Argentina continues with the activities of the Antarctic Summer Campaign (CAV) 2024/25 . The actions range from the hydrographic updating of key bases to the return of fixed-wing aircraft for surveillance tasks and logistical support.
On the one hand, the Naval Hydrography Service (SHN) has completed a series of crucial works at the Joint Antarctic Base (BAC) Esperanza , focusing on hydrographic, oceanographic and buoyage tasks.
After operating in the BAC Marambio , the team led by Lieutenant Commander Fernando Bravo , aboard the icebreaker ARA "Almirante Irízar" , carried out an exhaustive bathymetric survey using a state-of-the-art multibeam probe.
This is a complete mapping of the seabed that not only updates official nautical cartography , but also optimizes the safety and efficiency of naval units that resupply and rotate the crews of Antarctic bases.
In addition, a self-contained anchorable tide gauge was installed in Puerto Moro to update tidal records, essential data for navigation and the study of climate change .
" Esperanza is now 100% operational ," said Captain Bravo , highlighting the complete bathymetric update, tidal data and GPS positioning of the signals . The SHN team then continued its work on the BACs Petrel and Primavera .
Meanwhile, the Argentine Navy has resumed operating fixed-wing aircraft in Antarctica in a significant milestone for the force .
A TC-12B Huron , belonging to the Naval Maritime Surveillance Squadron , landed at the Joint Antarctic Base Petrel , marking the return of this type of aircraft to the white continent.
The deployment was supported by a P-3C Orion from the Naval Exploration Squadron , an aircraft that enables search and rescue operations, medical evacuations and logistics flights.
The P-3C Orion not only provided crucial meteorological information for the TC-12B flight, but also carried out a surveillance and control flight over subarea 48.2 ( South Orkney Islands ) within the framework of operation " MARE NOSTRUM I ".
During the nine-hour flight , the aircraft flew over the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Orkney Islands , detecting the presence of thirteen vessels .
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