Site for Maitri-II identified in Antarctica

CONTEXT: The new research station will be located just a few kilometres away from the Maitri station currently operating in the eastern Antarctica region.

• A team of Indian polar scientists has identified a site for India's new research station in Antarctica, called Maitri-II.
• The research base will be located near the existing Maitri station in eastern Antarctica.
• India has been conducting expeditions to Antarctica for over three decades, focusing on marine, biological, geological, and atmospheric sciences. The National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR) in Goa is the nodal agency for these expeditions.
• Maitri, India's second research base in Antarctica, has been operational since 1989. However, due to aging and limitations, there's a need for a new facility, Maitri-II.
• The new site for Maitri-II was identified during a visit by a delegation of experts led by M Ravichandran, Ministry of Earth Sciences Secretary. Factors like water availability, transportation, and waste management were considered during the site inspection.
• The Survey of India is currently conducting a topographical survey of the site, and high-resolution maps are expected early next year.
• Maitri-II will be constructed adhering to environmental norms and will be a state-of-the-art facility.
• The development plan, consultant identification, tendering, contract awarding, and prefabrication are each expected to take 18 months. The new research base is scheduled to be operational in January 2029.

ANTARCTICA

• It is the southernmost continent and lies entirely within the Antarctic Circle spread around the South Pole.
• It separated from the rest of the world by the icy waters of the Southern Ocean which comprises of the southern portions of the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans.
• It is the fifth-largest continent.
• The continent is a high plateau that is frozen throughout the year.
• There is no coastal plain.
• There are mountain ranges, peaks, a rift valley, and volcanoes.
• Two broad inlets, the Weddell Sea and the Ross Sea and the Trans-
• Antarctic Mountains that cross the entire continent divide the land into West Antarctica and East Antarctica. The former faces the Pacific Ocean. The Antarctic Peninsula points towards South America. It is the continuation of the Andes Mountain range.
• East Antarctica, faces the Atlantic and Indian Oceans, Mount Erebus, an active volcano, is actually of the Ross Sea.
• It is the only continent that is completely covered by permanent ice and snow hence it is known as the white continent.
• The valleys between the mountain ranges are dry, windy, frozen and barren and strangely called oases.