Arrival Heights Laboratory
The Arrival Heights Laboratory is located in the Antarctic Specially Protected Area number 122 of Arrival Heights in Antarctica. The laboratory is staffed by personnel from both McMurdo Station and Scott Base.
History
The United States proposed the creation of the Arrival Heights Antarctic Specially Protected Area. The ASPA is located on the Hut Point Peninsula, Ross Island, and is around 0.73 km2 in size. Scott Base and McMurdo Station are located 1.5 km and 2.7 km away respectively and personnel from both locations use Arrival Heights Laboratory.The Arrival Heights Laboratory consists of a green elevated building and a white hut located within area 122 of the Antarctic Specially Protected Area. The area is an electromagnetic quiet zone, but some electronic noise was created by the installation of wind turbines in 2009.
Scientists from New Zealand came to area 122 in 1959. An Auroral Radar Station was established by New Zealand at Arrival Heights in 1959. 15 tonnes of radar and building materials were brought to the area in February 1960, and Arrival Heights Laboratory was completed in two days. The initial purpose of the base was to understand the nature of the aurora australis and its effect on radio communications. A new radar hut and storage facilities were constructed in December 1963. It currently researches upper atmosphere, trace gas monitoring, geomagnetic studies, and air quality surveys, most of which are conducted by NIWA.