with international agreements on the protection of diversity.

As Close As You Can Get To The Great Wild Spaces
Managed by the French polar institute Paul Emile Victor
, the base, located on an island, is accessible by boat or by helicopter, supplemented by an aircraft runway installed on the continent 10 kilometers from the base in order to facilitate logistical data and whose use is only effective from October to February during the summer season. Equipped with a workforce of 30 people in winter for an average of 110 in summer,
Dumont D'Urville base
is also connected by the
ship Astrolabe refueling which, in addition to its specific on-site support missions for competent teams, ensures the supply of supplies and provisions in parallel with team rotations on a period from November to March.The corresponding
scientific teams dedicated to the appropriate studies also collaborate closely with foreign countries, particularly with Italy, for example in the context of astronomical studies for the installation of telescopes and radio telescopes or even geophysical and climatological studies such as the magnetosphere, the upper atmosphere, global warming with its impact on the ozone layer, in parallel with fundamental physics projects such as the capture of high-energy particles.
The base, given its position and location, is an important strategic location for the study and conservation of local fauna, mainly represented by emperor penguins and Adélie penguins, which are pleasant to observe in these places so close to the great wild spaces.
In parallel with the skuas or snow petrels which are birds that feed in particular with the chicks of emperor penguins and despite the negative temperature of the water in addition to the harshness of the climate,we can also observe at certain times of the year orcas and rorquals that emerge from these icy waters with graceful gestures. Discovering Terre Adélie and meeting on the base and on sites men and women passionate about their missions and their goals remains an unforgettable memory in these majestic places often imbued with magical and fairy-tale colors expressing all that nature has of noblest.
Report: Gabriel PAGE
Photos Credit: Gabriel PAGE / Getty Images
ANTARCTICA
Located around the South Pole, sometimes called the "Southern Continent" ANTARCTICA which is surrounded
by Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans and Ross Seas and
Weddell is the southernmost continent on Earth and the entirety of these territories, which also includes the
emerged parts of the Kerguelen Plateau with common
ecological data represents the ecozone ANTARCTIC.This specific area also covers ADELIE LAND with the French
scientific base DUMONT D'URVILLE which is named after the French explorer who discovered this territory in 1840 and which is located on Petrel Island.
