The Ministry of Science allocates 200 million pesos for the establishment of multidisciplinary laboratories in the Argentine Antarctic bases

The Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation, Daniel Filmos, together with his counterparts from the Ministry of Defense, Jorge Tayana, and Foreign Affairs, Santiago Cafiero, led the signing of an agreement to establish “interdisciplinary laboratories in Antarctica” at the Argentine bases in Antarctica, where the scientific portfolio will allocate 200 million pesos under the program Federal Building Science. In this sense, an agreement has been signed between the Argentine Antarctic Institute, the Joint Antarctic Command and the General Manuel Savio Foundation for the construction of the three laboratories in Antarctica at the bases of Orcadas, Esperanza and San Martin; and the shelters of Vega and Cerro Nevado near the base of Marambio.

Filmus highlighted “the overall policy toward building sovereignty in the South Atlantic and Antarctica. Many have told me it was the first time they had heard President Alberto Fernandez utter the word Antarctica in his inaugural address. We are proud that it was. Between 2003 and In 2015, significant progress has been made in this direction and we are working to deepen a path that had such a milestone as the vote in the National Congress on the new map of Argentina with the integration of the Argentine continental shelf.” “I was as Minister of Malvinas, Antarctica and the South Atlantic and now as Minister of Science and the policy remains the same: the promotion of science and technology, the supremacy of the South Atlantic,” he continued. The Minister noted that “Argentina has the greatest traditions and most bases in Antarctica, but it does not have sufficient equipment and space for current development. These new laboratories will be on permanent grounds and can be searched throughout the year. There is a need for continuous research.”

Finally, Filmus expressed that “as the National Science, Technology and Innovation System Funding Act states, the budget for science and technology organizations will be increased and among them the Argentinean Institute of Antarctica, among others, and as a ministry we have to coordinate priorities. Sovereignty is a priority, Antarctica a priority, and our presence in the South The Atlantic Ocean is a priority.” The head of the science department highlighted the detail of the three ministries – science, defense and foreign relations – to implement the agreement.

“We are working on building three new laboratories in Antarctica. There are three laboratories on three different permanent bases: in Orcadas, in San Martín and in Esperanza. The presence of these new laboratories is an example of the government’s efforts to enhance our view towards the south, towards the South Atlantic , and toward the islands, and toward our sea and toward Antarctica,” Tiana said in Belgrano’s room in the Liberation Building. .

The Minister of Defense also highlighted that work is underway to restore the Petrel base, and emphasized that these new laboratories, which will have Antarctic bases, “are a sample of the profession of work in Antarctica and the coordination of efforts between the Argentine Antarctic Institute, the Antarctic Joint Command, and the Ministry of Science, Technology and Innovation that support this The initiative to achieve the availability of laboratories in the bases, as it did before in the icebreaker in Irisar.

For his part, Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero said: “When we spoke on the occasion of the launch of the Erizar equipment, we mentioned that knowledge and science are the mastery, when it applies them in Antarctica and the South Atlantic, when it can be added in this direction. It is clear that there is a country model, and there is A development model closely related to knowledge and the growth of our scientific and technological capabilities, based on modernization and the possibilities available to our scientists and technicians.

“From the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as from the Argentine Antarctic Institute, we have full knowledge of what we can do and, above all, we have full confidence that this kind of investment is the right way to go. With regard to foreign policy, we reaffirm our commitment to scientific and technological development in The region is for us more tools of prestige and tools of sovereignty.

Director of the Argentine Antarctic Institute, Walter McCormack; by COCOANTAR, Brigadier General Edgar Fernando Caldin, and President of the General Manuel Savio Foundation, Fernando Miguel Galban. Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero. Undersecretary of Institutional Coordination, Pablo Nunez, among others.

It is proposed to expand the infrastructure capabilities of the laboratories operated by the Argentinean Institute of Antarctica at the Argentine bases in Antarctica, which are currently limited. After the signing, three laboratories will be established at the bases of Orcadas, San Martín and Esperanza, which will amount to 120 square metres, and in the Vega and Cerro Nevado shelters, near the Marambio base. Thus, it is expected that the quantity and quality of scientific activities to be developed will increase, taking advantage of the differential potential of each Antarctic base arising from its geographical location and local and environmental conditions.

Presentation of laboratories

In general, it seeks to promote scientific research in the region, making Argentine sciences more competitive at the national and international levels in the context of the Antarctic Treaty System. These activities have been enhanced by recent projects to establish facilities in Ushuaia, such as the Inter-Institutional Center for Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic Strategic Issues (CITEAS) and the Antarctic Logistics Pole Project.